Gabrielle review

Gabrielle is the newest Chanel perfume, released in September 2017. It’s an “abstract” floral perfume, inspired by four flowers – jasmine, ylang ylang, orange blossom, and tuberose. In a recognizable, square Chanel bottle polished to perfection, 4 sides capture the dance of golden and silver light that shroud the tube of the diffuser. Sylvie Legastelois designed the bottle while the famous Olivier Polge made the perfume. It is meant for the brave and rebellious women (as written by cowardly and meak fashion and lifestyle magazines). Since when did brave and rebellious women read that kind of magazine? They go to the perfume shop, try what they want, and buy only the scent that captures their character, goal, and vision.

My passion for Chanel

Gabriella ella ella e e e, under my umbrella ella a…these fancy things, will never come in between, you’re part of my entity, here for eternity. This retelling of Rihanna’s song shows my passion, respect, and admiration for the woman who’s been, for an entire century, an inspiration for books, movies, composers. The more I read about perfumes the more I grow attached to the House of Chanel, and especially its founder, famous Coco, and the real person behind the well-known name…Gabrielle. I’ve read so many books and articles that I feel like I know her intimately. So this review is dedicated to her personally.

In an interview a few years back, Karl Lagerfeld said that he thinks that if Coco was alive today she would hate what he did with the brand. Note: Lagerfeld is a fashion designer for the House of Chanel. I’m not sure he is right about that because to this day, Chanel amazes me with its newest fashion pieces I see on the Internet. But I am positive that she would have hated what Olivier Polge did with their newest perfume Gabrielle.

The inspiration for Chanel Gabrielle

The official inspiration for the perfume was “Coco before Chanel”. Talented, rebellious, creative, stubborn, and persistent Gabrielle was the inspiration. The girl embodied male energy and female sensuality. The girl that dreamt of making a perfume that not only smelled new and nice but also pushed the boundaries of social and cultural taboos. That was both fashion and philosophical statement. She managed just that with her famous Chanel no 5 – more on it another time…

Long-awaited perfume Gabrielle, which was surrounded by a veil of mystery, pompous announcements, skilled marketing tricks, and campaigns, is a bitter disappointment.  Kristen Stewart is a terrible choice, an actress famous for her meak role in the Twilight series, so lost in time and space she is the furthest possible character from Gabrielle Coco Chanel. If she was alive today, Kristen would be the last person Coco would choose to advertise her new perfume.

What about the juice?

As for the scent itself, let me paraphrase a well-documented quarrel between two local celebrities and say that Gabrielle is a big, beautiful NOTHING. There are no better words to describe this perfume…beautiful nothing…orange blossom, jasmine, a bit of tuberose…for a woman that inspired an entire century, this is painfully simple, prosaic, and unoriginal. I need to apologize to Gabrielle Coco Chanel through this text.

She did NOT deserve this. This is NOT a monument to a person’s life and work. This is a mockery. I will paraphrase Karl Lagerfeld: If Coco was alive she would have hated it. And indeed, if Coco was alive she would have hated the new Gabrielle. Sadly she is not, but the memory of her lives in all of us. So in the name of us, I can say freely: We hate the new Gabrielle.

READ NEXT>>Review for the amazing and odd floral perfume Jasmine et Cigarette.

Ad for Gabrielle can be found HERE.

Perfume creator Olivier Polge.