Gabrielle

Wow! I’ve been reading some of the reviews here and some are extremely harsh and brutal. I suspect it has everything to do with preconceived notions and expectations. However, many here are not even THINKING! When Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel was just a girl, before The House of Chanel came into being or she was called “Coco”, there were no fragrances like this. Women wore soliflores, mostly of rose. Any women caught wearing something like this? They would be labeled as “whores”. So yes, something like this would be “rebellious” if Gabrielle were to have worn it back then. Remember she said, “a woman doesn’t smell like flowers”. She had Ernest Beaux create a composition of the “scent of a woman” freshly bathed with the scent of her powder and cosmetics. This is where Chanel changed the rules in women’s fragrances. Likewise, this is a composition here that smells like what we (one hundred years later) think a good quality triple milled soap smells like. One that would be appropriate for anyone from a teenager on up to an adult of any age to wear daily. Nothing “oh la la, trés sexy”, “tooth-achingly sweet”, no “powdery grandma rose”, “industrial strength astringent cleaner” smell, or anything someone would find offensive unless you over spray it. Just a nice, classy, simple, fresh, semi-sweet, clean fragrance to be worn daily. That’s it. It does smell happy, as some others have said. So each morning it greets me with hope for a sunny, happy day ahead. It can lift your spirits. Btw, a little goes a long way and it does last all day. So, you do get your money’s worth here. If you have dry skin that eats fragrances, I suggest you use Vaseline or unscented lotion/moisturizer. If you’re unsure about white florals, you may want to test before buying. Can be worn year round. I LOVE an everyday fragrance that can do that because I HATE to change my fragrance because it’s either too light to wear in cold weather or too heavy to wear in warm weather. I just like to have other fragrances to change things up a bit from time to time with what I’m doing. For instance, a sweet sandalwood fragrance at the ski lodge and a citrus floral at the beach house. This can go from day into night if going somewhere casual. If more formal, you can easily change your fragrance by layering it with something like N°5 Eau Première. This is a love for me! I think for many, if they were to change their expectations and judge this for what it actually is, rather than for what they were expecting it to be, they would love it too. Not every fragrance made needs to be like something worn to a gala, nor is it appropriate to wear such a fragrance on a daily basis either. We need fragrances like this that are appropriate to wear in our daily lives. Then, when we do go to a gala and wear that type of fragrance, it will put us in the right mood, have us feeling wonderful, and won’t ever feel “ho-hum” because we have become so accustomed to it that we become indifferent to it. Edit: Crazy as it sounds, this can actually start to smell like Chanel N°5 parfum on me. NOT the eau de parfum. The EDP is an olfactory assault on my senses, but the parfum is much nicer, sweeter, and more smooth. I got whiffs of it several times on me and thought, maybe I was crazy? So when a friend hugged me yesterday and said, “Oohhh, you’re wearing your N°5 and it always smells so good on you.” and I was actually wearing this, that confirmed it. Must be the ylang ylang in combination with the aldehydes (I swear, I do smell them here) jasmine, lily of the valley, orange flower, orris, and sandalwood doing that. It’s softer, not as powdery, and a bit fresher, but no denying that it smells like N°5. So, N°5 before there was the House of Chanel? Ok I can see that after experiencing this on my own skin.

