Paris-Venise
Chanel (2018)

A fresh, musky-powdery oriental in perfect French style (fragrances like Jul et Mad Secrets du Paradis Rouge 2016 or Terrasse à St-Germain 2012 come to mind in terms of style, or even diaphanous and initially fresh, aqueous creations based on osmanthus, lily and light oriental powdery notes in the finish). Paris – Venise by Chanel is a fresh, musky and floral oriental fragrance launched by the French notorious house in 2018 and created for them by the great Olivier Polge. Paris – Venise is a fresh, semi-oriental and delicately sophisticated accord based on the dominant note of neroli combined with ambery accords of vanilla and tonka. Ylang-ylang gives it a slightly exotic, romantic and nostalgic tone, along with rose and violet (with their slightly lavish and lymphatic contribution), while iris, combined with white musk and tonka bean, provides the powdery, languid vibe. The dry down is super languid, diaphanous, delicate, poetic, slightly soapy/powdery, with white musk and a slightly greenish violet (petitgrain) and citrus as the dominant elements wrapped in a soapy-neutral (almost abstract) and elusive aura. In my opinion, it is a decidedly feminine (despite being presented as unisex) and luminous fragrance, the expression of a subtle and fresh elegance, an oriental approach perfectly rendered in homage to the canons of whispered and urban elegance typical of Western style and Parisian in particular. The fragrance, part of the Les Eaux De Chanel line, exudes a literary and nostalgic aura, vaguely colonial, a reminder of distant times and travels of the past, inspired by nostalgic amorous memories and the Baroque and Byzantine art of poignant Venice, the most decadent and magical city in the world. The performances are in line with those of a Chanel Eau de toilette and therefore I would say discreet (nothing exceptional but above average, in line with the infamous "discreet Chanel elegance").

It's too light and boring for my taste. The entire Paris line is a miss for me. Non-offensive and unisex, but the performance is bad.

This is a happy melange, watery but not weak, powdery and clean but also bright from the neroli & sweet berries. Equal parts green-white-soapy-clean-floral-sweet. The iris has been scrubbed of its richer, spicier, fuller buttery facets, it's so crisp it almost hurts. Paris-Venise trying a little too hard to please everyone and almost succeeds. Good sillage, but not a strong fragrance so you can spray liberally, feels fun to apply on a night in and disappears quickly too.

Like when those brutally clever AI make a composite of attractive faces and the result is manque, Paris-Venise is, in the end, nothing more than a well-heeled stranger.

Powdery citrus & berries - now this, is different! Femininity to the max. Neroli is well-mannered. Wispy iris. The geranium is almost timid here, nearly sugared out of existence.
Everything mixes beautifully so far. Delightful. Modern. There are teeny-tiny little peaks of green stem or leaf, here and there, and in the background.
Ever so slight cedar. Either that, or it is integrated well with the amber accord and vanilla.
Soft and cozy like the second-hand, cashmere sweater I once owned in my 20's. A beautiful Chanel, indeed!

I like Paris-Venise as much as I do the Deauville in the same range. Goes on very bright and citrusy. Slowly develops into those green grassy notes and the interplay of the citrus and the grass was a pleasant surprise. Powdery notes are really really subtle and the best part was the dry down - lush amber and vanilla notes with still a hint of the citrus. Longevity was best out of the three with Paris-Venise.

My 2018 review:

Paris-Venise is probably the prettiest of Chanel's three new colognes. They definitely take its cologne concentration seriously, as it takes many, many sprays to get much out of this.

So what does it smell like? It's kind of a lemony redux of No 5, with its powdery lemon champagne topnotes and soapy iris cold-cream base, but with No 5's floral core replaced by the clean white smell of Tide laundry detergent. It works - if you're on the market for something very clean but a little posh, this could be a great fit, but I can't imagine buying this personally. Why bother with a watered-down No 5 with detergent instead of jasmine? One for the Chanel superfans - if you're the kind of collector who already has Beige and No 22 and all the different versions and variations of No 5, this is probably for you.

Edit for 2025:

Despite my thoughts in 2018, I ended up buying a small bottle of this, and I actually wear it a lot. It's a clean, classy, soapy burst that's my go-to for when I need to go out in public briefly and I just want to make sure I smell decent without committing to something long-lasting.