La Collection Absolue

Clémentine California 2016

Clémentine California by Atelier Cologne
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7.4 / 10 300 Ratings
A perfume by Atelier Cologne for women and men, released in 2016. The scent is citrusy-fresh. It is being marketed by L'Oréal.
Pronunciation
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Main accords

Citrus
Fresh
Fruity
Green
Spicy

Fragrance Notes

Italian clementineItalian clementine CitronCitron MintMint Provençal cypressProvençal cypress Turkish juniper berryTurkish juniper berry Haitian vetiverHaitian vetiver

Perfumer

Ratings
Scent
7.4300 Ratings
Longevity
6.4242 Ratings
Sillage
6.1242 Ratings
Bottle
7.2229 Ratings
Value for money
6.3105 Ratings
Submitted by Michael, last update on 07/31/2025.
Interesting Facts
The fragrance is part of the "La Collection Absolue" collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to
Précieuse / Cologne Précieuse by La Manufacture
Précieuse
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Aqua Allegoria Mandarine Basilic
Michael Kors Turquoise by Michael Kors
Michael Kors Turquoise
Orange Sanguine by Atelier Cologne
Orange Sanguine
Jermyn Street by Floris
Jermyn Street
Blue Gin by Mizensir
Blue Gin

Reviews

14 in-depth fragrance descriptions
8
Bottle
5
Sillage
5
Longevity
2
Scent
PBullFriend

310 Reviews
PBullFriend
PBullFriend
Very helpful Review 6  
Atelier goes to the dark side! :(
I bought a mini of Clementine California, rather than waiting to go to Sephora to try it first, because I've liked everything I've tried of this brand. Likewise, when I put it on for the first time, I splashed on quite a bit, as I've done with other Atelier scents. From such hubris does a person get a headache!

This is the first of their line that I've hated. I can barely detect the citrus here, and what I do detect has none of the playful juiciness of clementine or mandarin. It's surrounded by horrible, pointy, synthetic clouds of sandalwood and pepper, bringing it closer in spirit to space-age plastic scents like Calvin Klein Reveal than to its citrusy peers in the Atelier line.

Coming to its page on Parfumo, I can see the possible reason behind this: Atelier Cologne sold out to L'Oreal in 2016, the same year CC was released. Either the perfumers were trying to catch L'Oreal's attention with a product compatible for their department store lines, or perhaps it was L'Oreal's people writing the briefs for this one. L'Oreal has been buying up many perfume companies in the last few years, and I'm unaware of any that were improved by their leadership. L'Oreal is also one of the few companies left that seems unapologetic about animal testing. While other companies were at least trying to phase it out, I've never heard anything from L'Oreal that shows any concern at all for the rats, rabbits, and other poor creatures whom they will mutilate and burn with overdoses of their products. I must be more careful about checking ownership of companies because, as this experience shows, it's not always obvious whether an animal-torturing company owns a particular brand.

Thank goodness this is fading somewhat after an hour, as is my headache. I'm still going to take a shower and wash myself free of it--literally and metaphorically.
0 Comments
Gourmandgrl

299 Reviews
Gourmandgrl
Gourmandgrl
3  
Earthy, herbal, vetiver-heavy
It starts out with a realistic clementine (the rind and the juice), but the citrus fades quickly and moves into the bulk of the fragrance: woody, earthy, herbal, vetiver-heavy.

Very masculine-leaning. The combination actually smells a bit like an expired aftershave cream, or almost like stale breath... so this one is a pass for me. If it had kept the opening notes, it would have felt more refreshing and balanced.
0 Comments
3
Pricing
7
Sillage
5
Longevity
3
Scent
LastWonder

483 Reviews
LastWonder
LastWonder
1  
Synthetic Citrus and Cigarette
A mis-match of scents. This starts with a sharp citrus that is almost harsh, its not rounded out. You can tell its synthetic, like they used a mid-tier citrus molecule for the fragrance. There is a bit of white floral and some pine from the juniper but combined its reminiscent of cigarettes. So its bright, harsh, and smokey in an unpleasant way. The citrus does project fairly strong and like most colognes, it lasted about 4 hours. I see that bottles go for £69 for 30ml and £137 for 100ml. This is not a safe blind buy, I guess depending on your sense of small and body chemistry you may or may not get that cigarette smell.
0 Comments
7
Pricing
8
Bottle
7
Sillage
7
Longevity
8
Scent
rotasha

240 Reviews
rotasha
rotasha
1  
Light, fresh citrus
No one does citrus like Atelier Cologne. I’ve tried nearly all of their citrus scents, and I would recommend this one if you’re looking for something less juicy and more light and fresh, breezy and ready for spring. Impressive lasting power for such a fresh scent.

I don’t get cigarettes from this fragrance at all. Far from it! Goes to show what a subjective experience perfume can be.
0 Comments
Rosymel

122 Reviews
Rosymel
Rosymel
1  
Cigarettes and oranges
This fragrance has really taught me how much individual body chemistry can affect a scent! On some lucky reviewers, this is a wonderful citrus; on me, not so much. I’m relieved to see all the other reviewers here who mention cigarette smoke, because I thought I was just imagining it. I actually ended up giving away my travel size of this (it came in a discovery box) because on me, it smelled like oranges mixed with stale cigarette smoke. I suspect it is the Haitian vetiver, which is often a personal problem note.

I prefer Atelier’s Orange Sanguine. No cigarette smoke on me in that one! (Oddly, their Mandarin Glaciale is also problematic for me, but instead of cigarette smoke, the issue is a celery note.)
0 Comments
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Statements

5 short views on the fragrance
AverycjAverycj 2 months ago
smells like eating orange hard candies in a field of white flowers, it’s pretty nice
0 Comments
celeblasceleblas 5 months ago
2
Scent
This has the dusty orange of Hermès, if you enjoy that you might like it. I don't.
0 Comments
LinoskoczekLinoskoczek 7 months ago
3
Sillage
5
Longevity
7.5
Scent
Simple and pleasant clementine scent that after few hours turns somewhat soapy. Good scent but quite expensive for what it offers.
0 Comments
SkinnydogsSkinnydogs 1 year ago
Why do I get cigarette smoke in the opening? It just ruins it for me. :(
0 Comments
rotasharotasha 3 months ago
8
Bottle
7
Sillage
7
Longevity
8
Scent
Less juicy and more light and fresh, breezy and ready for spring. Impressive lasting power for such a fresh scent.
0 Comments

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