Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Decant

Coco Mademoiselle is one of a handful of fragrances so widely worn that it has become a reference point. Bright orange and bergamot open it, a rose-jasmine heart follows, and then a patchouli-vanilla base takes over and does the real work. That patchouli is what separates it from every sweet floral it inspired — it is earthy and slightly bitter, and it keeps the whole thing from turning into candy.

It projects confidently for the first few hours and then settles into a warm, powdery skin scent that lasts a full working day. It is equally at home at an office and at dinner, and it is worn by teenagers and by women in their sixties, which almost nothing else manages.

If you have never owned it, a decant is the sensible way in — partly to confirm you like it and partly because it is worth checking how it sits on your skin, since the patchouli base behaves quite differently person to person.