Chanel to Launch Les Exclusifs Jersey & Chanel No.19 Poudre flanker

It was a matter of being due at Chanel: Chanel No.19 is such a revered classic (and a very popular mature woman choice in my country) that it would be a misstep not to exploit this by rendering a new flanker, aimed at the younger audiences who might be introduced to the brand of No.19 via that gateway.
Enter No.19 Poudré, the latest mainstream fragrance by Chanel, as revealed in a lengthy interview by Jacques Polge on Women's Wear Daily, which will hit the stores in the summer of 2011.

The composition, much like Cristalle Eau Verte did for Cristalle and Eau Premiere did for No.5, will highlight the lighter, more diaphanous elements in the formula, with the lately popular veil of modernised, sheer powder accord (as in Love,Chloé and Esprit d'Oscar). The powdery effect will be rendered through novel musks plus iris, an already major component of the classic No.19. According to veteran perfumer Jacques Polge who is only the third head perfumer for Chanel, since 1978:

"We've found some new musks that are very interesting, and we're working a lot at the moment on iris, which is a very important ingredient in No.19 Poudré. We have our plantations in Grasse, with rose and jasmine, and we're trying to find new qualities in those. But we're also trying to reproduce what was done 40 years ago, that nobody does anymore".

Other ingredients featured prominently in No.19 Poudré besides iris and musk are jasmine and neroli. The concentration is Eau de Parfum, as shown on the bottle.

My personal view on the new flanker launch? It's dubious whether classicists will be pleased by the new No.19 flanker, but it does sound like it will be heavy on those "novel" musks and iris (probably boosted by synth alternatives as well) to project at a powdery pitch. Powdery is a new trend in the market which would have fans of the older version (I'm one of them) not too mad at the new.
Who knows? A flanker usually means the continuation of a brand: I would like to see the No.19 brand going rather than being left behind in the wake of more popular things.

As to Jersey, it is the name of the upcoming Chanel Les Exclusifs, joining Beige, Sycomore, 31 Rue Cambon, 28 La Pausa, Coromandel, Eau de Cologne, Bel Respiro, No.18, Bois des Iles, Cuir de Russie, Gardenia and No.22. [links open up reviews of respective scents]. The name had been trademarked a long while ago, as we rgularly predict trends on these pages based on that, and it remains to be seen what treatment the masterminds of Jacques Polges and Chris Sheldrake are envisioning this emblematic fabric of Coco Chanel ~which made her famous (and infamous)~ will translate into. Referencing couture through fragrance is not unknown to Chanel. If we're allowed a little deliberation, a white floral is missing from the Exclusifs line. Or specifically a magnolia, one of the latest notes du jour, begging for a luxury spin.
Edit to add: Preliminary testing suggests Chanel Les Exclusifs Jersey is a clean fragrance with notes of lavender, vanilla and white musks. We will update with a full review.

Release dates for Chanel No.19 Poudré are 1st of June for London (on preview at Selfridges) and 15 days later for the rest of the UK and Europe, available at major department stores.
Chanes Les Exclusifs Jersey will hit stores in autumn 2011 as part of the Chanel boutiques circuit and online at the US store.

thanks to AlbertCA for bringing this to my attention, pic via Grazia scan online

Missoni Aria: fragrance review

Composed in 1987, Aria by Missoni is predictably as big as a house. In the 1980s, you see, fragrances announced themselves from around the block like a fat man with a protruding belly and you could smell them down the office corridor too long after the cleaning ladies had picked up after the staff (Missoni themselves had the now discontinued ~and replaced by a completely different animal by the same name~ Missoni by Missoni from 1982). For a fruity floral, the olfactory category equivalent of the shy type at the party who wants to blend in, yet appear a bit flirty like all the other girls, Aria is an unlikely candidate, a masquerade of a bold floral which dons a silly pineapple hair clip in case anyone takes her too seriously.

By no means dissonant, Aria is an euphoric big burst of a bubblegum actually, so suffused with flavourful florals and flowery fruits that it's easy to lose track and imagine things that are not there. The image of a giant, juicy fuschia bubblegum derives from the pink jasmine used, plus ylang ylang, which is buttressed by banana-pineaplle and peachy-lactonic notes. One edge is sweet, the other edge is rather tangy and the combined effect is melodious and expansive; the best of both worlds, really.

Aria never really caught many ears or noses at its time, probably because the brand wasn't particularly in your face and kept an elegant but vivacious Italian tricot profile, i.e. it never caught on the American market. Or it might have to do with the ugly bottle, a plain glass phial toped by a sincerely plastic purple cap that could adorn Debbie Gibson's Electric Youth or something. It just didn't feel like luxury, from the looks of it. Today, Aria by Missoni is discontinued, like much else from that time-frame: now that fruity florals are a dime a dozen it sounds like it's a shameful loss of especially good, happy jingles.
You can find old stock at stockists/online discounters or auction sites. There's even some at Amazon right now.

Notes for Missoni Aria:
Top notes: lemon, bergamot, pineapple, banana, raspberry, peach
Heart notes: carnation, tuberose, jasmine, ylang-ylang, lily-of-the-valley, rose
Base notes: sandalwood, tonka bean, amber, musk, vanilla and cedar.

