Bleu de Chanel Parfum by Chanel

I’ve been on a bit of a testing kick, over the past few months, and I have plenty of new reviews coming down the pike. As such, let’s get things started with a somewhat new offering from Chanel released in 2018, Bleu de Chanel Parfum. Now, this is of course, a flanker fragrance on the BdC line. How does it stack up? What does it smell like? How’s the longevity? Is it even different enough, to warrant a try?

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What does Bleu de Chanel Parfum Smell Like?

Notes include: sandalwood, cedar, lemon, lavender, mint, bergamot, tonka bean, amber, geranium

Click here to try: BLEU DE C H A N E L PARFUM, 3.4 oz./ 100 mL

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My Full BdC Parfum Review

Bleu de Chanel Parfum opens up with the usual citrus infusion from this line, lemon and bergamot. However, it is joined by mint, and the ever present wood notes. It’s a very smooth freshness, right from the start, and starts out pretty similar to the other Bleu de Chanel scents.

However, I think the differences really begin to show, later on in the wear. Though, in the opening act, I’d say it more resembles EDP versus the EDT.

After a few minutes, I start to get more lavender, and the mint fades away some. The citrus here isn’t as sharp, as in the EDT version, and its really tempered by the wood notes. There is a slight herbal quality to this fragrance, but it’s mostly about the clean cut cedar and sandalwood.

Once past the opening stages, this has a pretty noticeable shift into a warmer sort of scent. The sandalwood takes full control of the scent, but the lemon note sticks around for the whole wear, just not to the same degree. The citrus accord, becomes much more of a zest.

During the dry down, I get a good amount of amber wood, lurking around. I think that it added some depth to the composition and pairs well with the tonka bean. Mostly at this stage, you get sandalwood, lemon zest, cedar, lavender.

I really enjoy the dryness and freshness of the wood, it feels like those notes have been ‘soaked’ by the more familiar ingredients of the Bleu line of fragrances from Chanel.

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Sillage, Longevity and Versatility

Projection wise, the sillage here isn’t crazy. It starts off pretty strong, but then, will stick closer to the skin for the rest of the time. It does create a nice little scent bubble around you, it’s not a complete skin scent, or anything. At least for over half the wear.

I honestly expected a bit more from the sillage and that is the weakest point, in terms of BdC Parfum’s performance.

The longevity, was actually fantastic on my skin. It lasted for over 10 hours, which is better than what I’ve experienced, from the other Bleu colognes. I will get a 3 or so hours with really good sillage, before it becomes a lighter scent.

Some reviews I’ve seen report it not having that level of performance, but it hasn’t disappointed any time that I’ve used Parfum.

Seasonally, it can work year round, except the absolute hottest of days. I wore it out in the desert heat, once,  and it got absolutely blasted.

However, this is a great option for colder days, through a more temperate climate. The woodiness works amazingly well, when the temperatures, are in a moderate range.

That is a bit of a change of pace from the EDT version, which holds up better in the heat, and the EDP to some extent. This is the most cold weather appropriate of the lot. The woods and the general warmth of the base notes, lends itself well to that time of the year.

Bleu de Chanel Parfum, smells like a classier fragrance. It can be worn casually, but I think that it is great for formal events, or the office. It is quite versatile, because it has a certain appeal into the nightlife, also. It’s going to get complements and is a really attractive aroma.

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Overall Scent

Overall, do I like Bleu de Chanel? Yes, I think that it is a wonderful scent. It has enough of that original EDT or EDP formulas, running through it, but takes it in a more refined and woody direction. The Parfum formulation is very well done.

The sandalwood note in here, is spectacular, and really sells this one for me. The performance is great, in terms of time it lasts, while the sillage is solid enough to enjoy.

It’s been awhile since I’ve worn the other BdC fragrances, however, I’m pretty sure this is my new favorite. I will go back and forth between this and EDP, as to which one is tops…both great, though.

Update: After coming back to both for another round, I’ve squarely settled on the EDP version of Bleu de Chanel as my favorite. This takes the second spot. It never does a full imitation of Bleu de Chanel EDT, but I definitely like the changes its made to that formula.

If you’ve enjoyed any of the fragrances in the series, you will have a good idea of what to expect with Parfum. If you have a bottle of one, you probably won’t need a bottle of another.

Yes, there are plenty of differences, but not so great that they demand having the entire collection. Unless, you really just want to have the complete set.