Choc de Cardin

I had no idea that this perfume was reintroduced to the market, not that this would upset me au contraire, the new formulation seems a little more astringent than the classic, which is strange because generally they "sweet" the formula for the new generation, candy pralines lovers. I like the new variant much more, it is slightly modernized not by the sweetness but by the power of the citrus, the citrus part has more power and lasts longer, which in the past was not so, the dominant being the moss , carnation and basil l, the classic ingredients of chypre. This time the citrus keep the balance and gives the combination a much cooler, more vibrant air. I like that I feel the peach and the green notes, which is not the case with the old one, and I certainly approve of the decrease in honey, honey was the reason I avoided this perfume in the 90's, it was much too present on my skin. The civet is to much more balanced in this new form, which is amazing because you can wear it in more high temperature now without choking you. It really feels a lot like the old Rochas formula indeed, but honestly even there I prefer the effervescence of the new formulation. All in all, it is a fantastic perfume for the office, for the suit, for a perfectly professional image, demands respect and coldly defies, but I don't really think that every successful professional woman can wear it, you need to be a little "frozen" very sober, bitter...I certainly wouldn't wear it every day, I don't think it's a easy signature perfume, it's more the perfume in which you warn that you hit the table with your fist when needed, but still you don't because the perfume to sober and calculated for that, it's like a gun without bullets, you see, it terrifies you because you don't know it doesn't have bullets but can't hurt you. I would recommend it to for court lady, to a hearing, or at a difficult office meeting, things like that. I don't see it wore with jeans or something like that, it's a perfume that demands the most sober suit in your wardrobe, the funeral one if possible. And yes surely a man can wear it, but attention gentlemen just because you are men doesn't mean you can wear this little thing all around, no, the things above is still valid, otherwise the perfume will wear you, not you the perfume. As for the price ....I have the feeling that Cardin brand wants to go bankrupt, the perfume is worth it much more than is required on it.

A Forgotten Masterpiece Wearing Clean Gloves and Dirty Boots Every now and then I come across a perfume that makes me wonder, Why did we ever let this disappear? Choc de Cardin is one of those fragrances for me. It's a study in contradictions: clean yet faintly indecent, fresh yet dry like gin botanicals, elegant but with a mischievous glint in its eye. The opening immediately caught my attention. Bright citrus sits over something just slightly bitter and unmistakably grown-up, setting it apart from so many modern perfumes. It feels brisk and sharply tailored, almost as if it's trying very hard to be polite... but there's an undercurrent that tells me not to trust that innocence for too long. As it settles, it blossoms into that unmistakably vintage character that I love. It's full-bodied without becoming sweet, sophisticated without ever feeling soft or delicate. Gentle florals emerge alongside a subtle animalic warmth, like a secret the perfume can't quite keep to itself. The drydown is where it truly won me over. Mossy green, quietly sensual, and beautifully balanced, it lets clean and dirty blur together until the distinction no longer matters. On my skin, it feels like crisp linen that's been worn just long enough to become deeply familiar and intimate. Perfumes like this remind me that elegance didn't always strive to be flawless. Once, it had shadows, texture, and just a touch of danger. Choc de Cardin feels like a forgotten masterpiece, and rediscovering it has only made me appreciate it all the more.

Well, I commend Cardin for making something so unusual. But as with many people here I find Choc to be too extraordinary to understand. In fact I actually went so far as to get another bottle (this was a few years ago and it was extremely cheap) because I thought my first one must have turned. It hadn't though - it IS supposed to smell like that. It does amuse me to think of English-speakers expecting a lovely warm vanilla-ish chocolate fragrance and then getting this :). A subtle little French joke perhaps? I appreciate Natalie's review above - oakmoss eh? Like her I am a big oakmoss fan but as with patchouli I suppose you can have too much. Unfotunately I don't care for Rose Cardin either so perhaps this house is just not for me. Pity. EDIT - a couple of months later I appear to have completely changed my mind. I gave this one final spritz before consigning it to ebay and erm - I love it. Now it's refreshing, lemony, but with a subtle chypre background that keeps me sniffing my arm over and over again. It's a hot day, so perhaps this works best as a summer fragrance? Perhaps the bottle has mysteriously matured over the last few weeks? Perhaps I was just wrong before? ...

I find Choc to be the driest of oakmoss scents - green but not sweet. Floral ingredients, also the fruity peach, but Choc is pure peppery sophistication. I feel very French while wearing this unusual perfume. It reminds me of the hard to find Yves Saint Laurent Y, but Y is sweeter. The aldehyde topnote requires a degree of commitment from modern noses, but the drydown is unabashedly sexy - a triple whammy of patchouli, civet, and amber anchored by the unmistakeable oakmoss note. Maybe not for everyone, but unforgettable on the right woman.

Only choc-ing thing about this is how effortlessly elegant and understated it is. You know, like how young ladies from good families should be, discreet, demure and utterly charming. This is how they smelt in the '70, I suppose. Not too formal, but still with great posture. If you're fan of chypre-floral perfumes and you find yourself in France, take time to go to the supermarket and look for this little beauty. Yes, bottle changed again and it got diluted, but its essence and charm is still present. You will not regret it.

