Category Archive: Chanel

Perfume Review: LES EAUX DE CHANEL by CHANEL

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Pack your bags because CHANEL is taking us on holiday. They’ve booked the most luxurious mode of transport – no, not the Orient Express or Emirates First Class, it’s something much more special than that for this is an olfactory odyssey that takes one on a historical trek though the life and times of their inimitable founder: Mademoiselle Coco Chanel. There are three stops on the journey, so prepare to explore the green countryside of Normandy, dip your toes into the Atlantic coastline, and take long, endless strolls through a Mediterranean city. Don’t worry about packing any perfumes because CHANEL have got you covered with their latest collection: LES EAUX DE CHANEL.

With LES EAUX DE CHANEL, CHANEL say that it is not the destination that matters, but the journey. It is the idea of escaping – of exploring, losing oneself and finding oneself. It’s about traversing unchartered territory and experiencing new things. For the collection, CHANEL has called upon their in-house perfumer to create three contemporary eau de cologne-style fragrances (which are actually Eau de Toilette concentration) inspired by locations of historical significance to the brand. Housed within a new, travel-flask inspired bottle (which takes inspiration from vintage alcohol canisters carried in one’s waistcoat), these three ‘eaus’ mark a new chapter in the olfactory story of CHANEL. So let’s embark on an exciting journey and explore LES EAUX DE CHANEL.

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Candy Crush: Nº5 L’EAU ALL-OVER SPRAY & ON HAND CREAM by CHANEL

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I’m always crushing on something scented or other. My nose knows no limits. Candy Crush is where I showcase the beautifully scented things I’m crushing on right now so you can hopefully develop a crush too.

So these CHANEL Candy Crushes are becoming somewhat of a habit. Don’t blame me though, blame CHANEL – it’s them who keep releasing beautifully scented ancillary products based on some of their most iconic fragrances – I’m just a boy with a greedy nose who cannot resist their charms. What’s more, these two latest gems from CHANEL are scented with Nº5 L’EAU, which consequently is one of my favourite CHANEL fragrances, so I really couldn’t resist. You can’t keep doing this to me CHANEL. Who am I kidding – I’m not ready to quit the brand – keep ’em coming!

Nº5 L’EAU stands out because it manages to strike the perfect balance between the classic and the modern. It takes the inimitable structure of the most iconic fragrance in the world and creates a new, very current twist on it whilst remaining faithful to all that makes Nº5 good and great. To celebrate the popularity of Nº5 L’EAU, CHANEL has launched two new ‘essentials’ to the collection – an enveloping ALL-OVER BODY SPRAY and a tactile ON HAND CREAM. I am obsessed with both.

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Perfume Review: BLEU DE CHANEL PARFUM by CHANEL

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Due to its undeniable popularity, I am often asked for my thoughts on BLEU DE CHANEL and those thoughts are as follows: I like it, I think it’s the typical, modern aromatic masculine but executed very well with top notch ingredients. Do I wear it? Yes, sometimes, but I prefer to smell it on my husband – it smells particularly handsome on him. Does it excite me? I wouldn’t go that far but I do think that as far as this style of fragrance goes, the big bad BLEU is the best of the bunch. So yes, I’m a fan (aren’t we all) and I can totally see why it is so popular – it’s good.

In June, CHANEL is extending the BLEU DE CHANEL family with BLEU DE CHANEL PARFUM – a fragrance that “unleashes the power of BLEU DE CHANEL”, presenting it in its purest and most concentrated form. This is CHANEL in-house perfumer Olivier Polge’s first tweaking of BLEU and much like his approach to Nº5 with L’EAU he has sought to remain faithful to the original, keeping what made it so iconic, but has reset the balance, this time specifically in relation to BLEU’S signature woods to make them more prominent, “to create a stronger and more intense energy”. So is this BLEU DE CHANEL on steroids or is it BLEU DE CHANEL in 4K ultra-high definition?

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Candy Crush: CHANCE BODY OILS by CHANEL

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I’m always crushing on something scented or other. My nose knows no limits. Candy Crush is where I showcase the beautifully scented things I’m crushing on right now so you can hopefully develop a crush too.

I should start this post by saying that, out of all of the CHANEL fragrances out there, CHANCE is the one that I have the least experience with, having only really sniffed it on others.  This also extends to the entire CHANCE family of flankers, which I’m sure I have encountered in the wild but am yet to really dedicate some time to.  So when these exciting body oils landed on my desk I must admit that I was most intrigued to try them, not only because I wanted to see how they worked as an ancillary product, but also as an introduction to a collection of fragrances I have had limited exposure to.

But before we get to how good these body oils are (which is very good – spoiler alert), let’s talk some context first.  CHANCE launched in 2002 and targeted a younger audience for the iconic Parisian brand.  CHANEL is famously known for its grand dames, the likes of Nº5, Nº19, COCO and even to some extent, CRISTALLE.  Sure, COCO MADEMOISELLE came one year before CHANCE, but COCO M has a much broader audience. In comparison, CHANCE is the young CHANEL placing emphasis on playfulness as well as the brand’s signature of femininity that doesn’t give a fuck. It works very well.

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Perfume Review: Coco Mademoiselle Eau de Parfum Intense by CHANEL

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Out of all of the modern CHANEL fragrances, Coco Mademoiselle is the most iconic. It is the Nº5 for the modern age and since its launch in 2001 it has been the fragrance of choice for an entire generation of women. It’s hard to top a perfume this successful and rather surprisingly, Coco Mademoiselle hasn’t been subjected to the flanker treatment in its almost 20 year life span (for contrast, Chance, which launched after Coco M, has three flankers) – that is until now. Enter Coco Mademoiselle Eau de Parfum Intense from stage right.

