#Chanel Pour Monsieur Eau de Toilette Concentrée

[missanthropicprinciple]

Chanel Pour Monsieur Concentree

This men’s cologne is very special to me. My dad used to wear this and few things instantaneously bring me back to memories of him like this fragrance. Created by Jacques Polge it was launched in 1989. As I understand it, it was reformulated in 2016 without the Oakmoss, as that has been phased out of fragrances due to allergy concerns, but I’m not completely certain. Although I haven’t tested the most recent formulation of this scent, which dates back to 1955, I can’t imagine it’s quite as heavenly as the 1989 eau de toilette.  

When I put this on my wrist today to test it for the sake of this review, many things come to my mind. I can hear Roxy Music’s Avalon, I imagine my father in a casual pinstripe button-down making profiteroles in the tiny kitchen we had for 19 years. I’m sitting in the living room watching Star Wars in the early 90s while the adults sip J. Roget Spumante in the dining room. 

The top notes of mandarin orange and lavender create a haunting mix with bitter petitgrain. He loved the smell of freshly peeled oranges. Cardamom and Nutmeg form the heart notes, ironically spices he loved to cook with. After a while, the vanilla and oakmoss base notes linger, but those familiar smells become delightfully smoky with the opoponax and earthy with the vetiver. 

If you can get a hold of an old 1989 bottle I highly recommend it. While it’s marketed for men, I feel like anyone can wear it. It does seem to me to be a “masculine” scent but I don’t think that matters much. It’s so beautiful and can be worn at any time of the day, though I think it’s best worn at night. 

[missanthropicprinciple]

hello! I'm not sure if this is something you have an interest in or not, so if not just ignore me! but all the perfume pictures you're rb'ing have reminded me how much I'd love to know more about them lol. I have a couple nice ones and I love collecting magazine samples, just wondered if you had anything you wanted to share ! anyways have a good day <3

(*me panicking because I didn't look at the very familiar and fond username* LOL FML)

I'm super into perfume! Even if I'm not into the scent, the bottle design and history in general is really fascinating. What's really interesting (and sometimes infuriating) is that perfumes reformulate. I adore Coco Chanel but I really like the current formula. Chloe on the other hand...it's so complicated...but one of the three versions of Chloe is something I grew up smelling, particularly the Karl Lagerfeld version from the 70s....which smells completely different to the current version. (More info here.) Another cool thing is how scent is connected to memory and for some people like me, hardwired, I swear. A good example is the now discontinued Chanel's 1983 Pour Monsieur eau de toilette concentrée. It's basically like Coco for men. My late father used to wear this if guests came over or when we went to the theatre and the smell of this perfume is like my father in a bottle.

He and I and my half brother have skin that kills most scents dead. We all prefer musky scents because they work well with our body chemistry. Coco, Shalimar, and FlowerBomb work well for me.

I don't pretend to be an expert in the least but I am learning more about them gradually. I think I have some older perfume sample ads that I can dig out and scan, possibly this weekend! Have a lovely day, too!