For those who will be in Paris in May or June I recommend the N° 5 Culture Chanel exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo.

„Made up of subtle plays of correspondences, N° 5 Culture Chanel cracks the N° 5 code to reveal the links which connected it to specific moments in time and to the avant-garde movements it spanned.

May 5 – June 5, 2013
Palais de Tokyo
13 Avenue du Président Wilson
75116 Paris

www.5-culturechanel.com

Et voilà… part 2 of the tragedy… to see the video please click here.

What do you think about the new Chanel N°5 spot? Of course Brad Pitt has a sexy voice, but what is he telling us?

Is this only a teaser? What comes next?

I mean for 7 million dollars… come on. One thing is for sure: everybody is talking about this video. So far, good PR strategy.

To see the video please click here.

The journey of Coco Chanel to Venice in 1920 served as an inspiration for Chanel’s in-house perfumer Jacques Polge. Coco Chanel travelled to Venice after her lover Boy Chapel had died. The opulence of the Byzantine architecture impressed her deeply.

The day of Coco Chanel’s birthday, August 19th, Chanel launched its new flanker Coco Noir in an elegant, amazing black vial. After Guerlain had launched La petite robe noire (Little Black Dress), the item which made Chanel famous, Coco Noir is not such a bad idea – as we have seen many black perfumes become bestsellers, e.g. Black Orchid by Tom Ford, Back to Black by By Kilian, the classics Arpège by Lanvin or Narcisse Noir by Caron. Black sells.

For me Coco Noir smells less like the deep oriental Coco as than the romantic Coco Mademoiselle. It could also have been named Coco Mademoiselle Eau du Soir. The Coco devotees will be rather disappointed, I guess.

Coco Noir is sensual and yes: sweeeet. Even sweeter than Coco Mademoiselle (of which I only use the Brume Fraîche Version, which I find the best), nearly as sweet as Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf. The scent reminds me of all these rather pink perfumes: Flowerbomb, Miss Dior Chérie, Mademoiselle Coco or Jimmy Choo.

On a blotter Coco Noir is very intensive, on skin there has been written a lot concerning longevity. It works for me: even the next day I can smell Coco Noir everywhere – on my skin, on my clothes, in the apartment. It’s a statement.

Coco Noir is a typical fruitchouli. Fresh and sweet in the opening, sweet and fruity in the middle notes and musky, woody and sweet in the base. The pink pepper is very present and overlaps the sweetness, which saves the scent from being mundane. Coco Noir is very well done but not innovative. But I like its kind sweetness with an oriental touch without the heavy spices from Coco. The floral elements of rose and jasmine are softened by vanilla and contrasted by geranium leaves for some tart effects.

To be honest, I expected something completely different, but I am not disappointed. Coco Noir for me is an interesting alternative to Coco Mademoiselle and I am sure the scent will become a bestseller.

Category: women

Year: 2012

Perfumer: Jacques Polge

Notes: grapefruit, bergamot, pink pepper, jasmine, rose, narcissus, geranium leaves, vetiver, sandalwood, patchouli, frankincense, vanilla, tonka bean, musk

www.chanel.com

Maybe I am the last one to write about N°19 Poudré. Why? Everybody has been waiting impatiently for the new Chanel flanker, that was launched on the birthday of Coco Chanel, on August 19. And then, disappointment. Me too. I locked N°19 Poudré in my perfume shrine and didn’t think about it any more.

Then I found it again and what do I say, well, Méchant Loup Thierry of Olfactorum nailed it down calling it Infusion N°19. That was my first thought too: “Reminds me of Infusion d’Iris by Prada.“ But the development is different and in this competition, Prada wins.

I am a huge fan of the house of Chanel, but this flanker is dull. When I first tried it, my boyfriend asked me what kind of grandma perfume I was wearing. Unfortunately he is right, N°19 Poudré has nothing modern or progressive, that a perfume needs on today’s huge perfume market.

There are two famous perfumers behind this creation, Jacques Polge and Christopher Sheldrake. Sheldrake created Bas de Soie for Serge Lutens in 2010, a very sharp and unusual take on iris with hyacinth. So we are talking of a very prominent and experienced team and nevertheless: take two blotters, spray on the one Infusion d’Iris, on the other N°19 Poudré. Spritz one of the scents on your left pulse, the other one on your right pulse. Wait. Some hours later Infusion d’Iris is still brilliant, powerful and simply gorgeous, a crystal clear, cool iris with a vintage twist but nevertheless modern and feminine in an absolutely gorgeous puristic flacon. N°19 Poudré has made the French leave and you just smell a trail of a musky iris, slightly soapy and that’s all. Like a lipstick kiss of your aunt on your cheek. You can feel this powdery touch but it feels odd.

By the way, there is nothing better than the original N°19, that was far ahead of its time!

Category: women

Year: 2011

Perfumer: Christopher Sheldrake & Jacques Polge

Notes: neroli, tangerine, jasmine, iris, musk, vetiver, tonka bean

www.chanel.com