Tiny, perfect Coco Noir Chanel perfume

By Deborah Fulsang

Gabrielle Chanel was born on August 19, in the sign of Leo. That grand lion is also the symbol of the city of Venice, the city that was the inspiration for Chanel Coco Noir, which launched in 2012.

How fitting then that this week, the house that Coco built debuts a Coco Noir parfum followup – we think of it as an elegant posthumous birthday wish to its founder.

This oriental Chanel perfume extract echoes the personality of the scent’s original eau, but we get more richness of rose and jasmine, and a soft sweeping essence of geranium rose leaf. There’s also the a prevailing message of Caledonian sandalwood and bourbon vanilla that seduces in a most opulent and intoxicating way.

And if the promise of that scent hasn’t seduced you enough, there’s the tiny perfect flacon in which this perfume resides. So black and glossy, with its gold detailing and refined symmetry: We fragrance-loving magpies cannot resist.

For the ultimate, there’s a pot of body cream that also hits store shelves this week. Divinely velvety in texture and laced with the Coco Noir scent, smooth it on after a relaxing bath, then dab on the previously mentioned perfume for a superlatively luxe experience.

Chanel Coco Noir Extrait, $220 (15 ml); and Chanel Coco Noir Body Cream, $95 (150 g), www.chanel.com