Les Exclusifs de Chanel Coromandel Chanel for women

This is a good quality perfume for a fine lady. An elegant clothing is a must have.
I smell almond and vanilla in it. But this one, is something else than others.
The almond and vanilla are NO SWEET at all! Super silage, longevity about 5 hours on me. Chanel would make a big deal, to put the old Coco and the old No 5
and No 19 and how they all call them out from the counters for a while and offer this one instead! Do not understand me wrong, I had them all once, they are really pretty too, but it is still the same. Some change would be refreshing.
Thank you lovely kosmoskukka for your sample!

I find the naming of this perfume interesting, because there is something about this that reminds me of laquer or enamel- that darkish red laquer rather than the ebony of actual coromandel screens. The correspondences of the fragrance and the laquer would be in terms of intensity, density, decorative appeal and level of polish and shine. But there is something about it that makes it difficult for me to get into; it feels very dense, and it is not like a cologne whose business is to make you smell nice, or a fragrance that makes becomes an expression of your personality, but more like an objet d'art to be worn on your skin. It's very impressive- a more sophisticated version of Musc Ravageur, or a tighter version of Dior's Mitzah, without its splash of chypre. Its great, but I don't feel a great affection for it (and I'm sure it doesn't feel one for me either to be fair) But I am a very non-jewellery wearing man, and something tells me the more you love a big showy bangle around your wrist the more you'll love this.

To me this smells so much like burboun vanilla sugar that i put in cakes:-) i love it though. Am curious about longevity on my skin but i think its among my least beloved from les exclusifs

By far my favorite Chanel. A rich blend of amber and patchouli. Neither note are enough to offend, but both are artfully executed. The incense provides a smokey base which gives this one some depth. The notes above are missing something... maybe a soft vanilla. There is definitely a slight sweet note at the bottom that is holding everything together. Beautiful!

A well blended perfume. Strong but not agressive.I could smell a lot of patchouli and a little bit of benzoin and once in a while, a hint of incense. It's kind of sour and musky on my skin. I have no complaint at all because I adore patchouli. A must try for patchouli fans.

An elegant bouquet that fit well, for me with patchouli, amber and no one of them is stronger than the other.
I also hear the notes but they certainly are cedar wooded fool me.
Exclusive? There are various imitations. I agree with ALFAROME, is not the best collection of Chanel.
good Sillage

I am looking for a scent that not everyone in my circle will be wearing. I come from a very small town where everyone lives in bath and body works and macys brands like euphoria or coco M. And while I do admit that I have been wearing Coco M a lot lately, I crave new and exciting fragrances. I think this just may be it. I find that it has a spicyness to it that reminds me of my burberry brit red which I wore for years until I found that it was discontinued. I have decided that if I cant order it from the fragance house online or a store such as Saks then I dont want it. No more Ebay for me!
This may just be the perfume for me. I know I can buy it off the Chanel site and although it will take a bit to get here, it will be worth the wait!

The main (only) notes that my nose picks up from Coromandel are benzoin and patchouli. The first time I tried this on, from a small sample, I got this heavy "dirt" feeling from it, though, probably from the patchouli. It was frustrating because in all other aspects I loved it - but I just couldn't get over this "soil" scent.

However, every time since then that I have tried it, I get nothing of that, just maybe some slightly earthy tone in the background every now and then, which I am perfectly fine with. I have no idea why it's so different - was there something on my skin the first time I tried it? Whatever the case, now I'm in love. This is the quintessential fall fragrance. I want to wear this while walking among fallen leaves while wearing a thick scarf. Badly.

I'm thinking of recreating something like this with essential oils and benzoin. If you've ever smelled pure benzoin, you know that this fragrance has a lot of it - it's a sweet and resinous scent. I never before thought of it as something you would use a lot of in a fragrance, but Coromandel has changed my view of what a perfume can be like. It's wonderful.

