Reviews of Allure Homme Edition Blanche (2008)
by Chanel

This is Jacques Polge having a bad day at work after a lemon cream pie party the night before.

Very aromatic citrus fruity opening leads into this very generic fresh woody drydown. Soft and smooth with some sharp and tart undertones.

Reminds me of so many other fragrances that I don’t want to even start to name them…

Well made, long-lasting and somewhat pleasant but, also very boring and disappointing in the end.

As much as I like Allure Homme, its siblings have never really endeared themselves to me. Edition Blanche begins with a rather disfigured lemon accord that is both cheap smelling and ill judged. The hollow middle notes are a little more interesting, with a snort of ginger to titillate the palate in the wood themed heart of this fragrance. The base has the the old Allure chassis, but with the veitiver much more prominent in this version. There were phases where I actually began ro warm to Blanche, but this is one fragrance that will probably never get that second date.

Chanel Allure Homme Edition Blanche

Lemons, when life gives you lemons you make lemonade. When a perfumer is faced with lemons they have to be careful not to make furniture polish. One of the most familair scents to many Americans is that of Lemon Pledge which was a furniture spray polish. Every perfumer that tries to use lemon has to worry about being compared, ususally unfavorably, to Lemon Pledge. Even so it doesn't keep the truly talented from taking a shot at it and in the 2008 release Chanel Allure Homme Edition Blanche, created by Jacques Polge, there is no furniture polish to be found among the polished lemons present. The top of this is a lemon that edges more to the tart and mixed with a little bergamot to keep the tart from becoming sour this is as unlike furniture polish as you can imagine. In the heart M. Polge makes a bold choice by using sandalwood. Considering that most associate lemon with the scent of polished wood it could've been a bad move. The choice of sandalwood turns out to be a brilliant move because this is a creamy sandalwood and along with that creaminess it also brings out the sweet character of the lemon making the heart feel warmer and deeper. The base uses a mix of vetiver followed by vanilla to bring this home. The vetiver sharpens the lemon before the vanilla really enhances the sweetness of the whole thing. Chanel Allure Homme Edition Blanche is an outstanding warm-weather scent, I love wearing it on the hottest of days as it comes off refreshing on those hot and humid days. It also has a surprising amount of longevity on me for a citrus forward scent. M. Polge has done an excellent job of making Chanel Allure Homme Edition Blanche smell less like a used dust rag and more like a lovely lemon creme pie which makes it quite the polished piece of work.

Allure Homme Edition Blanche is for those who search a citrus scent with high quality ingredients, good sillage and longevity. A dream fragrance with creamy citrus, a touch of pepper, and a refined woody dry down. But in contrary of other frangrances the citrus remains until the end.
Classy, rounded, fresh but sophisticated AHEB has the classics Chanel atributes: chic and quality. Jacques Polge in his best form.

A very nice lemon/dry herbs/woods scent.
Dare I say an improvement over the lemon/dusty base that is Profumum's Aqua Viva.
If you love the parched drydown of Santal Imperial, and the sweet/sour lemon topnotes of Blenheim Bouquet, I strongly suggest trying this.
It surprised me, but not enough to buy.

