28 La Pausa (2007)
by Chanel

All of the Chanel Les Exclusifs I’ve tried feature a conspicuous iris note, but in 28 La Pausa a rich, doughy iris root is the uncontested feature attraction. If a dessert chef were to make a spiced carrot and parsnip custard, infused with jasmine and a touch of smoky vanilla, it might smell a good deal like 28 La Pausa. The velvet soft iris note lounges on its cushion of spiced florals like a Titian nude in the Doge’s palazzo: lush, seductive, and just out of reach. This is a luxurious scent, but not loud or showy. Sillage and projection are both moderate, surrounding the skin in a loose envelope of fragrance. As 28 La Pausa dries down, it reveals a creamy wood base with a marvelously natural character. If the scent has any failing, it is endurance – the drydown arrives after perhaps two hours, leaving me wanting more.

Chanel’s treatment of iris in 28 La Pausa is matched only by Serge Lutens’s Iris Silver Mist and Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier’s Iris Bleu Gris. But where the Lutens is opaque and shadowy, and the Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier lit in bold chiaroscuro, the Chanel is suffused with a gauzy, golden light. Lovers of iris root will want to try this, and those unfamiliar with iris in perfumery could find no better introduction to the note.

gorgeous ! breathtaking , fleeting . one of the best of the exclusifs . i wish the longevity was better . if you like iris you will love this

A heart-breakingly lovely iris, perhaps the gentlest of them all, with an almost imperceptible dab of leather -- think Kelly Caleche proportions, diminished by 50. Utterly delicate, restrained and elegant. Criminally short-lived. The epitome of chic, taste and classic 'femininity'. Very beautiful indeed.

This scent makes me think of a woman walking half asleep in a forest, wearing a faint dreamy smile on her face, and you can never know what she is.
As she vanishes, the smell appears and takes her place: dry sweetness.
Her address maybe 31 rue Cambon.

A dry woodland iris that is a very earthy violet flower scent with no powder to speak of. The iris leads to a soft animalic musk scent that blends to the skin of the wearer extremely well. Is it jasmine or cumin along with a touch of rose that gives the soft warm smell of hot skin just beneath the veil of iris flower. This is a sophisticated and very comfortable fragrance to wear. It comforts with warm dry yet very gentle aura of friendliness.

Iris, iris, and more iris. And a great version of it, too, devoid of powdery sweetness, smelling rooty like the real thing, not covered up by florals, and yet delicately sweetened, probably by an airy sandalwood base. I smell something delicately green and woody, maybe clary sage, or some other ehtereal note. And possibly a bit of pepper, which goes well with iris, like it did in Lancome Oxygene. This is in no way as earthy as Serge Lutens Iris Silver MIst. Its duration is regrettably short, as it comes off the skin in a heady, breezy rush. Enjoyable while it lasts.