Annick Goutal Le Mimosa: fragrance review

For a lover of mimosa, spoiled on the honeyed powdery facets of Caron's Farnesiana or the cassie-rich musky-animalic meowing of Une Fleur de Cassie (F.Malle), Goutal's take on the yellow pom-pom flowers seems anaemic and watery; too innocent, too puerile, too fleeting... In fact, if you're looking for a "true" mimosa (like the one by L'Artisan Parfumeur Mimosa pour Moi with its violet and milky undercurrent) you will be crestfallen.

The mimosa blossom is a sign of spring hope, nature's awakenings, blooming as it does all bright yellow and proud in the end of winter and decorating the countryside with its shady branches that are carrying hundreds of yellow fluffy little bundles of joy; childlike, optimistic, bursting with energy and sweet smiles. Composed of the absolute of mimosa, a hint of iris, peach and white musks, the Goutal take on this floral scent evokes a delicate and subtle sweetness. (See also Calèche Fleurs de Méditerranée by Hermès for a fine rendition)

The impression of Annick Goutal's Le Mimosa is nevertheless much more of a soft, fuzzy peachy note that overimposes itself over a Johnson's chamomille shampoo and clean orange blossom accord, the latter dominating the heart of the composition. Curiously enough, the (natural) mimosa absolute raw material is there (indeed it shares facets with the above, plus anisic nuances), so this is definitely an aesthetic choice; probably in line with the intended coherence inside the Goutal soliflores line. Perfumer Isabelle Doyen and Camille Goutal (Annick's daughter in charge of the house now) envisioned a soliflore that is ethereal, much like the other soliflores in their line-up (Des Lys, Le Jasmin, Le Cheuvrefeuille etc.). Eau de Charlotte already a good dosage of mimosa as well. They were also thinking of the audience who buy Petite Chérie and Quel Amour by the bucketload, apparently. Clearly I am not among them, preferring the intensity of Passion or Grand Amour, yet I can understand the need to play around a material which is almost emblematic of France and Grasse [Follow my route along the mimosa road on this link]. Le Mimosa is not entirely without merit.

Annick Goutal Le Mimosa is available at Annick Goutal stockists from February 2011 onwards. It was announced as a limited edition. The bottle takes on a polka-dot ribbon in yellow and black for the occasion.

Notes for Annick Goutal Le Mimosa:
bergamot, anise, mimosa absolute, iris, peach, white musk, sandalwood

Painting by Greek painter Knostantinos Parthenis, The Apotheosis of Athanassios Diakos, c.1933

Fragrance Choices of the Famous...Again

When back in 2000 we first started putting out the fragrances chosen by the rich and famous (and several historical personages in the mix as well, including royalty) we had been compiling for years in what culminated into the Fragrances that Famous People Wear list, we had no idea this feature would be so popular. Now it seems magazines online pick up on our crumbles and the rest of the celebrity frag listers by mentioning these date for easy-lazy reportage. The latest article on the Daily Gossip is just that, picking alphabetically a handful of names to kickstart an article about fans who want to fashion themselves about their favourite stars. If your favourite star is between Adriana Lima and Dita von Teese, you might find some suggestions to at least inspire your next sampling spree.

Which Type of Perfume Collector Are You?

Among the perfume aficionados set you will find several types: The "I follow only fragrances costing upper of 300$ a pop or hard-to-get niches launched only in Rovianemi"; the "I worship at the shrine of Trish-au-four and everything else is just dog crap stuck on his sole"; the "Give me a good thick unwearable woody emblazoned with oud on the label and I'm set"; the "I chuckle through my fine mustaches as I drive thousands of people to sample expensive things which I semi-loathe, but they're the newest thing and I have to try it out first, don't I".

There are other less aggressive or opinionated ~take your pick~ types as well; from the well meaning housewife who is now living vicariously through her perfume cabinet (brandishing Bandit here and unleashing Fracas there), hidden underneath the mementos of her children who flew the nest for worthwhile pursues of their own (who knows, they might in turn hide a perfume cabinet underneath their university dorm sink!) or the businessman who is hearing tirades on software all day long and relaxes at home with a good old glass of whiskey and a dab of vintage Vetiver on his dressing gown. There is the fashionista type who collects all the latest designer fragrances building a collection, which hard-edge members of specialized fora might sneer at, but who knows her Dolce The One from her Chanel Coco Mademoiselle down pat and can give you a mean advice or two on how to pick stuff for gifts. A subset of that one displays her wares proudly on her dresser, to the amazement of all her friends who ask "do you use all that stuff?" like a clueless person would ask a wine collector whether they drink all that stuff.

There is also the seasoned kind of perfume collector who has become a bit bored with one's self over the years, constantly weeding stuff from the fragrance wardrobe, but at the same time continuously lured in by novelties that promise to be the revolution of the industry in a bottle or by unmissable bargains on an old standby which -guess what- won't be available that much longer.

There is the eager novice who desires to partake of the holy sacraments with an urgency approaching that of hysteria, yet feels unworthy deep down, trying to manipulate himself into liking a revered fragrant beast like Mitsouko instead of vice versa.
There is even the mock perfumista who posts on discussion boards about acquisitions but in reality hasn't even opened one bottle of perfume, setting them on the side for profitable meta-selling when the drive for the elusive has reached improportionate heights. And surely, there are uncharted waters which I might have missed.

Which is YOUR type?


mini perfumes tray collection via 1950s Atomic Ranch House and of bottles collection via Through my Eyes Beauty