Chloé
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The iris and heliotrope strike immediately, a thick cloud of cosmetic powder with an almost starchy quality, like fine talc dusted across cool skin. There's a sweet, almondy nuance from the heliotrope that mingles with the iris's lipstick-like smoothness, creating an instantly retro, dressing-table atmosphere.
The trio of spring flowers unfurls gradually—hyacinth's green soapiness first, then lilac's creamy indoles, finally wisteria's honeyed softness. They don't merge but rather layer atop one another, each maintaining its character whilst the powder persists underneath like a constant whisper. The spicy accord becomes more apparent here, adding necessary prickle to the confectionery sweetness.
Peru balsam's vanillic resin takes centre stage, grounding the powder in something warmer and more amber-like, though never heavy. The musk softens everything to a second-skin whisper, whilst the talc remains stubbornly present, ensuring you smell perpetually groomed. What lingers is intimate rather than projective, a personal cloud of vintage comfort.
Love, Chloé Eau Intense is an unabashed celebration of powdery florals taken to their most crystalline extreme. The iris here isn't the rooty, earthy sort—it's been whipped into a cosmetic haze alongside heliotrope, creating that distinctive retro makeup compact smell that teeters between baby powder and vintage face cream. What makes this fascinating is how Louise Turner has layered not one but three purple-hued spring flowers through the heart: hyacinth with its green, soapy facets; lilac's indolic sweetness; and wisteria's delicate honey-almond character. They shouldn't work together—it risks becoming a muddy, over-perfumed mess—yet somehow they emerge as distinct voices in a powdery choir.
The talc accord dominates relentlessly, soft and cushiony, whilst Peru balsam adds a resinous warmth that stops this from becoming purely cosmetic. There's a spicy undercurrent that prickles through the sweetness, perhaps from the heliotrope's subtle anisic qualities mingling with the balsamic notes. The vanilla and musk in the base are there for comfort rather than projection, wrapping everything in a second-skin intimacy. This is for those who find modern sweet florals too shouty, too fruit-salad bright. It's nostalgic without being dated, the sort of thing you'd wear whilst reorganising your grandmother's dressing table and discovering her forgotten compacts. Intensely feminine yet somehow comforting to anyone, it occupies that strange space where luxury meets the everyday rituals of grooming and self-care.
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