Chanel – Coco Noir perfume reviews

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Reviews of Coco Noir by Chanel

There are 38 reviews of Coco Noir by Chanel .

Lyric82
Show all reviews by Lyric82

So I am going through the chanel house of perfume offerings completely out of order and without any preconceived notions. My first experience, of course was with No.5, and I was not ready for that at the time. Then, more recently, I started sampling the exclusive line and fell in love with Coromandel, Sycomore, Beige and Jersey… then I went back to my No. 5 bottle and actually enjoyed it.

So then I blind purchased this because I liked the bottle. Yeah, I know how that sounds. That’s the kind of strange things I do sometimes. Well turns out I adore this! I’ve never smelled any of the other Coco offerings, but to me, this is a modern take on a chanel offering and I think it’s absolutely gorgeous.

It opens with a beautiful fizziness, citrus fizz… how delectable. Then it settles down into a soft powdery citrus floral with beautiful patchouli that I think only chanel has patchouli like this.

This is one of the few fragrances that my eyes bulged out of my head when I experienced it for the first time. It’s stunning to me, and I wish I bought a 3.4 oz bottle instead of a 1.7.

I do really think that since I had no preconceived notions going into it, that I was able to fall in love with this without any biases.

I think if you have modern leaning preferences, you will think this is absolutely divine.

Patriciaahb10
Show all reviews by Patriciaahb10

I like this perfume, especially during the dry down phase as it radiates the original Coco. Maybe I’m losing my sense of smell but this particular combo smells like a Coco Mix stew. I love Coco but cannot wear it as my eyes swell up and I start sneezing. Gabrielle is too sweet for an old lady and I’ve tired of CM. I purchased some Chance and though it seems meant for the younger crowd, I think I can pull it off. Just wondering if CN is a necessary purchase. I think you could layer the other Coco and toss in some Chance for a similar effect.

Allure Sensuelle is quite beautiful as is Coromandel. They all smell wonderful but must limit wearing time or take an antihistamine .

khanada
Show all reviews by khanada

Coco Noir is misunderstood, and it is partly Chanel’s fault. This house so rarely makes missteps, that, when it does, they stick out, like a sore thumb. Luca Turin says that Coco Mademoiselle’s runaway success was a surprise, as it was intended as a limited run flanker, so I will concede that Coco Mademoiselle’s confusing name isn’t the cynical cash grab that many perfume houses have tried since its success, by modifying the name of a classic pillar fragrance, and then filling the new bottles with a generic Modern Musky Floral or a sticky, sugary gourmand (do not even get me started about Black Opium). So, I give Chanel a pass on the name of Coco Mademoiselle, even though the perfume itself is not for me.

Coco Noir, on the other hand, deserved something better. The handsome bottle–Chanel’s presentation is always impeccable, I’ll give them that–is a stroke of genius, but, at the least, the name lacks imagination, and at the worst, it looks like a hop onto the bandwagon, from a house that normally holds itself to higher standards. It is misleading in the same annoying way as its Black/Noir ilk usually are, and it insults lovers of the original, legendary Coco, one of Chanel’s greatest fragrances, one that has inspired fanatical devotion from its birth onward. Because this is not Coco, not even close, and I understand why anyone would feel disappointed with it, if they were expecting something of similar grandeur. Coco Noir should have been called something else, and Chanel should know better.

I came to Coco Noir forewarned, and, perhaps, that is one reason why I don’t feel obliged to dislike it. I was one of many young women who fell for Coco, all those many years ago, and my expectations of Coco Noir were low, so I stayed away from it, until recently. What finally intrigued me about it, was that its reviews are all over the map, nearly evenly divided between thumbs up, down, and sideways, and some of the people who genuinely like it, are not just young women who only wear Modern Musky florals, but serious perfume people, whose opinions I respect. Anything that inspires that level of conversation is worth a chance with me.

And it does not disappoint. Before I get into the reasons why I like it, I want to point out something, that I think people don’t always acknowledge about Chanel’s perfumes. With the exception of No. 5, Chanel is generally not a house that breaks new ground with its fragrances. What it does, and it does this brilliantly, is follow, and consolidate, established fragrance trends. No. 19 is a great example of this. It was launched in 1971, when the green trend was in full swing. Coco appeared years after the massive success of Opium. Coromandel has a similar relationship to several Serge Lutens’ early, great orientals. These perfumes don’t smell exactly like their predecessors, but they do rearrange their components, into the ineffably elegant Chanel house style. There is nothing wrong with this. To paraphrase TS Eliot, or Ezra Pound (and it is ironically appropriate, that it is not clear who said this first), mature poets borrow, while mature poets steal. This is the Chanel way, and I wonder if part of Coco Noir’s failure to catch on as it might have, aside from its confusing nomenclature, is that its potential buyers expected something astonishing, and new.

