Boy Chanel 2016

7.9 / 10 543 Ratings

A popular perfume by Chanel for women and men, released in 2016. The scent is fresh-powdery. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Fresh

Powdery

Floral

Fougère

Citrus

Fragrance Notes

Lavender

Lemon

Musk

Heliotropin

Coumarin

French geranium

Grapefruit zest Moss

Moss

Sandalwood Vanilla

Vanilla

Orange blossom Rose

Rose

Perfumer

Olivier Polge

Ratings

Scent

7.9543 Ratings

Longevity

7.3469 Ratings

Sillage

6.8467 Ratings

Bottle

8.2434 Ratings

Value for money

6.3187 Ratings

Submitted by OPomone, last update on 09/03/2025.

Interesting Facts

The fragrance is part of the Les Exclusifs de Chanel collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Helmut Lang (2014) Eau de Cologne

Brut Eau de Toilette

Dans Tes Bras

Lavanda Ambrata

Helmut Lang (2000) Eau de Cologne

Absolue Pour le Matin (2010)

Reviews

12 in-depth fragrance descriptions

01/10/2022

6
Pricing 9
Bottle 8
Sillage 7
Longevity 10
Scent

Adimus009
5 Reviews

Adimus009

Helpful Review 6

Pour Monsieur's metrosexual adventurer offspring

My love affair with Boy began when I, ironically, purchased a bottle of Sycamore and was given a generous amount of samples including 'Boy'. Sycamore no longer resides in my cabinet but is proudly being consumed by a vetiver lover friend of mine.

'Boy' on the other hand, where do I start? This has been an 18 month sampling bonanza. I promised to limit full bottle purchases to 'LOVE LOVE LOVE' having religiously stuck to venturing only on sampling journey of various houses. I have so far gone through 8 samples of 'Boy' having savoured every last bit of it through spring, summer and autumn. Winter is not for 'Boy', certainly not here in the UK.

Boy starts off with a very Chanel-esque aldehydes, aromatic lavender, grapefruit concoction that is oh so Chanel and a class above their regular line. On my skin this phase lasts about an hour whilst the florals, particular the heliotrope, vanilla and musk make their presence known. Afterwards this is a sexy, musky, slightly vanillic, powdery goodness tempered by a gentle dose of Sandalwood to stop it leaning feminine and kept unisex. Given the notes mentioned, ones thoughts might venture towards Musc ravegeur? No no no, that is a darling for the evenings (and wintery days), this is slightly similar in notes only but the symphony is played out with completely different instruments.

The overall scent and sillage are just 10/10 sexy to my nose. I regularly double back on myself to catch wafts of the trail which is mesmerising. Spring and summer is the height of this fragrances sexuality which is slightly subdued in autumn and practically libido-less in winter.

So whats the catch? Price tag and longevity. The Les Exclusifs are certainly priced more dearer than CD ,and previously, Guerlain. I still think for the right 'Les Exclusifs' fragrance, it is worth it purely for the scent. Longevity is a slight let down as this fragrance lasts 6-7 hours max if one is generous with the sprays, projects for the first 2-3, weather dependent.

This fragrance is a sexy aromatic fougere for those who want to venture a little further than the traditional concoctions. Where Pour Monsieur is your elegant oxford shirt, full windsor knot tie wearing gentleman chypre (EDT not the EDP), 'Boy' is a carefree, open buttoned short sleeve shirt wearing adventurer currently enjoying his/her scent trail through their travels through Venice/Paris/Florence/Vienna/Edinburgh/Amsterdam/Lisbon/Athens and other great European cities yet to be visited. Boy only travels and trails in warmer weather. Boy hibernates in winter. I can't wait for spring and summer...

06/12/2022

BrianBuchanan
351 Reviews

BrianBuchanan

3

Poor show from the boy Polge

Innocuous sweet musky citrus in the manner of Polge senior's Allure Homme series.
The departure is fine: citrus, aromatic, metallic, musky, sweet; but after an hour or so, Boy is weaker than the odour coming from a paper strip on my desk - which holds just one dab of Thé Matcha 26 ... from yesterday.
If I'd bought this there and then in the boutique, I'd think I'd been sold a pup.

10/11/2020

4
Pricing 8
Bottle 6
Sillage 9
Longevity 8
Scent

Pepdal
238 Reviews

Pepdal

Helpful Review 1

Chanel Boy

I really dipped my toes in the Les Exclusifs de Chanel this year with some specific expectations of what i would like. This one was a surprise for me. Thank you for watching and I hope you found the review useful.

07/29/2025

ClaireV
958 Reviews

ClaireV

1

A pastel meringue of a fougere

Texture-wise, Boy Chanel is like watercolor on silk - a series of muted aromatics and flowers laid delicately one on top of another, their transparency rigorously maintained. The lavender is a single, lilac-tinted theme running through the composition but there are also hints of fluffy heliotrope and palidly rosy geranium. Immediately, the connections to other fougeres strike me. Boy Chanel is Pour Un Homme (Caron) embellished with florals and done on a better budget; it is also Jicky (Guerlain) filtered through a sieve to remove the civet, and that rough, vomitous clash of bergamot and cream. Later on, in its tonka or coumarin phase, Boy Chanel is even a faded outline of Fourreau Noir, like a photocopy done when the ink was running low. If the Lutens is a dense lavender doughnut, then Boy Chanel is a high-end gelato delicately aromatized with dried lavender.

