It has been a right old sorry weekend here in England. Gloomy, wet, windy and still horribly cold. We're past mid March now and it should be warming up a little, dammit!
I didn't wear any perfume save for a little Coromandel yesterday afternoon. I'll probably get shot for saying this, but as nice as Coromandel is, it strikes me as a very well done Patchouli lite. Regular readers will probably know that I like Patchouli a lot, the stronger and more striking the better. Also, I don't have any preconceived ideas of patchouli as the sixties and seventies flower-power scent, all head shop, etc. I wasn't there, so I don't care!
Perhaps that is why the patchouli in Coromandel smells a little understated for my liking. Having said that, I would still take Coromandel over any other modern excuse for a patch note that is currently in circulation. It still smells very well executed, in that Chanel fashion.
I have to say the the entire Chanel Exclusif line is a bit too understated for my liking. They are all fairly close-to-the-skin fragrances. Nothing wrong with that at all, but I prefer my fragrances to be a little more 'amped-up' than that. Just a personal preference.
Coromandel is my favorite from that line and several times I've almost bought a bottle, but when I retest it's a no-go for the exact reasons you've stated. There's many other more interesting perfumes out there vying for my attention - and wallet!
ReplyDeleteCym, I would say that Coromandel is my favourite too. I quite like Bois de Iles as well. I would love to have smelt Cuir de Russie in its original incarnation. That must have been something!
DeleteWith the exception of No 22 I have not tried any from the exclusive line. However, the no 22 I wore was vintage and in EDT form. Prior to being an exclusive it was quite affordable. I am wondering if it has been reformulated...(probably,right?)
ReplyDeleteBrie, you were fortunate to try No 22 in vintage form, these days. Undoubtedly it has been reformulated, as has Cuir de Russie and Bois de Iles. I would recommend trying samples of the others, even if in my personal opinion they are not that earth-shattering. It may just be my personal tastes.
DeleteI found Coromandel quite dynamic when I tried it: it keeps the patchouli at its core, but there is a lively oriental side as well, which evolves constantly.
ReplyDeleteHowever (and as silly as it may sound) what stroke me the most was the sense of protection and reassurance that it gave me. It is indeed understated as you say, in the sense of non-aggressive.
Andrea, I am pleased you like Coromandel. I know of many others who view it a similar way. It is a very good perfume and I think my personal tastes in patch lean towards the more assertive, but that is a personal thing of course. Thanks for commenting.
DeleteIn my view, the Chanel line is a little over-rated. I feel you're paying for the name and not the perfume.
ReplyDeleteFino, I'm sure there are some who would share your opinion and some who wouldn't. I feel that way in some cases with Chanel and perhaps not in other cases. I do think the Exclusif line bottles are ludicrously large, and while I guess this equates to a cheaper price per ml, I would never want to own so much of one particular perfume. On the other hand, some of their older men's fragrances, like Pour Monsieur and Antaeus for example, are very well done in my opinion and not particularly pricey by today's standards.
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