Les Exclusifs de Chanel Coromandel

An absolutely beautiful execution of patchouli and amber with chocolate and incense Personal: 8.5/10 – Rich, cozy, and slightly sweet. I really enjoy the chocolate-patchouli vibe, and the dark amber is beautiful. Though, I find the white florals a bit overbearing. Nonetheless, I really like it. Mass appeal: 7.5/10 – Warm, sweet, and elegant enough to win compliments, though patchouli is always polarizing. Performance: 8/10 – Strong longevity and moderate-to-heavy projection. One of the better performers from Chanel’s higher-end line. Value: 6.5/10 – Chanel’s Les Exclusifs pricing is steep. The quality is there, but it’s still a lot for a DNA that others have executed in cheaper bottles. That said, it's still a beautiful execution. Uniqueness: 7.5/10 – Sweet, ambered patchouli isn’t rare, but Coromandel’s smoothness and polish give it a distinct identity, typical of what we see with most of Chanel's releases. SCORE: 76/100 Full bottle buy? YES, I could actually see myself wearing this regularly in cooler weather. Blind buy? NO, patchouli is divisive, and at this price, sampling is a must. Recommend? YES, if you enjoy patchouli or want a luxury level, polished ambery patchouli. Date night? YES, cozy, rich, and elegant. A very romantic option for formal settings. Office safe? NO, it’s too heavy and resinous for a professional setting, unless it's the dead of winter and the heat is broken. Pros: Rich ambery patchouli warmth, excellent blending, cozy and elegant feel. Supremely smooth. Cons: Expensive, patchouli is divisive, not truly groundbreaking despite the hype (or the price). Coromandel is one of the most hyped fragrances in Chanel’s Les Exclusifs line, and I understand why. It’s an ambery, slightly chocolatey, dark patchouli fragrance with gorgeous woods and florals wrapping it in an uplifting freshness. Despite being a women's fragrance, I actually would wear this and enjoy it in colder weather, and it's a great, relatively unisex fragrance that *almost* justified its steep price. Patchouli isn't for everyone though, and you should sample before diving head first into an expensive bottle like this one. It’s beautiful, cozy, and luxurious. Easily one of the best patchouli blends I've smelled, and probably the best one Chanel has released, even if it isn't entirely groundbreaking. Review #153 in my fragrance journey – this fragrance I own as a decant

I cannot believe I haven't reviewed Coromandel! Bad perfumista, bad! The EDT (discontinued) version of Coromandel is my signature. I cannot speak to the new version as I still have a full bottle of the old and no need to replace her anytime soon (I bought a bottle when it was discontinued so it's the most recent formulation of the EDT). Coromandel is, in a word, a masterpiece. If I had to own only one perfume for the rest of my life it would be this beauty. So let me break it down. Performance: If you are not getting *beastly* silage and 24 hours of wear you either have a bad bottle or a fake. : I hate to say it but Coromandel is a powerful fragrance. I am an undersprayer, I spray TWO sprays of her MAX. One on my neck and one on my chest under my clothing. And yet, at a horse barn (I'm an equestrian), OUTSIDE, surrounded by horses ladies half a barn aisle away will say "Oooh, Tandaina is here, Tand you smell AMAZING" They'll then go sniff the place I'd been standing or sitting because the scent hangs around that strongly. I apply her after my shower, and the next day when I get in the shower? Yup, can still smell her (faintly and the far, far drydown, but she's there). Scent: You really have to experience Coromandel yourself. This is patch for people who don't think they like patch. This is patch that is made of money and elegance. I get a creamy sweetness that I'll call white chocolate though it may not smell like the candy exactly. And sweet, smooth patch that sings. The scent is incredibly well blended. There are *no* hard edges here, nothing to disrupt what feels like being wrapped up in a luxurious cashmere robe, snuggled up in your favorite place. Coromandel is elegant, classy, sexy without being trashy, and comforting. She is simply beautiful, everyone needs to sample this at least once so you have something to judge all other patchouli against. Because you will, and it will all come up short.

