Chanel Coromandel: A Review

Not so very long ago I wrote on this blog that Chanel wasn’t my fragrance house of choice. That was before I had tried the full Les Exclusifs line. Obviously I made a hasty decision because in the past six weeks I’ve fallen hard for 31 Rue Cambon, Bois des Iles, Cuir de Russie, No 22 and Beige. Today I met Coromandel.

It seems that Chanel jumped into niche territory with their Les Exclusifs perfumes. To me, Coromandel is Chanel’s most daring fragrance among the Les Exclusifs offerings. I’ve previously admitted my affection for patchouli. Oftentimes I find patchouli to be a clean, earthy and refreshing aroma, similar to the way pine needles make your nose and sinuses tingle. Coromandel starts off extremely tingly with an overtly masculine & astringent quality. The first ten minutes of Coromandel aren’t particularly pleasant, so keep that in mind when trying it for the first time. For me, Coromandel is all about the dry down.

Chanel describes Coromandel as a “dry ambery oriental,” however, I never do smell amber in Coromandel, what smells most obvious to my nose is patchouli, vanilla, cinnamon and chocolate. Coromandel is overall a wonderfully spicy, earthy oriental fragrance. The vanilla and chocolate notes are present but faintly swirled about in the background, not upfront and not even remotely gourmand. The vanilla and chocolate notes serve to temper the strong patchouli blast and soften its edges. Coromandel is very dry and spicy and easily unisex. The patchouli is pungent but Chanel has removed any of the hippie-dippy skankiness and left us only the most beautiful and wearable parts. Different from other perfumes in the Les Exclusifs line Coromandel is strong and tenacious.

For anyone who likes patchouli or a dry spicy fragrance Coromandel is a must.

Longevity – Excellent 5+ hours or more
Sillage – Could be strong