Ordinarily I would not have purchased it, but I had a $50 gift certificate so I decided that I would take a little risk and buy something I would ordinarily pass by. The necessary department store had no niches and most of the designers did not have fragrances, so basically I was limited to Chanel, Dior, and Gucci. Nothing interested me at Dior. At Gucci I asked to test the Gucci Pour Homme by Gucci. Although there was a tester prominently displayed, both SAs told me that I couldn’t try it because they have no bottles to sell… It’s one of those things that happen here that I don’t try to figure out. So Chanel and Allure Homme Édition Blanche became my option. When I tested AHEB it seemed very light and pleasant but there was something in it that set a tiny bell ringing in the back of my head, by my head was really too busy with the thought of the Chanel SA who was assisting me, so I quickly disregarded the bell and doubled my attention on the her. On paper Allure HEB opened with a citrus accord that I would describe as “Chanel”: It’s a bit fresh but reluctantly so… and it certainly isn’t Lemon Pledge or anything coarse; it’s a stylized and sophisticated citrus with a firm element of stylized and sophisticated spice notes. The spice stays in the background at first and the scent stays soft and pleasant into its spicy / woody heart with a quiet accord of pepper, ginger, cedar, and a slight touch of sandalwood. The heart holds for over an hour and the light base of tonka, vanilla, and white musk takes over and completes the movement with excellent longevity. There is nothing spectacular going on but the performance of AHEB is quietly understated and it is certainly an attractive fragrance to wear here in East Asia where fragrances are very rare and almost always understated. I bought the fragrance and the SA aforementioned received her commission, so everything turned out as it should be. Unfortunately, by the third time I wore AHEB on my skin, my reaction to it had changed. My skin had come to magnify the creamy ginger note that moves to prominence in the opening and then it stays there until the fragrance is exhausted. Soon, the ginger is about all I can smell; it broadcasts itself with a too strong sillage for my appreciation, and it hangs on forever. I know now what that bell in my head was trying to warn me had I been paying attention: “Beware: shades of Bulgari Blu Pour Homme.” Of course AHEB is much more soft and refined than BBPH, and the creamy ginger isn’t the juggernaut that the BBPH ginger is, but… still, I could do without it in either case. If it’s not on my skin, Allure Homme Édition Blanche is an original, well-made fragrance with a pleasantly soft, creamy citrus / spicy feel and with excellent longevity. But it kind of loses control when it comes in contact with my epidermis.

Lemon, soap, spice and a touch of vanilla. Fresh, but in a warm and inviting way. Perfect as an unconventional gym scent. Women really like this, provided it is not applied with a heavy hand.

Unreal! Amazing. Complex, warm, fresh, bright. All of the notes listed really shine in this one. The lemon makes the vanilla smell fresh, almost aquatic. Well named, well bottled. Makes you want to wear a white suit on a beach. Classy, yes fresh and sporty. One of the most complex fragrances out there. I agree with many that this is the best allure yet. I hope this is my next bottle.

People say lemon. I say pepper in combination with vanilla. This is what it actually smells and it lasts. I am not supriced why people like since it to me is a standard perfume. Nothing spectacular with it. Typical day perfume, more spring than summer.

not worth to review.

i would love to know what is going on in the minds of the responsables at chanel!!!???

if you think of pour monsieur and antaeus, two really great scents-so what has happenend in the meantime to this company-

producing cheap citrus scents that you easily can buy in any drugstore for less money - do only ask for a shower gel and you

get an absolutely better smelling one................

allure edition blanche is a slap in the face- one of the worst launches in the last years!

I like this smell. It is sweet and somewhat sharp at the same time. But unfortunately it doesn't last long on me.

Not a thumbs down because my wife liked it. I found it ok, but after 2 hours it smells very much like Hererra 212 for men, only 212 has a stronger twist of originality to it.

top notes smell almost exactly like lemon pledge. They simmer down a bit to a lighter lemon and then the fragrance almost totally disappears. What I can still smell smells very good but it is so light that no one would be able to smell it without their nose pressed to my skin, and even then it is still light.

Creamy citrus with an peppery edge to it. Starts off with a blast of lemons - the sweeter kind - and progresses to a very nice spicy-woody base, with that creamy lemony feel always in the background. It manages to be both safe and bold at the same time. I love this one. An atention grabber IMO. Excellent sillage and good longevity.
You can't ask for more.
Perfect.

This scent i love and so does everyone i meet when wearing it i have had countless comments i really hope Chanel make it a line its nice and uplifting without being overpowering .

