Sorry for my absence everyone – we’ve been on a bit of a travel bender lately, going from LA to Tokyo to Singapore to Melbourne to all around New Zealand’s North Island, and I’ve only just unpacked my suitcase…right in time to head back to LA in a couple of weeks, of course!
While I’m in Singapore however, I’ve been doing my best to cram in as much as possible so I was delighted to be able to catch the launch exhibition of Chanel’s new pillar fragrance, Gabrielle. Chanel hasn’t released a pillar fragrance in 15 years (the last one being Chance) so this is really quite the occasion. As someone who’s worn their perfumes for many years, I couldn’t pass this up. Here’s a quick recap of my visit last friday.
The Gabrielle exhibition is essentially a beautifully-staged art show that breaks down the various elements that go into making a would-be iconic scent. There are insightful visual representations of fragrance creator Olivier Polge’s inspiration, an opportunity to smell the different notes of the perfume as separate entities and appreciate how they are combined…
…as well as an in-depth exploration of the unique bottle its packaging (easily the highlight of the exhibition for me, as a design geek), a behind-the-scenes look at the Gabrielle promo video and overall a well executed sensory journey that goes well beyond scent.
There are a couple of interactive displays too, one of which is a faceted tunnel that is like the most chic funhouse mirror ever and pretty awesome for photos (which the Chanel staff will print for you upon request).
The exhibition at SOTA closes today, but the lovely Chanel fragrance experts (and presumably…hopefully?…some of the displays) will move to Paragon next so you can chat them up there and try the perfume on.
My personal take on this might be a wee bit biased because I’ve been wearing Chanel No.5 since I was a teenager, but I really REALLY like Gabrielle as a lighter, ever-so-slightly fruity alternative to my staple scent. They actually share a couple of floral heart notes so if you like No.5 but want something fresher (that isn’t L’Eau, which as a fan of the original I personally find too derivative) and equally sophisticated, then I definitely recommend having a sniff of this for yourself.
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