Coco is not that. It does what Chanel does best. It distills the best of the current fragrance trends, uses materials of impeccable quality, and composes fragrances of great beauty, elegance, and delicacy. About ten years ago, Jean-Claude Ellena said that Chanel’s then recent perfumes were beautiful, but not of crazy brilliance, and I think he is right. I suspect that the haute bourgeois style of Chanel, as a whole, considers obsessive trendiness, as a kind of vulgarity, and so their creative team waits, until something has a firmly established foothold, in the market, before they risk the house’s reputation, with something new.

Coco Noir does that. It’s the Chanel version of Narciso Rodriguez for Her, the original musky floral Patchouli Lite, done with Chanel’s signature effervescent aldehydes and elegant rose/jasmine duo at its heart. It smells like its forbears, to a large degree, but it also demonstrates how the a perfume’s basic accord is not all there is to a perfume. Ingredients, balance, calibration, texture, compositional coherence–these matter, and the array of “notes” is not what makes a perfume good, or bad. Chanel has done here, what they do well, reimagining a popular perfume trend, assimilating it to its house style, and presenting it with exquisite taste. I find most Modern Musky Florals boring as hell.
This one is not.

The opening is just gorgeous, a brilliantly rendered fizzy patchouli, which, by the way, must be really hard to do. Aldehydes do weird things to patchouli, they tend to bury it in the mix, or they add a weird and unpleasant plastic quality, usually smelling like hairspray, to a material that smells so earthy, so redolent of Mother Nature, that it must make an awkward fit with most lab-grown materials. Coco Noir never goes there; it brings these often incompatible materials together, and holds them at the same dizzying altitude as Chanel’s great No. 22, which does the same thing for tuberose. The patchouli has the same appealing chocolate as Serge Lutens’ Borneo, Bois 1920’s Real Patchouly, and Chanel’s own Coromandel, earthy but not swampy. It’s a brilliantly executed opening, and it sets up the rest of the perfume, which is made of silky florals, an airbrushed jasmine, and a pillowy rose, with the lovely patchouli persisting throughout, reappearing and disappearing again, giving the perfume a sense of elusiveness and mystery.

These polished florals seem to be what most reviewers find objectionable, and I understand why, as Chanel’s jasmine is usually, somehow, both quicksilver and indolic. Coco Noir’s heart is sweet, but it is a tempered sweetness, never overbearing, almost like a milky sweet tea. I see why this might not be appealing, if you prefer your florals dirty. If this perfume were not so carefully blended, I would find it bland, but with the gorgeous patchouli, it works, the same way Angel works, in a much lower key.

The perfume rests on a very light, very smooth, sandalwood accord, and a soft, clean musk, and that is another reason why, I can imagine, that some people don’t like it. There is an unmistakable, fresh laundry component, that would be a deal breaker for me, if it weren’t so subtle, and so appropriate to the perfume, as a whole. Leave it to Chanel, to find a way around the typical bludgeoning laundry accord, using it with a very light touch that reminds me of the excellent recent reworking of Balmain’s Ivoire. It makes sense, in the context, of this very well-mannered perfume, that accommodates so many common elements of modern perfumery, and still smells, unmistakeably, Chanel. The aldehydes, the rose-jasmine, the sandalwood, you can’t miss the signature, and that puts it over the net, for me.

I find Coco Noir to be a very easy wear, a perfume that feels right, in any context, polite enough for day, or at the office, and with enough presence for special occasions. An all-rounder, really, that belongs with YSL’s lovely Cinema, as a safe, but smart, and interesting, option, in a time when people wear scented laundry detergent, lotion, and hair products, but claim to hate and eschew perfume. Its projection is as carefully measured, as the perfume’s accords are composed, and its projection is perfect, just a little past arms’ length. It lasts at least twelve hours on my skin, which seems to be about average in its tendency to hold perfume.

