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Chanel – 1932 Les Exclusifs

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Chanel – 1932 Les Exclusifs

chanel-1932-perfume

I was thrilled beyond description to receive a sample of the newest Chanel Les Exclusifs release from the lovely Isidora at the Chanel Bal Harbour boutique in South Florida. As I posted earlier here, there was much speculation over the past year regarding this fragrance and whether or not it would indeed be released to the public. Happily, it is now available in the standard 75 ml and 200 ml Eau de Toilette sizes from the Chanel boutiqes and online, via their website at Chanel.

According to information provided by Chanel, the fragrance was named to commemorate the release of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s first high jewellery collection. The nose behind the creation, Jacques Polge, took his inspiration from the collection and rendered it in Jasmine. In 1932, Europe was between two world wars and Amelia Earhart had completed the first transatlantic solo flight by a woman. The Great War fueled significant advances in aviation which would make commercial air travel a more distinct reality. What had once been a novel concept, now became a reality for the rich and elite. By the end of the era, known as the “Golden Age of Flight”, air transport would seem a necessity.

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Necklace from the original 1932 collection

As a result, people’s minds were on the skies. Caron launched En Avion in 1932 and Guerlain would release its Vol de Nuit one year later in 1933. No small wonder then that Chanel’s exclusive jewellery release would be inspired by the heavens, with its falling meteors and constellations. Where Chanel had previously promoted faux glass jewelry to counteract the pretensions of the 1920s, her flight to quality following times of strife reflected her pursuit of the “greatest value in the smallest volume“. It is this insistence on quality that is one of the hallmarks of Chanel perfumes and 1932 is certainly no exception. The fragrance is an unique and inspired creation, highlighting the different aspects of Jasmine, one of Chanel’s signature flowers.

1932 opens with a sweet citrus accord, a melange of orange and lemon notes which seem to float on the air. The aldehydes in the opening are not as effervescent as some of Chanel’s vintage creations, giving the fragrance a more modern feel. The fruity opening quickly gives way to a slightly spicy, green floral accord that calls to mind stems and juniper berries. While in theory, I thought the fragrance might head into the Chanel No 19 territory, the Lily of the Valley and subtle Hyacinth notes reminded me slightly more of Cartier’s Baiser Vole’s opening notes: sharp, bright and light, much like the brilliant collection of diamonds for which the fragrance is named, though more subtle and fruity than Mathilde Laurent’s 2011 creation.

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Diamond ring from the modern 1932 jewelry collection

If we imagine the green accords to be the outer casing of the Jasmine bud, as the fragrance develops, the rich and slightly indolic jasmine petals unfold, revealing a heart deepened by a slightly waxy rose and the slightest spice from geranium. Here the fragrance is at its most hypnotic, softly undulating, all the while wearing closer to the skin. While usually reserved for a basenote, I detect a coumarin note present throughout, giving the fragrance a sweet, hay-like note with just a touch of vanillic warmth.

What I found to be the most beautiful aspect of the fragrance was unfortunately the most fleeting. As the jasmine settled into a soft floral whisper on my wrist, a singular vetiver note  hovers in and out of focus, supported by the slightest hint of musk, as though a tiny drop of Chanel’s Sycomore had been allowed to penetrate the signature Chanel flacon. I can only imagine how lovely this combination of the palest jasmine with a touch of woods would be in a stronger concentration. Unfortunately, as flowers are ephemeral, so is 1932. As with some of the other Les Exclusifs, particularly 28 La Pausa, Jersey and Bel Respiro, the initially powerful sillage diminishes to a wisp of a fragrance that I long to experience again.

Many thanks to Isidora Kostic of Chanel for providing me with a sample. If you are in South Florida, I highly recommend visiting Bal Harbour’s Chanel boutique at 9700 Collins Avenue, where you can view and sample the entire Les Exclusifs line.

Fruity Floral Woody

Notes: Bergamot, petitgrain, lemon, lily of the valley, hyacinth, iris, rose, jasmine, vetiver, coumarin and musk.