Chanel Allure Homme Edition Blanche

Allure Homme Edition Blanche starts with refreshing citrus--mostly grapefruit with a touch of lemon and lime. I love grapefruit, but what has kept me from enjoying it in most fragrances is either the tendency for the grapefruit to get a little sweaty and urinous, or, in the case of highly synthetic grapefruit notes, the unchanging linearity which becomes boring and a little too overwhelming. I am pretty sure AHEB contains at least some natural citrus, because the scent is changing, deepening, becoming less of a zesty, fresh squeezed citrus and more like a glass of fresh grapefruit juice. I am also beginning to smell mandarine orange, which is pleasantly sweet--it softens the bitter edge of the grapefruit, and slightly covers the fact that the grapefruit is decomposing into its usual sulfuric compounds. Underneath the citrus I smell herbal notes--rosemary and perhaps an evergreen such as spruce. The development has been slow and steady, and an hour in, still has a pleasing citrus herbal tone, even though there is a bit of sharpness from the grapefruit.

Further into the development, the grapefruit is undoubtedly urinous and sufuric. I never find the ending stage of grapefruit pleasant, but there are some other notes in AHEB which mask it a bit. The fragrance has turned a bit more powdery, and the sweet base notes are starting to come forward more. I smell some faint florals, but nothing that is particularly recognizable. The sweetness could be vanilla or tonka, which might account for the powdery note. Unfortunately, the degraded grapefruit is really ruining this fragrance for me. The effect in the drydown is stale, oxidized grapefruit with weak perfumy powder. Sadly, it has really fallen apart and does not seem to be taking a desperately needed turn for the better. In the deep drydown, the grapefruit is more tolerable, but still recalls its earlier ugly sulfuric stage. The soft powder and vanilla does help, but there are times that the vanilla and grapefruit combine to give an orange flavored baby-aspirin effect. This is definitely not a dreamy drydown that I can sink into.

a little Allure pour homme, and A LOT OF LEMONS!

seriously, this should be "Allure Silver" or "Allure Yellow". haha, good for summer. it's alright I guess.

I agree with Kevin on nowsmellthis, but I still like it enough to buy it.

Creamy???? Smooth??? It's very spicy, and lemony at the opening... just like lemons and lemons... then really spicy while the lemons start to dry to a powdery smell, typical from citrusy frag. and a plus of some sexy hint of leather and woods.. Really nice, but it could perfectly be a fragrance instead of an edition.. really mediterranean, a great substitute to your L'eau de Issey.. Way better than that "mojito" thingy from Guerlain.. shame on them

Smells similar to something I used to own but can't remember. Too much orange for me to be honest. Not terrible but to be honest not inventive either. Smell before buying.

The lemon in this fragrance is certainly tenacious. I deeply suspect it can keep mosquitos away. This misguided experiment makes CK One smell sophisticated.

A much better choice than the original, I'm not sure what it was but the original allure is so cloying and headache inducing. I really tried hard to like it twice, (my wife really likes allure!!!!) and I couldn't help but getting a headache, and cavity because of it's sweetness. Well I then tried Vera Wang for men, and it seems to be very similar without all the aditional headache inducing sweetness. But I digress this is a review for the Blanche edition. Blanch really surprised me, fun, energetic, citric, and zesty. I clearly get the pepper but I think there may be just a touch of cinamon in there too. I like it.

i smelled it in a mall and got addicted to it ... fresh, warm, sexy , everything ...

this is a nice fragance.... this remind me of Blv by Bvlgari........... i like the ginger note here..... is a fresh - creamy fragance for spring time and summer........

