Chloe edp (2008) was nice enough. It was built around a fresh rose accord and certainly is a good offering for mainstream department store buyers. I bought it, I don’t wear it, but it’s decent. I can see how many “normal” people strolling through a department store and taking a quick sniff would like it (“normal” refers to those who own less than 10 bottles of perfume). A new version of Chloe fragrance arrived this fall, and, to my surprise it’s not simply a more potent or intense version of the 2008 edp. Chloe Intense is rather nice and definitely created for classic tastes. I imagine the executives at Coty making three versions of Chloe (edt, edp and Intense) for three age demographics (edt = under 25, edp = 25-35 and edp Intense = 40+). This makes me wonder if the majority of consumer tastes do fall within these presupposed age demographics. I don’t, but I’m not a “normal” perfumer consumer either. Or, perhaps another way of looking at the distinctions between the three Chloe concentrations would be seasonal; the edt is meant for spring/summer, the edp for fall and the intense is for winter.
Chloe Intense has a spicier and more woody presence. In fact, it’s not particularly useful to compare the edp with Intense because they aren’t that similar – aside from the shared rose heart. To give a few comparisons, I find Chloe Intense to be along the lines of, but much more subtle than, Sisley Soir de Lune, Ungaro Diva, Bond No. 9 West Side, Madame Rochas and Paloma Picasso.
Chloe Intense has a harsh start with a heavy dose of pepper. I like the start, it’s my favorite part, and I wish it stayed this way, sort of edgy, sort of a big ballsy rose-pepper scent. It mellows a great deal between the start and the dry down. In essence, the majority of the fragrance is a classic aldehydic rose oriental. The aldehydes are present but they are tame, to please modern tastes. Everything about Chloe Intense is classic yet tame. I do like it but it’s the sort of fragrance that just won’t be worn by someone like me with trillions of other fragrances to choose from. But a more normal consumer, one who enjoys classics, but always finds them a bit too much, too overdone or too old fashioned might be utterly delighted with Chloe Intense.
Bottom line: If you like rose orientals, and the idea of a tame classic appeals to you, Chloe Intense is worth a shot.
Octavian at 1000 Fragrances also wrote this about Chloe Intense
The only list of notes I could find are: pink pepper, rose, sandalwood and tonka bean.
Looks like Octavian thought more of it than you did, A - although that might be purely academic, since I don't get the impression that wearing the stuff is on his agenda.
ReplyDeleteI do like pretty, girly roses; I like rose orientals. On the other hand, I really like classic aldehydic florals, the things like No. 5 and Arpege that used to say THIS IS A WOMAN, and I see your point that Chloe edp Intense is not distinctive enough to be picked out of your collection and worn.
I have yet to smell the Chloe edp anyway - I wore the original tuberose one in my middle and high school years and enjoyed it, but found Chloe Narcisse insipid and was annoyed enough by the new fragrance with the same name as to avoid it.
Hiya Mals!
ReplyDeleteYeah, Octavian does sound like he loves Chloe Intense more than me. I was very careful not to go overboard about Intense because I can't truthfully say I'll wear it. But the thing is - it's good. It really is a winner. It's just that we, the fume-heads, prolly have more interesting things to wear. But if this sounds right up your alley then by all means give it a shot! :-) Sometimes a modern take on an aldehydic-rose-oriental is just what the doc ordered.