Chanel Coco Noir didn’t have to be a great perfume. It didn’t even have to be a particularly good perfume. This could have been a totally average perfume, and I still would have bought it for that gorgeous black-and-gold bottle. But somehow Coco Noir couldn’t even manage that. This is a mediocre perfume, and I honestly don’t understand how Chanel can sell it with a straight face.
Fans of the original Coco will recognize very little of their beloved perfume in Chanel Coco Noir. It’s actually much closer to Coco Mademoiselle, but worse. Imagine Coco Mademoiselle with less of those pretty floral top notes and significantly more of that sour, synthetic patchouli, and you’ve got a very good idea of Coco Noir. Man, this is just such a letdown. I was so excited by the prospect of a new oriental fragrance in the mainstream Chanel lineup, but this is just another hot mess of a fruitchouli. If I sound overly grumpy about this, it’s because I just know that this is going to be a huge seller and I’m going to have to smell it everywhere.
Why is Chanel Coco Noir so bad? I mean, is this a joke? A dare? DAMMIT CHANEL, I told you to stop playing Truth or Dare at those slumber parties!
(You can try it for youself and see, get a Chanel Coco Noir perfume sample)
I commented on Ann’s post about Coco Noir, too.
I’m sad that Coco Noir was a disappointment to many folks.
As luck would have it…..I am one of the 10 people in the country for whom Coco Noir is a success.
Coco Noir is neither Coco, nor is it Noir, however it is a lovely fragrance and is obviously well-crafted of excellent ingredients. It smells like a Chanel (to me, anyway)
For me, I will happily own and wear Coco Noir. It is a go-anywhere, wear-anytime fragrance. It is pretty.
Sometimes pretty is enough.
I too love this perfume! I was looking for something dark and seductive, and this works really well for me – I can’t stop smelling myself when I’m wearing it! I wish it worked as well for others!
I too love this perfume! I was looking for something dark and seductive, and this works really well for me – I can’t stop smelling myself when I’m wearing it! I wish it worked as well for others!
I liked Coco Mademoiselle when it first came out and after a couple weeks wear, I hated it. Probably because so many people were wearing it. Earlier this year, I reviewed Coco and didn’t care for the dated ’80’s feel of it. I do think that I will avoid Coco Noir.
I’m not even going to bother sniffing this one, because I already dislike Coco Mad with its stinky fruitichouli thing going on, so they’ve totally scared me off of this one. I agree that the bottle is classy looking. Guess they blew their budget on the bottle and had no money left for the juice!
Your bottle theory sounds very plausible, Dina. And I definitely wouldn’t recommend Coco Noir if you already dislike Coco Mad.
Chanel and, for that matter, Dior have routinely broken our hearts and they just don’t give a damn.
No argument here, Elizabeth. At least we still have Les Exclusifs and the Private Collection…
Great review, lady, and so funny! Maybe this should have been released on April 1st, eh? It bugs me, too, that they used that wonderful black bottle — that should have been reserved for something truly outstanding. Big sigh …
Thank you, Ann! I very much enjoyed your Coco Noir review too! Unfortunately, I suspect that Chanel is far too serious and sophisticated for April Fool’s jokes 😉