This was my first kiss perfume...every time l smell it, it reminds me of my younger, more innocent and dewy eyed self. Smelling it almost 40 years later, I it brings a smile to my face. I love it. It's so sophisticated, with a dry and airy spice, and fresh, crisp aldehydes. I'm so thrilled to have it again. I do remember that my original seemed to have some more sweetness than this gold lid version... this is absolutely sugarfree... no sweet. The perfume version of Limoncello La Croix, if you will! Very dry.

Can we all just take a minute to appreciate the blend quality of Choc? It's incredible. The opening is like a corpse of a citrus fruit stuffed with basil and the green accord and then reanimated with the aldehydes. It's nothing short of brilliant. This fragrance is blended so well, that it's difficult to tease apart individual notes. This is going to be one of my go-to summer fragrances. Really bright, effervescent perfume. Love!

Fresh, citrus opening, reminds me of being a teenager in the 1980s. I have a vintage 30ml bottle and it smells the same as I remember. Sensual drydown. A quality Chypre fragrance at an affordable price.

I have only one word: GREAT, thanks to all my friend, this is a great gem from the past of perfumery. 9,5/10 (Choc is really a Shock)!:-)

I get thr most beautiful fresh vintage soap accord. It's remarkable!

This review is for the Coty version. ---- Choc de Cardin is a fragrance I have known very closely since the 1980s, and yet I rarely have worn it, and have always been afraid to review it. You see, it was my mother's signature perfume from my childhood through around 20-something years. It's really difficult to describe this fragrance as, for me, it smells like Mum. (She later started mixing it up a bit with vintage Miss Dior, and finally found vintage Opium which she and I both adore with a passion! ) These last few days I have tried it and will make the effort to review the fragrance as if it were new to me. --- On me, starts as a very bitter, very dry citrus mixed with oakmoss. The citrus is uplifting yet not sunny-yellow-joyful. It's instead a dry, dark, almost philosophically serene citrus. The basil is dry and herbal but not kitchen-y at all, and the orris root and iris lend it just a hint of classical femininity. But indeed, it is just a hint. While on my mother the feminine aspects of this fragrance are amplified, on my skin the oakmoss and the base notes come forward more, mixed with the dry, dry, bitter citrus, blending into something that reminds me of the feeling of leather without the tar note of leather. I can't explain it better. Dark but airy, dry but citrusy, bitter but not smoky, Choc is very difficult to describe. It's beautiful. Lasts quite a few hours, maybe 12. In the drydown phase it is very unisex on me, while more floral on my mother, beautiful in both but different notes are enhanced. A grand perfume in its multiple faces, Choc is a hidden classic with a great personality, even in the modern formulation.

I saw this fragrance on a discounter site and ordered it as it was an extremely affordable blind buy. The fact that some members had voted it as similar to the original 1975 Azzaro, a fragrance that I had in my teens back in the mid-eighties, sealed the deal for me. Interestingly, Choc does not really remind me of Azzaro (what I remember of it at least). Yes, they are both earthy, mossy Chypres, but Azzaro had a smidgen of sweetness that Choc does not have. Choc is way more bitter, animalic and abrasive than Azzaro and much less floral. In fact, Choc - its animalic aspect in particular - reminds me very, very much of Lauder's Azuree. I'm wondering if some of those who upvoted the resemblance to Azzaro possibly confused it with Azuree.

Citrus..earthy...a tad soapy. A touch of civet for balance. Green...herbal-sh aromatic. I do get the green aromatic florals in the end. And, maybe a little bitter peachskin with a pop of honey..? I actually really liked this one at first sniff. I find this unique..compared to today's scents. Has a classic vintage vibe. Moderate sillage/projection. Under-rated scent..IMO.

The drydown is great. Mossy animalic citrus. I was lucky to find a vintage original round bottle, and the juice is still strong. Such a multifaceted frag. While wearing it I got peppery root beer, at other times it bordered on mosquito tablets, then it turned into a musky leather, then I would catch a decaying flowers composition. What a gem

This was my first proper perfume which I got for my 15th birthday. Loved it at the time although it was a bit odd and different - it's a low key, subtle and cool perfume. You can still buy it in the Pierre Cardin shop in Paris. I nearly bought it again but decided I didn't like it enough to buy a big bottle

It starts bathroom freshener-lemony BUT in 10 minutes it morphs into a beautiful leather (?) that I don't know where is coming from. It was a 'choc' to me how it started so bad and ended so good. Unisex, long lasting but discreet sillage. For leather/Chypre lovers 👌

Citrus, green and refreshing. The newest version with a gold cap. Light, nice for summer. A dry gin and tonic type freshness, nothing dewy here. Will be great to spritz on when the heat and humidity arrive. Great price too.

I thought I had owned this years ago..might be wrong..it was all the rage back in the early 80's. Won mine on E-bay. Reminds me of Imperial Leather soap...I would say a good everyday perfume...nothing outstanding :)

Can't really remember what this smelt of vague memories, I had a huge bottle bought for me by an old boyfriend, so must have liked itat some time!

I have the new version. Maybe I need to try some more but I'm having a hard time with the opening, which smells exactly like Lemon Lysol disinfectant spray. If it were Mr. Clean, Pine-sol, Comet, Gain, Pledge, or Scrubbing Bubbles, it wouldn't bother me. But I hate the smell of that Lysol spray. I love chypres and I want to love this. Edit: my boyfriend said this should be called Chode because of the bottle. I say because of the smell. LOL I'm dying!