A random surprise: Chanel 22

Russian version - click here

Image: Well, I was having some Photoshop fun

Yesterday I’ve picked up a pack with fragrant samples from the post office sent by a generous Russian perfumista. The samples were numbered, but not signed. So I could concentrate on smell only not being distracted by the name, pyramid or review – a different perception of a fragrance and an interesting game. Well, I’d say it’s not easy – it’s like an attempt to describe an elephant by a blind person. But it helps to imprint the image of the fragrance in your olfactory memory.

Sample number one contained an amazing iris – rich classic flower with a touch of carrot-sweetness and very characteristic woody undertone build on a strong ionone framework. It was surrounded with an indolic jasmine with a touch of ylang, sticky rose petals with a thick layer of vanilla powder. All those flowers were presented on a classic woody-ambery plinth. I was so amazed by its iris and disappointed by its sticky rose-vanilla powder that I even didn’t notice the presence of aldehydes at all (and they were the main part of this perfume). Sample number one contained Chanel 22 perfume, but I couldn’t recognize it… Well, to be honest I should mention that I didn’t know this perfume well – just routinely smelled it a couple of times on a blotter.

Later I tried this sample again after reading of some information on it. Well…
A light citrus cloud quickly disappears and you start a skim on a thick layer of frosted aldehydes that brings you from a cool snowy mountain top into a warm valley full of flowers. A frosted aldehyde slide turns into a wide iris road – a perfect smooth passage. There are jasmine fields on the both side of the road surrounded with deep indolic forests and narcotic ylang jungles. The skim stops abruptly when you smash into a sticky mountain of rosy Turkish delight covered with vanilla powder. The wet pieces of rosy jelly dry under the sun turning into small pieces of amber falling apart into vanilla powder…

I could compare this sample of modern perfume with a sample of vintage fragrance. Chanel 22 issued on 1922 was “officially” re-orchestrated twice – in 1998 and 1999. Unfortunately I don’t know how old my vintage sample is.

Vintage fragrances have different flow of time. Compared to their modern version they seem to be tardy and hasteless. So, the skim on vintage Chanel 22 was slower. Unfortunately old perfumes are also more fragile and may show the signs of decay. So the citrus cloud in my vintage sample stung me with a bitterness of decay and frosted aldehyde slide was noticeably melted. But it still was the similar skim from the top of the mountain into the valley. But here I could notice dark red carnation flowers with soft silky petals growing between jasmine. I could also see some bitter weed here and there (you often notice it in vintage perfumes touched by decay). The rose here was not only the part of Turkish delight – I could also smell fresh flowers. The mountain of Turkish delight was less sticky, dried and covered with cracks. But there was no smash and I could enjoy the floral heart much longer. Some people say that you may meet tuberose flowers there, but I couldn’t recognize its flowers between the jasmine flowers. I couldn’t find the small pieces of incense found and mentioned by other visitors. May be next time when I make this skim again.

Well, aldehydic perfumes is not my cup of tea. But I did like the fresh intensive start of the modern perfume and hasteless classic base of a vintage version. If they were combined in one perfume I’d be really happy with Chanel 22.

Thanks to Svetlana for this interesting experience.

You can find an interesting version on Chanel 22 origin at Octavian’s blog.

Very interesting reviews you can find at Marina and Victoria.

Antaeus by Chanel

Russian version - click here

Image from Chanel.com

Antaeus is eau de toilette for men launched in 1981 for the men of 80’s, who “were more prepared to assert their masculinity, but were no longer afraid to admit to their softer side.” It looks like Chanel sees a symbol of a “powerful, but not invincible” hero, who is “masculine without being macho” in the name of Antaeus (quotations from Chanel website).

According to Greek mythology Antaeus was a son of Gaia and Posseidon – a very strong and invincible hero, who could draw his power from his mother Gaia (earth) by touching her. Antaeus challenged men to wrestling matches and killed them collecting their skulls to build a temple for his father Poseidon. Heracles who was another ancient hero had puzzled out the secret of Antaeus and conquered him while holding in the air without chance to touch the earth.

The duality of Antaeus as a symbol of powerful but not invincible masculinity can be found back in the fragrance. It’s a contrast between tender sweet floral accord and bitter aromatic leather. Although the fragrant pyramid is very common to describe a fragrance I don’t think it will be suitable for Antaeus. Two contrasting layers seem to be a better option.

The tender layer has a heart of classic jasmine-rose bouquet freshened with myrtle and just some citrus, warmed with a touch of spice like coriander and sweetened with honey and basil.

