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CHANEL N º 5
The legendary Chanel No 5 was the first perfume launched by Parisian couturier Gabrielle“ Coco” Chanel. Chanel N ° 5 is a symbol of good taste and is currently one of the best selling perfumes in the world. Coco Chanel asked the perfume designer Ernest Beaux to create a perfume‘ which smells like a woman’. Chanel N ° 5 is a very complex fragrance which does not allow any of the fragrant components to be isolated out of the composition, what was exactly a request of the great Chanel – the perfume should not smell like a rose, or a lily of the valley, but as a composition.
The perfume became famous thanks to many celebrities who wore it, among which Marilyn Monroe. Chanel N ° 5 is often connected to her name because during an interview in 1954 she said that in bed she wore only‘ some drops of Chanel N ° 5’. That statement became a superb advertising slogan and a reason for millions of women around the world to choose this perfume. The current Chanel N ° 5 face is Nicole Kidman.
Ernest Beaux created two series of perfume samples numbered 1-5 and 20-24 and asked Coco Chanel to choose one of them. Madame Chanel chose the sample no. 5 and thus the perfume got its name. Superstitious, Chanel presented her new perfume on the fifth day of the fifth month of 1921.
The top notes are composed of aldehydes, bergamot, lemon, neroli and ylang-ylang, the heart of jasmine, rose, lily of the valley and iris, while the base is created of vetiver, sandalwood, vanilla, amber and patchouli.
The first Chanel N ° 5 was captured in a simple rectangular bottle with the top which resembled Place Vendome in Paris. The first bottle was designed by Chanel herself and represents her classical principle – the less is more.
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