I find it ironic, that its obvious desire to please, is what seems to make Coco Noir so divisive. People find it attractive, it is one of only a couple of perfumes I wear, that gets compliments from random strangers, and my boyfriend loves it. I don’t wear perfume to please other people, but that is what most people, who are non-crazy perfume addicts like me, look for in a scent, and I am not writing this review for myself, so I think it is important to mention that. I hope I have convinced, whoever is reading this, to try it, or give it another chance. It succeeds on its own terms, and I think it’s the best of its kind, a Modern Musky Floral, with an actual personality. Thumbs up.

A

awbrumle
Show all reviews by awbrumle

This is an oriental Woody fragrance. When I first smelled coco noir I instantly bought it for my aunt who has worn Red by Giorgio Beverly hills for years. I thought that it would be perfect for her. Now when I smell it I smell mostly a darker coco mademoiselle. If you want something a little deeper and sexier this is it.

Varanis Ridari
Show all reviews by Varanis Ridari

Coco Noir (2012) makes sense to a degree, but is still hugely disappointing. The name and bottle graphics imply that Jacques Polge created a darker and more alluring interpretation of his classic Coco Chanel (1984), but what we actually get is a serious non-ozonic “full frutchouli” take on Coco Mademoiselle (2001), which is the furthest possible thing from either a “Noir” concept or a unique variation of Coco, since all the hallmark characteristics of either Coco Chanel or Coco Mademoiselle are all but lost in the transformation. I can understand the thought process, as something like Coco Noir was probably built with fanbases of both “Cocos” in mind, but it leans far too much into the direction of mainstream feminine perfume tropes to really serve either, even if it is a more mature take on Coco Mademoiselle for women who want to move away from the Jolly Rancher candy accord of Mademoiselle and into something more appropriate for evening use. If Coco Mademoiselle was training wheels to eventually move into the original Coco Chanel, Coco Noir is a full-on adult tricycle for those too afraid to ever create their own balance.

The Coco Noir experience begins similarly to Coco Mademoiselle but with the sweet lemon and dayglo lychee replaced with larger amounts of grapefruit for a more adult vibe. Coco Noir is only really “Noir” in these opening moments, as it presents a darker citrus melange with a slightly-indolic bordello rose and jasmine combo, leading into that huge glob of denatured patchouli which anchors the accord. From here, things lighten up with the vanilla, tonka, laundry musk, and that smooth buttery Polge sandalwood compound which lives in everything from Chanel Pour Monsieur Eau de Toilette Concentrée (1989) up through Chanel Allure Homme (1999) and Sycomore Eau de Parfum (2016). I like this patent sandalwood compound of his because of it’s “better Mysore through science” sort of aesthetic (although nothing beats the real stuff for sure) but even this perfumer’s hallmark note can’t save the sheer nasal anathema that is the sweet gummi fruit over bleached patchouli roundness which I find so irritating about the genre. Coco Mademoiselle distracted from this with all its zany tartness, but not so here. This starts dark and a bit alluring, then finishes heavy and annoyingly decadent but without character, like a piece of plain prepackaged cheesecake at a buffet restaurant.

Coco Noir ends up a heavy and semi-cloying scent like most fruitchouli fragrances and therefore best for cool or evening romantic use. If this sort of thing is your bag, then my protests may be in vain, but I really think this is horribly mislabeled. My vote would be to call this “Coco De-Mademoiselled” or “Coco Mallbamboozle” but somehow I think neither of those would have flown past the marketing team. In all honesty, this is just “Mademoiselle for Grownups” and therein loses all its former charm as a silly and sassy reminder of the Y2K period of high-energy fragrances meant to bomb the halls of High School and the dorms of college campuses in a post-90’s youth generation tired of grunge. This is the scent of that same generation now approaching middle age and just plain tired from news about capitalist society’s collapse into corporate feudalism, a planet dying from climate change, and anti-vaxxers telling us that reviving dead plagues through their uninnoculated spawn is a right. Much like most of this news, and all the choices made by people which led to this awful timeline in which we live, I hate Coco Noir. What a shame too, since this bottle is really sexy in a Robert Piguet sort of way. Two big thumbs way down, but test and see for yourself.

Infini
Show all reviews by Infini

I’m trying Coco Noir for the first time today, and am sadly finding it very disappointing, like every other Jacques Polge fragrance I have tried.

