More on Les Exclusifs de Chanel

My heart rejoices when I see an interesting article on perfume in a glossy magazine. This month Allure features an article by Judy Bachrach on Les Exclusifs de Chanel. According to the author, the new scents are "based on a complicated trajectory of the founder's difficult and flamboyant life. They are also the scents she cherished, outdoors and at home- the smells of iris and spice, of crushed roses and leaves. certainly, they are not suitable for everyone". The article provides brief descriptions of four scents: Bel Respiro - "a 'green' scent, evokes the smell of new leather and cut grass after it rains"... it "smells of mown grass and crushed leaves, although there is also an undertone of hay beneath the green scents". 31 Rue Cambon - "a mixture of bergamot, patchouli, oak moss, and cistus labdanum"..."Brimming with bergamot, this is perhaps the most nostalgic of all the new fragrances, the kind of scent worn by old ladies when they were very young and unabashedly sensual". Coromandel - "an oriental fragrance using a tree resin called benzoin, which has vanilla-like properties"...Like Chanel's apartment that inspired it, it is not "innocent", it is "weighted by frankincense" and "contains a hint of the heavier spices of the East". 28 La Pausa - "a powdery scent based on the oil from iris pallida (known as sweet iris), one of the most expensive products available to perfumers... The article, Channeling Chanel, can be found in Allure, February 2007, pages 178-181. The image is from Allure. I understand that a similar feature is in February W (and probably will appear in most glossies at some point).