Egoiste Cologne Concentree

Chanel made such a mistake letting go of the Cologne Concentrée version of Egoiste. While Chanel presently has the "Les Exclusifs" line that exudes a niche quality, I feel that Chanel had already entered the niche segment with ECC back in 1992. I have sampled both vintage versions of Egoiste and while these two are quite different, the Cologne Concentrée feels like a step up in terms of composition and longevity. While the difference is more pronounced up front and it does lessen in the dry down, ECC lasts longer than its ancestor. I did sample the latest Egoiste at a Chanel boutique and I found it weakened and uninspiring. *Sigh* Luca Turin called Egoiste "candied fruit". Well, he was referring to the original and oddly made no mention of this Concentrée version. Knowing him, he'd probably deride it. This fragrance is very unisex, mostly because of the sweetness. It takes a good long while for the sweet to abate, which can make it a little challenging for some men to wear. This is no casual "spray and go" fragrance. It demands respect and proper attire. Unfortunately the scarcity of this fine fragrance has also lofted its market price into the stratosphere. Is it worth paying $200 for a mere 50ml? Some may believe so. You can also get a 7.5ml mini for around $20~$30 on occasion, but consider the ramifications of falling in love with something so financially demanding... unless you'd be satisfied just to sniff that mini bottle from time to time and occasionally dab on a little. ;-) Fragrance 9.5/10, Value 7/10.

Ok... After spending quite some time with this fragrance now I am going to attempt to give it what it deserves... This is an incredible (and sadly discontinued) fragrance... It is gorgeous stuff... I will make a couple comparisons in this little write up... This fragrance to me basically sits to the right of normal Egoiste and Geo F Trumper's Sandalwood... All 3 scents are very similar and I have all 3 sprayed on me right now... Going back and forth between the three (and a bag of coffee ^_^) think of them like this... Egoiste has way more of a rose feel to it then the other two combined and because of that I feel skews more formal... Geo F Trumper's Sandalwood has this 'freshness' early in the composition that the other two do not possess and has more vanilla in the base then normal Egoiste and because of these two points I feel that while still mature it is by far the easiest to wear... Egoiste Cologne Concentree has more cinnamon early on and this 'dustiness' to it that is hard to explain. Think about the 'dusty' feel you get from L'Air du Desert Marocain and you will understand what I am talking about and it skews even more sophisticated because of this... All 3 are wonderful fragrances and as time goes on they come closer together with Sandalwood and Cologne Concentree becoming the closest to each other by the final drydown... Sniff them all out if you have a chance to find out which you prefer as they are all stunning... 10/10

It was the Summer of my 19th birthday and I happened to be in France for the first time visiting my aunt, uncle and French cousins. I remember hearing that Chanel had come out with a new cologne for men that was intriguing and different. I may have even tried a sample from a magazine or something since it hadn't hit the states yet, but that Summer, it was definitely all over Paris. Of course, just barely turning 19 that year, and not a little broke after having saved up for that trip for a while, I still couldn't splurge on something like fancy French cologne. I don't even think I had a credit card at the time. So what a complete surprise it was when, once we all journeyed about three hours south of Paris to the countryside, and when it came time to sing me "Bonne Anniversaire", that my family presented me with a Chanel wrapped package and my jaw dropped. I'll never forget the warm, sandalwoody, light, but deliberate sweetness, how it started out smooth, yet spicy, but not too spicy, evoking an elegance and sophistication that developed into a comfortable sandalwood that would always remind me of my family singing Happy Birthday to me en français. I regret that I can't find that again anywhere, but my memory is good and I will always remember those special times with the original Égoïste as part of the soundtrack. ADDENDUM 08-08-13: Guess who scored a small vintage bottle on Ebay today! =)

Warm and rich, very potent, but surprisingly soft, Egoiste concentree is one of the most interesting and complex fragrances I have experienced. I think experience is a good way to describe wearing Egoiste-- it is unique. To begin, there are many more notes than those listed. On me, it opens with a fairly masculine rose, balanced by a very soft musky, woody note, followed by cinnamon. I smell rosewood, but also smell rose. The cinnamon itself is unusual: Ceylon cinnamon, soft and sweet, yet more intense than Cassia. I smell carnation, unlisted, and a rich vanilla. Sweet amooth and spicy. And then cigarettes, an ashtray note that is quite pleasant and persistent. I am surprised no one else smells the tobacco note, because it is strong on me. I don't get the leather until about three hours in, when the rose has faded and mellowed, the cinnamon has become less sweet, and the musk has faded somewhat. At this point, Egoiste is spicy, and smells of tangerine peel or zest, rather than the fruit. Not fruity at all. Warm, sweet, but paradoxically masculine, the drydown is more sandalwood than musk, woody and smoky. One of the most remarkable facets of this fragrance is how it is both soft and almost gentle, yet strong and long lasting, with considerable silage and projection. Perhaps it is the rosewood that keeps this soft. A masterpiece and I don't throw that word around.

Given the age of this cologne, it blows my mind at how strong and long lasting it remains after all those years, the shelf life is incredible. I have this in a splash bottle and I mistakenly splashed a bit much on one day, I didnt want to waste it, but I dumped too much in the cap, so I splashed it on, well it actually got on my office chair and my office smelled for at least 4 months of the most amazing sandalwood fragrance ever, you walk in my office door, it hits you in the face, and it has finally faded after just an endless amount of longevity from a bottle that is 20 years old, that is quality right there. And that day, I was a walking air freshener. I will agree, in terms of scent this is near identical to the Vintage Egoiste, but make no mistake on quality, while the 2 smell the same, the quality of the Concentree is vastly superior. Does quality matter, when we are talking about a scent that smells identical, not really, but if you have a winter jacket that you plan on wearing, splash some Concentree on that, and you are good for the season. Amazing, and truly unfortunate that you cannot get a NEW bottle of this, I cant even imagine what this smelled like 20 years ago, what the projection or longevity must have been like then.