Chanel will launch Boy Chanel, the latest addition to the Les Exclusifs collection. The unisex fragrance was developed by house perfumer Olivier Polge, and was inspired by Arthur "Boy" Capel.
“My way of working on this fragrance was really not to try to make a unisex fragrance but really more to dive into men’s fragrance…and to show how well it could be worn by a woman,” said Polge, drawing a parallel to a woman putting on her boyfriend’s shirt, thereby rendering it feminine. “So it was not to try to create an in-between fragrance, but a very masculine fragrance. And — like many other things in life — gender is given by the person wearing it.”
[...] Polge described the fragrance as having a duality, with a fresh, aromatic masculine barbershop aspect and its more enveloping element.
Boy Chanel features a masculine fougère accord. Notes include lavender, rose geranium, lemon, grapefruit, rose, orange blossom, sandalwood, heliotropin, vanilla and musk.
Chanel Boy Chanel will debut this week in Paris, and go into wider distribution in June. It will be available in 75 and 200 ml Eau de Toilette.
(via wwd)
Update: the bottle... (via vogue.fr)
So excited for this! Chanel is bringing back the fougère, and it’s about time!
I am just hoping it is not too close to Prada Homme, which is already a unisex fougère. Or rather I’m hoping I like Prada Homme better since it will be way cheaper 😉
Robin, is Prada pour Homme a new one?, I can only find reviews for the edt and the amber pour Homme, thanks!
It’s the same as Amber Pour Homme. And it apparently is worn by lots of women.
Love lavender, but I don’t know why they can’t keep their hands off the vanilla. It seems to dumb it down for me.
Well, we don’t yet know if it is a noticeable amount…
It will probably be very nice, but I think they should have saved the Capel backstory for a deeper fragrance. I suppose the Boy part fits, but an almost decade long affair seems to me to warrant more than a fougère, however lovely I’m sure it will be.
If Chanel herself could inspire as many fragrances as she has, surely they could do more than one for Capel? But likewise I always assume they come up with the backstory after the fragrance, although of course I could be wrong.
I hope it has a better destiny than GIRL by Pharell-Comme Des Garcons…
Olivier Polge did Misia which is lovely and I believe selling well for Chanel. I look forward to trying this…..a fougere will be a nice change and yes I agree with juice Jones and hope the dreaded vanilla isn’t too overpowering esp in the drydown. Which brings me to my latest theory about perfume, if I don’t like the drydown I won’t buy it!
I’m excited for this and then slightly skeptical after reading the notes for it. Something about this seems like it would be a very light or fleeting scent that fades quickly.
Nope, not fleeting at all. It is very persistent (on me, at least). And it is an EDP.
The notes seem too standard-men’s-fragrance for me. I would hope for a bit more interest. And while I understand the background of the name, I hate it. Boy Chanel just sounds stupid. I feel like the whole thing should have been more creative; but I’ll give it a chance. Maybe it will turn out to be wonderful.
Have to agree, I mean yay for my poor credit card, but doesn’t sound tempting. And the name! Surely they could have called it by his last name, or something else with more cachet.
this perfume is everything but standard, it is conceived in such an interesting manner…. do give it a try before dismissing it for what it sounds on paper!
As for the name… I don’t get the issue, here. Many products from the Chanel lines are named ‘Boy’…. a full classicl line of bags and accessories, for example… and now even a wonderful (and far too expensive, alas) watch, called ‘Boy-Friend’. It is perfectly in line with the spirit of the maison and with Chanel’s personal history.
Wonder if they’ll suggest pairing it with the the Boy lipstick (a nude pink)….
🙂
The lipstick is lovely, though. I just gave it as a gift to a colleague who doesn’t usually wear lipstick and she was thrilled.
I’m imagining a repeat of Acqua di Parma Colonia Club…non merci!!!
I wonder how we’ll test this since Chanel stopped the decanters from selling samples? The Les Exclusifs line isn’t available in my area. I probably won’t bother unless there is an overwhelming positive response.
They stopped the decanters and yet, the last time I looked, there were plenty of people on ebay selling “samples.”
