Bleu de Chanel : Fragrance Review

Star rating: 5 stars--outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars--very good, 3 stars--adequate, 2 stars--disappointing, 1 star--poor.

If I were given Bleu de Chanel in a blank vial, I would have pegged it as a Hugo Boss flanker: a competent, commercial, focus group winner. Indeed, it is almost a shock to realize that this is a major masculine Chanel launch. While Chanel masculines are not of the same caliber as its feminine fragrances, they are invariably memorable: the velvety plum of Egoïste, the orange tinted woods of Antaeus, even the spicy warmth of Allure Homme. Bleu de Chanel, on the other hand, does not charter new  directions; instead, it relies on the market winning combination of citrus, aromatics, marine notes and woods.

I am ambivalent about Bleu de Chanel for several reasons. On the one hand, the magnificent heritage of the house leads me to expect nothing but marvels and I take every disappointment very hard. On the other, I am fully aware of how conservative the masculine market can be, especially the younger men demographic that Chanel is trying to reach with Bleu de Chanel.

Original or not, Bleu de Chanel has succeeded in creating what it set out to do—a fresh, aromatic woody fragrance that can compete with other woody-aromatics on the market. It blends the metallic freshness of Allure Homme Sport with the spicy effervescence of Egoïste Platinum and Dior Homme Sport, liberally using citrus and lavender to create a vibrant top note supported by fougère and ozonic elements. The effect is bright, vivid, and clean. This contrasts pleasantly with the ambery-woody core of the composition. The subtle sweetness of coumarin and the mossy-musky softness of the base set off the crisp dryness of ambers. The ozonic note runs through the body of the fragrance, conveying a fresh, clean message from the first inhale to the late drydown.

Like all Chanel fragrances, Bleu de Chanel possesses quality, the rarest of ingredients these days. Its raw materials are excellent, from the bright fizz of bergamot in the top notes to the earthy vetiver in the base.  Would I recommend it to a 20 something friend who wants to try something other than Axe? Yes, without a doubt! Thankfully, the rest of us still have Chanel’s Les Exclusifs, which provide more unique fragrances.

Bleu de Chanel includes notes of bergamot, lemon, grapefruit, “deep blue sea accord”, peppermint, frankincense, pink pepper, nutmeg, ginger, jasmine, cedar, vetiver, patchouli, and labdanum.

Comments

[Mark C]

Great review, V! So glad to see you writing more. I completely agree with you on Bleu de Chanel. It is not anything new, but it is nice for what it is. I would wear it if someone gave me a bottle. I wouldn't purchase it myself though.

[Carla]

I wonder what you think of Cologne du Parfumeur from Guerlain. Is it another safe masculine? I haven't smelled it. I did smell Bleu, and agree with you.

[Karl]

Disappointing! I am not even going to say anything else. :(

[Marla]

I haven't smelled the fragrance, but I enjoyed reading your review. As always, you describe the fragrance really well and your critique is interesting. I did see the ad on youtube, which I really liked.

[Aromacasa]

Chanel is going down deeper and deeper trying to catch the trend line. They'd better try to set their own as it was before. Bleu de Chanel is a great shame.

[sweetlife]

"something better than Axe"

Hee! Hee!

[Charlie (London)]

I was expecting a work of art, but Bleu is little more than a good illustration; technically competent, convincingly drawn, high quality but with no mystery to unfold. I sprayed Sycomore onto my other wrist - just to remind myself how great this great House really can be.

No doubt it will sell by the caseload this Christmas...

[Victoria]

Mark, it is just not possible to be creative with the big commercial launches, mostly because the brands are not willing to take a risk. Everyone's time horizons are so short.

[Victoria]

Carla, Cologne du Parfumeur is pleasant, but not particularly outstanding. I would rather go for Tom Ford Neroli Portofino, or cologne from Chanel's Les Exclusifs.

[Victoria]

Karl, it is definitely disappointing.

[Victoria]

Marla, thank you.
Chanel ads are among the best!

[Victoria]

Aromacasa, let's hope that their next big feminine will be special!

[Victoria]

A, I know that they sound very low market, but you would be surprised how much research and effort goes into developing Axe fragrances! Still, not the best benchmark for Chanel. :)

[Victoria]

Charlie, yes, paired with that great ad and commercials, I can imagine that Bleu would do quite well. Funny, I also reached for Sycomore as an antidote immediately after wearing Bleu. :)

[Olfactoria]

It is so sad that the great perfume houses are going the easy and safe path, instead of blazing a trail befitting a house with such a history as Chanel. Bleu is, as you say, quite nice, too bad Chanel is content with "quite nice" these days...

Thank you for your wonderful blog, It is a great resource!

[aromacasa]

Victoria, I'm seriously doubt about the quality of new Chanel release. Chance and Chance Eau Tendre killed my hopes))

[Victoria]

Olfactoria, you are right, that is the most disappointing part.

[Victoria]

Aromacasa, hope springs eternal! :)

[Persolaise]

I thought Bleu was worse than disappointing. It SHOULD be possible to create a fresh, aromatic fragrance that isn't utterly moronic, especially if you've got the resources and experience that Chanel have at their disposal.

