I’ve had this bottle of scent for months. It could even be for about half a year while I try to get my head around it. You see, online reviews are almost overwhelmingly in love with See by Chloé EdP, which was launched some time last year (2012) and which was made available here in Malaysia earlier this year. There were some contests and campaigns surrounding this fragrance which might explain the overwhelming love.
You see, I don’t deny that there is a lot to love about See by Chloé, which is also the name of the clothing line that is the trendy younger sister to Chloé. The bottle is adorable. Styled like a vintage bird cage, it is different. There is a ring at the top that invites you to hang this on a branch. Don’t, I implore you. That ring is attached to the cap so hang it up and watch it smash to the floor. So no, don’t. A small attention to detail that I really liked discovering, were 3 tiny “feet” at the base of the glass flacon. They didn’t need to be there, but they were and that is what attention to detail is all about.
However, perfumes are all about scent and scent are very personal things. So if you love See by Chloé, please don’t come and sling mud at me for disliking it. I’ve had months to figure it out 😛
At first sniff, upon spritzing from the bottle, I am reminded of thick sweet honey blended with a sweet but slightly tart apple note. No one mentions this thick syrupy smell but I noticed it almost immediately. This is a very sweet. VERY SWEET scent and I just don’t play well with sweet scents. My dabbling into fragrances has taught me as much.
For me, this is a scent that smells good on paper. In fact, it does smell good on a blotter. It is supposed to have notes of bergamot and apple blossom to open, jasmine and ylang ylang when it mellows and vanilla to anchor its base. Think therefore sweet and floral. A light, fun, young scent that doesn’t quite suit my more tetchy character.
If I give it a while, the heady syrupy note drifts away to be replaced with a floral note that smells quite comforting on my skin. It isn’t something I like, but it doesn’t make me smell like cat pee either, for which I’m thankful.
I therefore run into my next big problem – longevity.
See by Chloé on my skin is like the most fleeting of breezes. I feel like I have just walked through a flower garden and out again because in half an hour or less, this EdP disappears on me. I’ve taken to sniffing my wrists every now and again, hoping to catch a whiff of the more interesting note at the base of the scent but come up with nothing.
So if you were to ask me, I’d tell you that See by Chloé is not for me and it won’t be for you too if you don’t go for sweet, floral scents. When I first spray it, I feel like I’ve fallen into a vat of cotton candy. When I allow it to settle, it reminds me of a flower garden, but like a flower garden, the scent lingers just for an instant in the air before dissipating into the ether, leaving me feeling a little lost. It’s almost playing a game of “now you see it, now you don’t” with me and I don’t like that.
It is a lovely and young scent that I think will appeal to many, but I’d suggest that you wear it and see how it wears on you. I believe that a perfume should be worn on the skin because it is the unique chemistry of our bodies that turns a scent into one that is ours. Spraying it on clothes doesn’t cut it as far as I’m concerned.
I think like the clothing side of things, See by Chloé will appeal more to the young and young at heart who favour sweet, slightly gourmand and floral scents. If the description of honey gets your skin going all tingly at the thought then this one is for you. If it makes you shudder, like I did then I’d just skip this.
Have you taken a sniff at See by Chloé and is it a scent you love? Do you like sweet, floral perfumes?
I am the anti-thesis of sweet, floral perfumes except for a handful. I wear J’Adore with its strong floral scent very well which surprises me as much as it does you, and I also wear Petite Cherie for a burst of ephemeral fruitiness. But for the most part, I go for lasting spicy, woody, musky scents. It makes me feel comforted 🙂
Paris B
See by Chloé Eau de Parfum Price: RM187/30ml, RM277/50ml, RM340/75ml Availability: Sephora stores and major perfume counters
I remember trying this too and thought-WHY does everyone like it? Hahaha I hated it. Not for me at all either! I think a lot of these designer fragrances are quite generic smelling and all smell alike to me.
I actually think you’re right Tracy. I don’t do celebrity fragrances and I think this one does appeal a lot to the young. All the raves on blogs aren’t helping people decide either!
Okee, I have been wanting to get this for the longest time, maybe cuz of all the glowing blog posts about it. But every time I spray test it on my wrists, it just smells like the “typical sweet” smell and it just didn’t stand out to me. Just like what Tracy says, I do agree. No uniqueness!
I totally get what you mean Kien Ling 🙂 I think it’s a pretty scent but that it isn’t very unique and only really appeals to someone who loves sweet scents. Don’t be swayed by all the raves (I know I’m guilty sometimes as well of being one of the instigators) but really, for perfumes, it is all about how YOU feel about it, not whether a random blogger loves it 🙂
I was hovering between this and the traditional chloe scent and ended up getting this. it lasts on my skin for quite awhile but i spritz on my neck. can still smell in end of day in shower =) love it. but scents does appear different on different skins
Absolutely right, Shamim. With scents, it will be folly to buy based on what someone else likes, without first trying the scent for yourself. I made that mistake recently with a pricey scent and I’m totally regretting it!
