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Chanel Qs: If I love vintage Cuir de Russie edt, will I love 19? 22? 28 la Pausa? which versions?

post #1 of 12
2/12/11 at 11:29am
Thread Starter 
I need recs about what to try next.

I love my bottle of pre-exclusif CdR edt (I think it's from the mid 90s). I love the transitions. I love the powder, the butter, the leather, the iris. It's just AMAZING and so smooth. I've tried a few other leathers (Lancome, PdE) and a few "suedes" (like Daim Blond) but nothing else compares. After trying these, I'm not sure if it's the leather I like in the CdR, or if it's just the iris and leather combo or what.

Do you think I should try some other Chanels? If I love CdR, what else should I try? I am not really a fan of No 5 but like Eau Premiere. I briefly tried the current version of Cristalle on paper (too sharp I think).

Can anyone compare CdR and No 19? They both have leather and iris, right? And if I go for No 19, which formulation should I try to buy?

Any help you can give would be GREAT.
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post #2 of 12
2/12/11 at 12:39pm
CdR is one of my favourite Chanels, along with No 19, but they really don't have that much in common to me... CdR (parfum) has a lot in common with No 5 actually, especially the base with its musk, civet and sandalwood.

No 19 is very green, there is a good amount of iris, but I don't get much leather at all... Try to find vintage No 19 if you can, it's softer, rounder and mossier than the current. No 19 of today is a kind of sharp, clean, fresh edt, a more floral and sweet edp or a parfum which is close to the edt but deeper and richer.

La Pausa and the other green/irisy Chanels have more in common with No 19 than CdR or other Chanels.

If you want more Chanel leather, you can try to find some vintage Antaeus from before the mid 90's (that's when it had its major reformulation).
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post #3 of 12
2/12/11 at 1:13pm
28 La Pausa is iris and woody. Nothing like CdR, no idea what the current version is like as I own the parfum from very early 00s. No19 and I had a love hate thing, sometimes I really loved it and the next time I wore it I hated it. For me it was mossy green. Never repurchased. I have read that the current version is a pale shadow of what it was even back in the late 90s.

No22 is a gorgeous white floral with late blast of Chanel's aldehydes. I cannot wear No5 in any form, vintage or modern.
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post #4 of 12
2/12/11 at 3:14pm
I also love CdR. The richness, the leather, the dark florals. Did I mention the leather? So beautiful.

No 19: As others have said...very green and nothing like CdR (I detect no leather in 19 EDT). If you like the sparkling aldehyde aspect of Chanel scents, 19 has that in spades. It's rather sharp, and aggressive, but beguilling still.

28 La Pausa: No leather, and initial bready iris that on me at least, dries down to a vert sweet iris scent. This is not a rich, seductive scent in the vein of CdR. It's a light, earthy natural smelling scent.

No 22: An explosion of aldehydes, white florals, powder, cream, ubur femininity. This one is as opulent as CdR, but in a very different way. Total luxury.

I would suggest 31, rue Cambon as another one to try!
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post #5 of 12
2/12/11 at 8:57pm
I don't think No.22 smells anything like Cuir de Russie, yet I can't imagine how anyone could love one and not the other. I think No22 is the very essence of Chanel.

No.19 parfum is wonderful too. As everyone else has said, it doesn't smell like CdR, but it is very Chanel, so if you like the house style, it might suit you. I think the iris in the parfum is sublime, but I don't know what the latest version smells like.
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post #6 of 12
2/12/11 at 9:40pm
CdR is unique in its use of leather, I cannot think of any other Chanel with such a strong leather. But most of the current Exclusifs line (to which you seem to point) is wonderful, so you should really try to go to a Chanel boutique and smell your way through. If you don't live near one, make sure you go next time you happen in a big city that has one.

In the line, my favorites are Bois des Isles and (as for pomander) 31 rue Cambon. Neither smells much like CdR, but both are equally elegant, plush, and complex, though in totally different ways. Bois des isles in an oriental/sandalwood direction, rue Cambon in a fresher floral direction.

Regarding leathers, some people in another thread today compared CdR to the masculine Knize Ten. While they have not much in common, they both mix a base of strong leather with a variety of complex and changing notes, floral for CdR, fruity/tarry for Knize Ten. Both are from the 20s too, when cars were still an aristocratic pursuit in Europe.

cacio
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post #7 of 12
2/17/11 at 3:47pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks everyone! I'm going to start hunting down all of these to try. I bought a small vintage sample of Cristalle this week and I'm swooning. I can't wait to try the rest!
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post #8 of 12
2/17/11 at 10:06pm
I hope you won't be disappointed with the Exclusif CdR. It's nice - an iris affair (not necessarily leathery to me) and gone (not even detectable) after 1-2 hours on me. (No. 22 is a completely different story producing moderate sillage after the initial blast with good longevity.) With the long gone Scandal being my holy grail of leathers, I think even the current CdR extrait is very floral. It's fantastic, but extremely quiet on me - better on fabric, but less leathery then. Unfortunately, I have never got hold of vintage CdR.
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post #9 of 12
2/24/11 at 4:32am
gvillecreative, can you please tell me what the pre Les Exclusifs CdR is actually like? Are they comparable, because the LE version is a dreadful letdown to me.
Any comments would be highly appreciated.
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post #10 of 12
2/24/11 at 5:30am
I think a safer bet would be Sycomore.
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post #11 of 12
2/24/11 at 6:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sorcery of Scent View Post

gvillecreative, can you please tell me what the pre Les Exclusifs CdR is actually like? Are they comparable, because the LE version is a dreadful letdown to me.
Any comments would be highly appreciated.

I'm not gvillecreative, but I will say that they are very different. Practically two different fragrances... The vintage is all about smoky hardcore leather.
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post #12 of 12
2/24/11 at 4:38pm
Thanks Tott, this is precisely what Id hoped to hear.
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Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Female Fragrance Discussion › Chanel Qs: If I love vintage Cuir de Russie edt, will I love 19? 22? 28 la Pausa? which versions?