The Perfume became so iconic to inspire may artits such as Andy Warhol who dedicated one of his famous pieces of pop art to it.
”I want a perfume that is composed. It’s a paradox. On a woman, a natural flower scent smells artificial. Perhaps a natural perfume must be created artificially,”
Chanel N°5 Ad with Catherine Deneuve - 1970’s
Coco’s idea was to combine proper, respectable scents with the heavier, muskier scents that prostitutes and courtesans were wearing. In addition to this mixture, Beaux added an entirely new ingredient he was experimenting with, called aldehydes. The fresh and invigorating smell of the aldehydes represented the Arctic snows to Beaux.
Chanel N°5 Ad with Estella Warren
In the 1920s two categories of fragrance dominated the market. On the one hand, there was the scent favoured by “respectable” women, the pure essence of a single garden flower. On the other hand, sexually provocative perfumes heavy with animal musk or jasmine were associated with women of the demi-monde, prostitutes or courtesans.
Chanel felt the time was right for the debut of a scent that would represent the modern woman capturing the creative spirit of the roaring 20’s. It was important to her that the scent imbued freshness and a sense of cleanliness.
Chanel N°5 is probably the most famous perfume in the world. At its peak, a bottle was sold every 30 seconds. Not only that but Chanel N°5 it’s also the first chemically synthesized in a Laboratory.