Les Exclusifs de Chanel Jersey

Woooaaahh! This one rocks! Unexpected heaven for my nose and brain! I was at Chanel counter to test Bois des Iles and tried also Jersey. Not that I can afford buying any of them, but smelling is still free. The name is unappealing to me. But the scent... I fell head over heels! I'm surprised at mixed opinions. On a rational thought Jersey smells to me like a super-fine Eau Premiere plus good lavender. I like lavender smell, but not usually take it into consideration in perfumes. The opening gave me a knock on my head and woke me up. It smells like wet mushroom, the same as Bruno Acampora Musc oil. I know that wet mushroom is a promise for soft snuggling musk later... Then lavender, very intense yet elegant, no cologne type (which I don't dislike btw), it's like smelling the skies up. Then I smell a gorgeus vaguely metallic vanilla, a note that really intrigues me, somehow similar to L'artisan Vanilia, but less banana-y. Musk gets in as promised in the opening and while synthetical, it must be the most wonderful musk smelled around recently. I think it's the tonka bean that gives that cloud effect as if you were walking on clouds with whiffs of lavender coming up... wow! The whole scent transport me to a higher mental level, purer and a little far from earthy dirtiness and heaviness, as if it had effect on more subtle parts of me... And at the same time it make me fell little and obeydient. This is not a scent for femme fatale or for making an impact on people with strong spices, not even a girlish floral in the fashion-knowing, no urban awareness, no sexy shorts with high heels trembling on the asphalt to male delightment. This one is almost childish, a true skin scent, comforting, pure yet enveloping and not faint. I smell a lot of latest Chanel n.5 EdP here with lavender in it, even more Eau Premiere as said before with a slight lemony feeling linked to vanilla. After a few hours it gets more into lemon cake, not a good point in fragrance for me, but this is exception. Probably the lemon cake they have in heaven cafe. I was in delight... there came my dear other: "It smells like the inside of a cheap chinese suitcase!" Broken dreams. For that price. He's maybe oversensitive to aldehydes. He used to like Eau Premiere, now he doesn't anymore. Men.

Jersey is all about the lavender, that's for sure. Having said that however, it is far from linear! Starting off, the lavender in Jersey feels pretty aromatic, which is really nice. I'ts got no overt sweetness at all. I sense "green" and "brown" notes together with the light purple lavender aroma. Lavender potpurri, and hay/dried grass is how I would describe the opening. At this point Jersey smells perfectly unisex to me. Probably the wildflowers + grass notes that give off this effect when combined. Fresh hay and dried lavender on a warm summers day, lovely! As we pass the five minute mark, Jersey brightens up ever so slightly, and a tea like note pushes through. It smells very much like a classic, black tea (bergamot) infused with lavender. Not yet brewed, more like the actual tea blend still dry inside the container. This is how it stays on me for the rest of it's weartime. This peaceful and calming composition that is Jersey makes me think of a sitting in the middle of a lavender field, enjoying a nice cup of tea and coockies somewhere in southern Europe. It is just gorgeous, and it smells surprisingly natural. A clean and refreshing lavender scent. Would be a perfect scent to sleep in to ensure sweet dreams. I see where the powdery assosiation comes from, but to me Jersey is more dust like than powdery, (and I don't mean that in a bad way)! Like actual, chalked up lavender. This is probably one of the most overlooked and underrated of the Les Exclusifs, which is such a shame! Do yourself a favor and at least test it while trying to keep an open mind. You might just be as positively surprised as I was! The sillage is just how I like it, not too close, but not a monster either. It is "just right". It also seems to last for quite a while on me, at least 10 hours, softening slowly as the hours slip away. There is something in Jersey that makes me feel so incredibly nostalgic. Something about it takes me back in time, back to my carefree childhood. I don't know how Chanel did it, but for that, I can't help but to love Jersey.

A smooth lavender twist to the musk-violet-iris of classic French perfumery also with the Chanel flair, the aliphatic aldehydes. Make no mistake, reviewers who'd recall Prada - Candy & Infusion d'Iris or Lancome - Iris Dragees, Massimo Dutti - Souffle Marais, Emporio Armani - Lei, Guerlain - L'instant Magic etc. etc. would be all correct in doing so. Jersey is best of both worlds. The timeless accord of white musk (probably Ethylene brassylate also known as Musk T) topped up with the ionones giving violet/iris powdery floralcy with a woody backbone, supported by jasmine (most likely the transparent Hedione) and rose making up the powdery, lotion-y backbone. It's undeniably classy, elegant, low-key beautiful. As a guy, that is my absolute favorite thing to smell on the opposite sex. But I often like to use masculine violet fragrances too and the lavender enables exactly that in Jersey thanks to top-heart blanket of lavender. I'd even argue that this is French lavender absolute as opposed to the essential oil due to smelling like a top-heart note that is floral-creamy and smooth as opposed to fresh-floral and terpenic. Once lavender starts to fade off, fragrance tuns into the similar musk-violet DNA of some other Chanel Les Exclusifs such as Misia, Bel Respiro and La Pausa. Surely when smelled side-by-side they would reveal clear contrasts, it's just on memory they feel very connected at the core. Overall, amazing fragrance, price point as usual is something to debate.

At first I get a spicy warm, American spicy, not the type of spice you associate with another location of the world. It's a fresh spicy warm that is so clean, which I don't associate spice with. I associate it with trying to cover up a pungent odor. Much akin to how they used to wear those doctor masks that looked like birds beaks, in that era before they had the simple masks of today and cleanliness by washing hands with soap and water. After that spice, albeit it still lingers there, I get the lovely lavender. I do not get soap or powder, both of which I wouldn't mind because I love those notes also. This to me is a good church scent, a safe scent for a wedding, etc. I do not think it would be a huge hit in an office environment. I can see a man pulling this off. Although I think it is a strong woman's fragrance, he certainly can share it with you :) If it's Jersey, it certainly is not the old worn out sweats, it is a very "designer label" jersey. At first I put off a bit by it, but I like unique, different and mostly Guerlain, but I am really loving this on day 1. So much so, I was playing it safe with only a small spray, and then a few hours later, I gave myself a huge burst on my neck and decollate and wrists. I can see me using this huge bottle in a few months until I get my other Exclusif 22. I say give this a try before you dismiss it. It's a home run, bases loaded! I like it much better than Coco, but not near as much as 5.

Jersey is the last of the Les Exclusifs line that I have tried. After reading the initial abysmal reviews, I didn't even see the need to bother. But curiosity got the best of me and I finally decided to try it (after having the sample for a couple of months). And.....I love it. Ignore the bad reviews and decide this one for yourself. Maybe it is that whole expecting the worst and you are pleasantly surprised thing going on I'm not sure. But whatever it is, I absolutely love Jersey. The lavender in this is actually quite mild and VERY smooth. This is NOT loud screeching lavender by any means. Absolutely no drug store bath product to be found here. I have no tolerance for that kind of smell and if Jersey smelled like that I would hate it. This is lavender perfection in my opinion. As others have mentioned, Jersey is like a lavender version of Eau Premiere. The base is extremely similar and where one goes citrus the other goes lavender. Top notes are nothing alike so a quick sniff will make it difficult to see the resemblance but after an all day wearing it is unmistakable. Jersey is a light, airy, casual scent that sort of fits the fabric it is named after. Soft and cozy and very comforting. After thinking I would absolutely hate it (before trying it), I actually wouldn't mind owning a bottle. EDIT: I do now own a bottle. A giant 200 ml bottle at that. :) Jersey is now one of my very favorite fragrances.