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Serge Lutens – Gris Clair

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Serge Lutens – Gris Clair

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I will start out this post with two admissions. First: I do not tend to view fragrances as “masculine” or “feminine”, rather as well-composed and beautiful, or not. There are several fragrances which I appreciate from both categories, one of my favorites being Chanel’s Egoiste. That being said, Gris Clair is definitely suited to being worn by a man. Second: I have a degree of synesthesia, which means that I perceive abstract things as having color. For example, the number One is white. The letter E is green. While I do not experience this to a degree that is disruptive (unless you consider not being able to wear certain fragrances while dressed in a certain color disruptive), it does sometimes create confusion when my perceived impression is challenged. Case in point, the fact that Thierry Mugler’s Angel was blue-colored was shocking to me, because it was so obviously in my mind the smell of all things deep, delicious and brown. Why I raise this will become clear.

The first time I set out to conquer the masterful body of work that is the Serge Lutens line, I started small. Not in volume, just in size. I obtained a number of sample vials based largely on description and personal inclination. As part of this bounty, I requested a vial of Gris Clair. When the samples arrived, I immediately smothered myself in Tubereuse Criminelle and Ambre Sultan and was out of commission for the rest of the evening. The next morning, I opened the Gris Clair vial and was immediately surprised by the novel treatment of lavender. I liked it well enough, but then I put it away to further explore the more immediately and blatantly intoxicating fragrances.

Then a funny thing happened. Days went by, and I could not stop thinking about Gris Clair. Was that a hint of smoke I detected? How did the interplay between lavender and a certain ashy sensation play out? Like a handsome stranger one sees fleetingly before the train doors shut, I could not stop thinking about this mysterious beauty. I had to seek it out and investigate further.

While I generally associate lavender with warm sunshine, sweeping fields and the fresh-scrubbed innocence of childhood, Gris Clair’s lavender did not fit into any of these categories. This is an adult, refined lavender with a shadowy, ghostly aspect. Gris Clair has a certain chill to it, not unlike the smell of dry burning wood on a cold winter night. While tonka and amber round out the smokiness and give a spark of life and depth to the fire, the predominant impression is that of alternating wisps of lavender and incense smoke. Neither impression dominates, the two just alternate and envelop each other throughout the day in a magical smoky dance.

While the sillage is more serene than some of Christopher Sheldrake’s creations for the Lutens line, the tenacity is no less impressive. It stays with me through the day without my needing to hunt for it. While I would be loath to attempt to pit one Serge Lutens fragrance against another in comparison, this is quite different than many of his creations. Circling back to the synesthesia discussion, I see the entire Serge Lutens line as a color wheel, where certain shades congregate at one part of the circle versus another, grouped by commonalities in composition.  Blues and purples here, yellows and greens there and round again for red and orange. Exchange certain elements of the composition and you no longer have blue, you have orange.

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I sometimes have the sense that the house views the fragrances this way as well, given the deep and provocative hues they select for the fragrances. Gris Clair is in fact, light grey and falls to the end of a certain spectrum in the line, closer to a Five O’Clock at Gingembre and a tiny glimmer of Ambre Sultan. If you prefer the other end of the color wheel inhabited by A La Nuit, this will probably not be for you, unless like me, you have room enough in your heart to love them all. Gris Clair… definitely inhabits the other-worldly domain of grey where the sharp lines between black and white fade to abstraction: it is neither lavender nor ash. It is both and yet neither, warm and cold, calm and yet arresting. If I had to select one word to complete the space after the ellipses in the name, the suggestion that there is more to this fragrance than initially perceived, it is this… haunting.

Woods

Notes: iris, incense, tonka bean, amber, lavender and wood notes.

 

 

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Guerlain – Chamade

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Guerlain – Chamade

 

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A good friend of mine is from Iceland, which like any country, features an unique culinary tradition. Given the island’s reliance on the fishing industry, much of their cuisine revolves around fish, although their excellent dairy places a close second. Since we first met each other toward the end of the year, the subject of holiday meals came up. Always eager to learn about a new culture, I asked my friend if there were any special dishes that were eaten on the holidays, conjuring visions of holiday recipe-swapping. The response was not quite what I was expecting: fermented stingray. After clarifying that this was not a joke, my friend went on to explain that stingray was traditionally prepared by Iceland’s Viking ancestors by burying a dead stingray and letting it “ferment” (her word, mine “rot”). While I will spare you the minute details, the ammonia contained within the stingray’s body essentially “cooks” the fish, not unlike a ceviche. Needless to say, I would not be preparing this in my kitchen anytime soon.

