Bleu de Chanel (literally translated as ''"Chanel's Blue"'' or ''"Blue Chanel"'') is a men's fragrance created by Jacques Polge for French fashion house

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French high-end luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. Chanel specializes in women's ready-to-wear, luxury goods, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear. Chanel is ...

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 se ...

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 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 for 37 years. When P ...

. French actor

Gaspard Ulliel Gaspard Thomas Ulliel (; 25 November 198419 January 2022) was a French actor. He was known for having portrayed the young Hannibal Lecter in ''Hannibal Rising'' (2007), fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent in the biopic '' Saint Laurent'' (2014 ...

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.

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 trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...

, 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 interior flesh is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark pink. Grapefruit is ...

; middle notes of

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

, Iso E Super,

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

, and

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

; and base notes of

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

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 for us ...

patchouli PatchouliAlso 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 r ...

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

incense Incense is 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 ceremony. It may also be ...

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 Synthetic musks are a class of synthetic aroma compounds to emulate the scent of deer musk and other animal musks (castoreum and civet). Synthetic musks have a clean, smooth and sweet scent lacking the fecal notes of animal musks. They are used a ...

Release and advertising

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

branded entertainment In marketing, branded content (also known as branded entertainment) is content produced by an advertiser or content whose creation was funded by an advertiser. In contrast to content marketing (in which content is presented first and foremost as a m ...

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 or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

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 November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...

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 band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

' song "

She Said Yeah She most commonly refers to: *She (pronoun), the third person singular, feminine, nominative case pronoun in modern English. She or S.H.E. may also refer to: Literature and films *'' She: A History of Adventure'', an 1887 novel by H. Rider Hagga ...

". 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 James, Jim, or Jimmy Gray may refer to: Politicians * James Gray (Australian politician) (1820–1889), member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly * James Gray (British politician) (born 1954), British politician * James Gray (mayor) (1862–1916 ...

, it was filmed in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and featured

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

's cover of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

'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 vers ...

". British filmmaker

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1 ...

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 estima ...

, it also included underwater scenes filmed in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. 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 professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

's "

Starman ''StarMan'' is a 1996 fantasy novel by Australian writer Sara Douglass. It follows the second book in the series, '' Enchanter'', with Axis marching north with his army to confront a formidable enemy. Background ''StarMan'' was first published ...

" 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 a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

and

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

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 (french: Semaine de la mode de Paris) is a series of designer presentations held semiannually in Paris, France with spring/summer and autumn/winter events held each year. Dates are determined by the French Fashion Federation. ...

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 businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with popularizing a sporty, c ...

'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.

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; it was founded in New York City by Joseph B. Bloomingdale, Joseph B. and Lyman G. Bloomingdale in 1861. A third brother, Emanuel Watson Bloomingdale, was also involved in the bus ...

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 The NPD Group, Inc. (NPD; formerly National Purchase Diary Panel Inc. and NPD Research Inc.) is an American market research company founded on September 28, 1966, and based in Port Washington, New York. In 2017, NPD ranked as the 8th largest mar ...

. 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

{{Chanel Chanel perfumes History of cosmetics Perfumes Products introduced in 2010 21st-century perfumes