Chloé (Parfums Lagerfeld)

Review of original mid seventies Chloe edt, Parfums Lagerfeld. Vintage original Chloe opens as an innocent white floral bouquet only to evolve in a darker way. Aldehydes, narcissus, honeysuckle, tuberose, slightly peachy, powdery, green... It is a testament to the green florals, with emphasis on florals, of the 70's. Reminiscent of Anaïs Anaïs like many have mentioned, Chloe is decidedly more rich, buttery and narcotic. Tuberose, which is the main player just can't hide, and even though there's a canopy of white flowers, the coconut lends an even more butter rich texture to the already heavy tuberose. The peach doesn't smell like peach; it feels like peach fuzz on alabaster skin. Puberty, hormones raging, sexual desires awakening. Chloe captures the moment of transition from girl to woman in the most innocent way, but at the same time it makes a woman feel more desirable thanks to its raging beauty. Despite its apparent innocence, a tender floral, the wildness of its rich flowers appealed to all women alike. Like tuberose, which starts pristine and virginal, and as the night approaches it becomes a vixen, deadly, narcotic. It is a lush rich floral, which allows you to see what you are ready to see. It captures the image I have of the 70's, and along the way, it seems to show a tender sexual awakening. No wonder it was embraced by many filling the air with its scent. I never experienced Chloe before, but as a lover of tuberose, I found an incredibly well executed rendition, that is rich, elegant, full of force and ready to take over. The emancipation of a flower. As always, no gender label for me. I wear it, I let it take over, and I dream of a time when everything felt possible. Ideal in spring/summer, where the heat makes it come completely alive on skin. Heavy sillage and very good longevity. Side note: from what I've found, the very original release came in pure parfum, the gorgeous bottle with its Cala Lilly stopper, a silver travel atomizer of Parfum, edt splash in clear bottle, edt spray in frosted glass bottle and accompanying body care. Many mention an edp which I believe was released somewhere in the 80's to rival with the powerhouses of the decade. By then it was already Parfums Chloe so I suspect there was already a tweak in the formula.

Sensual, carnal, radiant, womanly, ultra feminine and creamier than most. Old-fashioned? Probably. Out-dated? No! It’s timeless and one of the most well-blended perfumes ever and almost completely seamless. Rumour has it around 180 different notes went into this one and in my humble opinion, there hasn’t been anything quite like it ever since. Smooth, rounded and buttery, Chloe is the ultimate comfort scent. I smell jasmine, honeysuckle, ylang and coconut, but most of all tuberose. It is also one of the most complimented perfumes I’d had the pleasure of wearing and by men and women alike. Even the bottle is the epitome of heavy, rounded smoothness. A memento to an era and even more to the legacy of Karl Lagerfeld and everything he stood for. My own mother wore it in the late 70’ties and early 80’ties and I continued to do so myself way into the 00’s, where other scents grabbed my attention. The original Chloe is pure nostalgia to me. I fell madly in love for the first time wearing this. It was also the first perfume I fell in love with, having only worn cheaper drugstore perfumes and a few classics like Anais Anais before. At the time, Chloe was a rather expensive perfume, but that changed when Coty took over. I own the newer version as well and it’s still lovely, but doesn’t share the same smooth, almost velvety feel and texture of the original from Lagerfeld. Knowing what went missing is difficult, considering the amount of molecules that made up the original, but the newer version lacks the softness and creamyness and is far more soapy in the laundry detergent kind of way. If you have the chance smell them side by side and you’ll experience the difference. Nowadays, I don’t reach for it very often, but it will always hold a special place in my heart and be that beautiful scent that made me be interested in perfumes in the first place. When I do wear it, is it in the extrait version for that ultimate feeling of comforting, sensual warmth.

