Chanel No5

Welcome to Perfume and Aftershave website, where we research the products giving you interesting facts about Chanel No5 perfume. We also test the Chanel No5 to give you our honest opinion on how it worked and was it worth the money you are about to invest. This Chanel perfume is part of a huge collection of perfumes from the Chanel fragrance Labs which I’m sure will wet your appetite for more.

We have split this article into different catagories beginning with the; 

• History
• Perfumer
• Notes
• Description of Notes
• What was our Findings
• Public Reviews
• Reasons to consider when purchasing your product
• Description of different types of Perfumes
• Where to store your fragrance
• Media Section
• Conclusion

I hope you enjoy this article and if you did then please share and follow us for more updates on this website.

I hope you enjoy this article.   

History

Coco Chanel

Coco Chanel ( Gabrielle Bouheur Chanel) was born on the 19th August 1883 in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, France and died on the 10th January 1971.

Chanel started living with nuns at the age of 12 and for the 6 years that she lived with them she was brought up in a very strict environment. In the convent orphanage, Aubazine, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

The path that led her to morning prayers was labeled in 5’s hence where No5 came from. On leaving school Coco learned to sew as a seamstress for 6 years and at night, was a singer at cafe-concert in La Rotonde. Where some say that’s when the name Coco was established.

In 1910 the french fashion designer opened her first boutique (rented premises) at 21 Rue Cambon called Chanel Modes and by 1927 owned 5 premises on the Rue Cambon.  Although there were accusations of collusion with the Germans during occupation of France. I feel it was probably true but this lady was a survivor and would do anything to be one.

Perfumer

Ernest Beaux

Pre 1912

Born in Moscow, Ernest Beaux was the son of Edouard Hyppolite Beaux(1835–1899) and Augustine Wilgemina Misfeld(1843–1906), second wife of Edouard Hyppolite Beaux (1835–1899), who was originally from Lille, France.

After his obligatory two years of military service in France, he returned to Moscow in 1902. Where he started his perfumery training at Rallet under the guidance of their technical director, A. Lemercier.

He finished his perfumery education in 1907, earned a promotion to senior perfumer, and was elected to the board of directors.

1912 onwards

In 1912 Russia celebrated the centennial of the Battle of Borodino, the turning point in Napoleon’s Russian ambitions. For this celebration Ernest Beaux created the fragrance “Bouquet de Napoleon,” a floral Eau de Cologne, for Rallet.

To follow up on his “Bouquet de Napoleon” success, Ernest Beaux created a now lost fragrance, the “Bouquet de Catherine”, honoring Catherine the Great.

This fragrance is not to be confused with a fragrance from Brocard, Rallet’s chief competitor in Russia called “The Empress’s Favorite Bouquet”, which later evolved into the Soviet version, “Red Moscow.”

Bouquet de Catherine was not a marketing success, perhaps due to Catherine the Great’s German heritage at a time of rising tensions between Russia and Germany which would lead, in 1914, to World War I.

While born and raised in Russia, Ernest Beaux’s French heritage brought him into the French army.

While it was generally expected that this war would last no more than a few months. He was not released from military service until 1919. And having by this time seen service in the infantry fighting against Germany.

Then as an intelligence officer and interrogator at an Allied prison camp at the Kola Peninsula at the Murmansk Oblast during the Russian Civil War.

While serving in the French military, Ernest Beaux’s perfumer colleagues at Rallet fled during Russia’s October Revolution to La Bocca, France, to continue working with Chiris.

In 1918 he was working as a counter-intelligence officer on the Anglo/French concentration camp of Mudyug island. Where he was interrogating Bolsheviks captured by the White Russian and Allied armies.

Ernest Beaux, In 1919 released now from the army, settled in Paris but continued to have a relationship with the former Rallet employees at La Boca. He created Chanel No5 in 1921.

Notes

Top Notes : Ylang-Ylang, Lemon, Bergamot and Neroli.

Middle notes : Lily of the valley, Jasmine, Iris and Orris root.

Base Notes : Amber, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Musk, Oak Moss, Vanilla and Patchouli.

Description of Notes

• Top notes: Also called the head notes. The scents that are perceived immediately on application of a perfume. Top notes consist of small, light molecules that evaporate quickly. They form a person’s initial impression of a perfume and thus are very important in the selling of a perfume. Examples of top notes include mint, lavender and coriander.
• Middle notes: Also referred to as heart notes. The scent of a perfume that emerges just prior to the dissipation of the top note. The middle note compounds form the “heart” or main body of a perfume and act to mask the often unpleasant initial impression of base notes, which become more pleasant with time. Examples of middle notes include seawater, sandalwood and jasmine.
• Base notes: The scent of a perfume that appears close to the departure of the middle notes. The base and middle notes together are the main theme of a perfume. Base notes bring depth and solidity to a perfume. Compounds of this class of scents are typically rich and “deep” and are usually not perceived until 30 minutes after application. Examples of base notes include tobacco, amber and musk.