I'm not a huge fan of the kind of base in this fragrance, and it reminded me too much of the original Prada perfume. I liked Luca Turin's idea that this one is like powdered white chocolate, but I don't really get that at all. I do like the opening, but after an hour or so it's just too much like the Prada and not to my tastes. Interestingly, there is a fragrance that does do what I was hoping Coromandel would do. It's Patchouli Plaisir by Molinard, and I obtained a bottle in a swap. I had no idea what it smelled like, but I was willing to do the swap because I didn't give up much and didn't like that fragrance anyway (an Yves Rocher, low-end one). It's so funny how you can come across a fragrance that you really like by just getting lucky. I guess "you have to be in it to win it" as the lottery people say. I'll likely keep swapping fragrances, though lottery tickets aren't my thing.

Love at first sniff. Rich and ambery at the start which morphs into a wonderful hay scent. Then comes incense/clove and dusty patchouli....then finally, a wonderful sweet powdery chocolate scent with just a dash of that ambery hay lingering. An incredible fragrance.

Coromandel is my go-to comfort scent. I would classify it as a milky-oriental, with its creamy vanilla-chocolate notes, soft spice, and warm woods. It's like curling up wrapped in a golden-brown cashmere wrap on an antique velvet mahogany couch, sipping a creamy spicy chai while watching your favorite movie.

Memories of wearing Obsession as a teenager came flooding back to me when I tried Coromandel. I experienced the same amber-induced uplighting scent swiftly followed by the harsh taste in the back of the throat that amber perfumes always leave me with. I see this as Obession's lighter, more elegant cousin, as the amber eventual gives way to a slightly smoky clean smell scent. Unfortunately I can't tolerate the initially strong amber note, otherwise I would have loved to have added this to my collection as a daytime scent. Low to moderate sillage and decent longevity (a good few hours).

When you are young everything on your mother's vanity table is magic. Though I am older now, this particular perfume hasn't lost any of its magic.

Something about this perfume makes me wish I was married so that I could share this scent with a man all night long! (I know! I just made myself blush too! ... But it's the truth!)

I've noticed that men enjoy smelling it on me during conversation but I wouldn't at all mind smelling this on a man.

Its powdery notes make its smell feminine while
its musky notes scream pure virile power.

This very full fragrance is voluptuous, sensual, and romantic. It lasts for days..and melds with a person's unique chemistry beautifully.

Yay, for Coco!!

~~ Though I love this scent - because of its androgynous nature I will not wear it often.`~

- Lini Darling

Very powdery, a tad spicy, combining the cozy sweetness of amber and patchouli with the cold sweetness of benzoin (the result actually not beeing overly sweet at all, rather somewhat milky). I like it quite a bit and can see why so many people even love it, but for me, this is the case where the price is not completely justified. Which is, admittedly, mainly because of the fact that the price is so high it serves as a marketing tool in itself. I might, just might accept it with something like Cuir de Russie, but not this.

Anyway, as I said, Coromandel is really powdery and likable in a not-so-annoying way. I would probably buy it if it cost a more reasonable amount. Things being how they are, I'll rather save the money I would spend on Coromandel for something genuinely exceptional.

Fantastic. A touch masculine at first, but becomes a part of you. Deep, dark,rich, smokey, chocolatey, resinous-woody.

Love it. Great for a man, or a woman with a lot of character & depth. Or a woman in a man's world....
in my Top 3 Chanels, along with Coco EDP & Bois des Iles.

Truly one of a kind....I have smelt nothing like it. Very soothing. Feels like snuggling up on a chocolate brown leather sofa to smoke some cherry cavendish pipe tobacco, have a spiced rum, and listen to your most satisfying music.

It`s hard to find exactly what i dislike here, but Coromandel is a composition that doesn`t create me comfort or makes me feel elegant or sexy or pleases me. On skin, there`s something between the patchouli and amber that should be like music but instead it`s like nails on blackboard. The earthy, powdery and complex aura of patchouli gets ruined by a wrong amber and i feel frustrated and peeved everytime i wear it. The rose and vanilla doesn`t help to mask or harmonize the main idea. The rose, specially, creates a plastic impression with the amber that seems to go in and out of focus, just like an annyoing note poking the nose.
I prefer other variations of this idea - for a luxury, outrageously expensive one, Richwood does the service much better creating a smooth evolution, keeping the structure and avoiding the amber common place. Zino Davidoff is very close to Coromandel, but uses the amber with more wisdom. And you also have the dark, bitter chocolate patchouly version on Borneo 1834 by Serge Lutens. It`s a good luxury addition to the les exclusif line and one that it`s adherent with the austere fragrant vision of vintage chanels. But it has a lapse of judgment for me in the choose of the base note. I decided to wear it again after an year to see if i changed my mind on this one, but honestly i don`t miss it and i think that i`ll not miss its smell soon.

