Chopard — Wish Pure
Essence
Wish Pure, often listed as “Pure Wish,” is the 2000 lighter flanker to Chopard’s 1997 gourmand hit Wish, by the same perfumer, Nathalie Lorson, and in the same diamond-shaped comet flacon. Where the original is a sweet, heavy caramel-patchouli gourmand, Wish Pure is its softer, fresher, more demure sister: a fruity-floral opening over powdery patchouli and a creamy vanilla-caramel drydown. Conceived as the daytime, warm-weather option for anyone who found Wish too strong, it is now discontinued and quietly collectible.
Scent Profile
The opening is bright, fruity, and tart. Red currant and pear lead, with yuzu and mandarin adding citrus lift. It can read sharp, sour, or even briefly synthetic for the first five to ten minutes — one wearer described a fleeting alcoholic top giving way to sour yuzu and juicy pear — before it begins to sweeten.
The heart is a powdery floral over patchouli: lily-of-the-valley and cyclamen lend a soft, clean, slightly soapy character, with a touch of pimento spice that some find a surprising flicker of warmth.
The base is the payoff. A creamy, gentle caramel-vanilla settles over soft sandalwood and cedar, with powdery patchouli underneath — gooey caramel and fluffy vanilla smouldering beneath a clean, “pure” surface. The whole arc is more legible and far less dense than the original Wish, and the pyramid is unusually easy to follow.
Performance
Performance is moderate and notably skin-dependent, which is the consensus precisely because reports diverge. Some wearers are surprised by how long it lasts for an EDT and describe a soft, powdery cashmere-like cling; others get only two to three hours and modest sillage. A realistic expectation is roughly three to five hours, softer in projection than the original Wish, in keeping with its lighter daytime intent. Apply generously if you want presence; it is not built to be a beast.
Wearing Context
Wish Pure was positioned as the lighter, daytime, warm-season alternative to Wish, and it wears that way. The fruity-citrus opening suits spring and summer daytime, while the cozy caramel-vanilla drydown is comfortable in cooler weather too, making it a versatile three-season choice. It is casual and everyday at heart — more office- and daywear-friendly than the louder original — and reads feminine, youthful, soft, and innocent. It is better for casual and semi-dressy daywear than for formal evening drama.
Comparisons & DNA
The essential reference is its parent, Chopard Wish, which shares the perfumer and bottle lineage but is heavier, sweeter, and denser; tellingly, wearers who dislike the original often prefer this gentler flanker. Thierry Mugler Angel is the archetype both Wishes orbit — the sweet patchouli-gourmand that defined the genre, echoed even in the faceted bottle — though Wish Pure sits further from Angel than the original does. Within Chopard, the Wish line reads as the younger, sweeter sibling to the more mature Casmir vanilla. The broader DNA is a fruity-floral gourmand resting on a powdery patchouli-vanilla base.
Reception
Reception is modest in volume but warm, with a recurring “underrated, why was it discontinued” thread. Admirers value it for being softer and more wearable than Wish, praising the comforting drydown and the pretty, easy-to-follow development; some call it a hidden gem. The main criticisms cluster on the opening — sharp, sour, or synthetic for the first few minutes — and on inconsistent longevity, so opinion splits along skin chemistry and the expectations set by the parent. Several wearers openly lament that it is no longer made.
Versions & Reformulation
Wish Pure is itself a 2000 flanker of the 1997 Wish, both composed by Nathalie Lorson, and this entry is the EDT. It is discontinued. Like the original Wish, whose pale-blue juice is known to darken toward amber or brown over time due to high natural vanillin content without harming the scent, aged Wish Pure stock can similarly discolor, so older bottles may not be pristine in color. No formal reformulation analysis exists beyond this aging behavior.
Acquisition Notes
Wish Pure is discontinued and now trades on the vintage and discount market, where it has historically been very inexpensive when found. A 75 ml format is documented for the line. Because stock is finite, sampling or buying small is the sensible approach, and samples and decants do circulate. The main practical caveats are availability and the cosmetic color-aging of older juice rather than authenticity, which is not a documented concern for this low-profile flanker.
Notable Facts & Lore
- The Wish flacon is a faceted comet/diamond shape tied to a Chopard legend that shooting-star fragments became precious gems, fitting for a jewelry house.
- The bottle is a clear visual echo of Thierry Mugler Angel’s faceted flacon.
- The Wish line is a documented example of a late-1990s “Angel effect” launch chasing the gourmand wave.
- Chopard marketed it as “a shooting star in the Chopard galaxy” celebrating modern womanhood.
- The original Wish’s pale-blue juice darkens to brown over time from its high vanillin content, a quirk that also affects aged Wish Pure stock.
- It is the lighter daytime counterpart to the heavier original Wish, by the same perfumer.