Issey Miyake
Issey Miyake
173 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The grapefruit's astringent zest arrives first, immediately sharp and clarifying, accompanied by cardamom's prickly warmth. The elemi resin adds a slightly resinous, almost incense-like quality that grounds the citrus before the wood even announces itself.
As the citrus gradually recedes, the cedar and sandalwood emerge with genuine presence, supported by apricot's creamy-dry texture. The ambroxan becomes increasingly apparent, creating a slightly powdered, skin-like quality that bridges the fresh and woody elements.
Vetiver, tonka, and patchouli create a grounded, subtly sweet woody-amber base that remains resolutely linear. The fragrance settles into a clean woodiness with honeyed undertones—intimate rather than projective, content to remain close to the skin.
L'Eau d'Issey pour Homme Wood & Wood is a fragrance caught in pleasant contradiction—simultaneously crisp and earthy, synthetic yet organic. Marie Salamagne has constructed something that feels less like a linear narrative and more like walking through a cedar-lined room on a bright morning, where someone's just peeled a grapefruit.
The woody accord dominates with absolute conviction, but this isn't the dark, animalic woodiness of raw oud or smoky birch tar. Instead, the Virginia cedar and Haitian vetiver create a structured, almost architectural backdrop—clean-lined and geometric. The grapefruit's citric brightness cuts through immediately, refusing to be subsumed by the wood, whilst cardamom's peppery warmth adds a subtle spiced complexity that prevents the composition from feeling austere.
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3.5/5 (88)