Chanel: Paris - Venise

Chanel has a special place in my perfume collection and I am sure a lot of people feel the same about their fragrances. It often gets misunderstood to be the most expensive and somehow reserved for pushy people. Well, at least I get that impression every time I browse Instagram. But it is not. Many mainstream fragrances reach higher prices and never get that snobby status. 

Anyway, because of its reputation and my occasional lack of confidence I was very uncomfortable while buying it. Paris - Venise is not from their regular line but a part of Les Eaux collection which can be found only in selected stores and of course Chanel’s boutiques. Each of fragrances has its own background story and they are all beautifully connected with inviting marketing approach. What will that lady behind the counter think about me? Does she even care? Am I underdressed for this fancy drugstore? Stupid, I know…

Paris – Venise is fresh oriental in eau de toilette concentration, mostly marketed towards summer weather as something uplifting and refreshing, almost like expensive body mist type. I thought the idea behind this was great, I hate fresh citrusy fragrances without a proper character, so this sounded like my cup of tea. I was wrong, it is too strong for me to be used during hot days and so I got another ¨October to April˝ companion. Testing it only on paper before, it seemed lighter. The longevity is also not the best, but that was expected for this type of product.

It is fresh and light only into a few seconds of very fine and generous fine mist spray, but then it turns into powdery floral with a hint of sweetness. I would not call it heavy, but not fresh either, it is something in between. It smells very classy with typical Chanel elements, quite linear but with a hint of modern twist from that included sweetness – I would easily call it a crowd-pleaser. It is easy to love and very easy to admire. The bottle is very simple, retro, and gorgeous, made for dressing tables.

This is my weekend fragrance and my bedtime comforter. It is still reserved for these two occasions and still has some kind of positive effect on me each time I put it on. 

Perfume pyramid taken from Fragrantica:

TOP NOTES: orange, lemon, petitgrain,bergamont, pink pepper

MIDDLE NOTES: iris, neroli, ylang-ylang, rose, geranium

BASE NOTES: tonka bean, vanilla, orris, white musk, violet, benzoin

* I think iris-oris ruins the game for me