Before Chanel, before Coco, there was Gabrielle. Chanel celebrates their heritage this Fall with an ode to Coco in the form of a new fragrance, simply entitled, Gabrielle. This new sparkling, fresh, and radiant white floral fragrance was inspired by Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel, herself and brings us a more traditional, timeless, and elegant fragrance with a touch of freshness that’s easy to wear in both the evening and the day.
Chanel Gabrielle tapped Kristen Stewart as the face for this lunch and I felt positive that this implied the fragrance would be a more youthful, millennial drive fragrance that we’ve seen from the house’s prior launch of No 5 L’Eau. Although, I am not in the age demographic that many fragrances such as Dior Poison Girl, Thierry Mugler Angel, and Chanel No 5 L’Eau are aiming at I still find them very, very enjoyable. Gabrielle is not a millennial fragrance, she’s much more of a classic floral scent that can be enjoyed by most anyone even those who dislike floral scents.
The way I feel about Chanel fragrances is rather odd. I have so many that I love from the house but the one scent that has always eluded me is No 5. I strongly dislike it and that dislike is why I always warily face all fragrances the brand releases. I’m always rather timid about trying something new from the Chanel with the fear it might be as strong as No 5. Oddly enough, I find the fragrance a great contrast to the person it was inspired by. Coco was a strong, empowering business woman but her fragrance inspiration is much more about being a delicate, feminine scent. A transparent veil of scent that’s sheer, barely there yet playfully beckons those around her. She is not as aggressive and pushy as Chanel No 5 or Mademoiselle that’s for sure.
Gabrielle is light, fresh, and uniquely Chanel. She contains both white and yellow floral notes which I typically find not to my liking but the softness of citrus adds a sparkling freshness to those notes. When I first spray this one I get a very faint sweet grape note. Keep in mind there are absolutely no grape notes in this fragrance but my nose tells my brain that’s what I am smelling. The joy of Chanel fragrances is the fact at first mist, wet on your skin, you’ll absolutely pick up one or several notes right away. There’s no blast of alcohol, it’s pure fragrance first mist. As the scent settles both white and yellow floral notes play delicately on my wrist and soon after a fresh, sparkling but never tart citrus comes into play and adds the most beautiful layer of radiance to the floral notes. One of the complaints about Gabrielle is she lacks complexity but she makes up for that with her fresher, easier to wear notes that make her very, very work friendly. Most people reserve No 5 for evening use, it’s an intrusive scent that demands attention and not exactly what one would wear in the work place. Gabrielle is shyer, she’s playful and in the background with fresh, clean floral notes. She is not the personality in this relationship, she is merely the accent to it.
I wouldn’t say her sillage is strong but she has decent throw in close proximities with a lingering throw of around seven hours. I found the fragrance got stronger in the humidity and became more evident when I was warm. I also noticed the musk and sandalwood gabve off a certain warmth hours after I’ve applied the scent with citrus still playing a dominant role during the completed dry down but the floral notes do linger on towards the background.
For diehard Chanel fragrance fans this might be considered a lightweight but personally, I thought it was delightful. It’s elegant yet playful making it a very wearable fresh, floral scent!
Chanel Gabrielle Perfume is a perfect companion for those who want a light, sparkling fragrance that provides the wearer a beautiful, elegant layer of scent.
Chanel Gabrielle is available at Chanel counters or at sephora.com and nordstrom.com.
Thanks for the description, Muse…this sounds like a fragrance I might need to try. Like you, I’ve never cared for the original No. 5; for me, it’s just TOO MUCH. I do like Cristalle and No. 19 (or as my Dad playfully called it, “Channel 19”).
I love Cristalle too! if you like Allure, you’re bound to love Gabrielle! 😀 lol Channel 19 ;D
Muse, my mom wears a lot of Chanel and perfumes in general, so growing up, I associate its scents with my mom. However, I dislike super strong scents, if anything at all, so I’ve never really been able to wear Chanel scents without getting a headache or feeling kinda sick. I had high hopes for No 5 L’Eau upon its release, but I absolutely hated it. So when I walked into Sephora the other day and saw Gabrielle, I wasn’t expecting much – But dang, was I wrong. I absolutely loved it. I think it’s sort of what you described it, kinda like a Chanel perfume for those who like softer, lighter scents. I tend to wear floral/citrus/fresh scents that don’t overpower (Chloe, Burberry Brit Sheer, Stella McCartney Stella EDT, Stella Pop, NEST Dahlia & Vines) so Gabrielle will fit right into my collection 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Jasmine! A lot of Chanel scents are pretty aggressive but there are some that are quite light and fresh like this one. Aw I wish you liked L’Eau! I thought it was so great and a much more wearable version of No 5 (which I strongly dislike). Happy to hear you’re enjoying it!
Great review. I sampled this at Ulta and it’s definitely on my wish list.
Thanks Traci! 🙂
Chica, I’d be interested in seeing your fragrance collection! xx
Hey miss! 🙂 I really would love to do one or maybe a video. I think my fragrance collection is bigger than my makeup one 😀
#19 and #22 are my preferences. #5 is not only a tad to assertive, but has so many personal associations, bec it is so widely worn. It was exceptionally popular with my mgm’s crowd, e.g. Born around 1890-1900. Think #5 was from the 20s. Not wild about the men’s, and def prefer the oeuvre of Guerlain to Chanel, though Coco certainly will always be an inspiration for scent, fashion, and m/u. Love your fragrance (andAB/KB) reviews.
thank you! 😀
Excellent description and I’m loving this perfume. I thought it might be too light going into fall weather but it smells so nice and clean and lasts quite awhile. I would also love to see your perfume collection.
thanks Lorrie! I completely agree, def perfect for all seasons! Light and fresh 🙂 I’d love to do a post, my collection is ridiculous huge though, might require a few posts haha!
I’m so disappointed. This smelled at best like cheap laundry detergent on me.
Such a pretty bottle. Shame.
oh no! I loved it. Did you let it warm up on your skin? At first spray it was a little fruity but it goes very warm after the dry down. I’m sorry to hear you hated it!
I did! After the laundromat smell it just devolved into air freshener. More for you! 🙂
aw man! oh well ;-D as you said more for me! hehe!