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...

Chanel has launched Jersey, a new introduction to the Les Exclusifs de Chanel collection...

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...

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...

"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…

If my perfume choices were limited to one type of fragrance with one note predominant, chances are I would opt for vetiver colognes. (I’d probably have to flip a coin: Sandalwood vs. Vetiver.) I love vetiver fragrances and have owned too many to list here. Recently, my introduction to Lalique Encre Noir, the reissue of Givenchy Vétyver and the debuts of Giorgio Armani's Vétiver Babylone and Chanel's Sycomore have made me very happy and ready to expand an already-overcrowded perfume collection.

Les Eaux Armani Privé Vétiver Babylone

Just as sparkling, fresh water sustained ancient Babylon’s (real or imaginary) fragrant hanging gardens, Vétiver Babylone’s vetiver, likewise sparkling and fresh, supports its other brisk ingredients — bergamot, citron, mandarin, green cardamom, coriander, pink pepper and patchouli...

The vetiver-focused fragrance includes notes of sandalwood, cypress, juniper and pink pepper...

Coco Chanel lived at the Ritz for most of her life, but she kept an apartment above her boutique at 31 Rue Cambon "as a place to house her own clothes and host dinner parties" (via travelandleisure):

The décor is ornate and baroque with the artefacts ranging from lacquered Coromandel screens with Chinese paintings to elaborate life size models of deer ranged in front of the fire place. The mirrors have elaborate oversize frames while the chandeliers replicate the double "C" symbol used as a brand logo in most products including bags and belts. Everything in the rooms reflects the concept of duality in her products with nearly each antique or display piece having a twin beside it. (via thehindu)

31 Rue Cambon, the apartment's namesake fragrance from the recent Les Exclusifs collection, is likewise ornate...

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...

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...