Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Chanel Les Exclusifs Coromandel

Thanks to e-bay and some wonderful, generous sellers on it, those who have no access to a Chanel Boutique can now try Les Exclusifs! These fragrances include six new scents designed by Jacques Polges, the new Chanel "nose", along with four re-released scents. Les Exclusifs have certainly caused an incredible amount of "buzz", and to release them all at once seems ingenius to me. As Colombina of Perfume Smellin' Things and I discussed yesterday, this will certainly give houses like Dior and Guerlain a run for their money! Nothing like a little healthy competition to get creative juices flowing is my attitude. Those passionate about fragrance demand stellar launches of masterpiece fragrances driven by noses rather than marketing. And so, I present to you the first new masterpiece from Chanel, Coromandel.

Gabrielle Chanel owned a coromandel screen which she loved, a Chinese lacquered screen displaying intricate artwork. Coromandel acknowledges Gabrielle's love of Chinese antiques and it does so beautifully. I usually do not care for spicy, oriental scents. However, Coromandel is so appealing, sultry and interesting it may sway my tastes. At first sniff, I smell amber, a very sweet, palatable amber, underscored by patchouli. Considering my aversion to patchouli, thank goodness it never becomes the headline in Coromandel. This fragrance is, quite simply, gorgeous. As some of my friends on makeupalley have said, "It is everything I wanted Prada to be." Although I didn't particularly want Prada to be anything other than horrid on me as I had no desire to wear yet another designer scent, Coromandel suits my skin and I would imagine many others will adore it. I would happily purchase a decant and save it for decadent, opulent occasions.

For those like me who are unable to try these scents in person, several top ranked e-bay sellers are offering samples and decants. E-mail me for a few recommendations. Those fortunate enough to live close to a Chanel boutique, you must sniff this one!

Image sources: thestar.com, oneofakindantiques.com

10 comments:

chayaruchama said...

I love this too, T.
Sprang for the bottle, unh-hunh.

It's either love or hate with this one !

It has a strong personality, lots of va-voom...
Not for the faint of heart !
[If you run out, let me know !]

Marina said...

T,
I see you are among those who don't get much patch here...I get a lot, a lot of patchouli, this is a patch-monster on me :-) But I do like it very much.
So this is decant-worthy? Was there one that would be FBW for you?

violetnoir said...

This is the one of the six that has the most presence. The lasting power and sillage live up to the Chanel name, much more so than the others, in my humble opinion, although No. 18 is pretty good, too.

I can't help but thinking that these would be masterpieces, each one on its own, BUT FOR the weakness of the fragrances. Why not introduce these in 3.4 EdP for $175. instead of these insipid EdTs? Maybe they are meant to be accessories, sprayed throughout the day from gigantic bottles, who knows.

In any event, my husband loves this one, but there's a gnawing feeling in the back of brain telling me that this smells like SL Fumerie Turque with patchouli.

The one I really love is 31 Rue Cambon. I am wearing it today, but dang if it doesn't lack a certain tenacity.

Note to Chanel: Release these, PUH-LEEZE, in EdPs and parfum!

Hugs!

ForTheLoveOfPerfume said...

Chaya,

FBW for you indeed! I'm so glad it works for you. It definitely has personality, as do you - not a scent for the wallflowers of the world.

Thanks for your generous offer. I may just take you up on it!
T

ForTheLoveOfPerfume said...

C! So far I've tested this one & No. 18. Both lovely, none FBW yet but I'll keep trying and reviewing!

ForTheLoveOfPerfume said...

Violet,

It does seem somewhat strange to premiere huge bottles with somewhat watered down juice. However, after testing Coromandel with a few dabs on my arm, I couldn't help but think that spritzing would overwhelm me. We'll see how the lasting power is of the others on my skin. But I agree EDP's and/or parfums should definitely be available soon! Chanel is just allowing us to dip our toes in the proverbial water, prompting a craving to dive in! Actually quite smart if you think about it.

Hugs!

tmp00 said...

As soon as I get over this damned flu I am going to my local Chanel and sniffing deeply!

Unknown said...

Coromandel is my fave from Les Exclusifs. I get just a touch of wet earth/patchouli, it's mostly spicy amber. Much better than Prada, too!

ForTheLoveOfPerfume said...

T,
I hope you feel much better soon! At least you have sniffing to look forward to. :-)

ForTheLoveOfPerfume said...

Ina,

It looks like I save the best for first. Hehe. It really is beautiful.