Hi ULG, Coco is one of my long term faves. It’s also a very close friends signature. There are so many happy memories associated with this perfectly poised far east dream inspired perfume. Since the mid 1980s Coco has surrounded me. Back then it was friends Mums and sometimes an adventurous young woman. It’s the fragrance I associate with smelling a lot of in the department stores for a couple of decades. In Australia CHANEL counters are mostly at the front of the beauty section and until Coco Mademoiselle came along it was like a thick miasma around the squirt bitches (men and women). Today is Monday and I’m cleaning the house. My friend Kerri B noted on a FaceBook SOTD post that she was wearing Coco so I decided to join her in glamour. Sometimes scenting for success even makes the turbines of tedium sing a happy refrain.
Coco by CHANEL EdP and Extrait
Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin orange, Pimento, Coriander, Frangipani
Heart: Jasmine, Rose, Orange blossom, Ylang-ylang, Cinnamon, Iris, Angelica
Base: Patchouli, Tonka bean, Benzoin, Frankincense, Amber, Musk, Honey, Civet
Here’s the thing with Coco. It is its very own scent. I love it too much to really parse it deeply. Somehow it feels like the magic may dissolve a little if I look too closely and work out the tricks. Coco smells like luxury, travel, wisdom and sensuality. Though it is exciting and playful I also feel remarkably calm and poised when I wear it. Almost as if the fragrance has so much drama I can let my natural penchant for it go, just a little. Enough to get a really deep breath and exhale.
Whenever I hug a friend wearing Coco it’s one pf the fragrances I can usually pick. That’s another reason I love it.
Todays wearing while doing laundry, dusting and vacuuming in the 30+C (around 100F) heat was so divine. Loads of pepper and cinnamon over a honeyed, resinous amber base. It wafted off me in great, glorious gouts and I reapplied four times throughout the day to get the thrill all over again.
Has Coco ever been your thing?
Portia xx
Undina's Looking Glass 
Hey Portia
Coco has never been for me but I admire it for its supreme distinctiveness. It’s one of a few perfumes I can conjure the scent of so clearly I can almost taste it.
Totally agree it’s not one to deconstruct.
LikeLike
Interesting Tara,
If asked if you wore Coco I would have imagined an ecstatic YES!
Portia xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have tried it (ages ago when that style of perfume wasn’t my thing) but never worn it. I wouldn’t turn away a free bottle given my current wider range of interests!
LikeLike
OOOH MMKinPA,
I’d love to hear your thoughts if you ever try it again.
Portia xx
LikeLike
I had never worn Coco until a few years ago when I finally decided to try it (not really a Chanel person). It was surprisingly good and I bought it on the spot. The funniest part was chatting with the sales assistant, a woman of a certain age. As we discussed the Chanel lineup (the mainstream ones, my local shop doesn’t carry the exclusives), she pointed to the bottles of Coco Mademoiselle and Chance and said, « These are for young girls. This one is for women who love perfume (pointing to Coco). »
LikeLike
WOW! Honesty in sales! A new tack.
Love perfume-Y perfume. It’s very OTT classic French nodding to the colonialist dreams of Far East travel with its spice and amber rich base.
Easy to go on a journey while wearing it.
Portia xx
LikeLike
I love Coco but I’ve only got a tiny bit. Before lockdown I always had a good spray in the Dept stores.
LikeLike
Heya Matty,
It’s so fun dousing at the store. As much as you like. The SAs love to see someone going crazy and it leaves a fabulous scent trail for the next few customers too.
Portia xx
LikeLike
I agree with your thought that some perfumes you don’t break down into components, you just enjoy the feeling! Chanel is good at that, in general.
LikeLike
Hey Cynthia,
Yeah, I think you might have a point. CHANEL seems to offer up these remarkable works that are just what they are. Perfect pieces of magic. Best to just enjoy the ride.
Portia xx
LikeLike
Ha! I’m really good at not deconstructing any scents! ;)
Coco was the first Chanel that got to me. Until then I thought Chanel was about No 5 that didn’t work for me and Chance that I really disliked. Somehow the rest of the line-up just didn’t register on my radar until after I discovered Coco, loved it and bought a bottle. I still enjoy wearing it, and I regret not buying a bottle of extrait 10-12 years ago before the next round of reformulations.
Your EdP looks like a dab bottle… Is it really?
LikeLike
HA! Undina, you crack me up. Yeah, I can usually do it but sometimes it feels wrong to. Also, many times the blending is so good that the notes don’t appear as stated in note lists, or the note lists are plain wrong.
Yeah, that EdP is a huge 200ml splash bottle. I bought it off eBay and thought it had been watered down for years. It was a terrible disappointment and I never wore it. One day I put a little into a spritzer though and suddenly the full glory of Coco was revealed. Suddenly I was happy as Larry!
Portia xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
Coco is a true beauty. It is one perfume that is very LOUD on my skin. I like it very much but rarely wear it because it is so strong. I love the pure parfum version as well as the EDP. Your post reminded me that I have a Coco body wash that has been languishing in a cabinet. Time to get that baby out and use her! I’m also a fan of Coco Noir.
LikeLike
Heya Ricky,
Maybe you’d be happier with the dab method. It definitely gives a less full and loud wear. Lasting power is equal though.
Portia xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great idea! I’ll try it.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I bought my first bottle two years ago and I love it! To me feels so womanly and elegant 🌹
LikeLike
You ARE womanly and elegant Anna Maria. Like a goddess.
Portia xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
Never been my thing, but as Tara says, highly distinctive, and one of the few scents I can confidently identify on strangers, most recently in T K Maxx. Okay, not so recently, obviously. ;)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey Vanessa,
So interesting who does and doesn’t love Coco.
Doesn’t it smell lavish wafting past?
Portia xx
LikeLiked by 1 person