Quick answers
History
Avignon belongs to the Series 3 Incense from Comme des Garçons. Auparfum dates this five-scent series to 2002. Each scent is named after a place: Avignon, Jaisalmer, Kyoto, Ouarzazate and Zagorsk.
The house sums up the idea in one line: “Incense, to make one dream of a spiritual journey across the world’s historical centres.” Auparfum reads each scent as devoted to one of the world’s major religions.
Avignon takes the name of the city of Avignon (France). It pictures a Catholic church, with a priest swinging his censer. Kyoto, in the same series, draws on Shinto and Buddhism in Japan.
Auparfum credits Bertrand Duchaufour, as did the Bois de Jasmin blog in 2005. Auparfum calls woody incense his main signature in the mid-2000s, the period of his Timbuktu for L’Artisan Parfumeur.
Comme des Garçons itself credits no perfumer on its page. The series is still sold as eau de toilette.
Fragrance notes
Comme des Garçons lists seven notes for Avignon, with no split into top, heart and base. Osmetheca reproduces them in the house’s order.
Auparfum’s critic also picked up myrrh, heavily smoked cedar and oakmoss. None of them appears on the official list.
Scent profile
The scent profile is a warm incense rather than a sharp one. Vanilla and amber support the smoke, over dry wood and stone dust.
Its distinctive trait is that it leaves no doubt about its subject. Auparfum rates it less subtle than other church incenses, but perfectly legible. The house, it notes, often pushes the main theme to make it easier to read.
“Avec Avignon, aucune chance de vous trouver ailleurs qu’entre les pierres froides et grises d’une église ou une cathédrale.” [With Avignon, there is no chance of finding yourself anywhere but among the cold grey stones of a church or a cathedral.]Thomas Dominguès, Auparfum, 4 June 2014
Key characteristics
When and where to wear
The house gives no wearing advice, and Osmetheca has not tested this fragrance on skin. Auparfum only notes that this incense lasts far longer than a single Mass.
Similar perfumes
Four fragrances published on Osmetheca extend the church incense or the hand of Bertrand Duchaufour.
| Perfume | House · year | Why related |
|---|---|---|
| Encens Japonais | Aedes de Venustas · 2021 | Another incense credited to Bertrand Duchaufour on our entry. |
| Église de Velours 20.2 | Pierre Guillaume Paris · 2025 | The same church imagery, on olibanum and myrrh. |
| Bois d’Ascèse | Naomi Goodsir · 2012 | Incense, cedar and labdanum, a resin close to Avignon’s cistus. |
| Sacristie des Arbres | Filippo Sorcinelli · 2024 | A liturgical incense by an organist and maker of liturgical vestments. |
Frequently asked questions
See also
Sources
- Comme des Garçons Parfums, official Incense series 3 page, accessed 4 November 2026
- Auparfum (Nez), Avignon entry and review “Encens de chœur” by Thomas Dominguès, 4 June 2014
- Victoria Frolova, “Comme des Garcons Avignon Incense Series”, Bois de Jasmin, 5 July 2005
- Osmetheca, Comme des Garçons house entry