Chanel Coco Noir Eau de Parfum ($98.00 for 1.7 fl. oz.) is a recently released scent that was supposed to mark the return to Oriental fragrances for Chanel. It has notes of grapefruit, bergamot, orange, rose, jasmine, geranium, patchouli, tonka bean, vanilla, sandalwood, and white musk.

Coco Noir spends most of the time smelling like sweet berries and patchouli. From beginning to end, a lot of the other notes are barely detectable; if I wasn’t specifically looking for them, I don’t think I’d have caught on that they were, in fact, supposed to be there. Initially, there’s a hint of grapefruit–a little zest–but it fades too quickly. In the first hour or so, the rose and jasmine notes peek through. They linger but disappear beneath a haze of sweetened berries, patchouli, and a hint of musk. On me, there’s some soapiness after four or five hours.

It wears close to the skin on me with two spritzes (one on each wrist), and the fragrance wears noticeably for around six hours and is mostly gone by eight hours. It’s a blend of sweetness and light, berries and patchouli, that never gets too sweet but never reads noir.  (It is a bit like how I felt about Tom Ford’s Jardin Noir collection.) The scent is incredibly well-blended, and on the whole, a wearable, easygoing fragrance that many will love, but if you were looking for something particularly interesting, innovative, or noir, you may not be so keen on this scent.  Coco Noir is soft, lightly warmed up–like a light jacket for the first days of autumn.

Have you tried Coco Noir?

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Chanel Coco Noir Eau de Parfum

Chanel Coco Noir Eau de Parfum

Chanel Coco Noir Eau de Parfum

Chanel Coco Noir Eau de Parfum