Chanel 1957 Coco being met by Stanley Neiman in Dallas
A new Chanel fragrance is cause for celebration to me, and a brand new entry into the Les Exclusífs range makes me damn near giddy. Having the luxury to review only those fragrances that speak to my heart (for every scent I love, 3 or 4 don’t make the cut), Chanel is almost always a slam-dunk for me. The latest Eau De Parfum 57 started out as an exception but like the 2016 release of Chanel Boy, took about a week for me to become totally head-over-heels-in-love obsessed with it.
Olivier Polge vis @chanelofficial
Les Exclusifs de Chanel 1957 is inspired by Coco Chanel’s post-WW2 acceptance of the Neiman Marcus Fashion Award for 1957 (at the time, the highest fashion honor in the USA), and the amalgam of August 19th (Coco’s birthday) and the address of the Chanel flagship store in Manhattan (on 57th Street). It is interpreted by Chanel in-house Perfumer Olivier Polge, as a tribute to musks and includes many of the notes found throughout the Chanel fragrance catalog.
Les Exclusifs de Chanel 1957 Photo by Robert H©
This is musk done right, with the added fillip of classic Chanel DNA and world class blending that makes Chanel a top-shelf perfume institution. Les Exclusifs de Chanel 1957 is musk as viewed through an ethereal white gauze filter; soft and angelic but tenacious and long lasting, full of hidden aspects and scented surprises. We’ve seen some truly great musk fragrances in niche lately; Sylvaine Delacourte’s stunning Florentina, and Aedes de Venustas’ glorious Musc Encense; the new Chanel 1957 fits perfectly into this group.
New Chanel boutique NYC Photo by Hernando©
The bright nose-tickling aldehydes and bergamot at the opening set the stage for this homage to all Chanel fragrances. The quality of the ingredients and the light and skillful touch of M. Polge sets Les Exclusifs de Chanel 1957 ahead of the pack. What Boy did for fougere, 1957 does for musk. After the marvelous aldehyde-laden opening (love those aldehydes!), the iris, cedar, and powdery notes create a perfume that draws both from Chanel 19 Poudre (sans the green notes), and also the clean brisk spaciousness of Chanel 1932. Marketed as a skin-scent, I had to find sneaky ways to sniff my wrists today while out in public on my daily errand run. Don’t mind the lack of throw; this is a scent just for you and whomever you hug. All in all an absolutely textbook classic Chanel offering, and I am thrilled to own it. Available at most Chanel boutiques and online at chanel.com (Chanel is floating around the rumor that Les Exclusifs de Chanel 1957 will disappear by the end of April, and when I spoke with the Chanel S.A.’s they would neither confirm or deny.)
Notes: White musk accord (8 different musks), aldehydes, bergamot, iris, neroli, cedar, honey, powdery notes.
Disclosure: The perfume and the opinions are my own.
–Robert Herrmann, Senior Editor
Have you tried 1957?
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