This summer Chanel introduces Les Eaux de Chanel. A new line of unisex fragrances evoking the adventurer we would love to go on or the faraway places we would love to visit.
Les Eaux de Chanel will plunge us into unfamiliar territory with immediate and lasting freshness. These scents are an ode to the unexpected and the need to go anywhere and get away from it all.
Inspired by three of Gabrielle Chanel’s favourite places, Les Eaux Des Chanel consists of three scents, created by perfumer Olivier Polge in cooperation with the Chanel Fragrance Creation and Development Laboratory. Paris-Deauville, Paris-Biarritz and Paris-Vesine invite a more generous application with a sleek sensual bottle. And, while they are still composed with the noblest ingredients to be found in perfumery, here they are stretched out, more supple and flowing.
The structure of Les Eaux de Chanel responds to a single desire: infinite freshness. That feeling you feel when you open the window of a train racing along a track of the morning dew evaporating in the first rays of sun.
PARIS-DEAUVILLE – CRINKLED LEAVES AND BITTER GREEN
In the spring of 1912, a seaside resort on the Normandy coast caught the attention of young milliner Gabrielle Chanel. Deauville was already the destination of choice for many Parisians on the weekend, so it became the ideal location to sell her first creations that broke the stylistic codes of the time. Gabrielle launched her first collection in her shop on rue Gontaut-Biron, a chic street in Deauville. The store featured clothing that borrowed from sailors, striped, beige and jersey fabric. Keeping a step ahead of her time Gabrille Chanel imposed a natural, obvious simplicity. The shop closed in 1925, but Deauville remains part of the heritage of the house.
“More than the actual reality of the destination, I liked the idea urbanites make of it when they dream of a weekend away in the country” Olivier Polge says of Paris Deauville. “I wasn’t striving to capture the Normandy countryside as it stands today, but rather the promise of a stroll through tall grasses.”
Paris-Deauville immerses us into a bitter, biting green. A colour that grabs hold of the body and fills it with fresh air. First comes the vivifying energy of orange rind, petit grain and highly aromatic basil leave. Essence of rose and jasmine-like notes hold their heads high and proud, honouring the floral hear of the composition. Then the distinct, vintage character of patchouli rings out. A wood rooted in the ground, ready to install its energy. Paris-Deauville is a carefree and roaming scent. A decidedly wayward signature, between land and sea.
In 1915, two years after her launch in Deauville, Gabrielle Chanel opened a new space in Biarritz. The Basque coast resort town had been a high society holiday destination since the 19th century. Gabrielle brought her Parisian employees to work in in her shop on the Villa de Larralde, which gained the attention of Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain, who became a loyal customer. The resort quickly became the go-to sports vacation destination and Gabrielle Chanel was regularly seen rubbing shoulders with the who’s, who of society.
Today, the tireless force of the ocean along the Basque coast brings rolling waves into the vaporous sea foam on the sand. Now overrun with surfers and extreme sports enthusiasts, the resort has always known how to blend a certain sporty spirit with a rare elegance.
“Paris-Biarritz is the most aquatic fragrance in Les Eaux de Chanel collection.” Explains Olivier Polge. “I wanted to create a sensation on the skin as if each ingredient were soaked with water.”
The scent is energized with top nots of grapefruit and mandarin. Accompanied by an aqueous note, the citrus prepares the way for a lily-of-the-valley accord. The groundswell of the formula, vetiver blends with white musk notes to heighten the bracing sensations. Paris-Biarritz instantly revitalises. It has the effect of an ice-cold dip in the sea on a sunny day.
PARIS-VENISE – ORIENTAL PROMISE AND HUSHED IMPRESSION
In 1920 Mademoiselle was inconsolable. To erase the memory of Boy Capel who died tragically in a car accident in 1919, Misia and the painted Jose Maria Sert invited her to Venice. Not only did Gabrielle light upon the city, Venice also rekindled her desire to live. Her discovery of Venetian artists and the unforgettable parties thrown by cosmopolitan aristocrats who spent their day basking in the sun on the Lido beaches, helped Gabrielle forger her inimitable style. Venice is where she discovered the glimmer of the mosaics, the shining hammered gold and precious gens of St Mark’s Basilica, which inspired her first jewellery collection. Venice was an inspirational whirlwind that reignited her creative spark.
“The creation of Eau de Chanel Paris-Venise draws inspiration as much from the long journey on the Orient Express from the French capital to the Italian city, as much from the destination itself.” Explains Olivier Polge. “I wanted people to smell that gateway to the Orient, which, at Chanel, is also an evocation of the baroque. It is probably the most urban Eau of the three.”
Paris-Venis reunites the sumptuousness of the Orient with a cosy cotton sensation. While citrus is still present in the fragrance, neroli remains subdued. A hint of berry and iris combine with Grasse, geranium – tangy and floral. Then a vibrant cedar and ambery accord takes charge. You can detect the vanilla note and oriental scents that warm the skin without overpowering.
THE BOTTLE
Designed like and invitation to travel the bottle for the collection stems from desire and simplicity. The bottle conveys the lightness of Olivier Polge’s fragrances. Fragrances for occasions, great journeys, seasons or a weekend away, Les Eaux de Chanel offers new possibilities without taking the place of your usual scent. The thin lighter glass of the bottle makes it easier to carry. The bottle cap is made with a thermoset. The double C signature is found on top and inside the cap. With a generous 125ml bottle and a rounded shape that fits in the palm of the hand, Les Eaux de Chanel introduces a new perfuming gesture. Equipped with a special pump, each bottle diffuses micro-droplets. When the fragrance comes into contact with the skin the pump has the effect of a soft, delicate and generous cloud.
The three identical bottles differ only by the names inscribed on the front and the colour of the fragrance.
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