perfume lovers help please

[oldmancoyote]

As long as we are not in coconoots, we are fine.

[Trinkette]

Oh, shoot! That reminds me...

[djm195]

Makes a nice change from DJM leading us astray, i suppose!

....and what's THAT suppose to mean?   

[Trinkette]

Hey, DJM, where've you been? 

[Mrs Mitchell]

Thanks to the efforts of a very dear friend and her brother, I now have the full range of Les Exclusifs to review!

I'm on my 4th one today, here's what I've tried so far:
Bel Respiro - sounds like a chest infection, smells like a shrubbery. I did not care for this one little bit. It's green and coldly floral and I don't think it's working terribly well on my skin.

No 22 - now this one, I expected to love. Aldehyde, white floral, vetvier, incense notes, all things I like. Not this time. Really disappointing for me, it had a that green top note I've come to associate with Chanel, but this one didn't fade into powdery depths like some of the others. The white floral was too old lady for me, and this is coming from someone who loves No5 above all others. I couldn't find any of the vetvier, vanilla or incense that this is famously reputed to have at its base and I found that the lilac (not a favourite) dominated the roses in the middle. I expected to be less crazy about the vanilla in there, but I never got a whiff of it anyway. All I got was green top notes, then lilac. I didn't really get the aldehydes, either. Again, I wonder if this one just wasn't right with my skin chemistry.

28 La Pausa - does this smell metallic, or did I spend too long melting silver?  It's woody and supposed to be an iris scent, but to be honest, I can't smell iris in there at all. It's quite a fresh, crisp and lightly green top note, and the woody scent is strong on the dry down. After that, I think it just vanished. It reminds me of the smell you get when you sharpen an HB pencil with a metal pencil sharpener. I don't dislike it at all, but it isn't doing much for me (it isn't really there after the dry down). ETA - it sort of came back after another hour, this time with a lovely fruit base, rather reminiscent of Mr Men popsicles (I bet you didn't have them in the US, so that's probably not helpful, but think sweet mixed fruit, rather than citrus). It's nice! Still woody and rooty, and I can find a tiny hint of the iris now. This one is actually growing on me and I'll give it another spin tomorrow. Maybe its subtlety fooled me!

31 Rue Cambon - I've only had this on for ten minutes, but already I'm beginning to like it very much. It started with a slightly fruity and citrusy top note, but already it's moving into chocolate and vanilla ,with earthy and powdery notes. I read a bit about it and it's supposed to have patchouli in there, but I haven't noticed it yet . Very promising indeed, though. Warm and complex.  Chocolate is getting stronger and it's just lovely. It's a nice dark complex scent of exactly the type I love. It's not entirely dissimilar to Coco, actually. It isn't so strident though, without that strange ammonia note some people notice in Coco - this could be one to try if you like Coco but don't find it wearable.

ETA an hour later, this is just divine. It smells like Coco used to smell before they messed with it, but with the brash notes softened and the outline toned down a little. A more grown up and less 80s version of Coco (although I'm sure that isn't what they were aiming for...)

More tomorrow.  

[ah2bqat]

After reading that post Miz M, you make me wish I had a nose that actually worked!   

[Trinkette]

Mrs. M., you are hilarious. I am so glad you love the 31 Rue de Cambon. That's the one I've been hoping to score. Meanwhile, I'll just grab that HB pencil sharpener one... maybe people will think I'm smart. 

[Mrs Mitchell]

Ah, No 18. Not at all what I expected, and I didn't 'cheat' and read any of the reviews or notes on this one first.

I expected aldehyde (check, but quite subtle) musk (none at the top, a hint later on) green top notes (a little, but not bitter and remarkably rounded) darkness depth in the base notes (not at all) and powder (tiny bit maybe?). What I did get was a bright but slightly sweeter green top note, some sandalwood in the dry down and a fruity, citrus sweetness that never got sickly or cloying. It's a cool fragrance, balanced with a rather elusive musk basenote.

Now I've read the notes, and there's supposed to be iris, rose and amber in there too. Now that I know that, I can just find the rose, but it's very light - think tea rose rather than damask rose. Amber? I have no idea what that is supposed to smell like, and sniffing an amber ring left me none the wiser...

