When Chanel launched the unique Probability in 2002, it was one among my first introductions to luxurious fragrances. It didn’t odor overly mature, like different scents in my mom’s assortment, proudly displayed on her bed room bureau like a museum. As an alternative, Probability at all times gave off a vibrant regalness, prefer it was able to play along with your pheromones, which traditionally resulted in a pleasant journey for the senses. So once I obtained the sixth installment of the legendary fragrance, a dynamic and woody floral, I used to be intrigued, to say the least. At first spritz, it was like déjà vu for my nostril: acquainted, but totally different. It had advanced, in the very best method.
“What’s particular about this perfume is the mix of freshness and energy, two contrasted qualities,” Olivier Polge, Chanel’s in-house perfumer, completely tells ELLE.com. There’s a distinctive effervescence to Chance Eau Fraîche, akin to a mischievous giggle throughout a silent second at a cocktail party. “[It’s] a perfume that has a outstanding freshness and I wished to make it extra sensual. I developed its depth with woody notes whereas holding the energy of citrus. I performed with the duality of the weather by extending each extremes,” Polge provides.
And the perfume dances inside that duality, taking one’s olfactory senses to the depths of each extremes. And that’s precisely how I select to put on it. One sizzling summer time day, whereas battling the sweltering underground of the New York Metropolis subway system and its requisite smells, somebody commented on “the freshness” of my fragrance and inquired about its origin. Once I cheerily responded “Chanel,” there was a second of confusion. How might one thing so luxurious be…on the subway? Ah, the thrill of town and its idiosyncratic magnificence, I assumed. Identical to Chanel, luxurious has no partitions or restrictions within the concrete jungle—it’s in every single place.
For Polge, nonetheless, the scent isn’t for a specific vacation spot, however extra so for one’s disposition. “This can be a informal perfume, which, in response to me, interprets extra to at least one’s temper, relatively than locations particularly,” he says. I consider my fellow straphanger—“informal luxurious,” I whisper, hoping my phrases will journey to his ears, wherever he could also be. I feel again to that day underground and replicate: Earlier than I left my condominium, I spritzed on Probability Eau Fraîche as a result of I wished to really feel recent, like summer time, however with fall slowly creeping in—a vibrant aroma with sensual undertones. “It’s best to put on this perfume once you need to really feel comfy,” Polge says. For me, that’s on a regular basis, in every single place.
Earlier than Polge was Chanel’s in-house perfumer, his father, Jacques Polge, reigned from 1978 to 2015. Actually, he created the first-ever Probability—the blueprint for which is being expanded upon right this moment. The home at present has 137 perfumes that sit beneath 15 totally different collections. If Chanel is a life-style, might Probability exude its prospects?
In a whole lot of methods, the most recent Probability seems like an old-school perfume. It’s costly, however priced at $135 for 1.7 fl. oz. and $165 for 3.4 fl. oz. respectively, you’re buying traditional luxurious at an accessible worth. It’s additionally long-lasting with a fantastic path, so you may go away a whiff of it wherever you go (sure, even on the subway).
