Chanel will launch Chance Eau Fraîche, a new lighter version of 2002’s Chance fragrance, next month…
Les Exclusifs de Chanel: 28 La Pausa fragrance review
28 La Pausa, like yesterday’s subject, Bel Respiro, is one of the new niche fragrances from Chanel’s Les Exclusifs de Chanel. It was also named for one of Coco Chanel’s houses, in this case, an estate on the French Riviera outside Roquebrune Cap Martin:
Chanel spent her vacations at La Pausa, surrounded by friends including the Duke of Westminster, Salvador Dali and Jean Cocteau, in an atmosphere of happy relaxation and refinement. “Irises grew in the garden and the iris is also a very round, calm and soft fragrance,” [perfumer Christopher] Sheldrake says. (via theaustralian)
I have not seen a list of notes anywhere, but it doesn’t matter: 28 La Pausa is all about iris, and if you love iris as I do, it is a must-try…
Les Exclusifs de Chanel: Bel Respiro fragrance review
Bel Respiro is one of the 10 fragrances from Chanel’s recent entry into the niche perfumery market, the Les Exclusifs de Chanel collection. The name Bel Respiro, and the inspiration for the scent, comes from a country house outside Paris that Coco Chanel owned in the 1920s. Bel Respiro was created by Chanel’s in-house perfumer, Jacques Polge, and the notes are rumored to include crushed leaves, rosemary, thyme, rose, lilac, hyacinth, green tea, aromatic grasses, myrrh and leather.
The frenzy over the Les Exclusifs reached a fever pitch in the weeks before they launched — among perfumistas, anyway. I’m guessing the rest of the world is only just barely aware of their existence. At any rate, by the time my samples arrived, I was reluctant to try them at all. How could they possibly live up to the hype? When curiosity finally got the better of me, Bel Respiro was the first thing I reached for. A fragrance “intended to evoke stems, leaves and springtime” (Women’s Wear Daily, 12/22/06) seemed bound to please.
As it turns out, Bel Respiro was a good place to start…
Les Exclusifs de Chanel, The Thymes Azur, Azzaro Now ~ new fragrances
Chanel will follow Hermès (Hermessences) and Giorgio Armani (Armani Prive) into niche perfume territory next year with the introduction of Les Exclusifs de Chanel in February. The line will include ten fragrances, each in a 200 ml spray for $175. Four are from the existing range (Chanel no. 22, Bois des Iles, Gardenia and Cuir de Russie). The six new fragrances, all from Chanel house perfumer Jacques Polge, are:
Coromandel ~ “named for the Chinese lacquered screens Gabrielle Chanel collected, is a spirited oriental with amber and dry notes”…
Chanel Cristalle fragrance review
I am a creature of habit. To this day, I prefer Roger Moore to Sean Connery because Roger Moore was the James Bond I grew up with. Sean Connery may be better, but he’ll never be Bond to me because I didn’t see his movies until later, and by then, well, he just didn’t look like Bond. Forget about the Bonds who came after Roger Moore, they’re not even worth discussing.
So it is with Cristalle. Chanel introduced the Cristalle fragrance as an Eau de Toilette in 1974. It was developed by perfumer Henri Robert. It was (and is, if you can get your hands on the Eau de Toilette) light, crisp, and sparkling, just a little veil of lemon, fresh herbs and oakmoss with lots of green and a few flower petals thrown in for good measure (other notes include bergamot, jonquil, jasmine, honeysuckle, rosewood, hyacinth and vetiver). I started wearing it in the late 1970s and I adored it. The first spritz was always so bright and sharp, it cut right through the heat and humidity of a Washington, DC summer. The lasting power was negligible, but you can’t get that kind of light, crisp and sparkling and staying power, that is just how it is…