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For CHANEL perfumer Olivier Polge, freedom is a scent to be distilled, which lead to the Bleu L’Exclusif, a fragrance that blurs boundaries and redefines the modern man
<figure id="attachment_112341" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-112341" style="width: 864px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-112341" src="https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/chanel_bug_9854-HD.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="1080" srcset="https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/chanel_bug_9854-HD.jpg 864w, https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/chanel_bug_9854-HD-240x300.jpg 240w, https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/chanel_bug_9854-HD-819x1024.jpg 819w, https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/chanel_bug_9854-HD-768x960.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-112341" class="wp-caption-text">Olivier Polge presenting the new Bleu</figcaption></figure>
What if a color could become a fragrance? For CHANEL, blue has always meant more than pigment. It’s an attitude, a horizon, a state of mind. With Bleu de CHANEL L’Exclusif, the house pushes that idea further, crafting what perfumer Olivier Polge calls “a new blue.” This new fragrance isn’t just a deeper take on the modern classic—it’s an olfactory translation of density, texture and a touch of mystery.
The fragrance reveals itself as woody, amber-tinged and magnetic, with a trail that feels at once powerful and refined. Resinous and leathery facets add to its enigmatic presence, creating a scent that is both elusive and unforgettable. It is described as “a dense, sophisticated and complex composition, like an extract”—the ultimate expression of Bleu de CHANEL.
Polge, the man behind this creation is CHANEL’s fourth in-house perfumer, and son of Jacques Polge, who shaped the house’s olfactory identity for more than three decades. Joining CHANEL in 2013 and taking up the role of perfumer-creator in 2015, Olivier has since refined and expanded the house’s men’s fragrance collection, continually reimagining Bleu de CHANEL across its concentrations and now pushing it into its most intense form with L’Exclusif.
During the fragrance’s launch in Bangkok, DA MAN—through actor Jerome Kurnia, who traveled with us to the event—sat down with Olivier Polge for an in-depth conversation about the making of this new Bleu.
<figure id="attachment_112340" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-112340" style="width: 864px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-112340" src="https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/chanel_img_7899-HD.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="1080" srcset="https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/chanel_img_7899-HD.jpg 864w, https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/chanel_img_7899-HD-240x300.jpg 240w, https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/chanel_img_7899-HD-819x1024.jpg 819w, https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/chanel_img_7899-HD-768x960.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-112340" class="wp-caption-text">Jerome Kurnia with Olivier Polge in Bangkok</figcaption></figure>
Jerome Kurnia: I know your journey to perfumery came after studying art history. I’m a bit curious about how you made that switch&#8230; 
Olivier Polge: Yes, I started by studying art history before perfumes. There’s something special about perfumery, because I ended up doing the same work as my father. My father was a perfumer and my predecessor at CHANEL, which maybe drew me toward perfume. But as a teenager, I wanted to do everything else but perfume.
So, I studied art history, and after a couple of years going to museums and libraries, I thought I wanted to do something with my hands. During summer vacation, I did an internship at my father’s lab. And it was really at 20 years old that I discovered I was truly interested in perfumes and that was when I decided to switch to perfume training.
JK: That’s amazing. And now you’re the head perfumer at CHANEL—the fourth one&#8230; 
OP: Yes, I took over my father’s position 20 years after.
JK: And now we have the new Bleu—BLEU DE CHANEL L’Exclusif. What can you tell us about it? 
OP: It’s called L’Exclusif, and in fact, it’s an extrait de parfum. But we called it L’Exclusif because we wanted to push a little beyond just “exclusive.” The intention was really to bring a man’s perfume to a level of density, texture and depth that maybe historically was more linked to women’s perfumes.
JK: That’s interesting, since CHANEL is best known as a women’s brand&#8230; 
OP: Yes, created by a woman, and we create fashion for women mostly. So, in the inspiration, in the creation, it was interesting to take it to the masculine side. And nowadays, I feel that more and more men are looking for bolder scents.
