Hi there Perfume Posse. I really love quite a few of the stable of Jean Paul Gaultier fragrances. Le Male has been in my cupboard since its release and I think this is bottle number 4, or maybe 3 but I also have a few of the flankers. Classique and Fragile are also constants in the cupboard and on my skin. So I don’t understand why I never spent any major time with Kokorico except that the 100ml bottle was quite awkward in the shop, I have a 5ml decant from Surrender To Chance Fabulous 5ml Fridays and I have worn it a couple of times and enjoyed it a lot, let’s see…

Kokorico by Jean Paul Gaultier 2011

Kokorico by Olivier Cresp and Annick Menardo

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Fig leaves
Heart: Patchouli, Cacao
Base: Vetiver, Cedar

My overwhelming thought at the opening of Kokorico is choc orange vanilla marbled sponge cake, though to be honest there isn’t a real bakery effect, it’s a kind of a funky nod to a cake while remaining completely inedible. After a couple of minutes this unsweet sweetness dissipates and we get what I think they are calling the fig leaves but they smell dryer and more vetiver-ish than sweet fig, mmmm I do get some lactonic figgy milk. Here could be Kokorico’s problem, it doesn’t smell at all like you expect it to smell but what it does smell is excellent.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Chocolate and patchouli are a great combination here, both dry and plush. Imagine the feeling of a marshmallow as it touches your lips. At the same time you get this sugar dusty softness and the marshmallows pliability, now when you bite into it you have to imagine that it was chocolate coated on the other side and… yeah kind of nothing like that but also a bit like that. Kokorico is not a gourmand in the strictest sense of the idea but it does have foody aspects and it does have a lovely sweetness running through the dryer and earthier components. The base is a slightly generic woodsy vetiver lightly sweetened by vanilla/amber that I think is very nice and would be a great office wear, date or dinner fragrance.

Photo Stolen DeviantArt

Throughout the whole Kokorico story I also get flashes of  this creamy fig milk (or coconut?) and licorice that weave through the story. They smooth out the sharp edges and make the fragrance comfortable, wearable and cozy. Not the most individual fragrance, there are references to other blockbusters here, yet I find Kokorico more approachable and likeable than the others (B’Men & L’Instant according to CPB) and I think a whole lot sexier than them.

This is a completely unisex fragrance, don’t believe the hype, or the anti hype.

Edit: Since I wrote this piece I have used almost the whole 5ml and given the remainder to a mate because I bought a bottle. Too good not to have it in my collection.

Further reading: Candy Perfume Boy and Scentualist
FragranceNet has $18/50ml before coupon
Surrender To Chance has samples starting at $3.75/ml

Do you have a fave that was slammed by the scentbloggosphere? Which ones?

If you thought this was fun or interesting come over to AustralianPerfumeJunkies  and say hello too. We love visitors.
Portia xx