I’ve sprayed this on myself in Sephora and other counters on several occasions – by that I mean “spray in the air and walk into it” like they tell you on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy back in the day 😛 – I like it fine, but as long as I haven’t finished all my existing fragrances, I’m not about to get it anytime soon.
Wow, the scent is fleeting and it’s an EDP? How can!
LOL! I loved watching Queer Eye for the Straight Guy! They were so amazing – loved it 😀 I sometimes do that “walk through a mist of perfume” thing sometimes, but I do it mostly when I”m feeling decadent and want to smell good from head to toe. I don’t find that it lasts – do you? Most of the time, it’s just a spritz behind the ear or on the wrist and I do find that my skin can really muck up some scents that are supposed to be very popular. Oops. Yes, I was equally surprised to find out it was an EdP and yes on me it was very fleeting. Others seem to disagree 🙂
I suppose it depends on how strong the perfume in question to start with; I “spray and walk away” with EL’s Pure White Linen Light Breeze and the scent lasts (on me, anyway) most of the day even though I’m a sweaty mess 😛
I don’t spray on the skin because I apply sunblock last. I know I could reverse the steps, but what the heck…
Haha my perfume goes on last on sunblock because I usually spray on the neck or wrist. One spritz before I walk out the door as it were 🙂
i have the Chloé Eau de Parfum and I face issues with longevity too 🙁 and it’s so expensive! i spritz quite a lot in the mornings but by noon it’s almost gone. what’s the most long lasting perfume you’ve ever tried, Paris?
Oh really? The Chloe one too? I know that too gets a lot of love from people but I haven’t yet tried it. Does smell sweet too. As for long lasting perfumes, the ones that last longest are the ones I dislike haha! but seriously, Penhaligons Zizonia lasts well on me, as does J’adore EdP and the Diptyque Volutes. These are the ones I can wear for almost the whole day although if it’s a very hot day, sometimes, the smells go off more quickly.
Wow, that’s a shame; Chloe EDP lasts all day on me. I can still smell a hint of it when I shower the next day. I hear the oilier the skin, the longer perfume lasts.
Have this perfume (a gift). Not my favorite perfume but the scent stays on my body for a long time, say 8 hours. Can I say ugh? My favorite perfumes don’t last that long on my body. Sad. I use this EDP on weekdays when I go to work because it is long lasting. I use my favorites on weekends when I don’t stay out that long.
It’s always the case that the ones we don’t want to last usually do right? The ones that last longest on me are the ones I dislike LOL!
Its surprising that it didn’t last on your skin as See by Chloe stays on mine for about 8-9 hours..mellows out to a musky, sandalwood drydown.
On my skin I just get honey, tart apples and sandalwood. And a tiny hint of jasmine. Was hoping to smell the bergamot and vanilla, and more of jasmine as I love those notes too..
Overall its a pretty simple fragrance for me, for the days I want to go more casual.
It totally surprised me, Dawn! I think it’s one of those things that differ from person to person 🙂 Happy to know it works well on you and the dry down sounds lovely! I love that smell of sandalwood. It doesn’t even have the chance to get there on my skin LOL!
Yep, that’s the fascinating thing about perfume isn’t it! Varies from individual to individual.
You enjoy wearing J’dore. I really wanted to like J’dore as I enjoy the initial spritz (topnotes?) and love the bottle design..but after afew minutes the scent just morphs into something uncomfortably sharp and shrill on my skin. So I never got around to buying it 😀 I own, and enjoy Miss Dior Cherie though!
Yep! I love the individuality that comes with fragrance because none of us will smell alike and that allows us to be individuals 🙂 oh and I like Miss Dior Cherie too. Such a lovely scent that one!
I know this is a pretty old post (and I read it when it was first published!) but I can finally throw in my two cents! At first I was put off by SeebyChloe by this review so I didn’t even give it a go when I saw it at the department store. It was only recently that thanks to holiday sales (plus a lovely friend who offered to use her staff discount on top of it) that I decided to give this perfume a shot. It is sweet and thick at first sniff like you mentioned but I noticed that it settles into a muskier scent (could be the ylang ylang?) on me over the course of the day. So I have to throw my lot in with the “love it” gang! It also stays on all day, but I spray it on before my clothes 😉
If you’re into woody, spicy type scents I recommend Elie Sabb Le Parfum. When I first tried it I absolutely loved it for the musky scent but it settled into something awful on my skin 🙁 Even though I loved the opening notes the base notes just didn’t work on me. The top and middle notes are orange blossom and jasmine (grandiflorum and sambac species) and base is cedar, patchouli, honey-rose. If those sound appealing to you, go check it out!