Coriandre ads, image courtesy of Jean Couturier Paris

Striding like Charlie down the broad avenues of New York City dressed to the nines in Kleins – Anne for tweed jackets; Calvin for drapey minimalist silk blouses – sporting a self-aware smile and humming the Virginia Slims jingle about coming a long way, baby – that was my teen aspiration. While other, smarter girls were wearing strawberry Lip Smackers instead of my unkissable, glassy Elizabeth Arden lip gloss, and outfitting themselves in approachable Lee jeans and form-fitting t-shirts, I quixotically opted for a marketing fantasy of the urban babe about town, complete with felt beret a la Bonnie and Clyde and white mohair coat. At 17, I looked 35. But my perfumes epitomized everything I wanted to be.

via Jean Couturier 

I turned to the brilliantly green florals and chypres of the day — Chanel Cristalle, YSL Rive Gauche, Anne Klein Blazer – for my perfume signature. These were jaunty, menswear-inspired, thoroughly urban fragrances that were as sharp and sassy as a quip from Manhattan denizen Katherine Hepburn. Last to the party was Jean Couturier Coriandre, which I discovered in a cosmetics shop on Third Avenue in the early 80s. It probably could have smelled like the No. 6 Lexington Local and I would have bought it for the packaging: frosted bottle with faux malachite topper; malachite pattern covering the box; elegant, gilded lettering. Happily, when I sprayed the tester, I was well and truly sold.

Jean and Jacqueline Couturier, images courtesy of Jean Couturier Paris

Created by Jacqueline Couturier, the Grasse-trained perfumer married to Jean, Coriandre was deliciously quirky, like a mashup of Cristalle and Rive Gauche sprinkled liberally with angular notes that included a boatload of oakmoss and voluptuous, fleshy flowers such as lily and ylang ylang. It was addictive, individual and just a little off kilter, like a perfume version of the Flatiron Building or the slightly strange drama club chick in high school all the jocks were secretly crushing on.

Coriandre perfume ad

Recently, I gingerly bought a tiny, partially full miniature, curious about how I would receive it all these years later. It was soapier than I remembered – and where did all those chilly aldehydes come from? But much of the old magic was still there. Lots of tingly spice at the top thanks to some peppery geranium and sudsy, aromatic coriander, then an immense rush of oakmoss. Coming after the moss was citrus, squeezed with abandon, partnered by some more greenery and some heated rose. The fragrance does a brilliant job of threading a host of flowers and herbs into the classic chypre structure without getting muddled. Like a perfectly cut blazer, the fragrance nods to masculinity in its intense green earthiness while weaving in soft herbal aromas like angelica and coriander and classically feminine florals. The fleshier blooms give the perfume depth and body without announcing themselves too distinctly (except for the ylang, which adds a golden, fruity kick), while, somewhere well into the middle, there’s a distinct musky, catlike purr.

Marisa Berenson by David Bailey 1970s via flickr

As Coriandre dries down, it reminds you of its chypre pedigree with an almost smoky, dirty patchouli and more oakmoss. For me, its unique soapy-green-floral-chypre mélange revives pungent memories of the mineral-algae scented bubble bath I used, my grandmother’s ever-present Jean Nate “friction pour le bain,” the wonderful Clairol Herbal Essence shampoo and the other green, 70s herbaceous-citric scent I adored then and now. Has it aged as well as others of its era? Probably not quite – all that soap and aldehyde in the opening are very much of its day. But even if Jean Couturier Coriandre lacks the classic timelessness of Chanel 19, its offbeat exuberance is thoroughly charming. I’ll be keeping her around for now on.

Notes: Coriander, angelica, orange blossom, aldehydes, rose, geranium, jasmine, orris, lily, ylang ylang, patchouli, oakmoss, vetiver, sandalwood, civet, chive, and musk.

Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor

Disclosure Coriandre from my personal collection.

Want to try this 70s stunner, we have a 2 ml sample of vintage Jean Couturier Coriandre for one registered reader in the U.S. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what you responded to in Lauryn’s review and where you live. Draw closes 4/6/2021.

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