Multi-faceted and noble, tempting and mysterious, hiding night secrets - all this about one small black bottle, which only looks so cold and detached. I adore Chanel fragrances, Coco Mademoiselle Intense being my favorite because it holds sentimental meaning to me (wedding scent), but Coco Noir is easily the 2nd runner up.

Cut to the night of my birthday while laying in bed watching a movie he gives me this little gift and I unwrap it and find my beloved Coco Noir. What's the point of releasing a parfum that doesn't last at least until lunch and that nobody can smell? I tested it when I first got it for my birthday party this past Saturday, but it didn't seem to last long. This isn't something I would reach for on a daily basis, but more so for special occasions or when I need that confidence boost.Sheldrake and Polge are both fantastic perfumers, and I think this is a very *smart* and calculated release. The scent gives me a feeling of a once beautiful summer fragrance that has been sitting in direct sunlight in an attic for 60 years. The smoothness is much more of a factor here, and although it's a little heavier, the vanillic tones of everything keep Noir very soft, and more approachable.

I've never seriously considered a Chanel, but since I own numerous PdM and Creed, I thought I'd check out Chanel. A: The base notes consist of frankincense, soft musk, vanilla, sandalwood, and Indonesian patchouli, offering a warm and magnetic finish to the scent. Dior may have a longer history of pissing off loyal fragrance devotees with its reformulations, renaming and flanker-proliferation antics, but with Coco Noir, it looks like Chanel caught the same corporatist cancer that Dior did.On a personal level, I wanted this to work for me, but sadly, I have come to terms that I am just not a Chanel Woman, and instead will just have to admire this fragrance on others. The patchouli does become more prominent in the very final phases of the scent so if you’re very sensitive to patchouli try a sample and let it fully dry down before making the decision, I’m usually turned off by patchouli but in this it doesn’t bother me at all. On me it mostly smells spicy/woodsy/musky, I can’t get any of the citrus notes or the vanilla notes. In particularly hot weather I use only the body lotion, but 90% of the time I like to layer the body wash, body lotion and perfume.

It resembles both Coco and Coco Mademoiselle while remaining non-commital - the citrus-led floral-patchouli of CM is in there, alongside the spicy amber of Coco, but both facets are diluted. Everything changed when it became cooler, I started to feel the harshness of patchouli and geranium and the smell in general transformed into the “mature”( don’t like this adjective in terms of perfumery but this happened to be the most suitable word))) one. I love Chanel perfumes and I'd seen a few influencers rave about this so instead of testing this on a card first, I went and sprayed it on my wrists - being so sure I would love it. I can envision it being a good base for somebody who is also wearing violet or rose face powder and floral laundry scents which would soften it and add top notes which aren't just synthetic alcohol. It’s warm and inviting but not in a cuddly way, in a way that says you can come in, but you cannot stay the night.I never believed in the "magic" of letting fragrances sit, but it worked for the first time with this one. But Coco Noir is a special occasion perfume for women who love Coco Mademoiselle but do NOT love perfume.