Coco Mademoiselle Crush Absolu by Chanel: Do We All Have a Crush on It?
Written by Kristina Kybartaite-Damule
The internet is buzzing about the latest perfume release from Chanel – Coco Mademoiselle Crush Absolu.
It seems the house is putting considerable weight behind the new perfume too: influencer collaborations, advertising campaigns and, of course, a new mini film starring Gracie Abrams and directed by filmmaker Joe Wright.
I wasn’t part of the media campaign surrounding the launch, but I did manage to get my hands on a sample of the novelty. And from the first spray I was pleasantly surprised and wanted to shower myself in this perfume.
To be honest, Coco Mademoiselle has never been my Chanel. I have always been more of a Chance girl.
That doesn’t mean I ever disliked Coco Mademoiselle. Quite the opposite. I have always appreciated its romantic, feminine character, and over the years I have gone through multiple samples of the original and its various flankers. There were even a couple of flankers I seriously considered adding to my collection. Somehow, though, I never did.
Crush Absolu might finally change that.
To my nose, this is one of the most distinctive departures from the Coco Mademoiselle family so far. It feels sweeter, louder and considerably more attention-grabbing. If the Coco Mademoiselle I knew was polished and romantic, Crush Absolu seems much more interested in making an entrance.
In the opening, sweet, juicy lychee meets rose, creating an almost addictive fruity-floral effect. Inevitably, it makes me think of some of the enormously popular fragrances built around a similar idea — Parfums de Marly Delina or Ex Nihilo Fleur Narcotique, for example.
That doesn't mean Crush Absolu smells like either of them. Rather, they seem to speak the same contemporary fragrance language: juicy fruit, luminous florals and a sweetness designed to be immediately appealing.
This is where Crush Absolu becomes really interesting in the context of Chanel. It feels young, modern, and perhaps even more obviously trendy than what I usually associate with the house. There is no vintage refinement, put-together, classy feeling I would find in other perfumes from the collection. If somebody gave it to me blindly, I’m not entirely sure Chanel would be my first guess.
Photo credit: Kristina Kybartaite-Damule
But modern doesn't mean bad. If anything, Crush Absolu feels like another sign of Chanel evolving. We can see a similar movement happening in fashion under Matthieu Blazy: respecting the enormous heritage of the house without treating it as something untouchable. Coco Mademoiselle Crush Absolu seems to approach fragrance with a comparable attitude. It isn't trying to smell like Chanel of decades past but rather reimagines how Chanel might smell like to a new generation.
As the fragrance develops, its almost sugary sweetness takes on a creamy quality. The juicy opening gradually melts into a warm woody, ambery vanilla base, and this is probably my favourite stage of the perfume. It feels smooth, sensual and elegant without losing the playful sweetness established in the opening.
It also immediately makes me think that it will be a perfect companion in autumn. I imagine that this combination of sweetness, amber, woods and vanilla will work beautifully once the temperatures begin to drop — the kind of perfume that feels even better against a sweater or a coat, leaving a noticeable trail behind you.
Coco Mademoiselle Crush Absolu isn't a perfume that asks you to work particularly hard to understand it. It is easy to enjoy, easy to wear and, I suspect, very easy to compliment. In the best possible sense, it has all the ingredients of a crowd-pleaser. Sometimes fragrance enthusiasts become so accustomed to searching for complexity, originality and challenge that we forget something obvious: not every perfume needs to challenge us. Sometimes you simply want to smell good.
Will those searching for the unmistakable old-school Chanel refinement find it here? Perhaps not entirely. Crush Absolu feels much more plugged into contemporary perfumery, and its sweet fruity-floral character clearly speaks to what people are enjoying right now.