Coco Noir, on my skin, is like a mixture of original Coco and Mugler’s discontinued Eau de Star: the oriental notes of Coco mix with the heavy patchouli of Eau de Star, along with a heavy dose of orange blossom. The overall result is more individual than the majority of vanilla-patchouli-white musk fragrances that are so common today, but I’m afraid Coco Noir is still very sickly and completely throwaway.

Abbiss
Show all reviews by Abbiss

The opening is gorgeous, but then it goes to something very generic and average. A bit disappointingly light. It’s nothing like Coco. A totally different fragrance.

Sirentian
Show all reviews by Sirentian

I have a love-hate relationship with this scent. When I first spray it I get sweetness, musk, and the best, most sophisticated citrus in the world with great sillage –– if I could buy a gallon of just the top notes I totally would. Unfortunately an hour later they give way to a generic sweet patchouli base. It also only lasts at most 3 hours on me, which is pretty poor performance––but perhaps that’s a good thing, so I can respray it and re-experience the top notes every 3 hours?

For now I’m probably going to go with Tom Ford’s Noir Pour Femme for an almost-equally delectable scent that has way better performance on me, but if I am able to acquire Coco Noir for a good price then I might get a bottle.

Possum-Pie
Show all reviews by Possum-Pie

This is Mademoiselle, with a darker side. More spices, less sharpness, dry-down looses the darkness and becomes a brighter frag.

JadainGA
Show all reviews by JadainGA

Sweet fancy Moses I LOVE this stuff! Longevity on my skin is forever, sillage is cozy and minimal, and the drydown is just heavenly.

A bit pricey, but I’m willing to save up for it….. 🙂

mightycrone
Show all reviews by mightycrone

While I do get a whiff of mama Coco at the top, the spices disperse quickly–and what do you know– it’s my old friend, Chance (edp, not edt). I have worn Chance on and off since its debut, and can say that this is close enough to Chance that I don’t think it’s worthwhile to own both.

There are those who detect Coco Mademoiselle in this one, too. Either way, I don’t think the problem is with US as much as it is with Chanel, returning to the well one time (or five or six) too many. Thumbs down not for the scent (because after all, I’ve loved Chance for years) but for quantity over originality.

sjg3839
Show all reviews by sjg3839

The tonka and rose really stand out in this one. More feminine than masculine IMO, but a nice fragrance nonetheless. 7.5/10

K

KouklaD
Show all reviews by KouklaD

I got a sample of this with another Chanel order and I really love it. It has lasted all day. The citrus didn’t last long on me, but the woodsy musk and patchouli are with me now, 11 hours after I applied. This might be a contender for my next purchase.

Shahbaz_2009
Show all reviews by Shahbaz_2009

WOW!talking about an attention grabber.In my opinion It is a big point for a perfume when some of people dont like it as it means you have a special perfume who it can’t be ordinary and popular at all.whenever you wear a frgrance that you truly love,it makes a huge difference in the way you feel that day,the way you carry your self and the way that you interact with others. modern,confident, sophisticated, seductive,intriguing and elegant.

The top notes are fresh with bergamot and grapefruit.the heart notes are more floral and sophisticated with rose, jasmine and narcissus.finally patchouli and sandalwood mixed togethet in the base notes that’s incredibly seductive. this composition is a definition of seduction and richness of a stylish woman as this scent is irresistible for so many men.

Coco Noir is so suitable for when you have a big event.It is definitely a night fragrance.ideal for a modern lady who want to capture everybody attention and surely for autumn and winter.In my mind it is not the best Chanel but really laudable and beautiful. expensive but worth every penny. ladies this fragrance will keep the men coming.

P

Perfumed Librarian
Show all reviews by Perfumed Librarian

I really wanted to like Coco Noir since it has such longevity on me. Unfortunately it makes me smell like a stewed prune. Much as I love stewed prunes I’d really rather eat them over oatmeal with yogurt and tahini than wear them. Sigh.

rbaker
Show all reviews by rbaker

Beside the citrus and jasmine-rose floral notes I get an early patchouli that is very nice on my skin. This later part of the top notes is delightful, but after about and hour it develops into a woodsy vanilla concoction that exudes mediocrity and is a bit disappointing. Moderate sillage, adequate projection and three hours of longevity. Not the most exciting of flankers but a nice beginning.

