I first smelled Frangipane by Chantecaille about ten or eleven years ago and quite liked it, even if I knew instantly that it was not meant for me. I remember testing it several times side by side next to Michael (Michael Kors), the tuberose bomb, and ended up buying Michael, which I wear to this day (in pure parfum form). Chantecaille's Frangipane was more flirty, more floral and I remember it clearly as having a candy aspect, almost marzipan rolled in generous amounts of powdered vanilla sugar. But the frangipani and jasmine by the bucket were always too much for me, and I likes Michael's tuberose-over-incense a lot better.
Chantecaille made some obvious changes to Frangipane that go beyond the new bottles and boxes. I won't even go into the price, which I find outrageous for what this is. After all, for those who love it and smell good in Frangipane, the price makes perfect sense. Today's Frangipane smells on my skin like a big bouquet of lily laced with some jasmine sprigs. It's very sweet (but that might be my skin) but without the almondy vanilla base that made me spray from the tester whenever I was around one and sneaking a sniff here and there. It's just sweet and flowery and a little musky, and I don't think it smells very attractive on me.
In defense of Frangipane I can say that usually this kind of overflowing white florals and jasmine blends can turn very Glade on me, while this one from Chantecaille retains a more refined and expensive air (it better, considering what you pay for it). The right person with the right skin will probably enjoy this fragrance just like my friend Charlestongirl from Best Things In Beauty. She's very close to being my evil scent twin, so no surprises there. I just wish sometimes that I could smell what she's smelling.
Notes: water hyacinth, violet leaf, orange, jasmine, incense, ylang-ylang, frangipani, amber, musk and vanilla.
Frangipane by Chantecaille ($175 , 75ml EDP or $68 for the 8ml roll-on) is available at Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and anywhere else that stocks Chantecaille products.
Photo: Ladies' Home Journal, April 1950, via myvintagevogue.com
I can't say I understand the price point - on me it just smelled like flower water with a vanilla base, really nothing special... maybe I need to test it again.
ReplyDeleteI like this fragrance, but the price is ridiculous and stopping me from getting it.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I haven't thought about Frangipane for years, and suddenly I noticed the new bottles at BG and tried it. I completely agree with you. Not bad, but for the price, it needs to be more striking.
ReplyDeleteI have an older bottle of Frangipane. I don't wear it that often as I sort of tired of it, but it is a very pretty and feminine floral for sure. The new one is unrecognizable when you compare. And whoever came up with the new Chantecaille perfume bottles should be fired. They are probably one of the ugliest bottle lines out there. The price? Don't even get me started. Mediocre all around. But then again, they charge $60 for a bottle of rosewater....
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