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Chanel

Coco

Coco is the eau de parfum Jacques Polge composed for Chanel in 1984, as a tribute to Gabrielle Chanel’s taste for the Baroque. The house describes it as an amber symphony: mandarin opens onto jasmine, ylang-ylang, and orange blossom, and patchouli, benzoin, and tonka bean hold the base.

Brand
Chanel
Launch year
1984
Perfumer
Gender
Women
Olfactory family
Oriental
Concentration
Eau de Parfum
EAN
3145891134209 (35 ml) · 3145891134308 (50 ml) · 3145891135510 (60 ml) · 3145891135305 (100 ml)

Published · Updated

Coco

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Chanel launched Coco in 1984. The eau de parfum is signed by Jacques Polge, the house perfumer from 1978 to 2015, and bears Gabrielle Chanel’s nickname. It is still sold, alongside an eau de toilette and a line of bath and body care.

The Baroque of rue Cambon

The house ties the perfume to a paradox of its founder: the instigator of a pared-down style, Gabrielle Chanel nonetheless loved the Baroque aesthetic, that of her apartment on rue Cambon and of her Byzantine jewelry. According to Chanel, Coco tells of her whimsical, sunny side.

An Orient that stops in Venice

In Perfume Legends, Michael Edwards reports a remark by Jacques Polge: Coco was his interpretation of an Orient that begins and ends in Venice, whereas Shalimar leads to India and Opium to Marrakech. The perfumer would take up the image again in 2012 for Coco Noir.

A lineage

Coco opened a lineage: Coco Mademoiselle in 2001, designed for a younger clientele, and Coco Noir in 2012. The eau de parfum is sold today in 35, 50, and 100 ml, and as a 60 ml refillable spray.

Olfactory pyramid

  1. Top notesThe first minutes
  2. Heart notesThe heart of the perfume
  3. Base notesWhat lingers

What critics say

An admiring reception: Angela of Now Smell This sees in it Chanel’s elegance grafted onto the wave of grand orientals launched by Opium, and Suzanna of Bois de Jasmin, reluctant at first, considers it a jewel of a perfume that has not aged.

Read what critics say

On the blog

  • Chanel’s Coco: the whole line, from 1984 to 2026

    Coco in 1984, Coco Mademoiselle in 2001, Coco Noir in 2012: three fragrances bear Gabrielle Chanel’s nickname, released in eleven versions up to Crush Absolu in 2026. The dates, perfumers, and notes of each, and what ties them together.

What the community says

LongevityLong
Fleeting1 voteAll day
SillageGenerous
Intimate1 voteOverpowering

Season

Winter100 %
1 vote

Occasion

Evening100 %
1 vote

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The advertising

A gilded cage on Place Vendôme

In 1991, Vanessa Paradis swings like a bird in a gilded cage in Jean-Paul Goude’s film, to Harold Arlen’s Stormy Weather.

The film L’Esprit de Chanel, also known as L’Oiseau de paradis, premiered in France on October 14, 1991, with the slogan “Coco, l’esprit de Chanel.” Jean-Paul Goude directed it for the D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles agency. Vanessa Paradis, eighteen, replaced Inès de La Fressange as the face.

She plays Coco Chanel’s canary: on a stormy evening, she swings in a gilded cage, in a set evoking a suite at the Ritz on Place Vendôme, watched by a white Angora cat, whistling Stormy Weather, the Harold Arlen standard.

Filming began on December 15, 1990, in a hangar at the Villacoublay air base, with a reconstructed Place Vendôme and miniaturization effects. The English-language version shows the singer covered in black feathers, as a bird on a swing.

From the same line

The whole line on the blog: Chanel’s Coco: the whole line, from 1984 to 2026

More perfumes from Chanel

All Chanel perfumes

Also composed by Jacques Polge

All creations by Jacques Polge

Similar perfumes

Similar notes and family, from other houses.