EDIT: After 5 hours the amber aspect faded away and i got a base of a skincent vanillic aroma of subtle incense nuances. It`s quite pleasant, but discomfort with the first 5 hours is enough to keep me away of wearing it. Since those impressions will rely of your scensibility to what is used in the fragrance, you may have a very different experience, maybe much more pleasant, than mine.

This fragrance took me to a place I have wonderful memories of. Reminiscent of Ice Wine, my favorite dessert wine. Just fantastic...

If you happen to smell Coromoandel for the first time and you don't know it's from Chanel you'll be probably end up thinking it's from Guerlain or Serge Lutens. This fragrance sits somewhere next to Guerlain Homme Intense, L'instant Pour Homme Extreme and Heritage but at the same time it shows the unmistakeable hallmark of many of the Sheldrake's compositions made for Serge Lutens. A bold-sweet (almost gourmandic),-spicy oriental built around a consistent patchouli note.

An high quality composition that is a sure compliment getter, projects decently and has a tenacious lasting power (more than 12 hrs), but IMO it's not among the best and most successful releases in the Les Exclusif range. Don't get me wrong, Coromandel is a crowdpleaser and you'll probably won't be by any means disappointed, it's just that I like it but don't love it. Good rating, anyway.

Rating: 7/10

I wanted so much to love this. It is definitely a woody fragrance, but woody as in fresh wood. It's creamy and sharp all at once. I attribute the sharpness to the benzoin, which overpowers the amber entirely to me.It's like this is the scent of actual coromandel, deep woody notes with the biting varnish over the top. This is a well made perfume, just not for me.

This is a strong fragrance with a note all its own. It’s supposed to be patchouli-based, but I don’t smell patchouli right away. Instead, I think I smell some spice, probably coriander, citrusy aldehydes, a dusting of light powder, and vanilla. In addition, there’s something odd I can’t put my finger on, possibly a note that emerges from the combination of several others. It verges on gourmand, but never completely goes there.

As it dries down there is a slight patchouli note, but it’s not a patchouli scent, either, it’s more a patchouli-vanilla. There’s lots of sillage, and it lasts all day on skin. I was surprised to still smell its sillage even after I had taken a shower, more than 12 hours after applying it, and could still smell it 24 hours later. This sounds overpowering, but it is not. Although amazingly tenacious, the scent always stays at a reasonable level.

Chanel is not always my thing, so I was surprised by how much I liked - no, loved - Coromandel. If you are a fan of well-made, classic perfumes but don’t care for overly floral and powdery scents, Coromandel is worth trying. It’s going into my regular rotation.

I love, love it! Its dry, woodsy, spicy and a little dusty, like an oak panelled room with beautiful, old furniture. I just want to live inside this smell!

To me this is a rainy afternoon on an old leather chair with your favorite book, a fire, and his favorite old shirt. And you feel like a million bucks. Just dreamy.

c'est l'ambergris dans le fond qui fait tout la differance!!!!!!
un parfum mix 100 pour 100

Next time anyone asks me "what does it mean when something is greater than the sum of its parts", I will send them off to the Chanel Boutique to have a good sniff of Coromandel.

It says in the blurb that Gabrielle Chanel proclaimed she would "faint of happiness" upon first seeing the laquered Chinese screens, from which Coromandel derives its name, and that she will live surrounded by them. This scent makes me want to repeat her quip. It seems so simplistic and easy-going, and yet it's like a whirlpool never failing to drag one down into its warm insensey depths. Simply beautiful.

Seemingly uncomplicated in its number of elements, yet a deep, well blended and harmonious fragrance.

Patchouli feels fresh on application then becomes the smell of parched, sundried wood embalmed in vanilla nuanced benzoin resin with a sweet infusion of incense; the fibrous wood scent permeating through all the while.

Despite being part of the Les Exclusifs line, Coromandel feels unpretentiously commanding and sophisticatedly simple without being simplistic in any way.

