31 rue Cambon (2007)
by Chanel

31 Rue Cambon is a nutty-sweet chypre scent, lighter and softer than Mitsouko and more warm and rounded than Givenchy III. It is distinct in being very rich in powdery iris. (A Chanel Les Exclusifs trademark.) So much so that it tempts me to coin a new fragrance subgenre: the iris chypre. A peach note that emerges some time after application keeps this scent closely aligned with both Mitsouko and Givenchy III, but 31 Rue Cambon’s peach is more subdued than Mitsouko’s, and sweeter and more conspicuous than Givenchy III’s. The scent rounds out and slowly sweetens as it develops, so that within a couple of hours it has become extraordinarily plush and peculiarly enveloping.

The iris fades off for the drydown, which arrives after three or four hours. What remains is a fruity lactonic chypre base that reads very much like a padded, fur wrapped version of Mitsouko, altogether less mysterious, but also more comfortable. I’ll invoke Mitsouko and Givenchy III one last time, to affirm that like those other two great chypres, I can wear 31 Rue Cambon with complete confidence as a man.

The opening almost makes me blush. Once the whiff of crotch calms down and the blend of the scent begins to unravel, my second thought is "the scent is wearing me", or "I've borrowed someone else's perfume". Someone who is in a tailored suit with a racy thong underneath. Still, it's beginning to smell interesting.

When the scent warms, it softens and becomes more rounded, floral, softly powdery and pretty - though the aldehydic/animalic/resinous character is definitely still present. At this point I can almost imagine wearing this out somewhere, though I think I'm more of a Coco girl. There is a recognisable Chanel signature about this scent and it feels like Coco's sister - they'd look at each other and appraise "Hmm," thinks 31RC, "she's pretty, but she's wearing far too much lipstick and ostentatious jewellery". "Wow," thinks Coco, "she's pretty, but why does she have to be so snooty? I bet she has a racy thong underneath that perfectly fitting suit."

For some reason, I can never get overly excited about furniture. And when trying to think what is the best visual way to portray 31 Rue Cambon, I cannot stop thinking of neutral coloured furniture. I can admire the architecture of the bottle (magnetic cap maintains the alignment of the mirrored "cc" logo at all times). I can intellectualize about the validity of oakmoss-free chypre and analyze the construction of the fragrance. But as of yet, I remain unaffected, no matter how comfortable or elegant this fragrance may be.

In the context of the entire collection released back in 2007, 31 Rue Cambon stood out right next to the quirky, nutty unpolished ambrette seeds of No. 18. Back than it reminded me of the understated woody and aldehydic-floral juxtaposition of Bois des Îles. Two years later, I’m still impressed with the first few moments of intrigue, where 31 Rue Cambon smells like how you’d expect a luxury good boutique to smell like (reference: Hermès Poivre Samarkand). For a few moments, the juxtaposition of orris, pepper and vetiver seems equally classy and fresh (in the sense of “new”). But is that really how “the best chypre of thirty years” that would “permanently change the landscape of perfumery” suppose to smell like?

A surprisingly unisex iris gem that starts off loud and floral, then quickly settles into a powdery, earthy hum of iris. I find both elements of Coco and No. 5 in this Chanel fragrance, and yet at other times it seems very much its own.

A must-try kind of frag for all serious iris fans.

I really am in for this, and have been wearing it every time I hesitate as to what I should wear at work. It is very "très bien comme il faut", and smells subdued to me.
Peaches in a leather bag that has remained a little in the sun!

I have waited with anticipation for my sample of this fragrance which has received rave reviews. I tore open my prized package, dabbed the precious liquid on my hand and...OLD SPICE...with amber. Sorry, folks, but I remember the Old Spice of yore and this is it! The drydown is prettier and more floral, but nowhere is the brightness of No 5 or the steely resolve of Cristalle. What a disappointment!