Coromandel Eau de Parfum 
Chanel (2016)

I am at that most devastating of things... the end of my 2nd bottle of Coromandel EDT (200 ml)....
I know that I have to (sigh) bite the bullet and get the Eau de Parfum version
knowing from previous whiffs that it's become just slightly boring in comparison, but still very beautiful, straight up sweeter, more unified, syrup-ed into a beautiful other self - not doppelganger for sure... but not quite the fabulous unpredictable concoction that had floated all around me as I wrote my last opera, as I ran aground onto a broken relationship of 14 years...
Perhaps it's all for the best.
It's really a bite the bullet moment.
Should I get the eau de parfum?
Should I move on ?
In life one doesn't have to repeat.... right?
But really there was nothing like Coromandel in my fragrant life...
I mourn the passing of much beauty *
I stand at a delayed crossroads
The rest of my life has moved on ...
But I want to regain the composure, play and gravitas that this marvellous fragrance inspired...
Any advice folks?

Mark aka zenman7

This post is only to second Varanis Ridari's comment in his review suggesting that Coromandel EdP is quite good in extreme dry heat.

As it happens, I am just back from doing some off-roading with friends in the Rub' al Khali here in Dubai. We camped overnight. I had a small career sample of this fragrance that I had been given at a Chanel boutique. I packed this sample because I wanted to test out the idea of using this fragrance in these conditions.

Coromandel really "blossomed" in the extreme daytime desert heat (110°+) and dry air (>20% humidity), becoming a very rose heavy, but not too jammy, feminine-unisex fragrance. Later, in the cool night air, it also worked well, displaying the smooth unisex patchouli notes highlighted in previous reviews. Longevity was excellent. Projection in the very high heat was formidable. I used only a single light spray on each side of my neck. Any more would have been too much.

So if you live in the desert or are heading to a hot, very dry summer environment, and you have Coromandel but use it only in cool weather, give it a try. It works well. However, guys like me who don't like to wear scents that are too purely feminine, should be aware that this scent reveals stronger feminine-centric notes in these conditions. Everyone also needs to be mindful not to overspray in high heat conditions to avoid choking folks in a cloying rose miasma.

Inoffensive slightly cloying feminine fragrance jasmine rose and white chocolate. Lasts for ages.
Addendum: maybe my palate has changed but I came across my old sample and I liked it quite alot. Reminded me of a nicer version of Frederick Malle Portrait of a Lady.
I could almost wear this myself but it is feminine and my wife loves it on her.

Now this is a magnificent fragrance that just enthralls you at first sniff.

A refined smooth blast of patchouli kicks things off followed by the most gorgeous frankincense accord that I have smelled in a fragrance. This is followed by white chocolate and a beautiful rose note. These notes are a marriage made in heaven.

The lovely enchanted blend is quite strong for a few hours with the incense leading the way for dominance over your nose. Eventually the beautiful scent calms down and the incense takes the backseat as the white chocolate and patchouli gently take over.

The projection and sillage are decent and I get about ten hours longevity.

This is a perfect 10 out of 10 in my book and one of the most intoxicating fragrances I have ever smelled. Big thumbs up!

Chanel Coromandel EdP (2016) is the replacement iteration for the original Chanel Coromandel EdT (2007) released as part of the Les Exclusifs line before the decision was made to "upgrade" the range to eau de parfum. There are noted differences between both formulas, but I'm going to focus on the overall character of the scent profile in general, since people looking this up will likely have never smelled the original EdT. To the point, Coromandel is a beautiful and well-crafted hybrid semi-oriental fougère and traditional rose patchouli perfume, leaving out key notes like lavender that would fully read "fougère", while also leaving out some of the more animalic compounds found in a rose patchouli combo that tend to read "chypre". What we are left with is a fragrance that opens in an opulent style similar to some masculine-market classics like Chanel Pour Monsieur Eau de Toilette Concentrée (1989), but then shifts into the darker rose patchouli elements into the dry down, leaning towards something closer to Coco Chanel (1984) in vibe. This mash-up of tones plays homage to the imported Chinese lacquer screens the late Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel herself had adorning her apartment, and reads unisex despite the marketing of this as a feminine fragrance. Overall, Coromandel is very indulgent, rich, and statment-making, with the original EdT predating and likely informing the creation of Portrait of a Lady by Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle (2010). I'm not saying these two are much alike beyond being modern retellings of a classic structure, but the redolence and price tag of each places them in a sort of "high-end French rose oriental" semi-genre that hadn't quite existed in the same way before Chanel broke out Coromandel in it's original form back in 2007. Coromandel hasn't set the world on fire, although it continues to be one of the biggest draws to the Les Exclusifs range for collectors besides the re-issues of early Chanels also in the range.