I have tested it in a perfume store, This fragrance is very very balanced, when I had smelled it from the top notes to the dry down this perfume is kidnaps me. very pure white roses with blackcurrent and a light amount of citrusy in the top notes, then white flowers with pear and orange blossom catches your attention, after dry down I had smelled on of the most balanced perfumes in my hole life, all ingrediant are mixed very well hence I smelled every ingrediant except pink pepper. I fell in love with this perfume reminds me my favourite perfume pure vibes ever; "Love Story Chloé" with differences between thier DNA and fragrances. In Comparing with "Coco mademoiselle", In my opinion, "Coco mademoiselle" tends to masculine aspect more than aspect feminine, but "Gabrielle Chanel" clean, fresh, Classy, romance, calm, Dreamer, pure and very very feminine, I think this perfume will be in my top 5 perfumes ever, I will buy it as soon as possible. I love it more than "Chanel No.5" maybe beacuse "Chanel No.5" is soapy aldehyde fragrance more than "Gabrielle Chanel" which is more flory pure fresh with sweet fruits and Sandlewoods. If you didn't smell this perfume before, I advise that you can blind buy if you interest balanced Calm flory perfumes like; "Love Story Chloé", "My Way Giorgio Armani" and "Rare Gold Avon". This fragrance suitable to wear it during the day, in all seasons, It lasts along on the leather and one day on clothes. جربته في متجر للعطور، هذا العطر متوازن جدًا من النوتات العليا وحتى القاعدة، عندما شممته خطف قلبي على الفور. ورود بيضاء نقية جداً مع الكشمش الأسود ونفحات حمضية خفيفة في النوتات العليا، ثم زهور بيضاء مع الكمثرى وزهر البرتقال تجذب الانتباه. في قاعدة العطر، شممت واحدًا من أكثر العطور توازنًا في حياتي، جميع المكونات ممزوجة بشكل رائع، حيث أني قد شممت كل المكونات باستثناء الفلفل الوردي. لقد وقعت في غرام هذا العطر، فهو يذكرني بأجواء عطري المفضل على الإطلاق؛ "قصة حب من كلوي"، مع وجود اختلافات جوهرية بين كلا العطرين من ناحية البصمة العطرية والروائح لكنه له نفس الأجواء النقية. بالمقارنة مع "كوكو مادموازيل"، برأيي، يميل "كوكو مادموازيل" إلى الطابع الذكوري أكثر من الطابع الأنثوي، بينما "غابرييل شانيل" يتميز بالنظافة والانتعاش والأناقة والرومانسية والهدوء والعالم الحالم والنقاء والأنوثة الفائقة. أعتقد أن هذا العطر سيكون من بين أفضل 5 عطور لديّ على الإطلاق، وسأشتريه في أقرب وقت ممكن. أحببته أكثر من "شانيل رقم 5"، ربما لأن "شانيل رقم 5" يتميز برائحة ألدهيد صابونية بينما "غابرييل شانيل" يتميز برائحة زهرية نقية ومنعشة مع روائح الفواكه الحلوة وخشب الصندل. إذا لم تشمّي هذا العطر من قبل، أنصحكِ بإمكانك شراؤه شراءً أعمى، إذا كنتِ تستمتعين بالعطور الزهرية الهادئة والمتوازنة مثل "لوف ستوري من كلوي" و"ماي واي جورجيو من أرماني" و"رير غولد من أفون". هذا العطر مناسب للاستخدام خلال النهار وفي جميع الفصول، يدوم طويلاً على الجلد وأكثر من يوم واحد على الملابس.