Dear Fragrantica Editors, If you insist on having two separate pages for Chloé, please make sure to get it right. The perfume on the other page, from Parfums Chloé, is from 1983, when Karl Lagerfeld's contract with Chloé ended, and they simply dropped his name from the label (but actually did not change the fragrance at all at that point.) Although you allude to the switch in the text, you still list the date of the original launch, 1975. Also, all the ads on the other page, with the beautiful frosted glass calla lily stopper clearly show the original Chloé of Parfums Lagerfeld, so they belong on this page. (The flacon and delicate peach and white packaging, btw, were designed by Joe Messina and won the FiFi in 1976.) More to my point, however, is that they are (or were) the same fragrance and never had any sort of reformulation or re-launch when Karl Lagerfeld left Chloé for Chanel, and don't really need to have separate listings, but since it has been reformulated several times since then, you probably felt having another page was necessary. But to be clear, both "versions" of Chloe that come before any serious reformulations or IFF modernizations (which would have happened in the mid to late 90s, and I'm not familiar with them) would be considered vintage and smell, for all intents and purposes, identical. All that said, it's quite confusing when you don't make the correct distinction between the original and its predecessor, and you conflate all the pertinent information. And as it stands, you make the original seem like an afterthought, which is my main beef. Would it be possible to merge the two pages, or at least correct the information? Thanks for your time and attention to this inconsequential but somehow very irritating matter, lol. With love, Evangeline p.s. If this would be more effective or get the appropriate attention elsewhere, I'll count on my kind fellow Fragranticans to direct me there. xo

Simply breath-taking! Chloé and Karl Lagerfeld have really outdone themselves with this fragrance. It's very vintage smelling and yet modern at the same time. Quite timeless, really. It's really sad that it's been discontinued :( Chloé Eau de Toilette by Parfums Lagerfeld is a very unique and earthy smelling white and yellow floral perfume that brims with jubilation from the subtle fizz of the aldehydes and the juicy and sweet slight fruitiness from the peach. I can then smell individually the sweet honeysuckle, the powdery hyacinth, the yellow and joyful narcissus and ylang ylang, a touch of spicy carnation, the indolic jasmine and especially the creamy and carnal tuberose in the heart of this fragrance. The narcissus and the tuberose are definitely the strongest notes in this for me though. This then all gets buoyed up by the soft smell of sandalwood, a slight resinous quality from the amber, an earthiness from the oakmoss, a soft powderiness from the musk and a slight tropical creaminess from the coconut. This perfume is pure womanly elegance and I think that it could be worn anytime both day and night in almost any season, barring the summer where it might get too much. I also think that it could be worn almost anywhere except maybe the office, since this is quite a strong and bold fragrance that some might not appreciate. I got quite a big sillage of around 6 feet from this perfume and it lasted an amazing 11 hours on my skin... this stuff just lasts and lasts! Sure a bottle of this on Ebay is quite pricy, but it's so worth it with how little you need to use of it during the day and how unique it smells. Altogether I'd give this fragrance an 8.5/10... simply beautiful and resinous white and yellow floral perfume that makes me think of spring and the softly and sweetly feminine clothes Karl Lagerfeld used to make for Chloé!

I have no words for this stunningly beautiful perfume other than to say I have been nuzzled several times whilst wearing it and told I smell like candy floss. I’ll end there because this is a family show but needless to say it is VERY seductive, I think that is possibly caused by that monumental tuberose note. Chloe by Lagerfeld is a floral perfume without somehow smelling floral and therein lies the genius of Betty Busse. It’s modern without smelling dated. I’ve had my bottle since I think about 1987 and it hasn’t lost its charm. If anything it has aged gracefully. I’m so pleased it hasn’t turned or gone off. I still have about 40ml left and use it on date nights or special occasions only. It’s a love witch’s potion. Quite sad to hear the younger noses amongst us are calling it old lady because they will never feel its allure. Such a shame it was discontinued, but I’m heartened to hear from @EauDeLa that Tuberosa 1974 smells similar. Coincidentally, 1974 is the year I was born so it’s perfect!