Bleu de Chanel (literally translated as ''"Chanel's Blue"'' or ''"Blue Chanel"'') is a men's fragrance created by

Jacques Polge Jacques Polge (born 14 June 1943) is a French perfumer, best known for his role as Head Perfumer at Les Parfums Chanel from 1978 to 2015. Early life Jacques Polge grew up near Avignon, France where he says he was inspired as a child by the sc ...

for French fashion house

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. It is privately owned by French brothers, Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, through the holding company Chanel Limited, established in 2018 and headquarte ...

in 2010. It was the first men's fragrance released by the brand since Allure Homme Sport in 2004, and the first men's masterbrand introduced since

Égoïste Égoïste is a men's perfume produced by French fashion house Chanel. It was created by perfumer Jacques Polge. The perfume was released in 1990. The word is French for "egoist" and "egotistic" (both noun and adjective), which means selfish or ...

in 1990. The original fragrance is an eau de toilette; the 2014 eau de parfum version was also formulated by Jacques Polge, and the 2018 parfum version was formulated by his son

Olivier Polge Olivier Polge (born July 30, 1974) is a French perfumer. He is the house perfumer for Chanel and has created fragrances including Misia, Boy, and Chanel's No. 5 L’Eau. Polge's father is perfumer Jacques Polge, who served as Chanel's perfumer f ...

. French actor

Gaspard Ulliel Gaspard Thomas Ulliel (; 25 November 198419 January 2022) was a French actor and model. He was known for having portrayed the young Hannibal Lecter in ''Hannibal Rising'' (2007), fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent in the biopic '' Saint Laure ...

was the first ambassador for Bleu de Chanel and remained as the face of the fragrance for twelve years, until his death in January 2022. He was succeeded by actor

Timothée Chalamet Timothée Hal Chalamet ( ; born December 27, 1995) is an American and French actor. List of awards and nominations received by Timothée Chalamet, His accolades include a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to ...

in May 2023.

Conception and scent

Bleu de Chanel is described as a woody aromatic fragrance, which is identified by the combination of "aromatic herbs" and an "opulent center and base." The fragrance contains top notes of

lemon The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...

mint Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...

, pink pepper, and

grapefruit The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The flesh of the fruit is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark red. Grapefru ...

; middle notes of

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

, Iso E Super,

nutmeg Nutmeg is the seed, or the ground spice derived from the seed, of several tree species of the genus '' Myristica''; fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg ('' M. fragrans'') is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fru ...

, and

jasmine Jasmine (botanical name: ''Jasminum'', pronounced ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family of Oleaceae. It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are wid ...

; and base notes of

labdanum Labdanum, also called ladanum, ladan, or ladanon, is a sticky brown resin obtained from the shrubs ''Gum rockrose, Cistus ladanifer'' (western Mediterranean) and ''Cistus creticus'' (eastern Mediterranean), species of rockrose. It was historicall ...

sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods. Sanda ...

patchouli Patchouli (also spelled patchouly or pachouli; ; '' Pogostemon cablin'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, commonly called the mint or deadnettle family. The plant grows as a bushy perennial herb, with erect stems reachin ...

vetiver ''Chrysopogon zizanioides'', commonly known as vetiver and khus, is a perennial bunchgrass of the family Poaceae. Vetiver is most closely related to sorghum while sharing many morphological characteristics with other fragrant grasses, such as ...

incense Incense is an aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremonial reasons. It ...

cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae * Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona ...

, and

white musk White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wavelen ...

Release and advertising

The marketing campaign for Bleu de Chanel was discussed as an example of

branded entertainment Branded content (also known as branded entertainment) is a type of entertainment product made or otherwise funded by an advertiser. They are designed to build awareness for a particular brand by presenting content that reflects its values and image ...

in the fashion industry. French actor

was announced as the first face of Bleu de Chanel on February 16, 2010, becoming Chanel's first male ambassador. A television commercial filmed in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

premiered online on August 25, 2010 and was later released on TV in September 2010. It was directed by

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

and starred Ulliel and Ingrid Sophie Schram. In the commercial, Ulliel played a young filmmaker in the middle of a press conference who sees his ex-girlfriend (Schram) among the journalists and reminisces about the past and the beginning of their relationship, until he says: "I'm not going to be the person I'm expected to be anymore", gets up and leaves the room. It also featured

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

' song " She Said Yeah". Chanel's American chief operating officer John Galantic noted that the selection of "the quintessential American film director" Scorsese was intended to create "a product and brand communication uniquely tailored to the American market," where the brand's men's fragrance business was not fully developed. The fragrance hit the stores on September 13, 2010. On February 5, 2015, a new commercial starring Ulliel was released. Directed by James Gray, it was filmed in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and featured

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

's cover of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

's "

All Along the Watchtower "All Along the Watchtower" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan from his eighth studio album, '' John Wesley Harding'' (1967). The song was written by Dylan and produced by Bob Johnston. The song's lyrics, which in its original v ...

". British filmmaker

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...

directed a new commercial for Bleu de Chanel released on June 1, 2018. Shot in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

, it also included underwater scenes filmed in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. It featured Ulliel crossing the city looking for a woman (played by German model Nur Hellmann) he saw in a building in front of his while

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

's " Starman" plays in the background. Ulliel was the face of Bleu de Chanel for 12 years, up until his death on January 19, 2022. When he died, Chanel's official

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

and

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

pages shared a tribute to him. Chanel also paid tribute to Ulliel during their Spring/Summer 2022 Haute Couture show at

Paris Fashion Week Paris Fashion Week (, commonly ) is a series of designer presentations held semi-annually in Paris, France, with spring/summer and autumn/winter events held each year. Dates are determined by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. Pa ...

on 25 January 2022. A model dressed as a bride finished the show by carrying a bouquet of camellias—

Coco Chanel Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and Businessperson, businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with populari ...

's favorite flower—tinted midnight blue as a nod to Ulliel and the Bleu de Chanel perfume. On 2 June 2022, Chanel released the first commercial for Bleu de Chanel without Gaspard Ulliel. In the new commercial titled "Instinctive and Electric", a drummer –played by musician Vincent Girault aka De La Romance– plays along with "Fire" by

while lights throughout the city start to flicker to the beat and a mysterious woman shows him the city. In May 2023, Chanel announced that actor

was to be the new ambassador for Bleu de Chanel.

Sales

Bleu de Chanel was a top Christmas seller for American luxury department store

Bloomingdale's Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain founded in 1861 by Joseph Bloomingdale and Lyman Bloomingdale. It was acquired by Federated Department Stores in 1930, which purchased the Macy's department store chain in 1994, ...

in 2010, and also the chain's biggest men's fragrance premiere ever. It was the second best-selling men fragrance between January and October 2011, and between January and August 2012 according to

The NPD Group Circana, Inc., formerly known as Information Resources, Inc. and the NPD Group (previously National Purchase Diary Panel Inc. and NPD Research Inc.), is an American market research and technology company headquartered in Chicago. In 2017, NPD ra ...

. In 2016, it was the third best-selling men fragrance. In June 2021, British retailer The Fragrance Shop revealed that Bleu de Chanel was the second most popular fragrance in Britain.

Awards

References

blue the chanel cologne
{{Chanel Chanel perfumes History of cosmetics Perfumes Products introduced in 2010 21st-century perfumes