<figure id="attachment_112342" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-112342" style="width: 864px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-112342" src="https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/chanel_bug_9519-HD.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="1080" srcset="https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/chanel_bug_9519-HD.jpg 864w, https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/chanel_bug_9519-HD-240x300.jpg 240w, https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/chanel_bug_9519-HD-819x1024.jpg 819w, https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/chanel_bug_9519-HD-768x960.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-112342" class="wp-caption-text">L’Exclusif and its previous iterations</figcaption></figure>
JK: How do you approach creating something new while staying true to Bleu’s identity? 
OP: At CHANEL, each concentration of a perfume is rethought. We don’t just make it stronger—we recreate and find a new alchemy within the same theme. Each time I work on Bleu, I treat it as a way to re-insist on the collection’s identity.
JK: And how would you describe this new Bleu? 
OP: It’s really the woods being reworked and rebalanced. There’s also a density that reproduces leathery notes. 
JK: I also read that you use sandalwood from New Caledonia&#8230; 
OP: Among the woods we selected, sandalwood from New Caledonia became the main one. Sandalwood is special—it needs 20 years to grow and develop the heartwood where the oil is contained.
JK: It’s also quite well-known In Indonesia, where we call it cendana. Are there any particular reasons why you use the New Caledonia variety? 
OP: It’s endemic there, a specific species. And we found a community that really takes care of the trees. Each time we take one, they replant thirty. Very sustainable, because in 30 years not all of them will make it to maturity. We also developed a specific way to extract the sandalwood. Each raw material is influenced by the soil and climate, and also by the extraction system. Here we use a cold extraction process that doesn’t cook the wood too much. It brings out the warmer side of sandalwood. Sandalwood can become creamy or milky, but this one stays warm, almost like oak wood. It comes from Mare Island, where the community we work with takes care of the trees.
JK: Is that what gives the Bleu L’Exclusif its intensity? 
OP: A formula is made of many ingredients, and when a combination of raw materials makes sense, we call it an accord. For Bleu, I built the accord of woods. Even though there is a common backbone and each Bleu is recognizable, the accords change. For the Eau de Toilette, it’s drier, more vibrant. For the Eau de Parfum, more amber-y with cedar and amber notes. And in L’Exclusif, the sandalwood brings more density and a darker, leathery note. 
<figure id="attachment_112343" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-112343" style="width: 1080px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-112343" src="https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/chanel_bug_9534-HD.jpg" alt="" width="1080" height="720" srcset="https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/chanel_bug_9534-HD.jpg 1080w, https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/chanel_bug_9534-HD-300x200.jpg 300w, https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/chanel_bug_9534-HD-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://backend.daman.co.id/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/chanel_bug_9534-HD-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-112343" class="wp-caption-text">L’Exclusif and its previous iterations</figcaption></figure>
JK: You mentioned earlier that men today are open to scents not traditionally seen as masculine. How do you see the modern man? 
OP: I think men today have bolder tastes and choices. There’s freedom in the scents they choose today. Perfume isn’t just a discreet addition anymore; it’s an expression of who they want to be. Some days you put on just a little, some days you want more. Perfume is like clothing or the way you move—it shapes your personality. The strength of a perfume lies in that you don’t see it, but it still has a great presence.
For me, the man of today expresses his freedom through fragrance.
JK: So, the idea is that fragrances like the Bleu L’Exclusif is pushing the boundaries of masculinity&#8230; 
OP: Yes, exactly. Especially with younger generations, even more. For me, it’s not about one ingredient or another, but about the combination and the feeling a perfume brings.
JK: So, there’s evolution in the scent. And I also noticed that the bottle is different now&#8230; 
OP: We wanted to express the difference in the perfume. It keeps Bleu elements like the color, but the proportions are slightly thicker, heavier. It was inspired by a bottle of ink, to express depth, impact and power. I created the scent and Sylvie Le Gasteloir designed the bottles.

Jerome Kurnia chats with CHANEL’s in-house perfumer Olivier Polge

BLEU DE CHANEL L’Exclusif,

Chanel,

Jerome Kurnia,

Olivier Polge