Misia Eau de Parfum

I smell like little parma violet powdery sweets! It got me thinking today why I am so obsessed with powdery/lipstick/make up violet-iris-rose fragrances. Maybe it is not just my love for the smell of makeup and lipsticks! Maybe it comes from my early childhood when parma violets were my favourite sweet that as I grew older, I completely forgot about and developed my palate. Anyway, onto Misia. Misia Sert was a famous parisian socialite - the classy partying pianist, for whom art is a state of mind, found an immediate connection with Coco Chanel and became friends and inspiration; Misia helped Coco to go through her hard time after losing her lover in a automobile crash. Apparently, they also loved partying together. This perfume is quite juicy and creamy; I believe the juiciness and sweetness come from the raspberries and litchee. I get lots of violets, orris root/iris adding this interesting earthy touch. There is supposed to be two types of rose: turkish and grasse rose; there is a delicate rosiness in the background, however I cannot decide if what I smell is trukish or the Grasse rose as I think my nose might be overwhelmed with all the other ingredients here - as when you do smell closer past the parma violets, you can honestly smell everything listed there. However, tonka and benzoin are certainly there in the base and the leather we know from Cuir de Russie, however less sour. Before I got this, I have had L'artisan Parfumeur's Drole de Rose and even prefered it to this; I thought I wouldn't want to smell like sweets so discarded Misia. However, now although it still feels a bit strange, I am really enjoying this. After the initial binge on parma violets, this goes a bit darker, not as uplifting, more earthy, a bit waxy and slightly dirty - I suppose, very much like the multi-faceted persona who was used as an inspiration for this fragrance. It's been quite a long time since I last tried Malle's Lipstick Rose, however I remember all the three perfumes mentioned to be very close, and since I had Drole De Rose I discarded Malle's creation as well. I will have to revisit it with a fresh nose. I can, however, make a comparison with Drole De Rose, which I think is a bit more transparent, having less ingredients; slightly less sweeter, definitely not candy-like anymore like Misia is. Drole de rose, however lasts only 3-4hours on me, so I think of it as Misia L'Eau.

Chanel is my favorite perfume house and I have many of the Les Exclusifs. I am always wishing I would have bought a large bottle. So with Misia I did because I love violet, rose and iris perfumes. For me, initially upon opening, Misia calls to mind YSL's Paris. The blend of violet, rose and iris are used in many perfumes. YSL Paris is more of a green floral. Misia is a bright floral without greenery. It is balanced very well. Misia does have a mildy spicy powdery phase that some reviewers say reminds them of L'Heure Bleue. I can smell the inference. It reminds me more of L'heure de Nuit. It doesn't smell like either of these perfumes but hints towards them. I start to smell the powder more in the middle phase of Misia. It smells like a soft violet/rose Ladurée room spray in the best possible way. Sweet confectionary floral perfection! The dry down in Misia is very nice. I don't smell any musk in the fragrance and it isn't listed in the notes. The Iris is soft and on my skin is not very noticeable yet. I have to say I am really glad I got the big bottle. Many reviewers compare Misia to Guerlain's Insolence. I have Insolence also and it is more insolent. Insolence is somewhat of a pushy violet fragrance that demands attention. Misia stays on the more understated side. It is also often compared to FM Lipstick Rose. I prefer Misia. At first I really liked Lipstick Rose. I started to pickup on a plasticky synthetic that I didn't like. I used up my bottle and didn't repurchase. I can't really singularly make out the aldehydes in Misia yet. They are very recognizable in most Chanel fragrances. Some reviewers say that in Misia the aldehydes remind them in passing of Chanel No. 5 and maybe I can kind of smell that. The leather is very soft. She is a multifaceted perfume that requires her share of skin time to be fully appreciated. Jacques and Olivier Polge are two of my favorite perfumists. That's not to say that I don't like others, but they definitely have a large footprint in my perfume collection.

