Les Exclusifs de Chanel No 18

OK I've had this perfume for so long now I feel that I've finally "got it". This is my experience of it when I douse myself in it. My advice is Not to wear any sweet perfume with it, no. 18 can smell screechy sour and herbal like Valerian root in comparison to the other The opening is a tart blast of a peppery, Carrot-like vegetal iris with a bit of Musty, dusky rose. There is a smooth boozy, alcoholic vibe, presumably the ambrette. It actually smells like a gin cocktail with citrus sweetened with a dollop of lychee syrup. The lychee with its aqueous, fresh, delicate, rosy, sweet taste is mouth watering. Delicious and refreshing concoction ! Alongside the hint of powder it has a dark, vintage smell. Truly one a kind smell at this stage. Wish that could last. If only... As the top notes fade, the fragrance lightens considerably and gets progressively dryer and dryer. Ambiguous dry/drying fruits appear. Raisins, stone fruit (Apricot? Plum?) . It also warms up with a spiced brandy like smell. Dry fruits soaked in brandy. I swear I also get a physical sweaty sensation. Maybe cumin to accentuate the musky, animalic nature of the ambrette. The perfume is anchored by soapy aldehydes. Out of all the notes, it is the heaviest, like luxury triple milled French bar soap. There is a cyclical effect like breaking out beads of sweat (kind of unnerving) to cool clean, freshly bathed skin. And so your skin is left with a gorgeous sheen In the dry down, it gets so dry, it's completely dessicated. Imagine the traditional Asian"sweet" of super dried plums, leathery skin, pit and all. Here it's ground into a condiment. It's a dry, peppery, dusky, musky, grey admixture of old spices alongside the dry bar soap. A very peculiar, distinctly aged smell. Lived in, dishevelled. A musky, wrinkled white shirt with traces of tobacco. Cardboard? Old books? Evocative of things like that. Going with the oriental theme, I wonder if there is osmanthus in it. A floral that has a natural peachy, smell to it. I've only smelled it in dry form as tea. It might be there. It's said that there is a leathery facet to the natural blooms as well. Sometimes there is a clash between warm and Cool... The cold iris soap against the intense dryness l smell mothballs. I also think there is a lot of ISO E super ("white amber" in the given schematic) which makes the perfume very light and the like a perfume yet not a perfume quality. It's known to have a vague, flat, cedar smell. When I spray a lot on l think of peppery cardboard. It's used heavily in male perfumery. For that reason I skew the scent as a little more masculine as a dry, tart, aromatic,fruity fougere perfume. The reformulation of this basically includes two ingredients: coumarin and benzyl salicylate. They serve to artificially sweeten the perfume and lend more "body" or presence. Vanilla + iso e super forms a woody white amber accord. The official website classifies this as a fruity oriental perfume. In this version l find that the gin concoction now resembles the "Aviator" with a dose of sweet Japanese ume plum cordial: umeshu. Sigh. If the are going to make an oriental perfume, I'd rather they go all the way. I'm thinking a hybrid with la pausa, cuir de Russie and Coromandel. Leather, lychee, iris, rose, plum, osmanthus, mandarin, patchouli, ambrette, soap, sandalwood, spices, incense. It would be heavy, dark, rich and very, very expensive. One can dream. In sum I just think of this as a unique, thoroughly modern perfume that straddles both old world and modern perfumery in a very intriguing manner. I think the notes are citrus, iris, rose geranium, lychee, iris, fruity notes, dry woods, ambrette, aldehydes

