Coco (Modern) by Jacques Polge for CHANEL 1984

/ australianperfumejunkiescom

Hello Fragrant Fumies,

This is one of my girlfriends, hello Alice I’m looking at you, favourite fragrances. While in LA last week my mate Thomas Pease from PerfumePosse and Perfume Smellin’ Things and I were trolling the malls of LA together. It was super fun and I was looking for a few things including the large 35ml spritz of CHANEL No 5 Parfum which I am finding impossible to get my hands on, anyone know where I can grab it? Anyway, during our travels we spritzed the modern incarnation of

Coco by CHANEL 1984

Coco FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Coriander, pomegranate blossom, mandarin orange, peach, jasmine and Bulgarian rose
Heart: Mimose, cloves, orange blossom, clover and rose
Base: Labdanum, amber, sandalwood, tonka bean, opoponax, civet and vanilla

I am usually of the mind that all change is good, progressive, necessary unless it’s an obvious exception like finding ways to log virgin rainforest faster or better and quicker ways to torture people for information, now I’ve added a new one: REFORMULATION!! Yes, I understand that the fragrance community is self regulating and these changes are important but OMfreakingG! If this was not called Coco I would have thought it a summer flanker of Coco. This is what a softened, prettied, lighter and less ambitious Coco should feel like for summer wearings. If it was that I would say, “BRILLIANT! CHANEL have thought this out and done a superb job of bringing the fragrance up to date without losing its original idea completely, as a fun and frivolous, sunny reference point. A Coco water-colour if you like.” But to sell this non-Coco and claim it as the truth, NO! Like claiming the first and second paintings below are as filled with warmth, depth and colour, though both are beautiful they are not the same.

CHANEL Coco florinda watercolourPhoto Stolen FranzXaverWinterhalter

CHANEL Coco Lányok bál után HungArtHungaryPhoto Stolen HungArtHungary

Is there anything left to love about Coco Modern? Sure. If you had never worn it before and were just discovering perfume you would think it beyond beautiful. Still with that perfect CHANEL blending, still a Fl-Oriental and still quite a bit more exotic that most of the range. What it lacks is the dirty bitch grind and sexy, sensual, animalic undertones that were a warning as much as a signal for seduction. Coco Modern is almost office wearable and its predecessor is most definitely not in the current frag climate. They have castrated our Coco and I for one am sad.

Coco is available for FREE spritzing at most department stores.
EssentalMall starts at 50ml EdT/$109
SurrenderToChance starts at $3/ml

See you tomorrow,
Portia xx

26 thoughts on “Coco (Modern) by Jacques Polge for CHANEL 1984”

  1. Coco was one of my favorites of all time. I smelled the recent version – parfum even – and got a whiff of buspray, I’m sorry to say. And I’m not one who can easily tell when something has been reformulated! Managed to get a vintage edition, tiny bottle. Sad… I will test the latest again.

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  2. I just purchased the new parfum and body lotion, to wear in the cool spring weather we have in Milwaukee. I can hardly smell it, even layered.
    We need an underground
    rebel to mix a bootleg batch of the good stuff.

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  3. Thank you for this review, Portia. From my previous experiences with reformulations I believe almost every word you say and am not even tempted to give this new version of Coco a try.
    I’m saving my old nose for your absolute favorites and for sniffing my own hoard of vintage that, as I’ve said before, I’ve stockpiled against the coming of the perfume apocalypse (are we there yet?).

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  4. So this is the time I need to go and stock up on the old style version? How will I know if what I’m buying is kosher? I’m sure the SA’s will just tell me whatever to have me make a purchase!

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  5. So, so sad to read your review. But the fears that what you say are true are what have kept me from trying it again recently. The original Coco has been the only Chanel I ever liked (keeping in mind I haven’t tried all of them. And yes I know, that statement is sacrilege!) I still have a vintage bottle someone gave me long ago, but they didn’t keep it properly and it turned. I would also like to know if there’s anywhere to find the original again as the new version sounds quite wimpy in comparison to it’s stellar sister.

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  6. I agree totally about the current version of Coco. For any of us who remember the glories of the original, it is very sad indeed. I’ll even say it seems to be a deplorable trend with Chanel that they’re deboning and filleting everything about their main line of perfumes that once made them so iconic. Shades of Parfums Dior? And the thing is – reformulation doesn’t have to mean degradation. Alas, here, it does. Quel dommage!

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  7. I never smelled the original Coco… that makes me sad. And so when I sniff this new stuff I can agree with you that to my un-coco-ed nose it does smell, “beyond beautiful. Still with that perfect CHANEL blending, still a Fl-Oriental and still quite a bit more exotic that most of the range.” But now that I know the bitch is dead, The skank cut off at the knees I feel more than sad. I do hope as you said to Tarleisio above that they someday find a way to make these reformulations incredible again.

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  8. My fave….. you have smelt this one on me before, (I only save it for best occasions)…..seriously…. my fave xxx

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  10. Hello Portia dear!
    Oh how sad… I haven’t tried the new version yet, not that I’d dare to… I’m too scared. When you sniff the new, its somehow the departure with the old for me. Especially when it is just a light shade of itself… I adore Coco, and have a tiny bottle of the edt and of the parfum, but I think I’ll just have to stock up on it. While I can. Thank You for the tip about sprays!
    BTW, it’s my first time de-lurking here so, Hello Crew and Readers!
    Hugs,
    elf.

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