Love Coco Mademoiselle? Niche fragrances to discover

Chanel presents Coco Mademoiselle as “a feminine amber fragrance with a strong character and a surprising freshness”. According to the house, its double name evokes a double personality: independent and endearing, playful and provocative. The line comes as an eau de parfum, an eau de parfum intense, an eau de toilette and an eau pour la nuit.

The eau de parfum opens, according to Chanel, on “sparks of orange, bright and fresh”. Its heart reveals transparent accords of jasmine and rose, then the trail unfolds pure accents of patchouli and vetiver. The eau de parfum intense, a woody amber, is built around an “overdose of patchouli”, warmed by an accord of vanilla and tonka bean. The eau de toilette, airier, pairs Sicilian grapefruit with rose and jasmine, punctuated by lychee.

Coco Mademoiselle now has its own entry in our catalogue, among designer fragrances: Coco Mademoiselle Eau de Parfum. Like this guide, it relies solely on Chanel's official pages, which give neither a perfumer nor a year.

Our approach. The fragrances in this guide all come from houses other than Chanel. None is presented as a copy or a substitute: each was conceived for its own sake and tells the story its house has given it. We bring them close to Coco Mademoiselle only for what they share with it, based on the notes published by the houses: citrus, rose, jasmine, lychee, patchouli, vetiver, vanilla or tonka bean.

We have grouped them into three kinds of affinity: citrus around rose and jasmine, fruity rose on a patchouli base, then the amber intensity of the intense version.

Three fragrances that pair, like Chanel's eau de parfum, citrus with a heart of rose and jasmine, before a base in which patchouli holds its own.

Chanel's eau de toilette punctuates its rose with a note of lychee, while the eau de parfum sets it on patchouli. These three fragrances make rose their subject, with a fruit or a patchouli base, each in its own way.

Chanel's eau de parfum intense warms its patchouli with an accord of vanilla and tonka bean. These two fragrances also bring together rose, patchouli and amber materials, for autumn and winter evenings.

Compare on the skin. Wear Coco Mademoiselle on one wrist and the niche fragrance on the other, then smell them at several points in the day: it is the best way to see what brings them together and what sets them apart.

Think about the seasons. Magnolia Nobile and Delina shine in spring and summer; Portrait of a Lady and Ambre 114 come into their own in cold weather; Chypress, Danger Pour Femme, Rose Hubris and Lyric Woman span several seasons. Our reading of the seasons appears on each profile.

Look at the concentration. Chypress is an eau de toilette, Danger Pour Femme is presented as parfum, the others as eaux de parfum: for the same amount, their intensity differs. Our guide Eau de toilette, eau de parfum, extrait explains why.

Widen the circle. If you also love lavender and orange blossom, our guide Love Libre by Yves Saint Laurent? applies the same method, as does Love Black Opium or La Vie est Belle? for gourmands. The guide Rose in perfumery tells the story of the flower at the heart of Coco Mademoiselle, and our selection of the best niche fragrances for women presents other floral creations.