Like many olfactory stories at the French Luxury House, Les Eaux de CHANEL began with a desire. Back in 2018, this new collection introduced a new olfactory world to the fragrances of the House. Inspired by Mademoiselle’s favourite places around the world, Les Eaux de CHANEL is fueled by the imaginary and composed around freshness. After PARIS-BIARRITZ, PARIS-DEAUVILLE, PARIS-VENICE and PARIS-RIVIERA in 2019, Olivier Polge, in cooperation with the CHANEL Laboratory of Fragrance Creation and Development, has orchestrated a fifth olfactory journey: PARIS-EDIMBOURG.
“LES EAUX DE CHANEL were designed as light and refreshing ‘eaux fraîches’. I drew inspiration from the destinations that have strong ties with CHANEL. Each one has left its mark on a fragrance.”
Olivier Polge
LES EAUX DE CHANEL are more than simple destinations. They are countless invitations to escape for no reason. They transport us to a fantasy elsewhere, a true imaginary world in the heritage of CHANEL and more modern than ever. By the sea or in the countryside, each motionless journey is, above all, an intimate experience at the heart of our own emotions. Gabrielle Chanel travel experiences have something modern in it. All the places she has been becoming true symbols of escapism that we all dream of going or have been at one stage. With this new chapter, let’s go up north to the highlands.
PARIS – EDIMBOURG: The Power And Mystery Of The Highlands Firmly Rooted To The Land.
Gabrielle Chanel discovered Scotland in 1924 through the Duke of Westminster, with whom she had a love affair until 1930. Far from society life, Gabrielle Chanel found refuge in this wild and majestic countryside, bathed in intense white light. It was relaxing moments in which she would go salmon fishing, play cards with Winston Churchill and Vera Bate and even share her time between the Duke’s three properties in the highlands:
- Stack Lodge, a rustic country house
- Lochmore, a Victorian manor
- The Rosehall estate she was given carte blanche to decorate.
The clothing worn by the British aristocracy during their outdoor leisure pursuits became sources of inspiration. Fair Isle sweaters with multicoloured, geometric patterns, tartan, wool berets and tweed jackets were all practical garments that satisfied her taste for elegance and comfort. She reinterpreted them endlessly in her creations to the extent that they have become emblems of the CHANEL style.
“ Both fresh and woody, PARIS-ÉDIMBOURG could be the fragrance of a tweed jacket borrowed from the men’s wardrobe that was such an inspiration to Gabrielle Chanel. ”
Olivier Polge
Olivier Polge was inspired by the grand and mysterious Scottish countryside and its odours of “gripping and icy” juniper berry and the peaty wood. The elegant freshness strikes in the first seconds. A bright and slightly spicy freshness marks the first chapter of this olfactory story. Then, the story evolves as an Eau with aromatic plants’ power in the tradition of British men’s colognes. While the olfactory story unfolds, we sense hints of Lavender, Cypress and Cedarwood. Then the richness of Vetiver brings a smoky accent to the fragrance. Our story ends on a comfortable bed of vanilla and musks that soften the olfactory structure, almost as a “do-me-good-fragrance”.
This elegant, almost androgynous fragrance could be a tweed jacket borrowed from the men’s wardrobe that was such an inspiration to Gabrielle Chanel. There is a fascinating contrast in the olfactory structure of this fragrance. On the one hand, we can sense a nostalgic feeling of a moment in time that does not exist anymore and yet, on the other hand, modernity is at all levels bringing a dazzling look into this beautiful fragrance. Les Eaux de CHANEL are definitely one of the most interesting perfumery work nowadays.
Les Eaux de CHANEL Bottle: Elegance and simplicity combined
PARIS-ÉDIMBOURG shares the same clean, rounded bottle as the other LES EAUX DE CHANEL fragrances topped with a black thermoset cap engraved with a double C. With a shape that recalls the flasks of alcohol people used to carry in their waistcoat when travelling; it takes on even greater meaning. The crystal-clear glass reveals a fragrance as green as the Scottish countryside. This quest for simplicity and minimalism is extended to the corrugated cardboard case, equally beautiful inside and outside, flawless down to the smallest detail. The simplicity of the bottle reveals beautiful glasswork as the wide glass surface is perfectly balanced with no streams marks. Less is much more.
With Les Eaux de CHANEL, we discover a beautiful travel journey across different amazing places close to the heart of Gabrielle Chanel. In the world we are all living in, we crave to travel and to be somewhere else. Les Eaux de CHANEL provides you with a timeless journey made of elegance, sharpness and comfort. Do not hesitate to visit CHANEL’s official website to discover more about the unlimited universe of the French luxury House.
José Amorim
Information sourced by the author for luxuryactivist.com. All content is copyrighted with no reproduction rights available. Images are for illustration purposes only and courtesy of CHANEL.
