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The Evolution of Chanel No. 5
AboutHollywood.com Shopping Section
By Lisa-Anne Sanderson
Famous designer, Coco Chanel, once said that a woman who wears a bad perfume has no future. Any woman who wears her Chanel No.5, however, can surely look forward to a bright future!
Created in 1921, Chanel No.5 is an entirely artificial perfume, a scent that is a composition. This was exactly what Chanel required and it was a project of her heart. During her affair with the Russian Grand Duke Dimitri Pavlovitch he introduced her to the former perfumer to the Tsars, Ernest Beaux. Chanel told him to make ‘a perfume for women that smells like a woman.’
Two legends surround the creation of the only thing that actress, Marilyn Monroe, would wear to bed. According to the first Beaux created six perfumes. Chanel sampled them and loved the fifth so much that she named it No.5. According to the other story, Chanel said that the number five had always been lucky for her. She said that: “I launch my collection on May 5th, fifth month of the year, leave it to the number which it carries and this number 5 will carry chance to it.” my collection on May 5, fifth month of the year, leave it to it
The lovely scent was inspired by Beaux’s trip to the Arctic Circle where he fell in love with the smell of the water at midnight. According to the article: “Chanel’s Fairy Tale Success Story” by Paul Gregg in Antiques and Collecting magazine: “During the midnight sun, the lakes and the rivers give off a very special fresh fragrance which the perfumer was determined to recreate.”
Chanel No.5 relies heavily on jasmine which is the most expensive perfume oil to create. It also includes the scents of ylang ylang from Madagascar, lilies of the valley, and jonquils from Holland.
Chanel designed the very modern rectangular crystal bottle with its black and white label. It is featured in the Museum of Modern Art. Chanel No.5 was also the first scent to be enshrined in the American Fragrance Foundation’s Hall of Fame.
Many beautiful women have been associated with the advertising campaigns for the perfume, including the actresses Jean Shrimpton, Catherine Deneuve and Carole Bouquet. Carole Bouquet even had a lighter version of the scent created especially for her. In the last advertisement created for the perfume the exquisite Australian actress, Nicole Kidman, escapes from photographers at a movie premiere and falls for a handsome stranger. She wears enchanting gowns by Karl Lagerfield and jewelry worth 42 million dollars.
As Chanel said: “Perfume is a part of you, no elegance is possible without it.” Chanel No.5 is always a good choice when buying perfume.
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