OK, Valentine’s Day is arriving this week and if you’re not really up for chocolate (I do understand that not everyone is a chocoholic and some are trying to abstain), then let’s get our chocolate fix from fragrance — specifically white chocolate, shall we? I realize that it is not a true chocolate, as in made from the bean, but play along with me anyway.
Here are my picks for white chocolate love:
For a sophisticated, elegant take that has an Oriental depth and weight, Chanel’s Coromandel gets my vote. In “Perfumes: The Guide,” Luca Turin writes: “If there were such a thing as powdered white chocolate, it would smell like Coromandel. Wonderful.” Hear, hear, Mr. Turin!
In a beautiful and different interpretation, iris goes creamy and gourmand, getting the pastry treatment via a four-star kitchen in Guerlain’s Iris Ganache. Such a shame this delight is no more. Oddly enough, some days when I wear Guerlain’s Cuir Beluga, I get a familiar echo of the discontinued gem and its white chocolate note and it makes me happy.
And despite its limited edition status, Armani Prive La Femme Bleue also imbues iris with a hint of chocolate, and to my nose, it could be white, why not? Incense adds a bit of depth to this elegant veil of scent that manages to create an iris-centric scent that has a beauty all its own. One that’s not rooty, powdery, chilly, funereal, wet or gourmand, no mean feat.
What are your favorite chocolate scents? And are there any other white chocolate (or otherwise) scents that we should sniff?
Love Iris Ganache of course and another great white chocolate scent is Indigo Vanille from Envoyage and the dark chocolate Cafe Cacao from the same house is also fabulous
Hi, Rena! So glad to see another Iris Ganache fan! Must try those two scents you mentioned. I really like Zelda from Envoyage so need to sample more from that house. Thanks!
Oops! I forgot all about Coromandel’s mainstream little sister, Jessica Simpson Fancy Nights. That one has a similar vibe as well (plus the added bonus of being super affordable).
Ann, I have JS and you’re right! The “only thing” that gets in my way in the odd note in it that is a strong play dough, or plasticky one! Is that the papyrus! It would be a perfect cheapy if not for that. On my skin of course . You might really love papyrus on you!
Hey, Julie! I just wore a smidge last night and didn’t notice that in the scent. Sorry you get that, but maybe if you can figure out when it comes out on your skin, you can just try to ignore it until it fades?
I love Coromandel, but do not reach for that bottle very often. It is a perfume which sometimes goes wrong on my skin, getting a musty note. Luckily it is not a perfume with a note like white chocolate for me, that would have been too sweet and cloying after just a few moments. I guess I do not seek out chocolate in perfume or scented body products.
Oh, no — I really despise that musty note when it pops up. Guess the chocolate-ish scents were a happy accident for me; I was corralling ones I’d enjoyed wearing recently and a lot of them ended up being in this style.
Love Coromandel too! Borneo1834 I suppose is the dark chocolate version of Coromandel. Perfumes that evoke a chocolate feel for me are PdE Equistrius and Musc Maori
Thanks, Boo! I really wanted to love Borneo, but it went a little too dusty/musty on me : ( But I do have some Equistrius around here somewhere so I need to get my hands on that and wear it again.
I haven’t tried any of the ones you mentioned. I need to try Coromandel. I think the only perfume with a white chocolate note that I have is the original Omnia. I don’t wear it a lot, but when I do I really like it.
You are the second or third person to mention that Bulgaria; I think I tried it a while back but need to poke around and refresh my memory. Do try Coromandel when you get a chance — I think you’d really like it!
On my skin, Bulgari Blu Notte (or Bvlgari Bvl Notte, if you prefer….) has a gorgeous combination of Vodka + White Chocolate.
It is warm, powdery and all kinds of beautiful.
Frequently I wear BBN with White Chocolate Body Butter by Delon.
Gwenyth, those sound amazing! And I never would have thought of vodka and white chocolate.
I don’t think I have any scents with white chocolate as a primary note. If we can include dark, I like Olympic Orchids California Chocolate – chocolate dipped orange!
Dark is great, Lisa! I am loving the sound of chocolate-dipped orange; my mouth is watering for a slice right now, ha!
Hey Ann,
I don’t really look for chocolate in a frag but I have a few that include a whiff that could be chocolate. L’Eau d’Ambre by L`Artisan Parfumeur, 24-09-11 by Hilde Soliani and Queen by Queen Latifah all speak to me of chocolate without being it. Know what I mean?
Portia xx
I’ve read that the Queen Latifah in the yellowish (?) bottle is really good! Is that the one you’re talking about?
I love that one too but it’s the Red Queen Latifah that I’m talking about JulieL.
Portia xx
Portia, I don’t either, but just happened upon ones that I love that have that vibe. Must try the Queen Latifah ASAP! Thanks!
I don’t know about the others mentioned here. All I know is-I ADORE ME SOME COROMANDEL. I would sell my toes do a bottle. And that’s all I gotta say about that.
Sing it Sister!
I, too, utterly ADORE Coromandel.
My collection is quite large, but Coromandel occupies space in the Most Favored Top Five group.
Lucky you to have a bottle! Another one I’d bet you would like, and again, I one I only have a 5ml decant of (darn!) is “Reminicence Patchouli” ….maybe I spelled that wrong, lol…but it ALSO is just heavenly! Try it! Make sure you don’t get the Patchouli Essence one though…it’s similar but has this reallly strange, sharp “chlorine-ish thing” going on that ruins it for me.
Yay!! Love seeing the Coromandel fans come out!
My favorite white chocolate perfume is Guerlain Gourmand Coquin. Lovely.. absolutely lovely. For a brilliant vanilla & chocolate combo, layer with vintage Guerlain Spiriteuse Double Vanille.
Yum — I had forgotten about Guerlain’s GC. And I bet it is so wonderful with the SDV; thanks!
Not a scent, but the Cocoa Butter Stick Moisturizer by The Body Shop makes me smell like a giant Hershey bar.
Tena, now that’s pretty cool! On a rainy, icky Monday I want to smell like a giant Hershey bar, too!
Omnia is supposed to smell of white chocolate, although it’s not very distinct: nothing about Omnia is really that distinct — it’s just kind of its own thing.
My favourite chocolate scent is definitely CSP Amour de Cacao, although Demeter has a bunch of good chocolates, including Brownie, Junior Mint, and Chocolate Chip Cookie.
Thanks! Would that be the original Omnia? I know there are several out there. CSP does have chocolate covered quite nicely, don’t they?