I don’t do well with fougères, so this is a pass for me. More for everyone else!
When I saw the name, I thought this was a Le Prix Eau Faux entry.
😉
Very excited to try it but wish they’d called it Capel. Or anything really other than Boy.
Portia x
See my comment above. I guess it either went unnoticed or was totally over other people’s head
The name Boy name is the kiss of death in fragrances. Trust me I work in marketing and have done all the behavioral market research projects you could think of.
Gender difference and identification are still going strong and not all target audiences are forgiving perfumistas.
Women will shy away from buying a fragrance named Boy and men do not even shop the “Les Exclusifs” line.
BTW:
Portia you rock. I’m an avid reader of all your articles on The Posse 🙂
Heya Ericgmd, I saw that above and that’s one of the reasons why I commented, pursuing the line of thought but from a different angle. Hopefully for CHANEL we are both wrong.
WOW! Thank you. Big smile here.
Portia xx
I kind of agree, when I saw Chanel had copyrighted the name I thought it would be the new pillar masculine fragrance! And no, it’s an exclusif!
I think the Chanel exclusifs customers are, generally speaking, connoisseurs, or at least people who try on fragrances before deciding whether to buy them or not… or at least people who are – luckily – more interested in the content of the bottle than in the name on the bottle. They are also people who know that exclusive fragrances in chanel are all named around key events, places or people in the life of Mademoiselle Coco. As for men, several do shop the line, actually, Jersey being among their favourites. Sure, there are more women shopping those perfumes but the exclusifs are conceived to survive even within and almost mainly for a relatively niche market. In that market, even a small number of men makes a difference. Anyway, this is only my opinion. I tried on the perfume yesterday and can assure that women miss out if they shy away from the perfume just because of the name linked to Boy Capel. It is absolutely wonderful. I also find that it is very much in the spirit of perfumes from the 20s and 30s, which didn’t really have a gender boundary.
The Les Exclusifs are my favorite ever, so I’m just excited to try it — I think it sounds sort of interesting!
I do share the skepticism of many, but it’s an exclusif, I’m excited by default.
But I actually like the name. Maybe because of the lipstick or the back story or because it sounds fresh and different, don’t know.
Me 2!
I used to always stay away from “unisex” fragrances, but then I fell in love with some of the Tom Ford fragrances. So, I’m game to try, but Chanel fragrances are hard for me to wear. The notes sound to be similar to some of the TF scents, so this could be amazing!
The name doesn’t bother me but I dislike fougères so this will be a pass for me.
Love the name ,
One for the boys .
Waiting for a Bottle for the name alone . Birthday in June , perfect timing
I find this release so interesting and can’t wait to smell it, next month! Hoping it will be great (I generally trust Polge) and also up my street, taste-wise.
However, while surfing the chanel french website, I noticed that the price for this exclusif is outrageous and outrageously higher than the price for the other exclusifs. Is there a particular reason for this?
I don’t mean to deviate from a conversation centred upon artistry but personally, I find it huugely problematix that the 200 ml is now at 320 euros, at least for Boy. Is this a first step towards a terrible rise in the price of all the exclusifs (I hope not) or is it just for Boy? If it’s just for Boy, question is: what on earth justifies it?
Does anyone know?
Sorry but I have no idea.
No problem. Thanks anyway! 🙂
Ok, so yesterday I went to the Chanel Beauty shop that’s in town and I found out that they already have Boy, so I could try it on me…. I found it AMAZING. Much like Misia, the start is very strong and somehow pungent – and decidely more masculine than what follows, if ever that makes any sense – but as it unfolds, it becomes more enveloping, mellow, round, warm and seductive, resembling Bois des Iles a bit, at least on my skin (that said, Bois des Iles remains my absolute favourite). I am in love with it, to be honest! I do have to study it a lot more anyway, which is why I have a sample now. I also found out why it is more expensive than the other fragrances: it is an eau de parfum, it doesn’t come in eau de toilette at all.. or so I was told by the lovely ladies of the boutique. 🙂