WHAT I SMELL: Jersey’s opening consists of a soft, cottony lipstick tinged lavender that is soon met with a warmed, lightly brown sugared and caramelized vanilla. The vanilla isn’t heavy nor overly sweet, and as such it’s the perfect companion for the powdery lavender that resides on top of it. At this juncture, Jersey feels as if it’s made from cotton which has been milled and then folded into a bottle. As the perfume continues to develop, the lavender and vanilla begin to add a bit of cream that softens the perfume and turns it from the muslin towards a lightly sweet lotion. And basically that’s it; Jersey is a simple…no make that…Jersey is a simply beautiful perfume.
From the Chanel website:
The Roaring Twenties. In this era of jazz and folly, Mademoiselle Chanel dressed women in sailor sweaters made of jersey, creating clothing in which to laugh and dance with effortless elegance.
Composed by Jacques Polge—Creator of CHANEL Fragrance from 1978 to 2014—JERSEY reveals the feminine treasures of lavender by combining it with bourbon vanilla in a creamy accord heightened by notes of white musk. A scent of life and joy.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Dreamy lavendered cottoned clouds.
THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE JERSEY: uncomplicated, delightful, happy
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT JERSEY: The reviews I found were for the eau de toilette version that was discontinued in 2016 to make way for the new line of eau de parfums in the Les Exclusifs line. As there may be significant differences, I have not included any of them here. The only eau de parfum review I found is from Viora London.
BOTTOM LINE: Funny, I wrote the following about 31 Rue Cambon just weeks ago and I have to say that it also applies perfectly to Jersey: Once again, Chanel does it with a perfume that is clean, easy to wear, and anything but boring. Jersey is an uncomplicated perfume that rises to the occasion when you don’t want to fuss about what you’re going to wear. And it does so beautifully.
- Bone Rating: 4 out of possible 5 bones
- Scent: Floral Woody Musk
- Nose: Jacques Polge
- Classification: Unisex
- Expense: $200 for 2.5 oz. eau de parfum
PARADIS PROVENCE – WHAT I SMELL: Paradis Provence opens with a sparkling, yet slightly salty thyme and lavender along with what I found to be just a hint of sweet caramel. Almost right from first spritz, the perfume seems to lift off the skin as if it’s ascending towards the sky. With this airy quality, it’s as if it’s a sheet that has been hanging on the clothesline, soaked in the sun and infused with the herbaceous thyme and lavender from nearby fields. In the most quiet of ways, there’s an orange blossom note that rests within the perfume which helps to temper the stronger aspects of the lavender, making its’ persona softer, while still buzzing with energy Additionally, the perfume also has an interesting textured quality to it, as if it has been painted on with a soft and powdered dry brush. Overall, Paradis Provence has a very calming presence (as I write this, I’m sitting in the dark without electricity as a tropical storm charges through…thanks to Paradis Provence, no worries). Paradis Provence doesn’t change much beyond this point which is a good thing as the perfume rests in this powdery herbal and lightly woody heaven that is quiet, intimate and grounded in positive energy.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Inner peace.
IRIS LUMIÈRE – WHAT I SMELL: Iris Lumière graces the skin with a soft, cottony muguet tinged with the slightest of moistened leaves and tempered galbanum. The perfume is tender and quiet; as if you laid your head on an exquisite pillow which is cool to the skin and surrounded by soft and lilting violet and muguet caressing your head with lullaby whispers. There’s a light earthiness that rests under the tender florals and a dry wood that keeps the perfume just out of the clouds. The opening of the perfume lasts a very long time and the development moves oh so slowly which is just as well as the innocent florals are in a place that begs not to be left. When Iris Lumière decides to walk along the garden path, the green begins to grow and the lightest wisp of frankincense lifts gracefully with each quiet step along the way. Here, Iris Lumière moves from the delicate innocence of the muguet and to a more mature orris root and it begins to warm ever so slightly as it begins to pulsate off of the skin in a lightly woody timbre.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Self assurance.
WHAT I SMELL: 
The Scented Hound 