The masculine leather consists of aromatic herbs like lavender and sage on a base of patchouli, labdanum and oak moss. Its bitter character has some resemblance with clean men’s sweat. Within the contrast of those two layers is the perfume pretty linear. There is no fresh citrus opening – you smell the competition between sweet floral and aromatic leather from the begin till dry down. They play with each other seeking for the limits of balance and contrast.

I do agree with Chanel classifying Antaeus as leather aromatic. I do also understand why it’s classified as woody chypre on Osmoz (www.osmoz.com). It has the resemblance with the contrast between dark mossy notes and fresh bergamot notes that is very characteristic for chypres.

After the launching in 1981 it becomes very popular within the gay community. It was a number one gay man scent. Was it because of its name creating two naked muscled Greek heroes wrestling with each other? Or because of the time when the prejudice of being gay if you are not hide your feminine side was still alive? The metrosexuality was in its infancy…

The modern public opinion is positive about Antaeus. Luca Turin gives it four stars and calls it woody masculine. Although he finds it more appropriate as a woman’s fragrance these days. The opinion on the basenotes are mostly positive. My personal opinion about this one is positive two. I do like its classic floral accord without sweetened with honey instead of vanilla. I do like its aromatic leather, although I’d prefer fragrance with soft smoky suede as a leather note. I do like the balance between both accords. It has an interesting resemblance of it’s aromatic notes with clean men’s sweat. It’s a nice dark elegant perfume, but it has got easily tamed on my skin and I stopped recognizing it very soon. It’s still a nice finishing touch, but at the same time it’s too common, too routine for a dark leather perfume lover these days. No doubts it is worth to try a couple of times more before I make my own verdict.

The perfumer: Jacques Polge

Fragrant pyramid according to Chanel:

Top: Myrtle from Esterel, Alpine Lavender

Heart: Clary Sage from the Caucasus

Base: Cistus Labdanum from Esterel, Beeswax absolute from France, Indonesian Patchouli

Chanel No. 5

Nederlands: http://aromax-geurbeschrijving.blogspot.com/search/label/No.%205

The first perfume of Gabrielle Chanelle made by Ernest Beaux. The perfume that had to smell like a woman according to Coco who said that “woman should smell like a woman and not like a flower.” This perfume is a landmark of the perfumery – Ernest Beaux has opened a new group of aldegydic floral perfumes with Chanel No. 5. He has succeeded to use the huge amounts of sharp aldehydes in this perfume. It was the fifth perfume in the row of perfumes presented to Coco to be chosen as the first perfume of her fashion house. It was introduced on the fifth day of the fifth month in 1921, because Chanel believed it was a lucky number. Lucky or not it was and is a great success. There were just and only a several drops of Chanel that Marilyn Monroe was wearing in her bed. But enough of the legend. What does it smells like?

When I smelled this perfume for the first time I didn’t like it at all. The sharp aldehydes smell was not the scent of ultimate femininity. It was a bitch – sharp, annoying, provocative and obnoxious at the same time. But it was just one aspect of this perfume as “the bitch” is just one aspect of the femininity. Even if it’s difficult to recognize it in yourself. I don’t want to be a sexist and when I am talking about femininity I am talking about a kind of universal feminine essence that exists in both sexes.

Today I have smelled this perfume again. Completely charmed with mystery and legends around number 5. I wanted to meet the bitch again and I was rewarded with other aspects of femininity hidden in this perfume. Behind the top note that has some orange blossom together with aldehydes I couls smell a heart of this perfume.

The heart opened with a flowery bouquet of rose, jasmine and later also iris. A lovely combination of charming and overwhelming flowers of class and elegance. The next aspect of femininity was revealing itself – La Diva. According to legend Chanel uses huge (much more than average) amounts of costly absolutes of rose and jasmine in this perfume to give it class and elegance.

Behind the chic heart the warm base note came to reveal itself. A warm scent of Amber sweetened with Vanilla, supported with woody Sandal and Vetiver and slightly spiced with Musk. The final, but the most various aspect of the feminity. The loving mother, provocative lover, charming seducer and faithful girlfriend – the warmth of love and heat of passion together. At this point the perfume had reached its balance was shining in all its glory.

Eau de perfume and perfume was the most fine to experience. Eau de toilette was a bit too sharp and green in the beginning and had less chic flowers in its heart.

Other perfumes that like at Chanel No. 5 are Arpège of Lanvin and Chanel No. 22. The first one is another example of floral aldehydic group and the second one is a kind of “light” version of Chanel No. 5.