Anyway, this is fresh and unusual and while I would enjoy a little more depth and complexity, it isn't bad at all. It's quite lovely, in fact. It's another one I think would work for men or women, too. Give it a try if you're interested in a new Chanel!

(Is anyone interested in the rest of the series of reviews, or are you rolling your eyes at obsessive crazy lady over here? )

ETA I've been revisiting the first one I tried, the Jersey EDT. I do believe it's growing on me.

[Trinkette]

Mrs.M., I am VERY interested to read more. I love your take on these. Don't know what happened to everyone else... 

[lovecolor]

I love your perfume posts Mrs. M!  I'm amazed at how well you can pick up the different scents...thank you for doing your reviews!

Trinkette, thank you too...I don't know how either of you can describe the several layers of notes so well!   You've made me very intrigued and curious... so much so, that I'm now trying some new and some old scents. 

My favorties are vintage CHANEL 5,  CHANEL GARDENDIA, SHALIMAR and FRACAS and BVLGARI.  I do have a bunch more on my list to try...Thanks to all of you!            

[Diamondluvr]

MM-Thank you for your impressions on these scents.  It is always helpful and interesting!!!  

The 31 Rue Cambon, interests me as I am a 'vintage' Coco lover-it seems to mesh really well with me chemistry and becomes warm and lovely very quickly.

It will be fun to have you weigh in on the others in the line

[oldmancoyote]

I believe the amber referred to is ambergris, not "real" amber. "[A] sweet, earthy scent commonly likened to the fragrance of rubbing alcohol without the vaporous chemical astringency." (from wikipedia) Whether this makes any sense in the context, only those with a "nose" can judge. I call myself out.

BTW - real amber has virtually no smell unless heated (seriously heated; think poking a red-hot needle into it), when it smells like pine resin, but more delicate. Very nice smell to my nostrils. Only problem is: you now have a ruined amber bead.

[ah2bqat]

Ruin an amber bead?   That would be a real shame!

Miz M, I love the reviews.  I like wine reviews, too.  With my wrecked nose, I can't get to smell things myself, but I can understand OVErWHELMING scents, like 50 tea rose bushes blooming simultaneously and tone them down in my mind.

[clgwli]

I am absolutely loving reading these reviews.  Though sadly I think your comments have me wondering if any Chanels will work for me.  Hard to explain why but some of what you say you like in them are things I dislike in perfumes on my skin.  Like chocolate on me smells cheap and fake always.  Just my chemistry.  I don't like green scents either as they make my nose itch.

I am still finding this fascinating though.  I haven't branched out yet since my last search but that is because I am trying to find new heels and that is taking time 

[Trinkette]

Ambergris used to be a staple in many perfumes, especially as a fixative for other scents. However, due to whale endangerment this is byproduct of whales (I believe it is formed as part of their digestive process) and advances in chemistry, there are substitutes for it in perfumes now. It is my understanding that a distinct change in scent between an "old" and "new" perfume recipe (Cuir de Russie, for example) is often due, in part, to the presence or non-presence of this natural ingredient. It starts out as, well, let's just say "earthy" (you can imagine... how a digestive byproduct might smell... ummm, I imagine, this would be before it is added to the perfume, of course  ), then, as it ages it gets sweeter and very appealing to most people. I read an excellent article about it last year (the year before?), however, I can't find it or remember details. Sorry.

[Trinkette]

There are so many natural ingredients, that were perfume staples, which are now used-up, protected, or determined to be unsafe for humans. As the list of "not to use" ingredients continues growing, I expect that there will be a time when all early perfume recipes will be completely reworked, or worse, discontinued altogether (If they aren't already).

[Trinkette]

The connection between amber and ambergris (translate... grey amber) is really interesting. Although one, amber, is originally made from plants (tree resin) it often contains animal parts or byproducts; I am sure this contribute to any scent a particular piece of amber may give-off when heated/treated to be used for its scent. And, the other, ambergris, a waxy material, is totally an animal product. However, each can be found and harvested from the ocean, certainly, to some degree (however small) this fact influences each material's ultimate scent as well.

