Just No: Chanel No. 18

Just when I was really afraid that I was going to be giving Chanel a tongue bath for their entire wonderful gorgeous Les Exclusifs line, this comes along.

No. 18 is supposedly based on ambrette, the musky-floral seed of a species of hibiscus, and maybe it is, but what I smell from No. 18 first and foremost is a piercing metallic shriek accompanied by a big slosh of iris, more of that Chanel iris that was in the classic No. 19 (which I also don't like) and in a smaller amount in Cuir de Russie, and obviously I am not the most level-headed person to be reviewing this scent because I don't like iris much to begin with, but this is truly dreadful. There's a wad of greenery that vaguely suggests olives, and some musk, and probably some other stuff in there, too, but I don't even want to think about it because for about the third time--I always wear things repeatedly, even bad things, several times before I feel as if I can write anything about them--I need to go and wash this off.

I honestly don't know what else to say about the thing. If you like iris, perhaps you will like this. (Some people do, of course.) Otherwise, seriously, steer clear.

And now I must go and scrub myself.