When there is a changing of the guard it also attracts a level of scrutiny depending on the success of who is leaving and who is arriving. On the perfume side of Chanel, 2015 will mark that change from Jacques Polge to his son Olivier Polge. Over the past few months since the change has been announced there has been a lot of talk of what might change and what might stay the same. The time for hypotheticals are over as Olivier Polge has released his first perfume as in-house nose at Chanel, Les Exclusifs Misia.
Olivier Polge
In those discussions I was expounding the theory that Olivier Polge would be an upgrade from his father’s recent desire to play it safe. What I admire about Olivier Polge is his ability to make perfumes full of bold slashes of raw materials. If there is anything Chanel has been missing of late it is that desire to be bold. Misia would be a test of whether the son would be willing to step up and lead Chanel into the future.
Misia Sert by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1904)
Misia is named after Coco Chanel confidante Misia Sert. Mme Sert added Coco to her artistic salon of writers, dancers, and artists in 1917. They would form a tight friendship which would last the rest of their lives. For the perfume named after Mme Sert Olivier Polge was not trying to capture the lady herself. He has said he was inspired by her patronage of the ballet and imagined Coco and Misia attending a performance of the Ballets Russes. He wanted to capture the smell of the lipstick and powder the ladies wore matched with the leather of the backstage milieu. In choosing to interpret a point in time rather than an entire life it allowed Olivier Polge the freedom to use those bold strokes I am so fond of.
One thing I like about Misia is there are really are only two phases to its development. Olivier Polge chooses to work on two separate accords. The earlier developing one is the lipstick and powder accord. For this Olivier Polge chooses Rose de Mai and Rose Otto combined. To the roses he infuses orris and violet. This all comes together with a metaphorical snap on my skin. I also see this as not crimson red lipstick but something in a more muted shade of red. It feels more sophisticated than provocative. There is also an unusual contemporary almost artificial vibe underneath all of this. It gave it an almost Madame Tussaud’s quality of plastic simulacrum. I really like the choice by Olivier Polge because if this was just another lipstick accord it wouldn’t have differentiated itself. This gives it an almost unstuck in time quality. Most of what is interesting in Misia is in this phase and I found plenty to keep me engaged while wearing it. The base is a traditional transparent leather accord made up primarily of benzoin and tonka bean.
Misia has 8-10 hour longevity and above average sillage.
I am more excited about Misia than I have been about a Chanel fragrance in a long time. I think he is the infusion of new blood the brand needs to stay relevant. Based on his first effort Misia smells like she just might herald the beginning of a new creative era for the fragrances of Chanel.
Disclosure: This review was based on a sample I purchased.
–Mark Behnke
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