S

sleepsheep
Show all reviews by sleepsheep

A major dissapointment from Chanel. A very generic shopping mall fragrance. A combination between Chance and Mademoiselle, selecting the worst from both. I smell very sharp citrus and a very artifical sweetness. I was expecting the sweet, spicy mystery of Coco, but Noir has none of that. It’s a very generic floral, fruity fragrance. A big thumbs down.

B

Bal a Versailles
Show all reviews by Bal a Versailles

Without owning a sample I would like to second everything Mimi Gardenia writes in her review and say that this is simply gorgeous on my daughter. Just because it may not (or it may) suit me doesn’t detract from its obvious appeal. The longevity and sillage are right up there. I may buy a bottle before fragrance restrictions dumb down this Lois Lane of a perfume. “All roads lead to Rome” my Mother is fond of saying but perhaps all roads lead to Chanel. Impressive.

foetidus
Show all reviews by foetidus

For the first 12 or 15 seconds I thought something wonderful was happening in this fragrance. There were a couple of seconds when I almost went weak in the knees it smelled so good. But when I realized that the excellence of the accord started dulling, and nothing else appeared to be happening, I began a search some sort of directional intent or progress. It didn’t appear. Instead of a signature Chanel accord, which I usually look forward to, Coco Noir vaguely reminds me of Ormonde Man, which has an signature accord that I don’t enjoy. Unfortunately, this second accord that I perceive is pretty much the whole progression for the fragrance.

I was expecting to enjoy this, but that didn’t happen. I don’t understand it – especially in relation to previous Chanels and Cocos that I have reviewed. I don’t see a relationship with any of the Coco’s and I don’t see this as a noir… I can see a bit of Chanel in it – the dominant accord is smooth, complex, and it has that touch of elegant-but-distant thing that usually signifies Chanels for me. But I don’t really enjoy the use of geranium leaf, vanilla, and patchouli in Coco Noir. I’m disappointed in the averageness of this scent – not what I expected from a “Coco” or a Chanel.

rogalal
Show all reviews by rogalal

I’ve been sampling and reviewing a lot of Chanel lately and I’m struck that I almost always end up thinking that their scents are well composed and of good quality, but they rarely dazzle me. Coco Noir is another perfect example of that.

It smells like grape soda at first, lifted slightly with aldehydes and given a rich heart of fruity patchouli, while a synthetic rubbing alcohol smell darkens things and keeps everything from going gourmand or coming off as a cheap fruity floral. Later, a subtle green leafy element takes the place of the rubbing alcohol and that’s pretty much what it smells like all the way to the base: sweet fruity patchouli darkened with subtle greens.

Coco Noir is well made. All the elements fit together in a well thought out way. It’s not to sweet or too patchouli-heavy and even the rubbing alcohol note (which I usually detest) is perfectly blended and lends interest without being intrusive. But it’s not exciting. Compared to Femilite du Bois or Egoiste, the grand dame and stately gentleman of the fruity flowery patchouli genre, it’s not quite dull, but definitely less exciting. That being said, it deserves a thumbs up, but it’s not a five-star masterpiece, just a well made perfume that’s unlikely to turn heads.

Franco65
Show all reviews by Franco65

the bottom line is…UnisexThis incredible floral woody with hints of patchouly is really unisex with great sillage, glad to wear it and enjoy it in these cooler temps!

prosperonline
Show all reviews by prosperonline

Not that feminie, a strong evening scentI think Noir suits Coco Noir as it feels like an evening fragrance. It is not that feminine, but I have this feeling someone like, I don’t know, maybe Grace kelly is somewhere very close by. That is the mood when I smell Coco Noir. Of course I don’t have much mileage into women’s perfums, so the ladies must have a bigger knowledge and can tell something about originality and how Coco Noir stands among other scents in the same league.There is a note in the opennig I cannot identify that is indeed very feminine, perhaps the narscissus, fruity and buttery at the same time, but it fades very quickly and then it goes on the path of ambery, sandalwood and littlle vanilla, patchoulli sort of scent. Very warm and confident. Maybe it is a bit too sweet. But overall it is a very classy scent, not for women only, that can be defined by the wearer. I can’t stop thinking about CK Obsession. They seem to have a lot in common. However, there is no match for Chanel quality and appeal. I may not wear it but I am happy to own something as nice as Coco Noir. And who knows it won’t add a little depth to Egoiste, as they share some notes? The bottle feels a little odd being quite smaller than male’s scents.Pros: Quality class and appealCons: The price?”