Chanel Les Exclusifs Beige Eau de Toilette - Scented Review

“I take refuge in beige because it’s natural”, said Mademoiselle Chanel. An elusive colour with infinite variations, beige may seem quite ordinary. And yet, behind this apparent simplicity, it hides a discreet sensuality that builds slowly before revealing itself fully. The official description on the Chanel Official Website.

Name: Beige

Brand: Chanel

Concentration: Eau de Toilette

Year of launching: 2008

Production: Replaced in 2016 with an Eau de Parfum concentration, thus Beige Eau de Toilette has been discontinued.

Parfumeur: Jacques Polge

Persistence: Excellent

Sillage: Excellent

Notes: Hawthorne, Freesia, Frangipani, Shimmering hints of Honey.

*The perfume notes have been written as described on the Chanel Official Website.

These were the very words of Mademoiselle Coco Chanel “I take refuge in beige because it’s natural". Chanel’s own creations can attest that she has elevated the colour beige to a status of elegance and luxury. The word Beige according to Merriam Webster was borrowed from French, going back to Middle French baige, noun derivative of Old French bege "uncoloured, having the colour of natural wool," of uncertain origin.

I have always wondered how the colour Beige would translate into a fragrance. That is what attracted me to this fragrance in the first place. How would it smell through The House of Chanel perspective?


Beige consists of two dominant notes: Frangipani and Honey. When the Honey note is dominant, Beige will lean towards a sweet, candy scent, but when the Honey subsides into an undertone and the Frangipani gets a chance to shine, it smells elegant. Personally, I like Beige better when the Frangipani dominates the composition. Beige is a linear fragrance, the top notes will be dominated by Honey, the middle notes will be filled with Honey only half of the time. At one point the Honey will surrender the spotlight to the Frangipani all through the remaining middle notes and base notes. 

When the Frangipani is playing the starring role, it smells elegant and refined. I personally wished the Frangipani note was enhanced by another supporting floral note maybe. I could have been the Freesia but my nose did not sense any Freesia. A little less Honey, more Frangipani and another floral note that could have made it better, smoother and add more depth. The Frangipani alone is the note that provides this fragrance with some depth. Otherwise, the honey makes it smell very happy-go-lucky, and in my humble opinion, it smells superficially happy when the Honey is present. I was expecting something a bit more complex and after all Beige could have been more complex and sophisticated especially because it was a fragrance from the Chanel Les Exclusifs line. 

Beige embodies a yellowish tone/shade of beige, has a Summer feel to it with a nice warm glow and a sunny disposition. From the first sniff it made me think of a Chanel Beige bag, the Classic Flap Bag in Lamb Skin. Ironic enough both Beige Eau de Toilette and the Chanel Beige Classic Flap bag are now discontinued. According to the Purse Blog Forum, the beige colour for the Flap Bag is now seasonal and no longer a part of the Classic line.


I have smelled it time and time again and I could only picture a beige Chanel. Frankly, I want more, not just a luxurious beige bag. Since 2015 I have been trying to discover the “more” and the “something else” in Beige, wearing it in different seasons and with different occasions. Three years later I find myself stuck in the same place. The place of Conventional Luxury because to my nose that is what Beige embodies. Nothing more and nothing less than Conventional Luxury. It is pleasant, has good quality ingredients, lasts for ages with excellent sillage but falls too fast into a trap of luxurious niceness and never recovers. I think Beige needs to take some risk from time to time and get out of its comfort zone because it's too nice, too cute, and too conventional. While Beige has a certain relaxed elegance, I wished it had more spirit, more personality. I get it that Beige is bright and shiny. I also believe it had potential to deliver more but somehow Chanel decided not to take the risk.
Let's talk about the packaging, discontinuation, etc.:

Chanel Les Exclusifs Beige has a simple yet effective bottle, and it’s effortlessly classy. In 2016 all of the fragrances of the Chanel Les Exclusifs line that were Eau de Toilette have been replaced with an Eau de Parfum concentration. The only exception is Chanel Eau de Cologne, which remains in Eau de Cologne concentration but it’s unclear whether it has been reformulated. Well, it is not just the concentration issue, as fans of the fragrances from the Les Exclusifs line are saying the new Eau de Parfum versions for their favourite fragrances have suffered some tweaks. I can’t confirm or wish to speculate, but it’s possible. A higher concentration of parfum means also a bigger price tag and another reason not to be very excited for the change Chanel has made.

Maybe the idea behind Beige was to be a simple fragrance representing a simple colour. Personally I do not find the colour beige to be simple because beige has many tones/shades. It is difficult to balance this colour so it does not slip towards the indistinct. Beige as a fragrance has its own beauty but it is leaning a little too close to a neutral and conventional shade of beige.

John Balik - Honey

 

In the end, I would like to add a small advice to my Dear Reader. Perfume is like a work of art, it strikes different chords within each individual. The interpretation of a work of art is very personal, profound and unique for each and every human being. If possible, test a perfume for yourself after reading a review. Also, do not forget to Love, Enjoy and Wear your Perfume of choice Proudly.

What is your opinion about Beige? Let me know in the comment section.  

Thank you for reading, I wish you a Beautifully Scented Day! 

Disclaimer: My own scented opinion. Review based upon a sample from my own collection.

SOURCES:

Images:

The Scented Hound.com [Accessed 15th October 2018]
Ace Consign.com [Accessed 15th October 2018]

Information:

 Chanel.com [Accessed 15th October 2018]
Merriam Webster.com [Accessed 15th October 2018]
Purse Blog Forum [Accessed 15th October 2018]
Fragrantica Forum [Accessed 15th October 2018]
Fragrantica Forum [Accessed 15th October 2018]
Basenotes Forum [Accessed 15th October 2018]