̊˖𓍢ִ໋❀ Gabrielle by Chanel has quickly turned from a fragrance I disconsidered to one I couldn't love more. The difference consisted in the way I tested it. The first time, on a blotter: soapy, screechy, uninteresting. The second time, on skin... It's safe to say that the first impression was not the correct one... If there's one thing I know about Chanel fragrances, is that you should never judge them based on the first minute upon spraying them. In this day and age, when we are so acquainted with modern syrupy-sweet fruity-florals (which, don't get me wrong, I love as well), we tend to categorize gems such as Chanel perfumes in the "old-lady" segment, which is not only an offensive way to disregard a fragrance and to mock a certain age group, but it's also ignorant to the diversity in which fragrance presents itself. There is a reason why this brand has so many perfumes that have not been discontinued over the years, so many perfumes that have kept their commercial success as well as their relevance in the fragrance community. It's because they are timeless. They don't follow a certain trend, but they are the ones which remain iconic as time goes by. Anyways... what I wanted to say when starting that paragraph was that you have to let the fragrance sit on your skin for just a bit before forming an opinion. It shines through only as it mixes with your skin chemistry and warms up with your body heat. That was the case with Gabrielle, which you have to understand, is not a fragrance meant to "blow you away". It's a fragrance meant to envelop you as the first day of spring does, with its relaxed elegance and effortless composure. The combination of citrus and florals is done to a T, and the signature Chanel DNA in the background shines through in possibly the most youthful and, dare I say, most modern way compared to other fragrances from the house. Gabrielle follows you throughout the day: shy and respectful, but not hesitating to brighten your mood when you least expect it. She LASTS, on clothes, and on skin. She makes her presence known, but doesn't beg for your attention. She's likeable, but not a people pleaser. And she is incredibly elegant, not in the way money screams, but in the way wealth whispers. Gabrielle is, in my opinion, a great way to start your Chanel journey. It surely has been for me. It's signature scent worthy, it's great for everyday, and it even receives compliments (talking from personal experience). You can't really go wrong with her, you just have to give her a chance. ̊˖𓍢ִ໋❀

Gabrielle's strengths are also her downfalls. She's almost too well crafted, too floral, too perfectly predictable, too "designer." Chanel took a tried formula--citrus and fruit over white florals, with a woody musk base and just created a perfectly designed (designer? Lol.) scent that is so good it's easy to hate. I mean if you dislike white florals that's fair--you're not going to like this. Gabrielle is so white the fragrance is practically blinding. I know that the top notes are voted heavily as grapefruit but honestly I mostly smell a bright, aldehydic/almost shampooish orange blossom with undertones of citrus rind. The white florals kind of weave on and off my skin in a circle--here's some serious bordering on shrill, high pitched jasmine, here's some rich gardenia, here is a hint of earthy tuberose. I really don't feel the ylang ylang so much but maybe that just lends to the brightness factor of it all. There is petigrain mixed in with the white flowers too, it smells like wood shavings floating in with all those white flowers. Gives everything a little bit of depth, I think. Best of all, over the long woody white floral heart, I smell just a hint of the blackcurrent, and though it's faint, it lasts for ages--perfectly tart berries with zero sugar, the best kind of "floral fruity." I really like the drydown--the sandalwood and cashmerean really meld together, and the sandalwood smells...really solid. Not javenol, not laminate floor sandalwood, but whatever they are using is smells like real sandalwood. The white florals are still there but instead of smelling like anything individual it smells like white flower petals on sandalwood, cashmeran, and hint of musk, which is a lovely way to end things. Gabrielle has fantastic lasting power on me, all day long most days, and I wouldn't dare to spray too much because the sillage can be a bit much. So that part is well made too--a days worth of perfume out of a few sprays is almost rare in my book.

So, there's "Hermes does grapefruit" and then there's "Chanel does grapefruit" and apparently, they're the same grapefruit... Like, I'm honestly taken aback by how closely this resembles Jour d' Hermes. Yes, I saw others making comparisons between the two but I'm here in the reviews to say that if you own one you absolutely DO NOT need the other! They are redundant. They both revolve around a brisk and astringent grapefruit accord, hesperidic if you're fancy. And I have smelled many a grapefruit fragrance in my time- these two brands have come to the same exact conclusion about what grapefruit should smell like. I will say that I love them both, and that they are polarizing as grapefruit scents can be without being nearly as polarizing as Guerlain's Aqua Allegoria grapefruit. That one is straight up pissy in that ammonia-laden way that so many grapefruit and black currant fragrances tend to be. You won't find that challenging aspect here in Gabrielle, though I will say Jour d' Hermes smells clearer and more luminous, with Gabrielle carrying a bit more grit and earth by contast. It's almost like the Hermes is the cologne version of Gabrielle. The Chanel has a backbone while the Hermes is a light-filled silhouette. That's me being granular about it though, for all intents and purposes, they are similar enough to be reformulations of each other. I cannot fathom wanting one but not the other.