Well, this is a perfume you have to smell because one can not truly describe what it smells like. When I first smelled this I couldn't stop myself from thinking "Where have I smelled this before? What does it remind me of?" And I don't think I've figured this out completely, but it sort of reminds me of my Mom's old clothes bag that she keeps in the basement. Like those 80s or 90s clothes. When I open up the plastic bag, it smells like this... minus the sweetness. I was very hesitant about ordering a sample of it because of the heavy patchouli, but I've grown to really enjoy it. The scent is a little different every time I wear it. Like a chameleon. It doesn't quite change it's colors completely but gives out some variations of the same concept. I guess it depends on your skin chemistry and what you've eaten the day before and so on. But I've found that a fragrance works best when you really feel the drive to wear it. Sometimes I end up smelling multiple different perfumes before I decide what I desire to wear on that day. And this perfume works best on me when I have a strong desire to wear it on a given day. When I've worn it on a day that I don't really feel like wearing it, the patchouli and woodsy notes get overwhelming and the white chocolate is barely noticeable. But when I wear it on a day that I really strongly feel like wearing it, the scent turns into wonderful melted white chocolate on my skin with strong woodsy-incensey-smokey notes with patchouli barely on the background. Just amazing! I do feel like it's an acquired taste and has a sort of a vintage vibe. The sillage is enourmous for the amount of perfume I put on my skin - simply amazing. And it also last very long. I haven't tried the newer version of this perfume, but as I've understood it can't be compared with this masterpiece.

patchouli perfected. that's what it is. sometimes when i talk to people that are not as obsessed with fragrances i can let myself go a bit and end up in an incoherent ramble about what i am ''seeing'' in the smell and what i love so much. like i try so hard to try to explain what makes french perfumery so good for instance and especially Jacques Polge legendary works. some stuff i show can be a bit out there and requires a more trained nose i guess to really enjoy to the max. but there are fragrances that when i show them to someone they can instantly understand what i mean. coromandel is one of them. it does this thing really really well and it stands out. it's easy to follow along. ''do you smell that earthiness? do you smell that airy quality? what's the temperature? cold, hot? now what about the delicious white chocolate in the background behind all of that?'' then slowly asking the more deeper questions like: ''how does it makes you feel? what image does it invoke?'' the stream entry towards fragrance nirvana. lol it's so easy to understand for most people if you run them thru with it and it might spark a genuine interest in high level art of perfumery. i just love how this scent can be the ambassador of that deeper spiritual emotive enjoyment in perfumery. it has a bit of everything. mass appeal, sophistication, elevation. ahh man the list goes on you get the point. quite unisex. i'm gonna leave it on the note above. i invite you to try with an open mind. and be attentive. the point is not to be blown away. stop looking for the next best thing. you might not find that here. read between the lines. meditate with it. our smells is more strongly connected to emotion and memory than our other senses.

(Review of 2007 sample, les Esclusifs). Patchouli bomb. But with a story going on. This is a very interesting fragrance, complex with a multi-fold character. And has a slow development, in the sense that it unfold many sides of its personality during the time you wear it. And therefore, can match many different tastes! It starts off aldheidic to me, and right after warm and spicy – I can smell some cinnamon, cardamom also something like pepper or nutmeg, but these spices are “clean”, not so much like the ones you would put in food while cooking. It also has a fresh, almost balsamic note that reminds me of juniper or better sniffed, cedar. The heart is powdery (iris) and flowery and then there is the patchouli note. I instantly got the same effect as in Voleur de Roses or Montale Patchouli Leaves: .... Earthy, moist, rotten wood.... Like in wine cellars. In Coromandel this mossy, moisty, hearthy note is quite camphorous but not so stingy and pungent. The combination of the spices, lingering all along the development, are mixing so well with this mossy wooden note that makes me sniffing and sniffing again my hand... it is really gorgeous and such a combination I would love and applause on a man as well. To me Coromandel is rather a masculine fragrance - although a lady can wear this as well. It has also a sort of animalic attraction that makes it very sexy, in a subtle, unscreamed way. A masterpiece fragrance, with a huge personality and loads of sophistication. Needs a proper attire and environment, not for office wear or secluded places. PS: in no way this is close to Prada (amber): eons ago I was used to wear that one that one almost everyday and I can affirm they are in no way similar!