Coco Mademoiselle Eau de Parfum Intense is a good example of a perfume that does what it says on the bottle – it’s essentially a more intense version of the original. CHANEL calls it “naturally excessive” billing it as a “fragrance with no intention of being forgotten”. It’s a bold statement and to achieve this, CHANEL has amplified each of the key facets of the original – the juicy citrus, dark patchouli fraction, and the glowing amber – to paint a clearer picture of Coco Mademoiselle. Let’s see if it is as ‘Coco Mademoiselle’ and ‘Intense’ as it thinks it is!

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Christmas Crush: CHANEL Extravaganza

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It’s that time of year again: Christmas, also known as the most wonderful time of year, in fact, and it’s the time to get that Christmas shopping underway. Instead of a Christmas gift guide this year, I’m switching out my regular Candy Crush posts for just as regular Christmas Crushes instead. In these posts over the coming weeks you’ll find some wonderfully scented gifts just in time for the holiday season, with products that I am crushing on. So get ready for some marvellous Christmas gift inspiration!

For the sake of today’s post I am pretending that the interlocking Cs in the CHANEL logo stand for ‘Christmas Crush’ because the very first of my Christmas gift posts is dedicated to none other than the famous french couturier. This Christmas CHANEL are promising us glitter and gifting extravaganza with two fragrance products that celebrate the beauty of their most iconic scent, in both its classic and modern interpretations. They are a practical and streamlined Twist & Spray for Nº5 L’Eau and a rather decadent, nay, shall we say excessive, gold, glittering body gel for Nº5. That’s right, folks, I’m kicking these Christmas Crush posts off with a big, shimmering, CHANEL bang.

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Candy Crush: La Crème Main by CHANEL

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I’m always crushing on something scented or other. My nose knows no limits. Candy Crush is where I showcase the beautifully scented things I’m crushing on right now so you can hopefully develop a crush too.

I’m pretty much obsessed with CHANEL body products. Their Bleu de Chanel shaving products are some of the best I’ve used and I fell massively hard for their Nº5 Body Oil, like really hard. So when CHANEL launch a scented something for the body I want it on my body, and I want it on my body right now. This is exactly how I felt when the press release for the brand’s exciting new hand cream ‘La Crème Main‘ landed in my inbox – I needed to have it. So now I have it and I want to share with you just why it’s my latest Candy Crush.

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New Vlog: Gabrielle by CHANEL

Vlog Time!
Vlog Time!

So I’ve been a bit naff with posting regular vlogs…

I had originally intended to post a new vlog every week but I fear that this may have been a tad optimistic (what with this blog, Fume Chat podcast, Escentual columns and full-time job etc.). Instead of every week I’ve decided to commit to posting seasonal round-ups (like my ‘Six Scents for Summer‘) and reviews of big launches – i.e. the launches I think you want to know about.

With big launches in mind, my latest vlog is a review of Gabrielle by CHANEL. I wrote a full review of the scent at the beginning of the week (read that here) so it makes sense to end the week with the vlog. So if you want to hear me talk about Gabrielle a bit more then all you have to do is watch the video below the jump. Please feel free to leave a comment – oh and don’t forget to subscribe.

Smell ya later!

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Perfume Review: Gabrielle by CHANEL

The Long-Awaited Gabrielle
The Long-Awaited Gabrielle

Here she is, finally!

Gabrielle is the first feminine pillar fragrance from CHANEL since Chance in 2002. That’s a 15 year gap, which is somewhat unprecedented in an industry that is all about churn, churn, and more churn. But thankfully, CHANEL is a house that takes their time when it comes to fragrance. Of course, since 2002 CHANEL has launched fragrances, releasing a number of flankers of their existing perfumes, not to mention the launch of their Les Exclusifs collection as well. So Gabrielle isn’t the first new fragrance from CHANEL in 15 years, but it is the first entirely new pillar for women.

You may have guessed from the name, that Gabrielle takes inspiration from the brand’s founder Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel. At CHANEL all roads lead back to Coco and a number of their fragrances have historically born the name of the founder (Coco, Coco Mademoiselle and Coco Noir), whilst others are named for dates that were important to her (Nº19 and Nº22), so Gabrielle is very much in this same vein. But for Gabrielle it is the rebellious and passionate spirit of Gabrielle Chanel that is celebrated, not just her name.

“I have chosen the person I want to be and am” said Gabrielle Chanel and Gabrielle the perfume, which has been composed by the brand’s in-house perfumer Olivier Polge, is described as being as “majestic, courageous, valiant, bold and passionately feminine” as Chanel herself. The fragrance is a floral, a “dream flower, an explosive corolla, a whirlwind of petals”, created to encapsulate the spirit of the founder. So how does this new addition to the CHANEL collection measure up to the brand’s other classics and was it worth the 15 year wait? There’s only one way to find out – let’s sniff!

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‘Dear Bleu’ – A Letter of Apology to Bleu de Chanel

Dear Bleu

Dear Bleu,

May I call you ‘Bleu’?

We don’t know each other that well, you and I, but I wish to make amends. Hopefully by the end of this letter we will become better acquainted.

I know this may come out of the blue to you, dear Bleu, but I am an insufferable snob. It’s hard to believe, I know, but when it comes to perfume I demand the very best – something unusual just for me. I guess I just don’t want to smell like all the other guys, because I’m not like all of the other guys, you see, which has left you in the position of being unfairly overlooked.

You tell men that they should ‘be extraordinary’ (it’s right there in your tagline), but on the surface I felt that there was nothing particularly out of the ordinary about you, in fact ‘ordinary’ would have summed up my feelings about you quite succinctly. I don’t mean to be harsh or cutting, you understand, but my apology would not be meaningful if I didn’t explain, in full, how we got here.

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