Damn this stuff surprised me. It's a lighter, more citrusy version of Allure Homme. Still has the peppery accords and minus the heavy amber/tonka bean base. Great for warmer weather with Allure Homme is way too much in. It just feels fresher in my opinion. Reminded me of the freshness from Dunhill Fresh of all things.

very nice smell, sensual in fact. please get this stuff ebfore they take it out of production.

creamy smooth citrus opening with a very elegant touch to it. the sillage is almost mesmerising. what is it? vanilla+tonka+lime? i have no clue. though it is citrus based, it's sillage keeps you engaged and makes you think, wow..this smells good. somewhere in the midnotes a odd lavender note pops up, giving its a rubber gloves effect..this is kinda off putting when sniffed upclose but, it doesnt bother with the sillage much...the base is a subtle leather note with hints of vetiver and lavender. i think, more than Gris clair, the lavender reminded me of Caron Unhomme. lovely scent neverthless and a definite buy for spirng/summer.

This smells like a lemon Italian ice, like the kind you get down in little Italy, or maybe in a good pizza place in Westchester. This shares something in common with sport, and I can also only assume the original. Even as time passes, it still smells like someone spilled an Italian ice on my vanilla, tonka, and white musk cologne soaked wrist.

Although pleasant, the longevity and sillage are far too weak.

I prefer the sport, but then again I'm a simpleton.

I bought this fragrance 3 days ago and have been wearing it every day. I like the real lemon note. It remains until the end. It's a nice scent to wear at the office or at night. Be careful not to overapply since it's got good longevity. I prefer this one than the previous Allures.

This is much better than Allure and Allure sport. I think it's the way the lemon plays with the ginger that grabs my attention. The drydown is a subtler play on the lemon, putting me in mind of a lemon sorbet. I can't smell any tonka in there, and the other notes are more of a supporting cast, but the vetiver makes an appearance as the lemon calms down. Top notch

LOOOOVE this frag!!!most definetely one of the best summer or good weather scents ever.
as others have statet starts of very lemony, almost like frsh grinded lemon skin (which is a good thing as i love lemon), and cools down to a lovely fruity-fresh combination of lemon and vanilla.
i cant really detect some of the notes but sandalwood, bergamot and tonka i do smell and they round this scent of amzingly.
even sillage and longevity suprised me, while trying a single shot on one wrist i could smell it distintively for hours and hours.even got a whiff of it after a night.
defineetely a thumbs up, gets a 10/10 from me.

very impressed with Chanel's take on this one.....not a big fan of lemon, but loved the lemon here.....because it wasnt tart but creamy and pleasant with vetiver accords developing within 20 minutes or so....it is quite pleasant and fresh but with an oustanding creamy/vetiver edge to its tartness giving it a beautiful balance and even....Complexity.

meraviglioso !!! sicilian lemon is wonderful...like a travelling in the village near mediterrian.. u can choose allure homme sport but i like this fragrance..maybe i like this parfume bcs of a lemon ; lemon is dominant in it.i can feel the ginger and white musk but anothers not..i search for brazilian tonka but i cant get it maybe my nose is bad...

To picture Edition Blanche, take Homme Sport, strip a few of the notes out and replace with similar - but not the same - notes. I'd say Blanche is about 80% of Sport. Whereas the top of Sport is a creamy neroli/lemon, Blanche loses the creaminess and the neroli, replaced by grapefruit and light pepper notes. It is not entirely unlike Terre d'Hermes, though not quite as sharp. The top takes a while to fade, and in all honesty EB loses most of its ooomph once it does. The base of light musk and sandalwood is subtle, and unless you really spray it on, barely detectable. They call this 'EDT Concentree'.... Chanel should have just made the investment in perfume oil to make it an EDP. If they had done this, EB would be more competitive in the marketplace.

I'm very much enjoying this on the ridiculously hot days we have here in Texas. Thumbs up for being a fantastic fresh summer scent, but I will note my disappointment in its lack of longevity.

This one took a while to grow on me, but now, it's my favourite of the Allure lot. IMO, I like it much better than Sport. It seems a bit better rounded and I like the progression a bit better - esp. the mix of leather and vanilla.

Well Done. Recommended.

