"Wear it where you want to be kissed" - Chanel No.5

Chanel No.5 is iconic in the fragrance world. It evokes legend and fantasy to any perfume lover.

The legend is that Coco Chanel has a choice of sample bottles labelled 1-5 and 20-24, she said to her perfumer Earnst Beaux,  "I present my dress collections on the fifth of May, the fifth month of the year and so we will let this sample number five keep the name it has already, it will bring good luck." Her official launch day of Chanel No.5 was May 5th 1921.

Coco Chanel 1937

This Floral-aldehydic blend of rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang, sandalwood (as well as 80 other ingredients), went on sale in 1921 in tiny vials only to exclusive clientele in Chanel rue Cambon boutique. The bottle we know today has only slightly evolved over time, however from 1924 the hand blown glass perfume bottle has stayed the same (while Eau de Toilette and Eau de Perfume bottles are mass produced).

Chanel have and always will be luxury and glamorous. There is something about owning a bottle of Chanel that lets you buy into a small part of the history of the perfume and the brand. I personally like No.5, it reminds me of a time that seems very lost to the past.

I also like this time of year where every two years the next No.5 campaign is launched, this year is another first with a man, Brad Pitt being the face of it. I'm still out whether I like it, so I shall leave you with my favourite, 2003/2004 with Nicole Kidman, I still get goosebumps with the final line....




 "Number five. Yes," Chanel said later, "that is what I was waiting for. A perfume like nothing else. A woman’s perfume, with the scent of a woman".