I don't think that Boy Chanel is really a fougere, though. After all, a fougere should technically have moss, coumarin, and lavender for it to qualify, and there is no moss to be found here. Then again, there is no moss in Jicky either. Maybe it's the dark, dirty feel to Jicky that qualifies it as a fougere? I don't have the answer. Anyway, Boy Chanel is bright and sunny, not dark, bitter, or mossy; there are no forest ferns here.

What Boy Chanel does have in spades is the creamy, sweet, and somewhat boozy almond undertone I associate with tonka bean. Coumarin is listed, not tonka bean, but I get all of the spicy-sweet, vanillic tones of the tonka bean and none of the dry, aromatic, grassy aroma of coumarin. As it hits the base (which it does in a very short period of time, by the way), Boy Chanel gets even sweeter and creamier with the addition of a powdery sandalwood, vanilla, and more delectable almond-like chewiness in the form of heliotrope. I am surprised at how sweet it is, actually. For a fougere, it approaches Coromandel levels of sweetness.

But texture-wise, Boy Chanel is not at all baroque or opaque - it retains a luminous translucency from head to toe. The sandalwood in particular is more of the single cream type you find in ETRO Sandalo (although far, far better quality) than the fatty, over-egged feel to something like Samsara. Overall, Boy Chanel is fresh, aromatic, and creamy-sweet, making it something that women can wear as easily as men. It doesn't make a grab for originality or boldness, but is extremely pleasant to wear.

05/15/2020

9
Bottle 7
Sillage 8
Longevity 9
Scent

Atanarjuat
25 Reviews

Translated Show original

Atanarjuat

Top Review 83

Snap out lances

I feel very comfortable here with you. And I really do. No other forum that matches my interests has a level like this one. For this in advance a big thank you! But lately I had to read more and more statements and comments that make me think. There was talk of "thigh spreaders" and "can openers", of "pantydropper(s)". Such strange views of the world - here?! Yes, welcome to reality, Atanarjuat! Of course, the social mirror also lives here, does not stop at serving many clichés, stereotypes are considered absolutely real and true. But sometimes people are not these clichés at all, others probably correspond exactly to them.

So for "Boy," I'd like to break a clichéd lance. No. Clichéd
First of all a small one, the lance as a classic Fougére scent. In its fragrance category, "Boy" naturally fits in wonderfully: lavender, coumarin, geranium, something citrusy. Coumarin, which I usually like very much, is noticeable, as is the lavender at the beginning. Not a winterproof, sparse cooling lavender, but rather one that swings back and forth in the sun - carried by the wind. South of France, July, in the morning - it is not so hot yet. The whole beginning gets a bit strange, something stubborn is there, perhaps a nuance of character from Arthur Edward Capel?

"I would now rather marry Diana Lister Wyndham. By necessity, of course. "It's not a love affair, but it's better received by society." The Free Spirit Capel!? Don't make us laugh But there it is again, the appearance and being in the society... An argument with Coco? No, no, this is all going too far now!
This little discord between this nasty nuance and the bare beauty is inherent in this start and that makes the whole thing quite interesting. On the skin you already suspect a vanilla musky sweetness, on clothes the beginning radiates even longer. Finally it becomes powdery-elegant - yes, a quite classic Fougére, nobody who does experiments, just exchanges components. #issara

Mr. Parma recognizes the "Allure Homme DNA quite clearly". As a connoisseur of all Allure-Homme, I can only agree with this. One - with an "n" - immediately feels at home somehow, has been here more than once. A touch of green freshness remains until the end, which has nothing of "grandfather" or anyone else. Clichés? Apparently too many, too little freedom of thought!

There we are already at the next lance that must be broken. Who is the eau de parfum for now? Friends: for all of you. We already had this in the beginning: It. Is. Never mind. Everybody gets to wear it, everybody gets to like it. But it doesn't belong in a corner. Stereotype thinkers? Bye, goodbye! Perhaps Olivier Polge would like to depict exactly this, the ride on the razor blade (#barbershop) of both sexes. Everything for everyone. "Boy" as the image not only of the young man A. E. Capel, but also of the relationship between the two lovers Chanel and Capel? That may be - and this time not so far-fetched at all.

In general, expectations and requirements in society have changed in recent years. The point is to reflect on the liberation of rigid and changing gender roles. Some of us are still overburdened, no one takes it all the way. But a way of thinking that reflects: "Be as you are!" - regardless of gender - can only be the goal. "Boy" is like that! He smells different on every skin. I like it on my wife's, it's a bit powdery on her, but it smells a bit more barber-shopped on mine. Because I want to now? Maybe just a cliché of my brain convolutions, who knows?!

The last lance breaking is quite easy. When do you wear one of these? Whenever you like. Of course, I literally make it easy for myself there, but even here: Freedom, please. Woman and man seem to work in and of themselves with the scent, not because of the scent. "Boy" with its green freshness is very beautiful to wear in warmer climates and, after mutation, later scores points for soapy-creamy warmth in the coolness. Great!

For me, Olivier Polge - once again after weeks of testing and several attempts (I must have had my difficulties with him and had some déjà-vus...) - has succeeded in creating a basic classical best Fougére in the whole wide world. Of course, all this goes herbaceous, spicy, sharp, masculine...no, not the latter. That's what I wanted to prevent...

"The bravest action is still to think for oneself. Out loud."
(Coco Chanel)

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