[Trinkette]

OMG... I love this! Next time you dab on a little vintage perfume, remember THIS: http://www.pbase.com...photo/image/37569744   

(Moderators, I don't normally post links, however, since it is completely non-jewelry related, I thought this would be OK. If not, feel free to delete)

[lovecolor]

YUCK...now I really understand the phrase; "Ignorance is Bliss" ...    

[Mrs Mitchell]

Gardenia.

It's a sweet floral. That's just another way of saying I won't like it, or so I thought before I tried it anyway.

I was right. The smell that has been following me around all day is vaguely reminiscent of funerals. The vanilla notes are lost on me, I'm just getting sweet floral right from the start. By the end of the day, it reminded me of something I recall from the 1980s, but I can't put my finger on which perfume it is making me think of. Anais Anais, maybe?

It was first created in 1925, when it was described as woody, earthy, animalistic and musky. I think that's got lost in translation somewhere along the line when it was recreated for les exclusifs. Now, it smells of synthetic floral. Sweet floral, at that.

I just looked up some of the notes on anais anais, and it has a lot of the same ingredients, so I'm going to say that's what this reminds me of.

Not loving this one, sadly.

[Mrs Mitchell]

Sycomore. This is a nice scent, more like an aftershave to me than a perfume, but very pleasant. Quite earthy and woody, and I smell this as having sandalwood and citrus in it. It smells like generic aftershave at first, drugstore stuff. It gets nicer - smokier and more vetvier as it dries down.

I didn't find it very wearable, it was a little too sharp and while not exactly manly, it was fairly masculine. I usually prefer that over girly, but it didn't really work for me. I would have liked it better with powder and musk in the basenotes.

Naturally, I could still smell this one after a shower and a change of clothes, while the soft lovely fragrances that I really do liked faded away after a few hours.

Next up, the one I've been waiting for: Cuir de Russie

[Mrs Mitchell]

Beige, btw, was just exactly that. I wore it on Saturday and it made absolutely no impression on me whatsoever. Blandness in a bottle.

I'm actually rather disappointed in les Exclusifs. I was going to order a parfum based on descriptions and what I know I like and basically I'm very relieved that I didn't.

[Trinkette]

Geesh! Who names a perfume "Beige" and expects to sell any, regardless of how it actually smells?   

Mrs. M., let me just offer now, because I know that you know that Cuir de Russie is one of my two favorite scents of ALL time, that I will not be saddened or offended if you can't stand the stuff. I see it as one of those polarizing scents... you either love it or hate it. Also, since I've known it forever, literally, for my entire life (and that is forever!), and I've had the pleasure of whiffing an older, more complex, animal, and intense version, my nose may be remembering enough of the older version to fill-in-the-blanks, so to speak...

[Trinkette]

I remember despising Gardenia when I first encountered it in the 80s. I thought, WAY to sweet. Blecch. And, there is kind of a funkiness to it... maybe it is the coconut? Anyway, now, that I am older and my senses are shot, it doesn't bother me so much anymore; I wear it occasionally and it lasts a LONG time. This is another one that probably got blasted when the formula changed. Also, I think the pure extract perfume is way more interesting, perhaps even less sweet, than eau de parfume or eau de tiolette versions (I think I'd run screaming from the eau de toilette). However, finding the extract, and affording the extract is another matter...

[Mrs Mitchell]

Cuir de Russie - Well, I'm mostly just disappointed with it. I really was all ready to adore this and pay out for the parfum. I don't hate it, I just don't love it either. I have actually worn it before, I had a bottle given to me years ago by an aunt, and I think the problem here is that it's just limp in comparison with the original. I recognised and remembered it as soon as I opened the bottle.

Too much iris, not enough cuir, would be my thoughts on it. Too floral - I remember a lovely powdery dry down that just isn't there in this version.

It does have a gorgeous but rather faint scent at the very end, just before it fades completely, after about 5 hours - up until then, the iris is too prominent and I'm not fond of iris at all. It isn't smoky enough, and the leather is a new sofa from a discount warehouse rather than the old fine leather gloves worn by a very chic aunt. It just doesn't have the complexity and depth I wanted (and half remembered).

Trink, I think you might well be filling in the missing parts, because this smells like it's missing some of the layers.

ETA I think I want to track down some vintage.