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Friday, November 20, 2009

Christmas '09 Gifts Ideas: Chanel Les Grands Extraits

Chanel in a gesture of "ginormous size equates luxury" thinking (a practice not unheard of and certainly one which was in effect for loyal customers of the house in the past decades) is issuing three of their fragrances into really big flacons of extrait de parfum (i.e. pure parfum). The biggest one standing 8.4inches of proud height is the equivalent of four cups of pure parfum, enough to last you a lifetime! Although last year the giga bottles of Chanel No.5 were only ones available exclusively through Saks Fifth Avenue, this year the availability is eshewing the ticket cost to catching a flight to New York City in favour of the ease of online buying. The scents have upgraded to a diverse trio too!

No.5, Coco Mademoiselle and Gardenia (suprisingly enough...) now come in the following sizes (you can see the comparison between smallest and biggest size in the picture on the left):

225ml for 1,700$US
450ml for 2,350$US
900ml for 3,200$US

All three big extraits are available for very limited quantities via USA Chanel.com . Through December 16th, there is complimentary free shipping and elegant gift wrapping, for US residents.

There is emphasis on the patrimoine factor (the project is presented as the Magnum Opus of Chanel Perfumery) as well as the labour-intensive baudruchage technique used on the bottles (more on this on this article), but absolutely no word on the lowering of the famous Jasmine from Grasse percentage in the formula as necessitated by the most recent & upcoming IFRA ingredients restrictions. Hmm...
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9 comments:

  1. Linda19:30

    I wonder, who needs a litre of Gardénia?

    ReplyDelete
  2. pyramus01:16

    Or any extrait?

    What's funny, or at least coincidental, is that just this evening I was vaguely thinking about buying a quarter ounce of No. 5 extrait, because it's so good and so uniquely itself. I decided against it because I figured that it had probably been reformulated and wouldn't smell quite the way it did when I used to wear it 20 years ago, and because I probably wouldn't be able to use it up before it went off (since I have so many other scents).

    Nobody could possibly use up 900 mL of extrait, even in a lifetime--not before it started to go terribly wrong. Maybe if you poured a big dollop into your bathwater every night....

    ReplyDelete
  3. Perfumeshrine15:27

    L,

    I wouldn't know: I have no use for even a quarter of an ounce... *smirk*

    ReplyDelete
  4. Perfumeshrine15:29

    R,

    It does seem terribly excessive and wasting. The bathwater idea isn't bad though, albeit rather too decadent for our times (I do recall the Gabors however scenting their pool with perfume!)
    I would advise for buying some No.5 extrait though as the new upcoming restrictions on jasmine are certain to toll its slow death... :-((

    ReplyDelete
  5. chayaruchama22:46

    Too rich for my blood; but very lovely for those who can and will !

    More for them...:)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Perfumeshrine17:33

    I,

    I would have loved it if they had issued other parfums in those sizes: say, BdI or CdR (or even better create some 31RC or Sycomore!!); especially if it meant having an endless supply of a version that wouldn't be butchered up when the upcoming reformulations/restrictions apply ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Perfumeshrine17:34

    Wait, I think I just explained to myself above why this ain't gonna happen!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Mystic Knot18:50

    Yes, no mention of the IFRA reformulations ,less jasmine ...'hmmmm' is right !

    ReplyDelete
  9. Audit Diva11:08

    whoa! those are BIG bottles! some kind and generous person could buy one and donate it to a public building. it could be a communal bottle - leave it in a library or art gallery and people can help themselves!

    ReplyDelete

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