Posted by Robin
on
11 October 2011
I was not excited when I heard Chanel’s latest addition to the Les Exclusifs collection, Jersey, featured lavender. It is not a favorite note of mine, although I love Guerlain Jicky, and oddly enough, also the first fragrance I thought of when I smelled Jersey, Brin de Réglisse. Like Jersey, Brin de Réglisse is a niche-from-a-mainstream-house sort of thing, in this case from Hermès, and the reason I thought of Brin de Réglisse right away is not because they smell alike, although I suppose perhaps they are the distant-est of distant cousins. No, I thought of it because of the lavender note in Brin de Réglisse, which as you may remember, was a molecular fraction (is that the term? I don’t know the term, and admit I am not very concerned about it either way). I’ll repeat a quote I used then:
[Perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena] asked them to slice natural lavender into 50 distinct groups of molecules, sniffed them all, discarded five and reassembled it. “My lavender had a much purer, cleaner smell,” he says, comparing it with the natural scent. “Then I had to find something to dress it up that would be a little unusual. I chose a touch of licorice.” (via Los Angeles Times, 10/28/2007)
As near as I can tell, they do something similar (presumably using cheaper methods) with many fragrances notes, which is why notes you used to hate — patchouli! — don’t bother you anymore, and why smelling materials in their natural state is no longer necessarily helpful to the budding perfumista…
Read the rest of this article »
Posted by Robin
on
7 October 2011
Chanel has launched Jersey, a new introduction to the Les Exclusifs de Chanel collection…
Read the rest of this article »
Posted by Kevin
on
26 August 2009
This past week I’ve been ill. I’ve also been annoyed that the world around me is sunny, flowery — summery — in spite of my discomfort. When I’m not feeling well, I prefer looking out the windows and seeing clouds, fog, rain and bare branches on trees (I guess you could say I wallow in my misery). If I’m sick or depressed, I still “eat a little something” and wear perfume (I’m lucky enough to be alive after all) but those flavor and fragrance selections are carefully chosen. Warm, rich, nutty and chocolaty desserts go down easily during hard times (who cares about calories if you’re physically or mentally hurting?) I don’t reserve certain perfumes for sick days, but when I’m feeling low I reach for “darker” perfumes that will “support” me as I move through my day (or don’t move at all); these perfumes must have some heft, act as a “scented crutch” if you will, but should not contain jarring/strange notes or progress through multiple stages of development. Sparkly, bright Eaux de Cologne, frivolous fruity-florals, and ozonic-moronic sport fragrances get on my nerves when I’m under the weather, and they seem to disappear into thin air the moment I really need a “shoulder” to lean on.
Perfumes for Illness must provide the comfort, the familiarity, the simplicity and the satisfaction of a warm brownie, a dense, fragrant gingerbread, a cup of hot chocolate made with cream (insert the name of any food you love). I usually reach for oriental fragrances when I’m humming the blues, and for a few days this week I turned to Chanel Coromandel…
Read the rest of this article »
Posted by Robin
on
14 October 2008
Such is the current pace of new fragrance launches that when I sat down to refresh my memory on the subject of Chanel's niche range, Les Exclusifs de Chanel, I was surprised to see that they debuted only last year. It feels like they've been around much longer than that, but when you consider that there have been something like 3 new fragrance launches a day since then, they're really rather old hat by now, aren't they?
When I reviewed 31 Rue Cambon last year, I noted that…
…first off, they are well done, each and every one of them. The materials are first rate, they are all wearable without being dull, and they are “worthy of the name of Chanel”, whatever that means.
Still, I wished they'd done something a little more daring…
Read the rest of this article »
Posted by Robin
on
12 September 2008
Chanel has introduced Beige, the latest edition to the Les Exclusifs collection. Like the others in the series, it was developed by Chanel house perfumer Jacques Polge, and will be in limited distribution.
“I take refuge in beige because it's natural,” said Mademoiselle Chanel. Sandy beige, honey beige, clay beige, whitish beige… She loved all shades of this colour, which evokes natural elegance and grace. An elusive colour with infinite variations, beige may seem quite ordinary…
Read the rest of this article »