This feels like a barefoot walk on the coast of the Coromandel Peninsula of New Zealand, simply clad in raw, natural linen. Deep, easy serenity.

An amazingly complex fragrance.

Jicky and Coromadel share that peculiar quality of starting off with an almost medicinal note, very strong. But then Jicky continues with Lavander and Coromadel with Woody notes.

Coromadel is definitely fragrance with a huge personality and very unisex.

Coromandel is AMAZING!! Upon first sniff at Holt's, I thought it was too manly and bought the Bois des Iles that I love too. But I kept using my Coromandel sample, and used it up, and I cannot stop smelling the empty tester sample!! I just LOVE it! It is so complicated & intense, yet is still silky-smooth & calm. Smells like incense & inedible chocolate with a touch of sweet pipe tobacco to my nose. It could be used by a man, but I think that a voluptuous, sexy, sultry-voiced siren would be able to pull this off nicely. Jessica Rabbit wears this & Poison in my opinion. I will be buying this very soon! I might even go for the 200ml rather than the 75ml so I can bathe in it like I want to!!

Update: Have bought, and am bathing in it!

God, I love you.

UD: Found out my hubby doesn't love you. Sad, but I still adore you! I will wear you when he is not around!

I just had to comment on dragonesque's breathtaking review below.

I haven't experienced this perfume yet, but I did so enjoy the passion and poetry with which dragonesque explains her love for this scent. Well done!

It’s been four days since I fell in love with Coromandel. This is a very rare occasion when it “clicked” at once between me and the scent. Coromandel meets me with a lot of burnt precious wood. As if I were standing in front of a burning old family mansion watching the fire to devour Viennese chairs, writing cabinets, antique pianos and clavecins. The vintage furniture, the old collection of pictures, the polished old parquet - greedy fire swallows everything. And then, when there is nothing left but the ashes, when I am standing silent and devastated, another scent appears from under the sweetish smoke fume - a fresh, moist, raw, earthy patchouli scent. Like epuration, like forgiveness, like a promise of a new life that is born from the dust. Catharsis.

Coromandel has been my biggest splurge EVER, the 200ml bottle & the $$$, but it is heaven in a bottle on me. One application from the little sample bottle and I knew I would want this fragrance forever. I agree (for once) with L. Turin's comparison to powdered white chocolate, and yes there is A LOT of patchouli. It is also very strong and long-lasting on me and one of the few perfumes I own that have actually made people ask what I'm wearing (in a good way I hope!) It is sweet, yes, but never cloying. I just simply love this gem.

I also have Borneo 1834 by Serge Lutens and it is much darker, intense, bitter chocolate, almost unwearable because it smells so medicinal, good for if you are in a black mood and don't want anyone to come near you. A patchouli overdose. There is no sweetness at all.

I got a very sexy (perfumey, not gourmand) powdery white chocolate. Sort of Chanel-does-Musc-Ravageur, as diorshowman said. It's well done, but chocolate is not generally my thing.

As a lover of classic Chanel fragrances, Coromandel just doesn't do it for me. It starts out extremely sour and smells like vibrant green plants, which is surprising considering the notes listed. As it developed, the sourness faded a bit to make room for something sweet, but over all it resembled the scent of rich potting soil. Now, I'm into earthy scents. I love the smell of plants and dirt, like Chanel #19 for example. It's the acidity of Coromandel that turns me off. I do agree that the combination of notes creates a mild chocolate-like effect, but it doesn't counter-effect the acidity enough to make me like this perfume.

Sorry Chanel, not a winner for me. But that's ok because there are a zillion other fragrances of yours that I want.

At first whiff, Coromandel is very reminiscent of Frederic Malle's Musc Ravageur-that anamalic assertive type of fragrance.I've also heard of this being compared to Serge Luten's Borneo 1834, but I havent gotten a chance to test Borneo out so I cant make that comparison. But as far as being similar to Musc Ravageur...Coromandel is darn close to MR. Think a toned down-ever-so-slighty version of MR, a more wearable version of MR. Upon first sampling it, I had expected this to be alot sweeter than it actually is, I mean Luca Turin described Coromandel as smelling like "powdered white chocolate." This is by no means a true gourmand like Angel Men or New Haarlem, it is more oriental with the vanilla not playing as a sweetener. If you liked Musc Ravageur, then Coromandel is a must try and Coromandel is cheaper too. $140 for MR for a 1.7ml whereas $110 for Coromandel for the 2.5 ml.

