Coriandre

Coriandre is a scent that I had very high expectations of, but that has turned out being hard to love. I’ve been trying this for a few months now, and though I don’t love it the way I expected to, there are some things I like about it. The opening is really what makes this scent hard to love. The first hour or so I get a truly overpowering smell of hair. Almost like wet hair, that is also being burned, and it’s quite unpleasant, especially given how long it lasts and that it’s the most dominant note at this stage. The heart is a lot better. It’s quite subtle, and gentle. I don’t pick up many individual notes, just a vague coriander smell with some Iris and violet, without being very powdery. The aldehydes are quite subdued too, which I’m glad about, since I’m not a huge fan of them. At this stage everything about this scent is subtle, and that’s makes it quite pretty. It’s also quite different to any other fragrance I know. It’s light and well suited for spring and summer. The dry down is the part of this fragrance that I actually love. Even though it has become more of a skin scent at this point, it has a salt note that is absolutely addictive. This salt note is actually the Oakmoss, which in my 2022 bottle has to be a very low concentration, and because of that it doesn’t really smell mossy, but rather salty on my skin. In my opinion the dry down is where this fragrance really shines. It’s just salty skin, with the slightest hint of some sweetness, something herbal, a hint of bergamot, Lily and orange blossom. I keep pressing my nose into my skin to breathe in more of it. Too bad I have to suffer the long opening to reach this beautiful stage.. I’m not sure if I will keep it, and because the opening is truly off putting, I can’t give it the like it deserves from the heart onwards. That being said; it’s an interesting and unique fragrance that might be amazing on some other people’s skin chemistry from start to finish. At no point does this smell cheap or generic. The hair note in the opening wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t so overpowering, which is probably due to my skin chemistry. So despite feeling ‘meh’ about this overall I have to say that this has the potential to be an absolute gem at this price point, for those who don’t struggle with the burnt wet hair note.. EDIT: A more generous reapplication has resulted in a much less overpowering hair note. I think the secret to a pleasant experience with this fragrance is overspraying, which brings forward the other notes more. I was hesitant to overspray, out of fear of the note becoming nauseating, but the opposite seems to be the case. I will experiment more with this.

As a big fan of old school chypres, I purchased Coriandre knowing its reputation as an excellent classic chypre, and I love owning and using the classics. It's quite different from what I expected! I expected a stronger, mossier perfume (a la Mitsouko, Paloma Picasso, or Knowing) but, as Anamandy beautifully put it, it's really a "delicate coriander-spiced rose with a light incense note." In fact, it's too delicate for me; I actually can barely smell it! I have the EDT (the EDP surely would be stronger) and I've been applying it and reapplying it throughout the day once it starts to disappear on my skin, but I've discovered that I'm almost anosmic to the scent -- and I can't say I've ever had that happen before! But what I CAN smell is very delicate and lovely, with the powdery coolness that others have mentioned. It is reminiscent to me, in its cool woody earthiness, of Perles de Lalique, which also has a super low-key velvety rose note wrapped in a cool, powdery, unisex fragrance, but patchouli -- and Iso E Super -- play a stronger role in Perles than in Coriandre. Since I can smell, and therefore appreciate, Perles more than I can Coriandre, I will likely pass Coriandre on to my fragrance-loving daughter or step-daughter, and keep Perles de Lalique for when I want that cool, earthy, light, powdery rosiness. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yay, it's a return review!!! I can finally smell Coriandre! I've heard of other people having this experience where they can't smell a scent at first, but when they return to it a few weeks or months later, they can, and this is what happened to me. Also, in the interim, I acquired Agent Provocateur, the original dark, spicy-herbaceous, musky-dusty rose scent, often compared to Coriandre. AP blew my socks off -- I LOVE it -- and it also jump started my ability to smell Coriandre. I'm wondering now if it would pair well with another rose scent, like Perfumer's Workshop Tea Rose or something, to amp up the volume on it, as per AP: just a thought.