Chanel, au naturel This fragrance if you stop to think about it, is probably the most natural smelling in the line, which is antithetical to what they usually offer, ie no.5 and no.22 with aldehydes and other synthetics. I admit I can't stand by that statement completely as I can't recall the smell of real rose bushes as we haven't grown any in the garden for years... The floral opening is bewitching in an old world way. Rose and iris simultaneously reminds me of old powder and lipstick as they would be scented just like this where the silver screen sirens yore residein my imagination. The soft powdery iris is cold, a metallic sheen. How fitting! fine jewelry on a woman adds only more glamour and allure. The roses aren't particularly fresh... I can only describe as dusky/dusty. it's old, almost to the point of decay. I picture a shaded rose bush, petals drying and shrivel ling at the edges replete with somewhat browned woody stems. Or simply a sachet of potpourri.a very expensive one. And musty. musty is how I smell the entire time I wear this.I attribute this to the ambrette. always in the foreground, it's green in a vegetal, musky slightly sour-sweet manner. Fruit eventually appears to play up the sweet facet of the ambrette. I can't make out what it is, but it's delectable! At this point on after the sweet fruit and rose die off it's a soft lingering skin musk that simply endures.when you think it's not there, it's there. even the next day, or imperceptibly so. The woody note is barely detectable, as not to steal the show and to prolong longevity of the frag. A quiet, quintessential, delicate, almost precious scent... Despite the must y quality itremains a bright warm sheer scent like a flickering lit candle. the cold iris doesn't last very long, it's mostly rose that makes a statement. Wear it and be prepared for an aura of lit within glow at dusk. I agree with a previous poster thar the best jewel this scent represents is pearl. I am a proud owner of a string of iridescent peachy pink pearls. The weight if it sitting on my neck may be cold at first but my body heat warms it up.and I can never stop admiring the beautiful glowing burnished hue I've never smelled anything like it that's why I got the giant full bottle. True, it isn't a strong smelling perfume y thing you'd expect from a chanel and price point. but if you appreciate at what the fragrance tries to achieve, as a showcase of real, not to mention rare ambrette seed, it's worth% it. Ps. I have a deluxe 4 ml screw top mini of this housed in a white chanel pamphlet box featuring a preface in a dozen languages! I'm looking for a trade it in for a niche or luxury scent.sycamore would be nice.any takers?

I’m late to the party. I finally got my hands on a 200mL bottle of the Les Exclusifs No. 18 EdT some time ago, a blind buy but being absolutely certain I wanted it because, one, of how much I love the EdP rerelease, and, two, because my experience thus far with the Les Exclusifs EdT originals is that they are always better than the rereleases. This is a different story. Aside from the name, and having orris in the starring role, the EdT and the EdP have nothing to do with each other. These are two very different perfumes. The EdP opens with a massive dose of oily and musky ambrette seed that casts a warming glow into your eyes, and a watery fruit salad accord of all colors of the rainbow. The EdT does not. Yes, there is ambrette but it’s not oily and it doesn’t glow, but it is quite musky; the fruits are there too, but it’s not a fruit salad, it’s a fine mist of fruit infused water. The result is something that smells of a botanical vodka - a dirty and dangerous vodka known and favored only by old Russian alcoholics. It moves quite quickly to the heart layer where a bit of pink rose sits over the top of a parched but oily orris. The oiliness is a trick of some musks at the base reaching up a bit high into the perfume, but the rooty, starchy, and vegetal qualities of the orris keep the musks from being too oily and the rose from being too pink and powdery. The balance and weightlessness is superb. The final dry down to the skin scent is a musky sandalwood and the orris has gone a touch leathery-suede-like thanks to the musks having more volume by contrast. It keeps to the theme of the heart layer with the same excellent balance and weightlessness. This was definitely not what I expected given that my experience with No. 18 has worked in reverse of its timeline. The Les Exclusifs EdT has more in common with Misia than it does No. 18 EdP - and, in fact, now that I’ve got that thought in my head, I wonder if that was intentional...? Was No. 18 too “in the middle” of what Chanel thought the market wanted from an orris perfume? Was the EdP sent down its path of kaleidoscopic fruits, ambrette, and florals, and Misia its path of lipstick and strident and parched leatheriness, because its at the extremes of orris where the money starts flowing? I don’t know, nor do I actually care but only insomuch as it means that we no longer have this gem with us in any shape or form.

I am so glad there are so many new converts to this eau! This perfume is truly unique and mysterious so difficult to define and vague. that's the one reason I bought this over the gorgeous Sycamore. I own the original completely non sweet mammoth of a bottle (2007 vintage) I can attest to the musky body odor association. A very lived in, undone, musty masculine odor bordering on skank made more civilized with a soapy aldehyde. This is why I don't wear it liberally in public on summer days .high temperatures, body heat, generous application, natural sweat all exaggerate the effect. My mother even told me I needed to shower after I doused myself in it recently! So yep, it can be "offensive". mine doubly so because it offended quite a few internet writers and was quickly reformulated. I suspect it was very first one, actually. So many complaints. The reviewers couldn't make it past the opening which I find strange and regretful because it is the very best stage of it alluring and compelling. But fuck that. I'm not necessarily girly girly all the time. Privately at night I can be a smoking, drinking, disheveled, unpretty reveler too kate moss style! :D but still very glamorous don't ya think? This naturally unsweetened gem is so versatile as a layering perfume over anything I find too sweet and/or loud. It imparts a musky, plush, ripe, boozy overlay though the effect doesn't last long. All Thanks to this magical ambrette essence. No wonder mr polge was so taken with this complex and compelling perfumery material! the prettier, devastatingly fleeting floral aspects only seem to "bloom" at their best in cool temps. that's when I go all out and get trigger happy in winter. I have to admit it though, the current reformulated version is a lot easier to wear. And I still regret not getting the early edition of sycamore. still this stuff is marvelous if you can appreciate the beauty in all all its strangeness. the jean claude ellena of the entire line. Cheers to revelry and libations!

