Hello Perfume Posse!
It’s Portia from AustralianPerfumeJunkies back in the POSSE! So glad to be here and hope you have had an AH MAY ZING week. Here in Sydney life is just starting to warm up, we’ve had some glorious sunshine, the pool is swim ready though a little brisk as you dive in, the roses are blooming spectacularly in the front yard, people are coming in droves to play our Turbo Trivia, TSO Jin has passed his final Capston Test and is now only a piece of paper away from being a fully qualified and licensed electrician and life is pretty good.
CHANEL No 5
I love Chanel No 5. I have a few different versions including a parfum, still sealed, from the made in New York days. It may be a second world war relic. There is some 80’s parfum and EdT, a modern EdP and a fake EdP (which smells the most like the original) and an Eau Premier in my collection. There is a Chanel No 5 for almost any occasion. When I wear it I remember my Mum, delight in my glamour and dream fantastic daydreams.
Even the still images that have been used to advertise Chanel No 5 have had me wanting to live a life as lavish. HA! Obviously, I have fallen under the advertisers spell and have taken the bait; hook, line and sinker. I understand this and still don’t care. The history, the dream, the glamour and not least of all the fragrance have me enthralled, and have had since I was a young un. Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel the incredibly driven and talented woman who was also a bigot and a terrible business woman. Ernest Beaux who she pushed and pushed till they went beyond the Russian fragrance that CHANEL No 5 is allegedly based upon and into a new world of fragrance, and into
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Neroli, ylang-ylang, bergamot, amalfi lemon and aldehydes
Heart: Iris, jasmine, orris root, rose and lily-of-the-valley
Base: Vetiver, musk, sandalwood, patchouli, oak moss, amber, vanille and civet
For further reading NowSmellThis and AustralianPewrfumeJunkies
Maybe you love CHANEL No 5 or maybe you hate it, some of you may be completely meh about it. You cannot be meh about their advertising campaigns. As usual they have made a visual feast, this time though they have added a documentary feel with a wonderful story about a product that, love it or hate it, is a fragrance icon and always a Top 10 Bestseller. Has been since 1921! Now that is some serious staying power in a world of frantic change and turn about.
Portia, I do love Chanel No. 5, but it’s one of the perfumes that I only wear at home, like Gucci Rush, which I also love. Not only is it too DRAMATIC for most days, but I also don’t like to wear perfumes that others can identify and might even own. On the other hand, there is occasionally a day in winter that I know is going to be stressful when I spray on the No. 5 body armor! (In warmer weather, I’d choose No. 19.)
Heya Nozknoz,
I do get that you want not to smell like others. I love it when people identify that i have CHANEL No 5 on, there is always a story that they like to tell you about why they remember it.
Portia x
Wow, that’s an interesting observation – a perfume bonus!
Portia – I just recently became a follower of your blog but have been a reader for a while. Congrats on 50000! I really enjoy your writing style and appreciate what you bring to the perfume blog world. Keep writing! And keep posting on pp!
In terms of No5, I admit that I am meh. Here’s my problem: I knew about No5 before I started collecting perfume. Everyone knows it, of course! Back then, I never allowed myself expensive treats, and I couldn’t have told you what it cost or how it smelled, but I could have told you that it expensive and was for ‘rich pretty people’ — and I wasn’t one of those.
When I got into the perfume hobby, I assumed that Chanel wasn’t a house for me— but then my aunt gave me a bottle of Cuir de russie, which is the most glorious perfume of all time. I raced through samples of Chanel exclusifs and discovered that I liked many of them, but still didn’t try No5. I still think of it as THE perfume for ‘rich pretty people’. And I still dont feel like one of those, despite the fact that I own more expensive perfumes. In my mind, I thought of those perfectly coiffed ads, the women that stared beautifully back, but quietly so. They seemed to come from perfect backgrounds and have perfect lives…. Indeed, one of the things that I love about Cuir de russie is the animalic edge. It’s beautiful, but thoughtfully so, with imperfet edges that somehow make it more perfect. Women who wear Cuir de Russie have LIVED.
The recent ads, especially the’first video, have really appealed to me. They seem less focused on that perfect facade. Maybe I need to seek out the animalic vintage version after all!
Hey Aubrey,
thank you for taking the time to tell me that you enjoy my wqriting. I am smiling from ear to ear.
