Cristalle Eau Verte (2009)
by Chanel

I agree entirely with the lemonade reference zvoncica made previously. Lemon is certainly a dominant note, however the note isn't sharp or sour, rather it's a sweetened, almost candy-like, softened lemon note.

Cristalle eau Verte is refreshing like a cool breeze on a beautiful Summer's day. The opening blend of lemon, bergamot and mandarin orange makes me long for home as it reminds me of my childhood, wandering through the fruit orchards which grew in my backyard and tasting and relishing the beautiful citrusy aromas that filled the air.

The drydown is only vaguely floral with subtle hints of jasmine and magnolia every now and then. For a fragrance that is mostly citrus, it is surprising how much I've warmed to this scent.

There are hardly any similarities between this fragrance and the original Cristalle. The original is much more green and sharp, whereas Cristalle eau Verte is much sweeter and softer.

I must say that I'm rather impressed by Chanel's Summer offerings, with this fragrance and Chance eau Fraiche being my favourites so far.

4th June, 2011.

Curious, and never having tried the original Cristalle, I spritzed on this vert version. Reeeeaaaallllly nice...
Unisex enough for a man to enjoy in the summer. I tried "O" by Lancome, which this is similar to (but much better), and it just didn't work for me. But Cristalle Vert might be worth a splurge. I love fragrances that have a tonic effect and make you feel instantly happy. This would be one of them...with the added bonus that "It's CHANEL dahling!" I think their packaging has a lot to do with their fabulosity quotient. Somehow it seems to smell even better coming out of that sleek double C bottle, doesn't it?

29th March, 2011. (Last Edited: 11th April, 2011.)

This is my favourite summer perfume and, also, the perfume I reach for if I'm feeling down in the dumps. This fragrance has a sparkling quality that I find truly uplifting! To me it smells clean, fresh and sexy and it lasts a looong time on my skin too. Both thumbs up from me.

27th March, 2011.

This is an interesting Cristalle flanker and one that I actually do 'like' / love. It opens hugely biting with lemon and bergamot .This is the strongest aspect of the scent. It reminds me of the the newly formulated Shaliamr type lemony top . I find it sharp ,savory and interesting - even if it 'may' be synthetic . I get very little magnolia and mostly green with a back drop and dry down of light iris. This is not the same iris of No.19 - again, I think it's synthetic iris but still fresh and quite wearable. After the invigorating opening ,I admit the rest of Eau Verte is like Eau Linen .
For me, the top notes make this a viable fresh fragrance. However if it is actually 'verte' you are after, perhaps.No.19 especially in the EDT will be a better choice. Buy this only if you have spare cash you don't mind spending to try out a 'different' Cristalle otherwise it would be wiser to stick to the orignal Cristalle EDT or No. 19 . Longevity is not great,- even the original Cristalle EDT has slightly better tenacity on my skin.

15th November, 2010.

This fragrance was made with a deft hand. It's light, airy and fresh; effortless chic for summer. I love it!

27th July, 2010.

What fool decided that Cristalle needed a flanker? And guys, if you’re going to call it “Eau Verte,” make sure it's actually more “verte” than the original. Side-by-side comparison reveals that Cristalle is much more herbaceous, more galbanum-tinted green, than this misbegotten stepchild right from the start.

My guess is that this was an attempt to do for Cristalle what the excellent Eau Première did for No. 5, which is to say, brighten and lighten the formula with more fruit while toning down the powdery aldehydes, in the hope of attracting a younger, hipper audience. It didn’t work here, perhaps because Cristalle is light and bright enough as it is, or because adding sweet fruit to Cristalle’s green citrus chypre architecture brings it perilously close to banal fruity floral territory.

Truth be told, I have trouble sniffing out that beautifully balanced chypre structure underneath the fruit-flavored hard candy wrapper, so I think any remnants of Cristalle’s original content are effectively wasted here. My advice: just avoid this misguided effort and wear Cristalle instead.

29th May, 2010. (Last Edited: 30th May, 2010.)