The most underrated (and possibly misunderstood) Chanel. So say I, a Chanel 'liker', but not always a Chanel lover. THIS (not very Chanel-like) Chanel...I love. I found it impossible not to love her. I tried to pretend it was just like. Save myself a few coins. I've failed in my efforts to keep this relationship casual. No.18 is tender, and completely disarming. I've been charmed. I've been enchanted. I've been unwillingly, but inevitably it seems, lured into her palm. No.18 is so free in feel, that I didn't recognize the risk. Now that it is too late, I know I should have recognized the signs. Like wearing a small spritz on my wrist even as I wore another fragrance, checking the Chanel website, searching through Fragrantica for mention of it. *sigh* Too late. I don't actually find No.18 overly floral or fruity, despite the category label and the slightly flirty quality, not uncommon in floral/fruities. Don't get me wrong, you will experience both floral and fruit notes in this composition, but ambrette (musk mallow) is the star. It has never been more lovely than in this creation. It has never been more rounded and soft, which is saying something because it'a always both. I find neither the floral nor fruit notes easy to separate and distinguish. They inhabit supportive roles, a choir all dressed in the same sweet, flowery robes. Indistinguishable. They are tempered... filtered by the thread of emotion I feel when wearing 18. Despite the free and natural spirit here, there is a thread of melancholy. Just enough to make you pensive. Think solitude on a beautiful rainy day and you may have No.18 OR you may just have my personal relationship with it. Noteworthy Notes --Ambrette, normally a bridesmaid, the beautiful bride here. --Soft, distant wood notes --Soft, even more distant water notes --Floral/fruit choir Projection personal Longevity Long enough to inspire my senses Chanel sometimes gets it exactly right, for ME.

I finally found something that goes well with my original first issue No. 18 EDT that has frustrated me to no end, because the jus is weak and transparent. This miracle worker is Voluspa's "Yoshioka Gardenia" candle. When l first bought it, it had an amazing, beautiful strong Gardenia scent that l would sneak some and apply to my skin like a solid perfume (it's that good!). Effectually l burnt the wick down and the scent changed because it now that burnt candle smell along with it. But strangely this new effect kind of smelled like Frankincense. I was wrong. Turns out l have been smelling burnt Tuberose and clove... Undaunted, l still want to make use of this "turned scent". I slathered some on and sprayed No 18 and l was in instant heaven. It was love; No more cursing the company for making a stronger version of it leaving me short changed for an inferior product. This combo smells a bit like Feminite du Bois by Shiseido. I'm not joking. The plum fruit and the cedar wood. So much more depth and warmth is introduced. The ambrette musk is dialed way up, with its warm sweetness and the glorious tobacco and Brandy impression. A hint of spice. Ambiguous creamy floralcy but l can still make out earthy, cold, powdery iris. There is waxy aldehydic frankincense candle effect eventually turns rubbery. Hmm...

I am obsessed with this cold , clean , fresh aromatic chanel . N18 is heavy on ambarette seeds which is like a metallic clean musky smell. It takes a little getting use to as it’s quite a particular scent. But it grows on you and then becomes addictive! I can’t compare it to the Edt but the Edt is no longer here so it doesn’t matter at this point. I am happy they all got upgraded to Edp which are generally higher in oil content so therefor longer lasting and smoother. I am happy they did that as they are expensive and should be Edps ! Back to N18 , it’s clean , aldehydic , metallic and somewhat salty and ozonic. I smell violets salt and metal ,it’s vey much an ambarette seed dominant scent. It has a cold , clean and soapy quality but turns a little warmer and slightly skanky in the drydown. I need a big bottle next time. I wished I would have gotten the large bottle . It makes a great daytime , casual scent. However it can also smell sophisticated and classy at the same time. Very versatile. Definitely signature worthy ! It’s dans tes bras FM distant relativ , at least to my nose. Update , it also has a casual baby scent quality to it. A newborn and his mother feel. .... So beautiful!