This edition of Allure made me curious about the other Allures but I think this one is the best one. It is a very unexpected scent from Chanel. This scent does very different things on my skin. I dont know why but some days it is more citrusy and some days it has a mild lavender like middlenote that tries to hang on for a long time during the day. When it does this the lavender like note is a feint reminder of Serge Lutens' Gris Clair.
AHEB is very good fragrance that is wearable for almost all occasions but I think it needs abit more longetivity.

This is simply too lemony for my scent. The bottle is extremely nice and it sure is a "fresh" scent. I like the regular Allure and Allure Sport better.

Fresh, in a lemony citrussy way, then becomes slightly sweeter with some sandalwood in there. This is in a smooth and characterful way unlike the Cologne Sport which I find too straight-up lemony and too linear. The development then goes in the way of a very nice musky and incence-like note, to my nose. This has one of the most beautiful drydowns ever, hours after spraying it there is a hint of it, ever so subtle. I wouldn't say this is better than the original Allure Home Sport as I think that is a great anyime scent but this, for me anyway, is a daytime or office scent. Sillage is on the subtle side but is long-lived. Overall a mediterranean, barber-shop effect witha modern urban 'man-about-town' feel. You'll probably like it if you like Armani Eau Pour Homme and the original Allure Sport as this retains some similar notes.

This smells to me like what Allure should have been. I was never a fan of allure, I certainly can say I am a fan of this one. It smells citrussy, sweet powdery (do I detect some Lavender?), and while I do not get leather, I do not find the harshness or blandness that find when I wear the regular version of Allure. It would not be a crime if Chanel would replace their main offering with this flanker!

Not really a great fan of Chanel fragrances for men --- up to now! This starts very lemony, but gradually dries down to a soft wood & vanilla with the sicilian lemon still hanging on. Must admit I don't get all the notes listed, especially the ginger and amber. It's a work of art though and I really love it.

Kaern

What the hell did they do with this scent? It's probably the vetiver that sticks out like a sore thumb to my nose. I even think that Homme Sport Cologne had a bigger Chanel imprint in the scent. And here I thought Cologne was a bit of blasphemy to the Allure name. I still think that Allure Homme Sport is the easiest to wear, and I think that I'm pretty much alone in thinking that it's a wonderful scent. I think many went running because the ad mentioned the "aquatic" word into the composition and a lot here at Basenotes went running because of it. HA! It's all in the head. Fraiche would've been the better word for Homme Sport.

Final word for Allure Homme Edition Blanche? Mediocre flanker that defiles a classic.

Shortly, the most beautiful Chanel what I felt once!!! His indescribable fineness is charmed prompt. I am the prisoner of this fragrance.

I don't like Chanel Allure Homme Edition Blanche. I think this was just an excuse for Jacques Polge to create another Allure Homme bottle.

what can i see about this the god of all puerfumes i have purchased and till now nothing really smell like or better then this sexy thing i did try all allure line and manyyyyyy branded purfumes i dont have a word to explain what it did to me. its not a limited edition i have visited chanel webside and there was nothing like this. beside the smell u r waering chanel be proud bors u have to buy one thanks sorry for bad english

Like others I believe this is the best ALLURE to date. The opening is quite lemony, then it moves on to a Bulgari ph rendition...slightly dark earthy woods. This hangs for a while before it nicely transitions to Mugler Cologne in the dry down. It is just awesome. Well worth the price.

For once an Allure variation worth the trouble. This is nice and fresh, a little sweeter and more powdery than the earlier versions. It wears well, with decent longevity and sillage. I don't get much leather in this, though.

In my opinion, this is the best of all the Allure variations to date. It is a shame that this is a limited edition, If Chanel made this a regular offering, it would probably sell very well. I have only owned Edition Blanche for about two weeks, and I have already received compliments when I wearing it. EB starts off a bit of citrus and then presents a nice variation on the original. If you like any of the other Allure variations, I think you will love this one. Give it a try, but hurry.