Coco Noir is available from Amazon.com and Chanel.com starting at $98 for 1.7 oz
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It's just.....not special!
ReplyDeleteI can't forgive "not special".
DeleteMe neither! Tried it in Duty Free last month and was distinctly underwhelmed.....
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree - "Coco Afternoon Nap" is spot on! I am not great at detecting the notes in perfumes at the best of times, but this one was a real head scratcher, indeed I found it rather scratchy as a scent. Yes, raspy and seriously indeterminate.
ReplyDeletePick a lane, Coco Noir!
DeleteI now see Chanel perfumes divided in to two- all those leading up to Coco- which are to some degree anagrammatic, with different ingredients sometimes headlining and replacing each other- and those which came after, where the Chanel style is basically reduced to being that of 'refinement.' The latter works Ok to my mind with those scents which are takes on the heavier style of fragrances on the market (see Coromandel (big oriental), Sycomore (big bastard vetiver) and 28 Rue Cambon (all boxes ticking chypre), and to a lesser degree the Allures and CM) but is less good when dealing with perfumery styles which are a) already refined (see Jersey) or b) very generic (see Bleu and Coco Noir). The original Chanel perfumery style WAS one of refinement, but it was also somewhat more than that too.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really in to this type of fragrance, and that knowledgeable of its type, but is 'Mlle Chanel Cherie' description of this?
DeleteNice little run-thru, here - I like "anagrammatic perfumes". How about "Scrabble perfumes": shake up the letter tiles and see what they spell out (smell out) this time around. And yes, the redundancy kicks in big time with the overly abstracted refinement of Jersey.
DeleteMlle Chanel Cherie is that whole Chance cul-de-sac, and now this Coco Noir.
Delete95% of the perfumes I've tried in the past 3 years have been in this category. They're not foul enough for a scathing review, but they're just so...meh. The Age of Meh. Even some Serge Lutens. How sad! Still, a few new gems surprise me now and then, usually from unexpected sources. Thanks for taking one for the team!
ReplyDeleteSure thing, Marla. I did wade in with high hopes, or at least higher than with another variation on Chance, say.
Deletecoco slurpee.......
ReplyDeleteEveryone was hoping Coco Noir would be a Vamp... a Mata Hari in a black Chanel dress. I think she is just a little party girl, a flapper out for kicks on the town. Hence the mush...too much cheap champagne! I wasn't hoping for the moon so for me she was kind of fun. Nothing serious mind you..but fun. For a real vamp give me Bal a Versailles.
ReplyDeleteThe setting point for one's expectations is often the key to perfume (dis)satisfaction. Truth or Dare isn't as terrible as I thought it would be, so I cut it some slack. Coco Noir isn't as good as I thought it should be, so I rapped its knuckles. But all of my opining fritters away into insignificance if the smell of a perfume unlocks something in you, connects to something in you. In that case, all you can do is surrender to it and enjoy the ride - with the cheap champagne party girl!
DeleteYou always bring a smile to my mornings. Thanks katie!
DeleteHello Katie,
ReplyDeleteyou almost look like you want to apologize for what you say but you are so right! Name and fragrance are not comparible it seems. I had high expectation about "noir" but there is really nothing noir about it And it dissapears fast at least on my skin I must say.
I love your reviews!!
Mary
You're right, Mary. There's a distinct air of regret as I deliver my report. Thanks for riding along the KP Smells fume train!
DeleteI'm almost embarrassed to say that I liked it! And will probably end up buying a bottle for one of my significant others in the near future.
ReplyDeleteTo me it smells very much of its time - sure, not groundbreaking but just a very well done fruitchouli.
Maybe in 50 years time when we all smell like god knows what we may appreciate it a little more as a scent snapshot of this era? Maybe in the same way we look at vintage perfumes from the 40's & 50's and appreciate them as what women wore back in the day?
Haha, it may take me 50 years to appreciate Coco Noir, in that case!
DeleteOn Friday, in Debenhams (Westfield Shepherds Bush), I saw a young woman grab the tester and absolutely drench herself in Coco Noir, while sighing, 'I loooove it sooooo much!'. No doubt we will be smelling it *everywhere* this winter.
ReplyDeleteThe people have spoken.
DeleteI just started on my second bottle of Coromandel and will stick with that for now. More that happy with that...
ReplyDeleteDamn: they just should have put Coromandel in that beautiful Noir bottle! That would have been a perfect combo. And a big seller as well.
Coco Noir is taking up valuable Coromandel space inside that bottle!
DeleteHi Katie its Hessa 71: I got this perfume as a gift @ if you want the truth I dont hate it, I wouldn't buy it my self but i will sure use the one I have,it does remind me of Chance by chanel & I was a big fan of that one ten years ago when I was in the prime of my youth! oh by the way I asked you for niche perfume recommendation in previous article???
ReplyDeleteHi Hessa - so sorry! I missed your question on the last go-round but have thoroughly answered it now under the Original Vetiver post. And just to be on the safe side, I'll paste my answer here, too:
DeleteGiven your preferences, I think you would absolutely love one of my favorite perfumes: Portrait of a Lady from Frederic Malle. It has the rose and patchouli of L'Agent Provocoteur, the sandalwood of Bois des Iles and the sweet musk of Shalimar. Plus incense. Your friend will find it at Les Senteurs or Liberty.
The other one you will like is by Miller Harris and is called Fleur Oriental. It smells to me like a contemporary take on Shalimar, with incense. Oh, and also at Miller Harris, you will also adore La Fumée Arabie, a limited edition version of La Fumée that smells of woody amber, incense, rose and a bit of vanilla. Miller Harris has shops in Seven Dials and Notting Hill.
I was almost feeling neglected, thank you dear<3<3
DeleteI tried it and I didn't hate it, but I really don't remember it.
DeleteHas anyone been tricked by Sephora? Lots of times I'll try a fragrance there and be geeked about it, then smell it again later and feel "Meh."
I tried "Bang," in Sephora, and had the impression of a very bright, lively pepper. I loved it. After buying a bottle, "Meh."
--Nora B.
I smelt this last week and I expected to get a big old hit of something rich, lush and "for night time " only.
ReplyDeleteI got ordinary !
I can see this being discontinued soon.
what the hell is happening to chanel perfume. I hate chance, madamoiselle smells like a depressed teenager to me. i dont understand! Almost no one i know likes Coco or No.5, much less the exclusifs. But when they smell them on me, they think its amazing. Still, they prefer their sh***y mall fragrances. which is what the new chanels smell like to me. bleurggghhh
ReplyDeleteI think the key to appreciating veteran perfumes like Coco or No. 5 is actually smelling someone wearing them. To catch the fragrance "in the act", as it were.
DeleteChanel are scooping up the younger demo with their more ordinary offerings like Chance and Bleu. Perhaps the kids will upgrade when their tastes mature...?
But then they won't be kids!
ReplyDeleteI was reading some comments to a post on Now Smell This once, and a young (I'm presuming she was young) lady spoke up and said, "I'm sick of you people going on and on and defending your old-lady perfumes! I don't feel guilty for liking fruity florals!" Or something like that. I admired her for sticking to her guns and just liking what she liked.
That being said, I want to smell like an old lady.
Yeah! I don't feel guilty for liking old lady perfumes! And then sometimes teen ones! I may feel confused, but not guilty....
DeleteI rather liked Coco Noir, and I am an old lady (56). I always loved Coco, and I liked Coco Mademoiselle too. The only thing is it does not last as long as Coco.
ReplyDeleteGood for you. I think people should like what they like.
ReplyDelete