Oh, Chanel 18!! While reading the reviews of just about every Chanel fragrance ever (ever!!) made I was very intrigued indeed by Chanel #18. I took notes: ok someone said it smelled of doctors tools, someone said it's cold, austere, strange, fruity, unique. I can agree with all of that. To me it starts with this strange fruity-ness but completely different than anything else out there. It's VERY bubbly, effervescent, mineral almost. Powdery. Without ever becoming very sweet. It's fruit notes remind me of a seltzer wine cooler beverage (although I don't drink anymore) or a fizzy, club soda drink with a delicate fruity note. Club soda or fizzy water, seltzer is typically ALL I drink. This is my water for the day, every day. I absolutely love sparkly, fizzy, bubbly, effervescent scents. Chanel #18 is the number 1 for me in that. I will not be wrong if I say it is my absolute #1 perfume ever created. I have a bottle on the way as of today. Can't wait for it arrive. My next purchase will be 1932. I think my favorite frags are: Chanel #22, Chanel 1932, Chanel #18, Chanel #5 L'Eau and Allure pure parfum along with Allure Sensuelle.

This is the most perfect summer ambrette. It's fizzy & airy/clean yet musky, in the mid-section there are light hints of rose but zero sweetness, the overall effect is fun & pretty but unisex. It makes me think of cycling down country lanes past hedgerows full of flowering dog rose after summer rain, or cool, dewy summer mornings after staying up all night at black tie events. The aldehydes in the topnotes give it a beautiful lift but don't dominate (as in Chanel No 5, for e.g.). I struggle with most musks, either because I'm anosmic to them or because they remind me of overstrong laundry detergent; the ambrette/musk mallow in No 18 edt is something else entirely, it has a grappa feel but somehow also a pillowy non-sweet marshmallow effect. The edt isn't as mellow or boozy as the edp verison, which is also lovely but sweeter & cosier, & therefore less suited to hot weather. The only downside is that the edt has relatively poor longevity - I get max 4-5 hours and perfumes usually last forever on my skin.

No. 18 EDT is a crisp and sparkling musky fragrance with a very noticeable ambrette note that gives it a cold and bitter quality, which I love so much! No. 18 EDT is my favorite musk fragrance because it smells clean without smelling soapy and there is no strong woody presence or pencil shaving notes like in other musky/ambrette fragrances. The florals in No. 18 EDT are soft and in the background while the ambrette is front and center the entire wear. For comparison, the new EDP has stronger floral notes (mostly rose) and the florals blur the sparkle of the ambrette. To me, the EDP smells like they took the EDT and added more of the Chanel signature floral aldehydes, which removed the EDT's cold, bitter, and crystalline quality. The EDP smells like a rosy, warm and fuzzy version of its predecessor. I much prefer the cold, bitter sparkle of the EDT, which more accurately embodies the inspiration of the fragrance, which is supposed to "conjure the image of precious gems".

At first sniff of this I was intrigued. It's very distinctive. It wasn't sweet. It felt unisex at first. But when I smelled it again and again, and was transported to a different era, illustrated on the silver screen, the starlet languishing at her boudoir. Rouge [lipstick rose], powder [iris], sensuous musk, a cigarette smoldering in the ash tray. Deceptively glamourous and sensual. And not at all fruity. I guess it could be there to lighten the composition but I can't make it out. Apple? Quite a stunner. I would like a bottle in EdP or extrait. Apparently the SA's favourite, and he's a man. I am drawn to this musk because it is completely natural, and cruelty free. I hate the manufactured white musk that is used everywhere--ever present in laundry detergent. I don't need a perfume that smells like my laundry, if you know what I mean.

The ambrette-dominated fragrance by perfumers Jacques Polge and Christopher Sheldrake is supposed to envision the smell of Chanel's jewelry line of diamonds. Clean, perfect, haughty, priceless, elegant. This, at first, happens to be the most un-Chanel of the Les Exclusifs line. This fragrance has a "cold" feel or demeanor. Aloof, icy, evanescent -- but at the same time tinge with a hint of longing, even sadness. It is the smell of ambrette musk over dark rose. This is almost a skin scent with low sillage and projection. Mannered and prim, this fragrance is not for people of bombast. Unisex, and together with 28 La Pausa -- most consider this the most cerebral of the Les Exclusifs line (which I agree with). Difficult to like at first, but repeated use will get you hooked. Apply liberally. Highly recommended!

