Paris-Édimbourg
Chanel (2020)

When I was a young, imaginative kid, I'd collect all sorts of vegetation into a bowl and pretend that I was an herbalist or a warlock creating a potion. I remember examining the smell of these twigs, leaves, berries, seeds, I recall often grabbing the needles of the Leyland Cypress hedges and the berries of the juniper hedges and adding them in. I'd crush them a bit to smell their dry, coniferous, earthy, somewhat sweet aroma.

Paris-Édimbourg gives me flashbacks of this, sending me to where my sense of wonder is domiciled deep in my brain, awakening it. Sure, we can imagine that this would be an attractive wear for someone who wishes to feel well-groomed and well-heeled, and pontificate on its utility and function. Pondering whether it has appropriate sillage for a retreat to the Hamptons would feel so disingenuous for me. Thinking about childlike fascination feels more authentic, so I will go with that.

The astringent, quenching qualities of the top notes simmer into a smokier, herbaceous heart, with the juniper berries eclipsed by rosemary and thyme sprigs, a subtly smoky wood, and a cool, fuzzy green not-quite-berry-sweet musk. This is something I'd wear for a jaunt to Vermont to complement my surroundings and lean into wonder; that's more my speed.

Paris-Édimbourg is just so refreshing. It's like those times you step out of an urban area and into nature, and can't help but to inhale with a big "Ahhhhhhh!". It is a well-executed woody-spicy scent that has the same invigorating effect as a citrus cologne - light, fresh and uplifting - without any prominent citrus. I pick up a lot of the lavender as well as a healthy dose of cypress, but the real star here is the wonderfully prominent juniper note.

There is a masculine crispness to this juice in the very opening that gives a lively feeling of gin & tonic with a smooth peppery lift. That initial blast stays for a few minutes and slowly subsides into a light sweet woods & green aromatic goodness. The opening is not completely gone as it hangs in there for a bit, it just becomes lighter through the wearing and is gone within 2-3 hours just leaving the aromatic wood sweetness. This is also much more than a summer freshie, with depth enough to endure cooler temps and even shine in them. It may perform slightly better than others from this line, but one should not expect sillage or longevity to be much above average here. I love fragrances like this, where woods and aromatic accords take center stage, and this is a good one in that genre.

The fragrance has a non-offensive, soapy, slightly fresh green scent. While it is something that the reviewer would buy for $30, they are not willing to pay $180 CAD for a 100ml or $116 CAD for a 50ml bottle. The reviewer finds nothing extraordinary in this fragrance collection, and therefore does not believe it is worth purchasing. As a result, they give it a thumbs down.

Pleasant, but kind of unremarkable. In keeping with the rest of this collection, Paris-Édimbourg kicks off with soapy lemon. I smell bay leaf as well, and it kind of smells like minty tea as well. The notes list made me expect something masculine, but this is very much a lemony cologne with indistinct greens mixed in. Shortly, I smell lavender, despite it not being listed, leaving Édimbourg to fade quickly as a mix of lemon and lavender with herbs underneath.

I like this the least of the Paris collection, but it's a great collection, so that's not much of a complaint. That being said, I'm giving it a neutral.

Just got Paris Èdimbourg to add to Deauville, Venise & Biarritz in my collection. (I disliked Riviera.) First, I'm blown away by Vanaris Ridari's fantastic review, and so enjoyed Smell'dwell's too. Deeming the green of this as "abstract" is spot-on and I really get the smoky peatmoss effect, as well. It's definitely masculine and I'm keeping it on its own merits, but also because it'll make such an interesting base layer to top with other, more "frilly" frags. Last evening, I sprayed this, then followed with Chanel's Allure EdP (a sexy, slightly sweet amber bomb) and loved what they became on my skin. I see a lot of "Fun With Frags" in my future with this one.

The opening is refreshing, and quite 'lemony' or perhaps petitgrain, playing on the citric aspect of both juniper and cypress. Slightly aldehydic/fresh/fizzy at the start, which seems quite Chanel-ish to my (not vastly experienced with Chanel) nose. Cedar note is clearly identifiable, possibly a hint of lavender.

Still waiting for the vetiver to arrive.... expecting the green, fresh aspect rather than a dark, smoky vetiver.

Reminds me of older versions of Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet, but exhibiting a less strident, toned down masculinity for the 21st century.


I rather like this, and it is a welcome change from the usual screechy, bergamot-heavy, aquatic kind of summer scents.

But it becomes a skin scent very quickly, and lacks projection or sillage. It's an eau de cologne : 'intensely' from the marketing blurb above, is not a descriptor of this scent.

Mostly this really reminds me of Vetiver&Juniper soap by Crabtree and Evelyn.