Cristalle Eau de Toilette (1974)
by Chanel

Different, is a good word to start with when it comes to describing Cristalle by Chanel.

Although Cristalle is often referred to as a 70's scent, it is surprisingly modern for its time.

The fragrance opens with crisp and refreshing lemon supported by a blend of dry and unsweetened florals. The scent is quite green and fresh, somewhat similar to Chanel No.19, however it is not as sharp and chemical.

It took me a while to like this fragrance seeming that the opening itself was rather overpowering and sour, however the drydown and the sudden presence of the floral notes softened the scent and gave it an undeniable feminine quality which was quite lovely.

My perception on this scent is that it's rather soapy yet fresh and revitalising. I found myself detecting a note hidden somewhere in the drydown which smelt rather like a smouldering cigarette. I must add that I rather like the smell of cigarettes, particularly on the opposite sex.

Honestly this isn't a fragrance that you're likely to find me wearing. Chanel's classy and sophisticated scents don't seem to do me justice, however on the right people these types of scents really have the ability to shine.

While this crisp, watery, herbaceous and lemony-fresh scent doesn't suit me, I'm almost certain that it will suit lovers of these kinds of fragrances.

4th June, 2011.

I just acquired this, having tried "vert" frist, which all in all I think I prefer. It stays light and fresh where the Cristalle EDT veers towards a sharp, almost spicy finish which it retains through to the end...the vetiver perhaps? I can't help feeling--well--have a sneaking suspicion that this is something of a shadow of its former self. All of the Chanel scents I've recently revisited, many I remember from childhood all seem watered down. The only one that has retained its mojo is Antaeus. He went from having elephantitis of the balls to just merely large balls. But why all this spaying and neutering of these classics? Reduced sillage. Reduced projection. But increased price!
None of those wonderful bath products anymore. Why? They weren't selling enough I'm sure. So screw all those loyal customers.
Let's put out subpar originals and mindless flankers and just rake in the cash because we're Chanel. It's sad really. In fact it's a doggone shame! I wish Mlle Chanel would come back to haunt the greedy bastards who now run her company. Flick ghost cigarette ash at them. But there's probably no smoking allowed in the Chanel offices anymore.

12nd April, 2011.

green floral chypre- very clear, fresh and spicy.

perfect composition- individual, unique, special- outstanding perfectly composed by the great Henri Robert.

very elegant, very french, very catherine deneuve- simply wonderful!

everything perfectly put together : the name, the fragrance- an awsome composition for summer.

18th December, 2010.

I was so excited when I found an older version of the edt in my "give away" drawer! My find drives home the fact that the newest version is simply a shadow of it's former self. The soaring top notes of vintage edt shriek. The bergamot is Earl Grey tea, not lemon. The rosewood, vetiver & oakmoss demand your attention. The old Cristalle edt was a bitch; the new edt is a fresh kid. Having said all of that, Cristalle is still a marvel in this age of pink gourmand. And she did not cop out by morphing into a soft, comfortable suede like so many new chypres.

17th December, 2010.

I’ve really enjoyed chypre fragrances for a while and I have Cristalle to thank. When I first smelled Cristalle (many years ago before I really became a perfume hobbyist) I didn’t really know anything about categories of fragrances or what made them what they were. It was 1982 and I was in college. I wore Antaeus, Kouros, No 5, and Je Reviens. Powerhouse men’s 80s and lady-like floral aldehydes. When I tried Cristalle at some department store or other, I had no idea what to make of it. It’s as if this had dropped in from space. I can’t say I loved it, but it marked me.

When I smelled it again many years later I found it simply gorgeous. It smelled just as it had the first time, but I had changed. I was ready for it. It is pristine. I know some find it off-putting (even many who like it) but I find it has just the right timbre, the perfect inflection. It is an odd, spare chord and might not be particularly harmonious in a feel-good, symphonic sense but it has a perfect tonality. My only difficulty with it (as with both No 19 edt and Pour Monsieur) is that it just doesn’t last for me. It has just a fraction more lasting power than an eau de cologne. Despite this, I love its evolution over time. It starts green, strong, astringent and then has a fairly quick transition to a mossy, melon-like floral like nothing else I’ve smelled. From this point it just sort of blows away, becoming a ghost of itself, but, for an hour or so, a recognizable one.

29th November, 2010. (Last Edited: 30th September, 2011.)

This review is for the EDT and the EDP. I agree with most of the other reviews that the EDT is sparkling and citrus-y, especially in the opening and like Jean Patou Fan said, there is a similarity in the beginning to Chanel No. 19. However, I can't add much more to that, as the EDT fades on me very quickly and seems to not move beyond the opening and early middle stages.

I hate to say it, but I think the EDP is an awful mish-mash of notes that for me, never seem to come together. In a few other reviews that I have read, it was said that the EDP almost literally made the wearer gag and I can say that I had the same experience. In the opening there is something similar to the new formulation of Habit Rouge that made me have the same reaction. Interestingly, I don't hve that reaction to the vintage version of Habit rouge.

Anyway, I said all of that to say that you should trust the reviewers that swear by the EDT over the EDP, because they're right, these are two different scents and the EDT is better. Just wish it lasted longer and had better sillage.

26th June, 2010.