One question: do you really think younger men are more conservative than their older counterparts? Do you mind if I ask which perspective you're writing from? USA? UK? Elsewhere?

[Victoria]

According to most marketing studies in the US, younger group tends to be the most conservative in their scent preferences, meaning that they would prefer riding the trend, rather than experimenting with something new. As ironic as it seems. In Europe, the pattern is not dissimilar. Now, marketing research is marketing research, make what you will of that, but these findings fuel the fashion and fragrance brands' decisions in terms of their product launches.

[Tom]

What to say about Bleu? More or less accidentally I noticed it a few weeks ago. I entered the shop, excited to realize they launched something new. There was a Chanel representative, she handed me the dark blue vial and after getting a first impression I had to ask her if Jacques really created this one...Obviously Chanel itself knows very well this isn't a masterpiece like Egoiste because there is no big marketing campaign (at least nothing what came to my attention). I think it's quite normal you have overcharged expectations sort of when it comes to Chanel. So after some weeks of wearing it I found out that it needs a different view on Bleu. Me too was thinking Hugo Boss first. HB made some interesting scents in the mid 80s. And that's exactly the way you have to see Bleu. It's simply the best early to mid 80s perfume ever made. Ok, it comes out some decades too late, lol. But if you think about it (not the first impression but after few hours) it's really an astonishing quintessence of male scents of this time. So I guess one of his design goals definitely was creating a vintage 80s thing, not so much the next Egoiste.

Sorry for my bad English.

Tom

[Tom]

am I allowed to post links? Here a tiny clip with Jacques Polge http://www.basenotes.net/threads/258558-Brief-interview-with-Jacques-Polge-on-Bleu-de-Chanel

[March]

V, I guess ... I was disappointed they used such a great name (and a great opportunity) for this scent, although I agree it does smell very nice, the sort of thing I'd give as a gift to my nephew, trying to lure him away from Lacoste. But I do understand everything can't be, and isn't, designed for those who want something "different." BTW I got my husband the Allure PH Edition Blanche which I think smells wonderful, if not groundbreaking, and he likes it very much.

[Victoria]

Tom, there are so excellent Hugo Boss fragrances, of course. The damascone rich Baldessarini is one of my favorites. Very striking!
Your point of view on Bleu is very interesting, I have to say, particularly since the 80s style is something I glimpse in many feminine launches too (smell Lady Million on a scent strip, which slows down the evaporation and see what I mean.)

[Victoria]

Tom, you can post links, they just do not get activated automatically. Thanks!

[Victoria]

March, the first thing I thought hearing of Bleu de Chanel was that it might be a relaunch of the vintage Trio. From that point of view, I am disappointed that they used the name for some other project, the result of which is not that memorable.
Allure Pour Homme Edition Blanche is excellent! Almost wish that it were the pillar brand instead of Allure Pour Homme.

[March]

lol -- PS, here's the text in the ad I'm looking at on the left of your site:
[edited by Victoria: sorry this made my ads go crazy :) ]

[Victoria]

March, oh, the joys of random google ads! :) I love it when I write about India and especially my wedding, I keep getting ads for online Indian marriage services. LOL!
P.S. Sorry to do this, but I edited the wording of that ad in your message. It keeps bringing up all sorts of nonsense, and I worry that there is even more than I do not see (and cannot block!)

[March]

Goodness, V, I'm so sorry, I didn't even think about my making it worse! For what it's worth: I see none of it on my computer, which somehow seems to block all that stuff better. My husband's computer, which is theoretically set up just like mine (same spam block, using Firefox), all that foolishness leaks through.

[Victoria]

March, no need to apologize at all! It actually really made me laugh.

[Nick]

I disagree a bit about "bright, vivid, and clean". Yes it is bright and vivid for the first several hours, but its later on (4-5 hours or smth), when the aroma really unfolds for me, and then there's nothing bright or vivid about it, instead its becoming unclear, hard to catch, and totally magnetic. I bought this thing for a first (!) date with some very very special girl, who is very straight in her feelings and probably hard to impress with such tricks as perfume, and I'd say that she went completely crazy about that thing, I couldn't take her face (nose, lips, everything) of the place where I've sprayed perfume, it wasn't even fair, on the other hand now I'm not that sure if she liked me or the Bleu :)

[electronic cigarette]

What to say about Bleu? More or less accidentally I noticed it a few weeks ago. I entered the shop, excited to realize they launched something new. There was a Chanel representative, she handed me the dark blue vial and after getting a first impression I had to ask her if Jacques really created this one...Obviously Chanel itself knows very well this isn't a masterpiece like Egoiste because there is no big marketing campaign (at least nothing what came to my attention). I think it's quite normal you have overcharged expectations sort of when it comes to Chanel. So after some weeks of wearing it I found out that it needs a different view on Bleu. Me too was thinking Hugo Boss first. HB made some interesting scents in the mid 80s. And that's exactly the way you have to see Bleu. It's simply the best early to mid 80s perfume ever made. Ok, it comes out some decades too late, lol. But if you think about it (not the first impression but after few hours) it's really an astonishing quintessence of male scents of this time. So I guess one of his design goals definitely was creating a vintage 80s thing, not so much the next Egoiste.