*PS. I know this is marketed towards women but to me this is very UNISEX.Being that this is so similar to Musc ravageur and Musc Ravageur is classified as a unisex...I dont see why CHANEL would market this for women.But then again, these are the same people that call Sycomore a woman's fragrance.

Longevity:B+
Projection:B
Uniqueness:B+
Versatility:B-
OVERALL: A

Coromandel smells of sweet, warm, powdery caramel on my skin. I enjoy it - it makes a lovely, soft and powdery nighttime scent. It is gentle and unobtrusive and lasts all night.

As soon as sprayed it turns out strange: rough, bitter, it has wrongfooted to me because it has not tried to seduce to me, indeed almost it has ignored me and it gone straight for its road, with citruses and incense to fairly divide between men and women.
But little after the patchouli a vellutata boscosità has begun to dull its angles diffusing and resinosa, feminine but with temperament, and that has captured my attention. I did not succeed to stop to smell to me.

After a half hour the scent has been still transformed, becoming ulteriorly polveroso and carezzevole, almost amber, with a benzoin end perhaps and fava tonka that it has lasted very over a long time span, for being a edt, with a sillage very discreet and of great class. You will understand that to this point I was completely its…

This scent has made to make a rich olfattivo travel, original me, unforeseeable, exciting. And entirety, has made to feel me beautiful and seduces, very centered to earth.

I like this best on my husband. Yummy on him ...yuk on me.

It was Katie Puckrik who had me wanting to try this fragrance. After watching her perfume collection videos on YouTube and hearing all about her love for incense-based scents, Chanel's Coromandel went straight to the top of my 'for test' list.

It took a while for me to discover my love for Coromandel. When first applied to the skin, it seemed to be very masculine and indeed very strong. The incense note was barely evident for the first ten minutes.

When I re-visited Coromandel, it reminded me of a stronger, more lasting and much more complex version of Allure Sensuelle.

After leaving the Chanel boutique I was quite certain that Chanel's Beige was my pick, however as I walked on through the crowd of people at the mall, I was enchanted by a deliciously smokey scent drifting up and around my nose.

Once settled into the heart, the magic of Coromandel can be truly felt. This is less sophisticated than other Chanel's I've tried. Coromandel makes me feel like a bad-girl; a little daring, merciless and wild.

Coromandel is earthy patchouli, rich ambery incense, exotic spices, syrupy vanilla and dusty woods. I would be game enough to call this fragrance sexy.

Some people mention chocolate as a note not listed here, and on second thoughts, there is a rather chocolatey accord hidden in there somewhere. However, don't expect Coromandel to be anything like Thierry Mugler's Angel.

The lasting strength is amazing. I had my wrist stuck to my nose until almost 3am. I think Coromandel excited me so much that I couldn't sleep.

I went out and read all the reviews on this before writing my own. i see most people like it, and I will not be disagreeing with them.

This is a nice smokey, benzoin tinged fragrance. Benzoin, to the unaware, wears a bit sweet, and this is what folks are referring to wiht their 'sweet' comments.

One thing that caught my eye was a review that this isn't selling well. I suspect I know why. As a piece of art this perfume is very lovely, but when placed in the Louvre it becomes forgetable. i'm assuming that smoky orientals are a genre most folks need one, two tops bottles of.

As an incense/benzoin i have Bois D'armenie, which is more complex than this. As a sweet woody i think Sonoma Scent's Winter Woods has the edge.

And so on for every aspect of this scent; and the high price tag doesn't help matters any. So in sum, a good fragrance when reviewed alone, an OK fragrance when held up to the competition.

Coromandel is a beautiful, patchouli fragrance - a must try for all patch lovers out there!This is my favorit!
!Обичам го!

Lovely spicy beginning and even more pretty patchouli/insence drydown that resembles that of Prada. Slightly gourmand , I think it gives out that comforting impression for a rainy weather.