What was our Findings

Chanel No 5 is one of those perfumes that you really need to test before you buy. The reason for this is, it can smell great in the bottle but once you apply it can change scent completely as it all depends on your skin type.

We tried it and it was great for us, classy and clean fragrance of Ylang-Ylang then Lily of the valley and finally a woody scent. So be warned try before you buy!!

Public reviews 

• This scent is sophisticated, it’s not a loud fragrance. Definitely a classic to be enjoyed when you want to feel special. I love the bottle … very simple but elegant.
• Beautiful fragrance that lingers. I have used this off and on ever since I used to use my mothers when I was a teenager. These days I think it is most becoming on older women.
• I’m in mourning for my lost scent! For over 20 years I have worn No5, and never once did someone say they didn’t like the scent.
• My children and nephews always used to say how they loved the smell of me. My clothes and my bedding always had the fresh finishing touches of it.

Public reviews 5-9

• We thought I had an “off” bottle, however 3 more later, and some research. But we found out that it had to be changed due to some moss and stupid new rules!!
• But I cannot find anything that comes anywhere near that iconic aroma. Coco would have fought to the end to get the scent back. She was a strong, confident woman, and funny enough. I felt that way when applied, It sounds silly, but I really am lost without my Chanel No5 Armour!.
• I have searched high and low, for top to low end perfumes, seeking a change from Chanel No 5. But found nothing that remotely compares. Frustratingly every other perfume leaves a sweet sickly or talc finish. No 5 always pulls through with a dark musky mysterious scent that I find myself lusting over.
• It either suits you or it doesn’t and based on that you either love it or hate it. Initially I found this scent offensive. Upon receiving the satin spray (a more delicate sandal based version, now discontinued) as a gift, my love for No 5 emerged. Wear morning, day, night, any season.

Reasons to consider when purchasing your perfume

The reason why some perfumes are expensive really depends on what ingredients it contains which is why fake perfumes are cheaper. The ingredients are not natural but man made, to actually copy the scent.

Which is really a false saving because you will over time use twice the amount of the fake product for it to smell for the same time period as the original.

Choose your perfume on whether you are purchasing the product for evening wear or office wear. As you really don’t want to be going to work smelling as if your ready to party the evening away.

Perfume do smell differently on other people, the reason for this is the reaction of the ingredients to your individual skin type. We are all different and the fragrance will not differ much but the difference is there.

Description of Types of Perfume

• Perfume or Extrait –  in English is known as perfume extract, pure perfume, or simply perfume: 15–40% aromatic compounds. 
• Esprit of Parfum (ESDP) –  15–30% aromatic compounds, a seldom used strength concentration in between EDP and perfume.
• Eau de parfum (EdP) or parfum de toilette (PdT) –  10–20% aromatic compounds (typically ~15%). Sometimes called “eau de parfum” or “millésime”; parfum de toilette is a less common term, most popular in the 1980s. That is generally analogous to eau de parfum.
• Eau de toilette (EDT) –  5–15% aromatic compounds (typically ~10%); This is the staple for most masculine perfumes.
• Eau de Cologne ( EDC ) –  Often simply called cologne: 3–8% aromatic compounds (typically ~5%).
• Eau fraiche – Products sold as “splashes”, “mists”, “veils” and other imprecise terms. Generally these products contain 3% or less aromatic compounds and are diluted with water rather than oil or alcohol.

Once you have purchased your product, where do you store it?.

Well most people will put their perfume in the bathroom or on their bedside cabinet by the window, but this couldn’t be worse for your perfume.

Perfumes hate direct sunshine and damp places like a typical bathroom. So my advice would be to store it in a dark corner of your bedroom and it will last as long as the manufacturer specifications.

Media Section

Chanel No5 Marketing Video

Conclusion

I hope this article helped you, in making your decision easier on whether to purchase this Chanel No5. Also, what I have written in this article is my honest opinion on this perfume. I can guarantee you now, that I have no affiliation to Chanel in any way.

All comments are welcome so please leave them at the bottom of this page also this website will be updated with new articles to advice you on past and present Perfumes and Aftershaves also please follow me on this website.

Kind regards

Russ

Read article on Coco Chanel Mademoiselle