“Both fresh and woody, Paris-Édimbourg could be the fragrance of a tweed jacket borrowed from the men’s wardrobe that was such an inspiration to Gabrielle Chanel.” Olivier Polge, house perfumer for Chanel
Fashion icon Gabrielle Chanel’s connection and love for Scotland’s rugged Highland landscape is well known, with the time the designer spent there a significant influence on her now timeless collections. Chanel’s world-famous tweed suits were inspired by the men’s tweed hunting and fishing jackets she both wore and witnessed in her 1920s Highland sojourns with the Duke of Westminster, who she had an affair with until 1930. One of her wild and beautiful hideaways was the Rosehall Estate near Lairg, a sprawling mansion within hundreds of acres of land that she redecorated in Parisian style.
Les Eaux de Chanel collection, first launched in 2018, comprises fragrances inspired by Gabrielle Chanel’s favourite places. All the fragrances in the collection are light and refreshing, with the fifth and latest fragrance, Paris-Édimbourg, the “earthiest, most androgynous and woodiest”.
Chanel and the Duke of Westminster, 1928
Gabrielle Chanel in the Scottish Highlands
The perfume collection’s creator, Olivier Polge, was struck by two characteristic odours: the “gripping and icy” juniper berry and the peaty wood. This changing light and the tension between incisive freshness and warm shadows spurred the idea of an eau with the power of aromatic plants, in the tradition of British men’s colognes. He highlighted the lively and distinctive notes of juniper berry and cypress, added a hint of lavender, then chose cedar for its enveloping comfort and vetiver for its peaty and slightly smoky accents. Lastly, he warmed the scent with notes of vanilla and musk.
Paris-Édimbourg shares the same clean, rounded bottle as the other Les Eaux De Chanel fragrances, topped with a black thermoset cap engraved with a double C. With a shape that recalls the flasks of alcohol people used to carry in their waistcoat, the crystal-clear glass highlights a fragrance as green as the beautiful Scottish countryside from which it takes its inspiration.
Les Eaux de CHANEL Paris-Edimbourg, 125ml, £112, available at Harvey Nichols Edinburgh