Chanel COROMANDEL is a very strong and spicy elixir, on the order of CK EUPHORIA, believe it or not! Instead of champaca, here we have incense, applied very liberally, to the point where I felt that I was trapped in a tarot card reader's tent all day. Honestly, I was waiting for this stuff to fade away, looking forward with great anticipation to a hot bath.

But then, suddenly, something miraculous transpired: I find myself now ensconced in a beautiful, benzoin-rich, not overly spicy but still oriental drydown. Suddenly, five hours after application, I really like COROMANDEL!

The opening had the same sourness that I detected in a couple other of Les Exclusifs, which I really do not like. Added to the heavy-handed, in-your-face incense note, I was ready to toss the rest of my sample out. Now, however, I have decided that COROMANDEL requires extremely light application, so I'll have to try it again on another occasion before issuing my final verdict. (-;

I didn't expect to like it so much, 'cause I thought it would be too heavy and suffocating. It is simply incredible - smells so classy, expensive, sophisticated and most of all yummy, like a combination of white and dark chocolate, with a non-irritating sweetness. My husband absolutely adores it and often reminds me to wear it.

It’s been a long, wintry day in a busy city. You crave the comfort of a warm room, lit only by the flames dancing in the old-fashioned fireplace. You want something that is cozy and, yet, flavorful. Hot chocolate, anyone?

To me, Coromandel is the perfect cup of chocolate! This is not, however, the innocent, milk chocolate that is so popular with young children. Rather, it is the dark, 70%-cocoa chocolate—rich and aromatic. I would not describe Coromandel as a gourmand. There is a slightly bitter accord, pronounced particularly in the middle notes, that prevents it from being sweet. There is wood, too, emanating just a hint of something aloof in the middle. The base is velvety smooth. I am not entirely convinced by Turin and Sanchez’s comment that Coromandel reminds of white chocolate or powder. I don’t find Coromandel either white, or powdery. It is relatively dry, though not as dry and not as linear as Serge Lutens Borneo stays on my skin.

After a long search for the “ideal” patchouli that creates this wonderful illusion of a rich, dark chocolate, I think I have found it in Coromandel. Like another reviewer below, I don't see why this should be only a feminine fragrance. It could be great on a man, too.

This scent starts out a little bit oilly, with a soft aroma of amber, something between the medicinal and the creamy smells. But very strong and pleasant.

Then, goes to a mix of vanilla + chocolat, which is typical from scents that have a touch of benzoin. It reminds me A LOT of L’instant (Guerlain) and its aroma of white chocolat with a hint of Rochas Lui. I would say that this one could be an ideal female version of L’instant.

Although its target is the women people, it could be perfectly shared, depending on the skin of the person who are wearing it, of course! I have already seen male fragrances more “female” than this one.

Its bottle is simple, however the perfume is complex. The quality and the wealthy of this scent are spectacular.

the beautiful fragrance truely classified as one of Les Exclusives. at the beginning you may think that the big bottle is too much and carring in a purse would be not easy thing. but lately you will experience the true chic of exclusivity that the fragrance stays all day long filling the air of the its splendid notes. Bravo Chanel!

Coromandel is a beautiful, patchouli fragrance - a must try for all patch lovers out there!

Luca Turin described it as "powdered white chocolate," and I'd have to agree. There's nothing else quite like this perfume, which starts out as a very animalic, ambery burst of indulgence and which dries down to a sublte, sweet, powdery patchouli. The patchouli in Coromandel is not dry, nor is it overly woody - it's blended with the chocolately amber so well that, though it's the headliner of the fragrance, it doesn't steal the show entirely, and eventually, it becomes just as powdery as the chocolate accord (which is a very unique occurrence to my nose).

This won't be universally liked and in fact, I've heard it's the worst-selling in the Les Exclusifs line, but for those who adore patchouli and chocolate, and perhaps those who were intrigued by Borneo 1834, it's worth seeking out and testing, if only for the experience of smelling something entirely original.

The powdery tone reminds me of sand and soft materials, the wet woodiness brings to mind images of driftwood, and the ambery incense reminds me of bonfires on the beach. Though it's the farthest thing from beachy, wearing Coromandel makes me feel like walking along a foggy beach in the morning, wrapped in the softness of a white cashmere sweater, and aware of nothing but the feel of the natural textures all around me.