When I became a beauty editor back in 2004, one of the first fragrances I fell in love with was CHANEL Coco Mademoiselle Eau De Parfum. It managed to get the balance between sweet and oriental notes just right. For the record, I’m not the biggest fan of floriental (floral/oriental) scents as I find them waaaay too heady and overpowering. But Coco Mademoiselle was different. I loved the fresh, citrussy top notes of orange blossom and bergamot and the beautiful, mostly floral heart of jasmine, Turkish rose and ylang-ylang. The scents final accord of patchouli, vanilla and Tonka bean just worked so beautifully on my skin. Coco Mademoiselle is of those scents everyone always comments on. It remains one of the top selling fragrances in SA, the UK and Europe today.
March 2018 sees the launch of CHANEL Coco Mademoiselle Eau De Parfum Intense (R2475 for a 100ml) a new, more intense version of this classic scent. While remaining true to it’s oriental origins, Coco Mademoiselle Eau De Parfum Intense is a tad more sexy and playful than the original.”I wanted to remain close to the original formula, without altering the freshness of the top notes,” says perfumer Olivier Polge. He goes on to explain that his aim with this scent was to push the patchouli to the limit, unleashing its power on the skin, without altering the freshness of the top notes.
While the Sicilian orange and Calabrian bergamot that distinguish the original Coco Mademoiselle are still evident, I love how, as the scent develops, the Indonesian patchouli winds itself around the heart of rose and jasmine. To make for an even more dramatic and magnetic fragrance, Polge combined a higher proportion of patchouli leaves with an amber accord made using Tonka bean and Madagascar vanilla absolutes.
When you’re spending almost R2 500 on a fragrance, you want to ensure it lasts on the skin and leaves a beautiful trail throughout the day.
Here are a few tips and trick to bear in mind:
Apply fragrance to areas like the wrists, behind the ears, neck and elbows. Because these are pulse points, the skin warms up better in these areas, allowing the scent to intensify.
Don’t rub your wrists together as this diminishes the top notes. Rather spray each wrist point and allow the scent to dry naturally.
Choose an EDP (eau de parfum) over an EDT (eau de toilette). An EDP has higher concentrations of oils that tend to last longer.
Molecules in fragrance bind to the oils in your skin, so if you use an unscented body lotion prior to applying perfume (I recommend Eucerin UreaRepair Plus 5% Urea) the fragrances molecules will have a better surface to bind to.
I you want a longer lasting fragrance (and who doesn’t?), look for heavier base notes like woods, musk, amber and patchouli.