When I asked my friend if she liked it, she said “Not the first time. The first time it smelled so awful, I thought I might get sick”. The use of the term “first time” implied that there was a second or even numerous times. She explained that while it was an acquired taste, after the initial opening stench of ammonia, the stingray was delicious. I was baffled! How did she get past that offensive opening and come to love this strange creation? It made no sense to me. And then I realized it did: Chamade.

While I am a lover of bright, intense openings and even more so a lover of Guerlain, in all honesty I must admit that the first time I smelled Chamade I thought that someone, somewhere had made a mistake and filled this beautiful, inverted heart bottle with nail polish remover. While I adore several fragrances which feature prominent hyacinth notes (Chanel’s Cristalle and No 19, Balmain’s Vent Vert) they are tempered by the introduction of other elements. Not so with Chamade. The combination of hyacinth with galbanum and blackcurrent created an opening that cut through the air like a sharp green saber which showed no signs of relenting. I put the bottle back, far into the darkest reaches of my perfume cabinet, untested.

Chamade

But something didn’t feel right about walking away from this fragrance, named after the distinctive pitter-pat of a heart in love, a nod at the Françoise Sagan novel and French film by the same name starring none-other-than Catherine Deneuve. So many had waxed poetic about its charms, and the skill of the then-young Jean-Paul Guerlain, I felt I must be missing something. I had read the fragrance notes, and I knew there was a Guerlain accord hiding in there somewhere, if I could just steel my reserve and do the unthinkable: test it on skin.

Needless to say, I was rewarded. Chamade perfectly captures the cool detachment of attraction and the growing warmth of love, but its beauty is only revealed to the patient suitor. The intense opening was merely the awkward, butterflies-in-your-stomach feeling that proceeds the sweetest and most passionate of kisses. Chamade slowly unfolds into a soft floral base of rose, ylang ylang, jasmine, lilac, and lily of the valley: for every great romance must have its tenderness. As the fragrance settles further, drawing heat from the skin, the magic of Guerlain is revealed in a soft, velvety base of vanilla, amber, iris and woods: for every great love must have its warmth. And as we overlook the idiosyncrasies of our most beloved, I am finally able to embrace the sharp opening, knowing that a warm embrace awaits me.

Floral oriental

Notes of Turkish rose, ylang ylang, jasmine, lilac, blackcurrant, lily of the valley, hyacinth, cassis, galbanum, sandalwood, vetiver, vanilla, musk, amber, iris and tonka bean.

 

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Chanel – 1932

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Chanel 1932 – Les Exclusifs

Last year, this enticing photograph appeared on the internet of a young woman holding a large size bottle of a previously unseen Chanel Les Exclusifs fragrance named 1932. Chanel Les Exclusifs 1932 perfume new bottleAfter much speculation on the blogosphere regarding the authenticity of the item, including a report by Perfume Shrine on the subject, I began pestering (stalking) my friend at Chanel regarding the item.

She was initially as baffled as the rest of us, as Chanel had released no information on the subject. After a few months of calls back and forth, she reported that the fragrance did indeed exist, however, it had been issued as a very exclusive limited release to  handful of clients attending the Chanel 1932 jewellery show. To make matters worse, Chanel appeared to have no plans to issue the item for wider distribution.

While I applauded the brilliant psychology employed by Chanel to make the item immediately irresistible (similar to the way Coco Chanel first distributed Chanel No 5 as a “gift” to her most valuable clients), I was nonetheless frustrated. Obviously, Chanel’s psychology had reached its mark and I wanted the fragrance.

Happily, Basenotes and Fragantica now report that the item will be available for distribution in early 2013, though I have yet to see it on Chanel’s online boutique. The fragrance is reported to be characterized by jasmine, vetiver, iris and musk and will be available in the standard 75 ml and 200 ml Eau de Toilette sizes. Time to start calling (stalking) my friend at Chanel!

 

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