Carefree and Happy Misia This has a lovely, young, carefree, expectant vibe to it. Yes it has all the vintage makeup ingredients, violet/iris/rose but the feel of this is lighthearted and very happy...despite the original Misia who seems to be a bit of a dark character herself. Being best friends with Ms. Chanel I could only imagine her that way, if I had to make a guess. I know that the violets are very highly voted, but honestly I only smell them in the topnotes. Smooth and muted and dried violets. With lots of dry powder and beautiful earthy orris root. The powder/iris produces almost a luxury soap effect. Towards the drydown I detect a note of smooth vanilla as well. What makes this carefree and happy are the sweet notes of raspberry and rose and litchi. They are very prominent in this edition of Misia and they lend a bright and happy cast to the dry orris and powdery soap notes. And I've noticed that the fruity floral notes flourish on skin, while the drier notes tend to stick to fabrics a lot more. I find the character of this version of Misia to be a lot younger, and fresher/cleaner, even soapy, than the original. The original EDT had a serious, somber, reflective personality, while this is beautiful, but more fun and lighthearted. It's like the EDT is a raven haired, intellectual, bespectacled, older sister who likes dark colors and long skirts and hardback books and speaks in a low timbre. This EDP is smiley, effervescent, expectant, flighty curly haired impulsive younger sister. Yet they are very close and understand each other perfectly. I like both versions a lot. This version does wear close to the skin but I can smell it just fine, and lasts 8 hours with good application, wears as a faint skin scent for a few hours after that.

Marcel Proust called it "a monument of history, placed in the axis of French taste like the Luxor obelisk in the axis of the Champs Elysées". Misia Sert pseudonym of Maria Zofia Olga Zenajda Godebska Russian pianist and naturalized French model, a woman, an intellectual, a thousand artistic relationships. In every direction. For many she is a muse, for others a friend, for some a lover. Always, it is the center of gravity of a rapidly evolving world, the world of the avant-garde in the 1900s. To this midwife of art an influential friend of important protagonists of the Parisian Belle Époque. In Misia's Parisian living room it was easy to meet: Stravinsky, Diaghilev, Nijinsky, Debussy, Tolouse Lautrec, Picasso, Ravel, Cocteau, D'Annunzio, Paul Morand, and Renoir who portrayed her. Jean Cocteau was inspired by her to develop the character of the princess in the novel "Thomas l’imposteur". Mademoiselle Gabrielle Chanel was her beloved friend and confidant, until 1950, when Misia died in Paris, she will take care of her mortal remains to dress her up as a princess. The Maison Chanel using the mastery of the nose Olivier Polge in 2016 launches Misia Eau de Parfum on the market in the exclusive niche line of the maison. A fragrance that evokes the eclecticism of this wonderful beloved and disputed Muse: the opening notes to the juste pulvérisé are exhilarating, sour, exotic, the triumph of the lychee amplified by the much-loved aldehydes of Mademoiselle, the heart, the fruity and floral accords dance a masterful minuet that at the dry down brings out the hottest notes, leathery, vanilla and talc. Feminine sillage of great charm. Duration typical of fragrances rich in aldehydes. Wonderful fragrance.

I applause that the chanel exclusives are now EDPs as in my opinion they may last longer and are more intense. Not that i had issues with their lasting power nor their intensity but as a general rule I do prefer EDP composions over Edt. In the case of exclusives I really do. It think that they don't smell any different from their former EDT formulations ,but again they may last longer or are ever so slightly tweaked. Not enough to list them here as a new fragrance though !? And for their prices they should be EDP s ! MISIA is a powdery, elegant violet cosmetic perfume with a balsamic undertone . A Jackie Kennedy , classy with a sexy edge ! The cosmetic smell of Misia brings my thoughts back to the past but the way it's done it has a modern flair . Fist impression is Love in Black by Creed ! Misia turns out to be softer as Love in black with no cloves and ceder but the over all smell is very similar . I love the benzoin and Tonka as it makes Misia really dense and almondy. With a dense , close to the skin almond, nutty sweetness. It is much like love in black in its densness and oriental balsamic kind of way. Lipstick Rose is quite different from Misia being more of a floral aldehyde with no oriental feel to it. The more I wear the EDP the more I think it is brighter and less powdery. More aromatic and more raspberries ? But I am not completely sure yet. I am doing a side by side comparison at the moment and so far I feel that the EDP is stronger , less powdery and more bright , all in all a little better. Regardless they are both so very lovely and amazing. Top shelf worthy and worth every penny! I am using my edt up fast and next purchase will be EDP.