The Scented Hound

Perfume blog with abbreviated perfume reviews & fragrance reviews.


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Chanel Comête

WHAT I SMELL:  Comête has a putty like cherry blossom opening that moves quickly to the powder with a dusting of lightly sweetened iris surrounded by a quiet heliotrope.  It’s soft, gentle and rather unassuming.  After a couple of minutes, it becomes incredibly unassuming because it feels as if it is about to disappear from your skin.  But soon enough, the heliotrope begins to blossom in a muted manner.  And soon after, the iris begins to layer itself over the heliotrope and in combination creates for a very soft and comforting wear that’s slightly sweetened.  In the end, a hazy musk makes its appearance to lead Comête to its floral cotton ball of a finish.

From the Chanel website:

Ever superstitious, Gabrielle Chanel let the stars guide her to the world of high jewelry, which she revolutionized in 1932 with her unique and now legendary BIJOUX DE DIAMANTS collection. The COMÈTE necklace was at the heart of the constellation. Its shooting star, nestled softly in the neck, symbolizes the intimate, sensorial connection that links a person to their jewelry—as well as their fragrance. Luminous and sensual, the new COMÈTE Eau de Parfum was composed by CHANEL In-House Perfumer Creator Olivier Polge and leaves a trail reminiscent of stardust in its wake.

A fresh cherry blossom accord is caressed by notes of iris and heliotrope. An intense floral scent with a powdery, musky signature.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  A purple floral halo crown.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE COMÊTEsoft, serene, subdued

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT COMÊTE:  The Black Narcissus

BOTTOM LINE:  Long story short, I bought a bottle of Comête at 12:30 am at the Singapore airport where the Chanel representative was sweet enough to open up the locked store to let me experience this new release…so of course I had to have it.  That said, I want to love Comête, but instead I just rather like it.  Where as my other Exclusifs (1957, Boy, Chanel 22, etc.) make for perfume cravings, Comête has not yet achieved that status.  But like the others, Comête has an easy to wear clean feeling that makes it rather enchanting, even though it may be a bit fleeting as its staying power is a bit challenged.

  • Bone Rating:  3.5 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent:  Floral
  • Nose:  Olivier Polge
  • Classification: Leans feminine
  • Expense: Starting at $325 for 2.5 oz. eau de parfum


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Chanel 1957

WHAT I SMELL:  Chanel 1957 opens with a bright and sparkling warmed bergamot that is quickly met with a soft and slightly creamy iris tinged with citrus.  It’s so pretty, rather ethereal and incredibly inviting.  In short time the perfume begins to powder and grow, but without giving up it’s soft demeanor.  The perfume seems to radiate around an inch off of the skin where it feels as if you’re snuggling your nose up against the soft fur of the underbelly of a kitten.  The florals are sweetened in the lightest of ways on top of a tempered wood and the musk is lush and full without suffocating all other aspects of this soft and pretty dream of a perfume.  1957 is probably one of the prettiest perfumes in the Chanel collection of fragrances, albeit rather linear in development.  It’s perfectly uncomplicated and I love it.

From the Chanel website:

In 1957, Coco Chanel was rewarded for her world-renowned talent and audacity to seize, reinvent and magnify rare materials. The 1957 fragrance embodies this spirit, which is signature to the heart of every CHANEL creation.

A sensual accord of white musk is delicately fashioned with floral notes of bergamot, iris and neroli, woody notes of cedar, powdery accents and a hint of honey. A luminous scent, a statement to the timeless style of CHANEL.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  Audrey Hepburn in “Funny Face” 1957.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE 1957: delightful, easy, happy

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT 1957:  CaFleureBon, Chemist in the Bottle, The Black Narcissus

BOTTOM LINE:  1957 is another Chanel that is so wonderfully beautiful in its’ simplicity and for it ease of wear.  And even though the name is 1957, there’s something timeless about this beauty of a perfume.  There really is an art to making a perfume so ethereally uncomplicated, yet refined.

  • Bone Rating:  4.5 out of possible 5 bones
  • Scent:  Aromatic
  • Nose:  Olivier Polge
  • Classification: Leans feminine
  • Expense: $250 for 2.5 oz. eau de parfum


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Chanel Jersey

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 JERSEYuncomplicated, 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