Oh, happiest of marriages.

This is what happens when Chanel’s resident make-up genius Lucia Pica is let loose creatively with in-house perfumer Olivier Polge. (He’s the nose behind  Chanel Gabrielle and the heavenly, Cologne-inspired Les Eaux Chanel fragrance collection, which lands imminently).

L’Eau Tan is actually inspired by L’Huile Tan – a tanning oil used by Coco Chanel herself as long ago as 1932, when she transformed how tans were perceived. Previously, a golden glow was associated with ‘peasant life’ – having to be out in the fields, while nice ladies languished under parasols and indoors. Along came Chanel and basically made the tan (along with so many other things) seriously fashionable.

Fast-forward to 2018, and this will gradually nudge you towards a golden glow, spritz-by-spritz. It is, literally, a ‘tanning water’ – sheer, clear, sinking in swiftly, boosted by a teensy percentage of DHA that gives the very slightest tanning effect. (As Lucia puts it: ‘Like you’d get at the beginning of summer…’) Looking at our skin, post-application, we’re getting a teensy hint of shimmer, too.

Cologne-like in strength, the fragrance has also seduced us – literally like a beach-in-a-bottle. It’s summery, ever-so-slightly coconutty, with a whisper of sea breeze blowing through.

We hope this becomes a permanent fixture in the Chanel summer line-up – because we could definitely live happily ever after with L’Eau Tan.

£48 for 75 ml – buy here

Prize Draws