Cologne Céleste

This is a very clean smelling cologne, immediately when I smelt it, it took me to the smell of my grandmothers en suite, I’m guessing from the soap that’s in there, can’t remember what soap it was but this smells identical to it. The neroli and orange blossom have no harshness to them, as in I’m smelling this and it’s not irritating my nose, it is airy, but present, I’m not having to sniff several times to find the scent. I like it, it’s a nice smell, but it’s too simple for me to want to buy it, it’s not of course a massive wow fragrance, but then again, I don’t think it intended to be, this is just a nice pick if you want something soapy, that makes you feel just that bit extra cleaner and put together, if someone around me were to wear it I would think they smell nice, but i do feel this fragrance leans towards a more mature customer base, and therefore not so well suited for a younger crowd. It does also have an earthy touch to it.

The orris and ambrette seed set this apart from the aforementioned colognes. It's beautifully smooth, elegant, and delicious. True to its nature it settles and sits close to the skin in a short amount of time; but it lingers for many hours. 250mL encourages a generous and warranted application.

Was told by a Celine Employee that it will only be available in certain stores :(

I first tried this in store but quickly dismissed it even though it smelled nice upon first impression. 4711 and Chanel Eau de Cologne (EdC) quickly came to mind. It smelled really light in the store and it appeared to me to be a cash grab by Celine. I also don’t trust my nose in the store and you know how stingy the salespeople are, they don’t want to give any samples if you don’t buy so I didn’t bother asking. But as a huge Celine fan, I couldn’t take my mind off after coming home so I decided to order it online a week later since Celine gives you a sample to test it out before opening the box. (I love this practice and all of LVMH should do the same). I’ve been wearing it over the last week and find that it’s actually more nuanced than my first impression in the store. It opens with a bright blast of neroli, skewed towards the bitter end that smoothly transitions into a soft soap (expected for neroli), dry, and smells clean but not musky like Neroli Portofino. There’s some kind of aromatics but it’s very faint, unlike 4711. The dry down is slightly powdery, which reminds me of Celine’s own Saint-Germain de Pres. The deep dry down is driven by a soft orange blossom, reminiscent of Houbigant’s Orangers En Fleurs. Classic feel but made modern through Hedi Slimane’s lens. Think white, linen, sunshine, clean, airy. Very fitting in their perfume line up and I hope more will be released (like Chanel’s Les Eaux line). I did a 3-way side by side comparison between Chanel EdC, Guerlain EdC Imperiale (Pierre Guerlain), and Cologne Celeste. They do share some notes so they smell like they could be cousins but each is unique in their own ways. Chanel has a lemony opening followed by sweet mid and a tart drydown. Guerlain has a sparkly lime, kinda like Sprite/7up. I don’t have 4711 in my collection b/c it smells very dated, especially with the sharp aromatic notes. Celine is smooth and lasts quite a long time, especially if you also spray on clothes (beware of the orange blossom dry down in case that’s not your jam, it’s not exactly mine either). It also layers well with some of their own perfumes like Parade. Presentation: Beautiful bottle at first glance but it has no fluted sides like their haute perfumes. My biggest complaint is either you use it as a splash OR spray. If you choose the spray, the beautiful cap doesn’t fit over the spray nozzle. I always prefer spray b/c I don’t want that all over my hands and it keeps the liquid clear. With the spray only nozzle, Celine just made their bottle look CHEAP-ISH and INCOMPLETE, as if it’s a tester bottle. They should consider making it like a perfume bottle, with spray & cap. Really disappointed about this. The box is a standard perfume box, not their haute parfumerie box with the black ribbon. I decided to keep the full bottle. Do I like it? Yes. Do I love it? Not quite (not yet) but maybe over time. Chanel EdC and Guerlain La Cologne Du Parfumeur (Thierry Wasser) are still my absolute favorites in this category. Suggestion: If you don't have Celine's Saint-Germain Des Pres yet, I'd skip this, pay a little more to get that instead. Update June 2024: I don't find myself reaching for this at all. The opening is the best part with the beautiful neroli (short lived) but I'm not a fan of the orange blossom dry down rendered in this fragrance. Had I tested this a bit more, I wouldn't have purchased it. Update Aug 2024: No longer part of my collection.

Opening is musky, with a strong projection of clean laundry-like smell. Quickly the white florals appear, distinctly of orange blossom and neroli. Nothing new, reminds of MFK or Chanel. __________ Projection, sillage, longevity : 8,5/10 Originality, presentation : 3/10 Quality, value : 5,5/10 5,5/10