In the enchanting setting of the Villa Windsor park, in the heart of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, the Chanel House unveiled its ephemeral garden from May 22 to 25, 2025. CHANEL Sandalwood », a sensory immersion celebrating sandalwood, the emblematic ingredient of its perfumes.
Spanning 300 m², this installation offered visitors an olfactory and educational journey retracing the journey of santalum austrocaledonicum, cultivated on the island of Maré in New Caledonia. This sacred wood, respected in Kanak culture, is at the heart of the Maison's iconic creations.
Designed like a primeval forest, the scenography invited visitors to explore the various stages of wood processing: from harvesting to distillation to essence extraction. Chanel experts guided visitors, sharing their expertise and commitment to sustainable and ethical production, in harmony with ancestral traditions.
Beyond the olfactory experience, the Jardin Santal paid tribute to the botanical and cultural richness of New Caledonia, highlighting the importance of preserving this natural and intangible heritage. This initiative is part of the Maison's commitment to promoting the noble raw materials and artisanal expertise that are the essence of its creations.
La Villa Windsor, a place steeped in history that hosted the Duke and Duchess of Windsor between 1952 and 1986, provided a prestigious setting for this event. Today managed by the Mansart Foundation, it is occasionally open to the public, allowing visitors to discover its elegant architecture and carefully maintained gardens.
Through this exhibition, Chanel offered a poetic and immersive interlude, inviting everyone to rediscover the profound connection between nature, culture, and creation. A fleeting yet memorable experience, it illustrates the Maison's commitment to responsible and inspired luxury.
Sandalwood, the fragrant soul of CHANEL
At the heart of the sensory experience offered by CHANEL Sandalwood, sandalwood reveals itself as a noble, precious and captivating material, the true backbone of some of the House's most emblematic olfactory creations.
The santalum austrocaledonicum used by the Maison is cultivated exclusively on the island of Maré, in New Caledonia. There, it grows slowly, patiently and respectfully, according to traditional know-how passed down from generation to generation. This wood, sacred to Kanak culture, is much more than a natural resource: it is an element of transmission, spirituality, and connection to the land.
For over fifteen years, CHANEL has been committed to a lasting partnership with local growers, ensuring sustainable, traceable cultivation that respects both the environment and communities. This close relationship with producers guarantees exceptional olfactory quality while helping to preserve a fragile ecosystem.
A sensory material at the heart of CHANEL perfumery
In the world of perfume, sandalwood is a so-called base note, capable of anchoring and enhancing a composition. Its creamy, milky scent, with woody and slightly smoky accents, gives fragrances an enveloping depth and discreet sensuality. For the Maison, sandalwood is a subtle yet powerful signature, found in several of its most iconic creations:
Bois des Îles (1926) – The timeless elegance of sandalwood
Created by Ernest Beaux, the legendary perfumer behind N°5, Island Wood is considered the first woody fragrance for women in the history of perfumery. Sandalwood plays the leading role, wrapped in a harmonious accord of ylang-ylang, jasmine, rose, vetiver and iris, all raised by sweet spices like coriander and nutmeg. The result: a luxurious, warm, almost tactile composition that evokes the softness of a rare fabric placed on the skin. It is a fragrance that embodies the refined exoticism and feminine audacity of the 1920s.
No. 5 The Extract – The woody velvet of the icon
In this contemporary reinterpretation of the mythical CHANEL N ° 5, sandalwood is used as an olfactory backbone. It comes round off and enhance the aldehyde and floral notes, while providing them with a creamy and deep texture. More than just a support, sandalwood enriches the fragrance with a sensual touch, almost powdery, which prolongs its hold on the skin and accentuates its muted elegance. The Extract thus becomes a more intimate, more carnal version of the most famous perfume in the world.
Bleu de CHANEL – The controlled strength of wood
In Blue by CHANEL, sandalwood is one of the pillars that gives this masculine fragrance its character at the same time sophisticated and magnetic. Combined with notes of citrus, ginger, cedar and incense, it contributes to thebalance between aromatic freshness and woody depth. Its role: anchor the perfume in a sober sensuality, elegant, never ostentatious. It is an assertive, modern, but always subtle scent, the olfactory embodiment of freedom and charisma.
Allure Eau de Parfum – The enveloping softness of sandalwood
In this multiple and evolving feminine composition, sandalwood acts as a silky thread between the six facets that make up the architecture of the perfume. It softens and rounds off the notes of mandarin, peony, magnolia, vanilla and vetiver, offering the whole a warm and caressing consistency. Result: a fragrance that evolves with the skin, without ever losing its elegance, like a second olfactory skin, fluid and sensual.
In each of these fragrances, sandalwood acts like a luxurious fabric in haute couture: it structures, it softens, it enhances. Here, it is not used as an effect, but as a living matter, a beating heart that gives depth and elegance to his creations.
The journey of sandalwood, from its seed to its essence, is a slow and meticulous process: it takes nearly 15 years for a tree to reach the maturity necessary for optimal distillation. The heart of the wood is then extracted, then steam distilled to release its essential oil, used in perfume formulas. This long time, this attention paid to each step, makes sandalwood an exceptional material, both rare and vibrant, faithful to the Maison's high standards.
In a world where instantaneity reigns, the House of CHANEL reaffirms, through sandalwood, the beauty of luxury founded on durability, authenticity, and nature. A return to one's roots, both literally and figuratively, embodied in every drop of perfume.
Ema Lynnx
Visuals: Maison Chanel
