Les Exclusifs de Chanel 28 La Pausa Chanel for women

When I first smell this EdT in the sample vial or newly applied, there’s a strong prickly green tea note that remains the main feature of the sillage even after it’s well into its main act, masking everything else.

Smelling it naively, I concluded that La Pausa was a fuzzy green tea with citrus scent, but after reading some reviews I see that it’s supposed to be iris. OK, I’ll play along. Maybe there’s a little iris close to my skin if I go earnestly looking for it, along with some vetiver, but it’s not the dominant note by any means. This makes me wonder if a lot of people are anosmic to the prickly green tea note that I find so prominent in this and many other commercial scents. That would explain why a surprising number of reviewers complain about La Pausa being weak. It would also explain why so many people love fragrances that I feel are ruined by way too much of this note, La Pausa being one of them.

I’m sure the green tea note was added to increase the sillage, which is minimal for real orris, but the element that was supposed to enhance turns out to be a hijacker that takes the poor little natural plants to a big, plastic shopping mall display. On me, sillage is considerable and the scent lasts at least 6-8 hours without ever revealing the iris that is supposed to be its theme. It’s not bad in tis own way, but it’s not the type of perfume that I wear.

Anyone into iris-based compositions should, sooner or later, stop here as 28 La Pause seats just next to Roucel's Iris Silver Mist. A woody-rooty concoction based on the complex smell of iris-roots and laying on a woody/vetiver drydown. Subtle yet magnificent, slightly powdery, mannered. Simply Terrific.

Rating: 9/10

Absolutely a member of the Chanel tradition, but much more easygoing than most of the other scents from Chanel. The iris is very clean and fresh at first, then softens down to a nice powdery note. I am a vetiver junkie, and this scent does not disappoint. 28 La Pausa goes green fairly quickly on the dry down, but never totally loses its floral aspect.

Overall, it reminds me of my grandparents sprawling 19th century ranch house: the breeze bending hay over the flint hills, a mahogany window seat, sprawling under a shade tree, and a century of Dutch Irises carpeting the lawn.

This perfume has a gentle silage, which is a major plus for me. I am not the kind of woman who likes a perfume to walk into a room before I do. Though this scent tends to staty close to the body, it can be easily amped up by applying a bit more. It should be noted, 28 La Pausa also does not have much longevity.

In total: gentle, classic, welcoming.

Unfortunately, to me vetiver stays up front and center on this one. It annouces itself immediately and would not mellow. I could not get past it to try and enjoy other aspects of it.

One of best Iris scents...Super velvet and soft floral.
Fantastic for spring/summer use.

masculin,but I get complements when wearing it from other ladys

Gosh... it smell very original, never smell any perfume like this before. But it remind me of something else, smell of some things...I cant remember but I kinda like it. The smell stay close to skin, but detectable. A bit fresh and green. Weird...

I've recently been fascinated by iris scents; most notably Iris Nobile by Acqua di Parma and Iris 39 by Le Labo. My mother had received a bunch of flowers after a performance (she's an actress), and for days the room in which she'd placed the beautifully arranged iris and lily bouquet, smelt divine.

Chanel's 28 La Pausa is close to that scent, but not close enough.

28 La Pausa opens rather fresh. The prominent iris note is green and natural. I do believe that the iris note in this fragrance is the actual essential oil, rather than a synthetic take on iris.

Citrus notes compliment the iris towards the heart, however when settled, 28 La Pausa transforms into a smooth, soapy scent. The soapiness, although feminine and pretty, resembles other iris-based scents on the market, most notably, Acqua di Parma's Iris Nobile EDT.

The woodsy drydown only furthers my comparison to the above fragrance. I do believe vetiver may be a missing note in 28 La Pausa. It has this wonderful bitter and earthy quality that really compliments the iris.

There is a great sense of simplistic subtlety to be found in this scent. It doesn't scream, "look at me!" or anything overtly sexy, however it succeeds in being soft and inoffensive. The scent lasted well on my skin, so I won't agree with the other reviewers who experienced poor lasting strength. The scent is delightfully refreshing and clean smelling. I'd most likely wear 28 La Pausa during Spring, when the weather is particularly beautiful and the world is lively.

This fragrance has been heavily reviewed on the top blog sites, which I read while wearing it myself.

They all state that this is a good, not ground-breaking, Iris fragrance in the middle of the Les Exclusifs Pack. Another theme I agree with is longevity; yep, you'll need a heavy, frequently recurring hand with this one.

Recently I bought myself a bouquet of iris, which is one of my favorite flowers. La Pausa is very true to the natural scent. The question is, do you mind smelling like your iris bouquet, or do you want a bit more excitement?

Because I love this scent I don't mind the linearity. I know the marketing blab states it is 'full of contrasts', but the only contrast here is the black cap and the clear bottle.

I htink this is a quality, conservative choice for springtime. Yes you'll have more exciting scents in your collection (for me that would be Apres L'ondee), but that is the only negative thing you could say about it.

Chanel 28 LA PAUSA is to my nose a veritable pause from perfume! All I detect is a light powdery cross between flour and sawdust, which does not develop and disappears from my skin shortly after application. Perhaps a bit too subtle? BEIGE would have been a perfect name for this composition, it seems to me.

Clearly 28 LA PAUSA represents a pendulum swing in the opposite direction of the flamboyant, bombastic "I am perfume, hear me roar! (or, rather, "smell me stink!") creations of the 1980s--but could this be too far to the non-perfume side?

I wouldn't say that this is an anti-perfume, for it is definitely not aesthetically repugnant in any way. Still, although 28 LA PAUSA raises profound perfume identity questions, I think it's safe to say that I won't be adding this pricey bottle of nearly nothing to my collection anytime soon...

to me this reminds me of a old grand piano dust on the ivory keys the scent of ivory wood from when the piano was
played i whould enjoy it's scent it has an elegant tinge to it which i'v i fond
it strange at a time and the scent of an old tin can filled with sowing needles and thread and the rust of the
can at that time seemed interesting
but intoxicating in a way.

it is earthy but it's metalic at the same time.

I've loved the scent of irises ever since they grew in the backyard of my childhood home.

One sniff of this and I'm in that backyard garden again, poking my nose into one of the earthy-smelling blooms growing by the fence.

This iris soliflore captures the earthy, "rooty" scent of the natural flower perfectly. (I suspect some of the earthiness in 28 La Pausa comes from a vetiver base note.)

But perhaps it's too perfect; like the flower itself, it's soft, quiet, and quick to fade.