This is outstanding. Such a great, refreshing chypre. On me it opens with herby aldehydes that unfolds to reveal gorgeous airy florals with a slight kick from the geranium and the bergamot, then moves on to a delicate coriander spiced rose with a light incense heart. This is followed by a smooth sandalwood dry down, though it’s not woody by any modern standard. The oakmoss, vetiver and patchouli are adding a lovely, earthy green facet, and the angelica a touch of sweet spiciness. The musk in this isn't overwhelming but gives the base a dry powdery feel that has a very cooling effect. Wearing this perfume is a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I keep finding myself saying “Mmm” in my head every time I smell it. I was originally going to purchase the edt of this scent but am so happy I changed my mind and purchased the edp instead. I was concerned it might be too heavy for warmer weather. I need not have worried. This is a very well-executed perfume that handles warm weather very well. I used it later today while it was still warm out and it never became cloying or too much. It remained light and airy, though always there. Silage is wonderful arm’s length that floats softly around me. Longevity is great too. It was still going strong almost 7 hours after first application and held up beautifully on a warm evening up until I took my shower. I think this is a fragrance that will work anytime of the day, in any season, though I think best for warmer weather. It is particularly refreshing then. For me, this turned out to be one of the best blind buys I ever made. I plan to always have this wonderful fragrance in my collection. IMO the quality of this fragrance rivals any of the more expensive scents out there, which is amazing when you consider that it’s available at bargain-basement prices. What a find!!!

This has been a summer of getting reacquainted with many old green loves which led me to experience the joy of Coriandre for the first time in 40 years. I still remember the day when three of us girls skipped out at lunch hour to buy our precious bottles in the first week of Coriandre's launch. The beautiful dark green packaging drew me then as it does today. Coriandre is like the bold and brash, unbelievably beautiful cousin to the more delicate and subtle "Y' of YSL. Like the prior reviewer, I also don't get any aldehydes. I love the bracing greenness that flavors all of the lovely florals,which I do perceive,one after another. The Oakmoss, Civet, Patchouli, Bergamot and sandalwood bring a crisp and endlessly interesting aura to this scent. I find Coriandre to be both invigorating as well as comforting. The scent is mildly spicy, but I don't detect a strong presence of coriander. This scent feels wonderfully feminine to me, but I definitely think a man could wear it. The musky,woody aromatic nature of this fragrance is exceptional. My bottle is vintage parfum,which is first generation of this divine fragrance. The sillage is great,about 3 feet and the longevity is greater than 15 hours. Shasta, I too experienced a strong savory smell when first opening the bottle. I let the bottle sit opened for about 2 hours before applying the perfume and by that time, that funkiness disappeared. I've had similar experiences before with older bottles, particularly with fragrances heavy on aldehydes. Lovers of Coriandre should try a bottle of the vintage parfum. There are a number of them for sale on Ebay very inexpensively. The parfum has a lot more depth than the other concentrations. I'm thrilled to have this gem back in my collection after so many years!

Coriandre is iconic and isn't given nearly as much reverence as it should. Perhaps because it is still in production and doesn't have a price tag that some infer is a sign of value or quality (these two constructs are ripe for more discussion and dissection). Coriandre isn't merely a "cheap and cheerful" yesteryear scent, it was at one time proudly displayed on the counters of Neiman-Marcus and Bloomingdale's. It was a luxury and still felt luxurious long after it moved to drugstore shelves and discounter sites. I have an older bottle and a newer bottle, and as to be expected, the dry down differs just a bit, but not enough to matter really. Older bottles have more of a civet note and a higher percentage of oakmoss, but newer bottles are a joy to wear, I guarantee it. The openings are both the same, a conflagration of soapy aldehydes, that eponymous coriander that is warm, spicy, herbaceous, almost rosewood-like (they both share a high content of linalool). A peppery, pungent, musky angelica combines with this crisp, green-stemmy rose and almost sour, perspiring geranium (ooh la la), simmering down to the most luxurious green floral soap I could imagine. Certain moments almost remind me of Green Chartreuse liqueur. Into the base, it gets muskier, duskier, dustier, and more shadowy woods cool. I absolutely love Coriandre; it hits all the right buttons much like Habit Rouge—an immediate embrace from first sniff. It deserves more love. Also, the bottle, much like the fragrance, with its green malachite accent, is a feast for my mid-century design oriented eyes. Hubba hubba.