Jacques Polge has his style gratuitously slathered all over this, even if creative director Christopher Sheldrake also gets his hands dirty on co-composing many of the Les Exclusifs perfumes for Chanel. The opening is particularly Polge in demeanor, with tart petitgrain, sharp bergamot, and a bit of sage mixed with neroli to give a green citrus herbacious start liked by mature men. Soon the rose and patchouli come barrelling in, and this is a patchouli full of terpenes unlike most of today's "fractioned" clean patchouli (which smells like nondescript "thickness"), so you will know front and center that dark rose and patchouli is in here. Iris adds some feminine powdery facets to the rose, and with the petitgrain/neroli mix recalls some likeness of Guerlain Shalimar (1925), but the obvious rose quashes any direct link. A clean hedionic jasmine lifts up this heart, then lays it on a bed of Polge's creamy custom sandalwood synthetic compound that he's worked on for years, with amber, tonka, olibanum, musks, evernyl (in lieu of oakmoss), and sweet benzoin to re-affirm the semi-oriental fougère-like opening. Coromandel ultimately feels like the heart of Diva by Emanuel Ungaro (1983), which is another Polge creation, sandwiched between elements of the aforementioned Chanel Pour Monsieur Eau de Toilette Concentrée and Chanel Allure Homme (1999). I think much of the base in Coromandel was also used for the Eau de Parfum variant of Pour Monsieur also released in 2016, which explains the similarities. Coromandel wears rich, but dry and aromatic, with warm fatty-but-clean musks carrying the scent aloft on skin, and the sandalwood/oakmoss/tonka grounding it. Rose and patchouli are the stars of the show despite this seemingly-masculine anchoring, which is how Coromandel justifies being a luxury feminine release to masses that may encounter it, but really just plants its feet in genderbend territory for most fragrance enthusiasts. Wear time is over 12 hours with good projection and sillage can be cloying with over-application, so be careful.

I suggest cooler months for Coromandel, as the oriental incense tones and woody musk arrangements in the base make this boom bright in cold, but you may enjoy it in searingly dry heat as well since the rose and petitgrain also come alive in those contexts, meaning Coromandel also works if you live somewhere that is more desert-like. Humidity is the foe of this one, and also due to the opulence of the style, I'd steer clear of casual or office use, but that's just me. Coromandel is a perfume for perfume lovers, both from its prohibitively-expensive price tag as part of the Les Exclusifs range, and the indulgent nature of the composition itself. If you're a man and you love rich semi-orientals like Chanel's own Égoïste (1990) or Guerlain Héritage (1992), this may be a next-level sort of fragrance. Equally, if you're a woman and classics like Lanvin Arpège (1927) or literally anything with rose Tom Ford has pushed in his Private Collection appeal to you, this should too. As for me, I most definitely see the love here and buying a perfume that merges rose and patchouli with a semi-oriental style I very much enjoy would seem like a no-brainer, but it also comes down once again to price, especially since the tight control Chanel keeps on distribution prevents discounts. I'd have to shell out minimum $250 but closer to $350+ for a substantial bottle, and at those prices (with no negotiations), you're running up against some really gorgeous niche treatments of rose and patchouli that are arguably a tad more memorable. Still, this is top-tier work from both Chanel and Jacques Polge that is not to be missed, and if you should ever find a good deal which brings the price into more-realistic territory, do not hesitate to purchase if you're a lover of the style. If you're a fan of classic perfume and tired of hunting vintages, you won't find much better blending, artistry, innovation, respect for tradition, and wearability all in one impossible package many other places. Thumbs up.