Fragrance that evokes sophisticated atmospheres of the early 1900s, despite being Les Exclusifs de Chanel No 18 by Chanel a fragrance by the great master Jacques Polge created in 1997. It recalls lost time, an elegant boudoir of a gentlewoman from the 1920s who used to preserve her own precious lingerie inside scented chests of drawers filled with small velvet bags containing highly scented ambrette seeds; dominated by wonderful Lalique crystal vases, studded with long sinuous and elegant stems of imperious and fragrant Irises, all surrounded by enveloping and warm woody scents of rare beauty. Fragrance that allows sweet, non-gourmand fruity accords of charismatic impact to emerge in its heart. Chanel's artistic perfumery needs no further introduction, it just needs to be experienced.

I was indeed captivated by this from the start. Iris gorgeousness and enchanting woods. In fact, as soon as I sprayed it on, I felt I need to wear this EXCLUSIVELY in order to fully appreciate it. Big fan. I'm kicking myself for sleeping on the Exclusifs as long as I have. Damn I'm a snob... ***EDIT*** Tried this one again, and it might very well be love. Very likely, infact... There's a gorgeous sweetness in this, The iris in this is done right, it's shaped and contoured to work around the woods and the ambrette. This is a work of art, really it is... All that remains now is to pair it off alongside Misia and possible La Pausa, and see if there is any similarity / redundancy, and go from there. But I think it's VERY likely...

Chanel 18 wasn’t love at first sniff, but it was definitely intrigue at first sniff. Initially, I dismissed No. 18 as cold fruity-floral that seemed somewhat mature. Why was my nose glued to my wrist? Mature fruity-florals are typically not my thing—and was I smelling rose? Then it became a mystery and I was the obsessive detective, completely fascinated and ready to neglect my family and even kill if I had to. I kept spraying and snorting, spraying and snorting. WHAT IS THIS? Acid. Olive. Rose. Shakespearean musk. Powdery, yet green and tart. Retro, yet strangely accessible. Familiar, yet perplexing. I could wear this. This could be my formal perfume, my big girl perfume. 5/5, but really 4/5 because of poor performance

For women? Why not, but this ode to ambrette sure works on a guy. The ambrette tames the iris, fruit and floral scents and announces that the wearer knows and appreciates beautiful things and can make them his own. Warm, powerful, sexy as hell- this sits next to the kouros, antaeus and yatagan in my wardrobe. On a lady? I'd definitely not do anything to piss her off. Looking at the other reviews- ambrette must be quite the odd note; Chanel 18 perfectly tames ("flattens" in the negative language of another commenter) the floral and fruit perfectly- a brilliant success at what I'm always trying to acheive with a little dose of mimosa layered onto a gourmand or floral thats a little too much for a guy to wear.

This has been my favourite fragrance since I purchased it 6 years ago, there’s still a bit left in the bottle. So far, I haven’t worn any fragrance more than this one, it was love at first sniff 😍 I can’t detect the fruity notes listed above, but I definitely notice ambrette, woody notes and a bit of Iris (not much though) there are some very-shy flower notes here, however, totally unidentifiable. Overall it’s a fragrance that makes me feel good and classy. I love it ♥️

No. 18 is effortless and unassuming. There`s something very clear and sober in it too. I love how un-dramatic it is. Its very here and now, and not about some distant excitement or the dramatic journey there. Take it or leave it, seems to be the attitude here. I think its totally unisex-smelling since the flowers are very abstract and de-constructed, and the musk is very prominent. Alot of `greenness` going on.

First spray and I smell... olives, not from the tree, from a freshly open vase of the most delicious delicatessen olives. Very culinary . Very fast it settles down to a unique, perfectly balanced, skin scent. And then I want to spray some more. I don't really get it, the idea behind the scent but I know I love it. It is only the third time I wear it, in a very hot weather, I can't smell any fruits or flowers.

When I put this one on I didn't know what was going on. Its very green, and very aquatic. This fragrance changed into this beautiful "just after a rain" mist-like spell on me. A silage a little stronger than Bvlgari's white tea love-child (Eau Blanc) but smelling it off the bottle can turn you off from it at first. I love all the Chanel Exclusives, but this one would be my favorite.. it is quite a gem.