Every now and then I see a small 2 or 4ml vintage CHANEL No 5 on Ebay for a good price. Start your search there, I think you’ll be thrilled by the growl it has,
Portia xx
I’ve never smelled the vintage no. 5. I have tried no. 5 in all of the formulations (edp, edt, parfum, eau premiere) and I do have to say that I love no. 5 in EDP form the most. The EDT version is what I love.
Hey Eldarwen 22,
If you ever get to try the Vintage, do, though it’s much richer and growlier.
Portia xx
Hiya, Portia! Love the post, but alas, No. 5, not so much, although the Eau Premiere was somewhat better on me. But as someone else mentioned, have not tried the pure parfum, which might turn me around yet, ha! Congrats to Jin — can he make a house call all the way to the States, please? 🙂
Hey Ann,
No 5 is not for everyone, I totally get it.
Yes, Jin would be thrilled to house call in the US.
Portia xx
Sadly I don’t recall ever having smelled the vintage No.5. My favorite Chanel used to be Cristalle until it changed. My current Chanel scent is Jersey. That’s a pretty scent on my skin. Woot to TSO Jin! If I had to pick a man for Chanel, Boris Kodjoe would be the frontrunner.
Hi EasilyEnabled!
Jersey is on my yet to try list, which is as long as my legs, ie eternal! Ha. Boris is a FABULOUS pick for CHANEL No 5. He would be crazy good,
Portia xx
I used to be in the “meh” camp; Chanel did nothing for me, not No. 5 or any other fragrance in the line. Then last month I found a 3/4 full vintage No. 5 parfum, in good condition, at a flea market for FOUR US DOLLARS!!! Of course, I snapped it up. NOW I can understand what everyone has been talking about: Its those animalics in the base, musk and civet, that really give it depth and take it far beyond just a polite and ladylike floral. Now I get its definition as a “classic”. It’s always fun when you develop an appreciation for a fragrance you previously rejected; it opens up a whole new world!
PattyS,
OMG!! $4! You can’t even get a McDonalds meal for that!
What an AH MAY ZING thing. ENJOY!!
Portia xx
Oh, I envy your swimming-ready swimming-pool, and your precious made in NY bottle!
I’m in the LOVE camp: I love number 5, but not in all iterations.
As snob as it may sound, I love it in parfum: because the florals are so lush and prominent and the aldehydic brightness is softened by a halo of powder…
Otherwise I prefer the eau première to both the edt and edp.
I also like most of the ads (I was crazy about the little-red-riding-hood one, and really like the latest n°5 in Instambul). But I’m not with you with Brad Pitt. How that healthy and “heavy” american boy can possibly infuse some french glamour in the most french and glamourous of perfumes eludes me. Look, I’ll even take Kidman anytime. Though between Brad Pitt and Nicole Kidman, it is hard to chose the one with the dullest (as in bovine, obtuse, etc..) facial expression. Yes!!! I just dared to say this – I must be crazy…
If I had to choose a male actor for number five I would call Vincent Gallo….;)
Hey Zazie,
I think they have chosen Brad because he doesn’t infuse anything French. CHANEL is already so French it hurts so they are adding a bit of Western world beyond. I would like to see them use Aishwarya Rai, Giovanni Ribisi or Gaspard Ulliel (at least he’s french). I do think they’ve made a genius brand and marketing move with Brad though, he has remained remarkably untainted and private throughout his dramatic life, and still looks awesome to me.
I think Vencent Gallo looks a little unhinged much of the time and would not buy something because he was selling it. Thanks for giving us some controversy though, I love it.
Does anyone else have a thought?
Portia xx
Hi Portia!
As usual, you’ve captivated my imagination with the post and your writing. Thanks!
Many years ago (many)when I was a young girl, a beloved Uncle spent some time in France. When he returned to the States, he brought gifts for my father, my mother and ME. However, it was my mother’s gift that had be enthralled and captivated. It was a small coffret of Chanel perfumes. THAT is when I fell in love with perfumes — all perfumes — but mostly Chanel perfumes.
I am luck to have skin that seems made to host Chanel perfumes. I have most of what Chanel makes in terms of fragrance and I ADORE them.
I agree with you that Chanel’s most recent marketing move is a savvy one. Brad Pitt is well-received by man folks around the world, he is incredibly attractive and even suave. His “pretty boy” looks have been roughed up a bit for these ads and I can say simply “Yum”!
I think it is brilliant to have a male advocate promoting this iconic fragrance. Perhaps Chanel plans to showcase other men as time goes on? That would be another brilliant idea, in my opinion.
The marketing coup is a masterstroke. It works for me. 🙂
Sorry for the typos above. Working quickly while at work. Naughty me.