Fragrance Review: Chanel – Gabrielle
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
When it was released back in 2017, Gabrielle was received with lots of expectation. Being Chanel’s first pillar fragrance release in years, the new Eau de Parfum developed by in-house perfumer Olivier Polge was expected to be impactful. Stunning. Beyond-words amazing. And when it didn’t live up to legendary status… it became target of lots of negative comments.
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Review
I do understand, and partially agree with, the criticism. Hearing (or reading) the words “new fragrance from Chanel” makes a perfume entusiasth’s heart skip a beat, and for good reason. This is the house that gave us the diva Coco, complex Nº19, and well, of course – the most famous perfume in the world, Chanel Nº5, and all its beautiful flankers. And Gabrielle… well…
Gabrielle is a well-blended but relatively simple white floral scent. It has a (lovely) grapefruit-centric opening, and a fresh, bright (and also lovely) heart accord of 4 flowers: orange blossom, jasmine, ylang-ylang & tuberose; all so smoothly blended (in a very Chanel way) that it’s hard to pick apart one or the other. A neutral, muted creamy base closes off the fragrance, that makes its entire (short¹) presentation from start to finish with lightness and grace, and little to none unexpected changes.
If you expect to find an earth-shattering work of art of a perfume, Gabrielle is probably going to disappoint you. It’s not super complex, or revolutionary. Neither does it have a character so unique you could smell once and remember it easily from there on.
Yes, Gabrielle is no Nº5. But I don’t think it deserves the harshness it was treated with, since, really, it isn’t any more “generic”, “safe”, “simple” or “fleeting” than a lot of other scents… including a lot of other Chanel scents! (exibits A through G: the entire Chance line). So why so much hate on poor light-basic-fresh-floral Gabrielle when everyone seems to adore light-basic-fresh-floral Chance Eau Tendre?
Fragrance Impressions
Notes: (Top) Grapefruit, mandarine, black currant; (Heart) Orange blossom, jasmine, ylang ylang, tuberose; (Base) Sandalwood, cashmeran, musk, orris.
Colour Impression: A translucid sun yellow.
Evokes: Sunlight in a fresh morning; yellow satin and mousseline; a ballerina in a joyful dance.
Similar to: Hermès Jour d’Hermès, Dior J’Adore (EdT); Armani Light di Gioia.
Season & Occasion: Spring, day, medium formality; any occasion, very versatile.
Conclusion
Gabrielle is cheerful yet classy, and not particularly unique, yet effortless to wear. I find it very pretty, and my only complain is a slight acidity I wished wasn’t there² – but that doesn’t get to spoil the whole picture.
Is this the best of Chanel? Uhh, no. But that is a tall bar to jump, and I don’t think Gabrielle should be judged for what it’s not. It is an airy, polite, luminous light scent, made to be gentle and pleasing more than a statement. And, when considered on this terms… yes, it is beautiful.
¹ The longevity of Gabrielle is one point were this fragrance gets harsh criticism. I don’t think it’s the worst for an Eau de Parfum in the entire cosmetics session… but it’s far from stellar. And where the usual standarts of Chanel are concerned… shame!
² And that is responsible for this fragrance rating only 3,5 stars for me, instead of a firm 4.
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