Our take
What does Égoïste smell like?
Jacques Polge created Égoïste for Chanel in 1990. It is a relaunch of Bois Noir, a 1988 composition the house reissued under a new name. The advert showed women slamming the shutters of a grand hotel while shouting the perfume's name, and the image stuck. The opening is bright with mandarin, coriander and a faintly peppery rosewood. The heart warms up fast. Damask rose meets cinnamon and carnation, whose clove-like edge gives it an old-world texture. Everything then rests on sandalwood, milky and soft, made velvety by Madagascan vanilla and ambrette seed. Some accounts also mention dried fruit and tobacco. It stays a round, spicy woody scent, more comforting than brooding. Nothing else in men's perfumery smelled like it at the time.
When to wear it
Cold weather and evenings, sprayed on a shirt or a coat collar. Two sprays leave a warm trail without overdoing it.
It belongs to the Woody, Spicy family. Égoïste is one of 45 creations by Chanel in our encyclopedia.
