für den f(r)eshen Boy in uns ;) *I Am A Cliché* (by EveMist)

Boy Chanel 2016

Ranked 433 in Unisex Perfume

7.9 / 10 562 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

Coumarin

French geranium

Heliotropin

Grapefruit zest Moss

Moss

Sandalwood Vanilla

Vanilla

Orange blossom Rose

Rose

Perfumer

Olivier Polge

Ratings

Scent

7.9562 Ratings

Longevity

7.3482 Ratings

Sillage

6.8481 Ratings

Bottle

8.2446 Ratings

Value for money

6.3199 Ratings

Submitted by OPomone · last update on 02/13/2026.

Source-backed & verified

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

Lavanda Ambrata

Dans Tes Bras

Helmut Lang (2000) Eau de Cologne

Absolue Pour le Matin (2010)

Reviews

27 in-depth fragrance descriptions

01/10/2022

10Scent 7Longevity 8Sillage

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...

Updated on 01/10/2022

06/12/2022

BrianBuchanan
363 Reviews

BrianBuchanan

4

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.

Updated on 01/17/2023

10/11/2020

8Scent 9Longevity 6Sillage

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.

02/13/2026

8Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

Musicandarts
267 Reviews

Musicandarts

2

A lovely fougère in the classical mold from Chanel Les Exclusifs.

Boy is the only true fougère fragrance in Chanel Les Exclusifs. It is named after Arthur “Boy” Capel, a polo-playing English aristocrat who was one of the early lovers of Gabrielle Chanel. Other than the possibility that Boy Capel might have worn fougère perfumes, there is little to connect this perfume with the person behind the name. It was created by Olivier Polge in 2016, one of his first perfumes for Chanel. This review is based on a sample vial from my local Chanel boutique, and a full bottle that I recently purchased.

Boy can be described as a conventional fougère as it contains lavender, geranium, oak moss and coumarin. Jovoy gives us this clean definition of a fougère fragrance: Fougère fragrances traditionally have an aromatic top note (lavender, sage...), a pink heart (geranium, rose...) and a base of oak moss and notes of coumarin. Though fougère is a well-recognized olfactory signature, many would call it old-fashioned as it can evoke men’s grooming products from days of yore. In addition to the four notes I mentioned before, Boy also contains some lemon and sandalwood. The olfactory pyramid essentially follows the longevity of these ingredients. Boy opens with a citrus, geranium and lavender, with sandalwood, oak moss and coumarin strengthening soon after. As Jean-Claude Ellena says, in most fragrances, all the notes are present at all times at varying intensities. The olfactory pyramid is created by more by their disappearance than their appearance at distinct phases of the perfume on the skin. In Boy, the citrus subsides as we get to the heart notes, and the oak moss, sandalwood and coumarin are most perceptible in the end. But if you strain hard, you can still smell the lavender and geranium. Chanel Boy is a lovely fougère, cast in the light airy mold of Les Exclusifs.

The performance of Boy on my skin is excellent. The sillage is very good in the first few hours. Boy lasts 10-12 hours easily, though without a monstrous projection. Excellent longevity coupled with modest projection is a hallmark of Les Exclusifs. This collection is created primarily for the person who wears it.

As Chanel Boy is a classical fougère, opinion is divided if it is worth a full bottle. For me, it is worth the money to experience Chanel’s interpretation of a fougère. I recommend everyone to at least test it. It is now available in 35 ml bottles for about $185 if purchased as a set. Still expensive, but it is more manageable than the 100 ml bottles that need a bank loan. For a more colorful and more aromatic fougère, I suggest Houbigant Fougère Royale.

07/29/2025

ClaireV
969 Reviews

ClaireV

2

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.

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