When asked in 1955 what she wore to sleep, Marilyn Monroe famously purred,
“What do I wear in bed? Why, Chanel N°5, of course.”
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.
Chanel’s second brilliant idea was to use a very simple square bottle - an innovative idea for the time of flower shaped flacons. “Less is more” can be the credo of the bottle which was designed by Coco Chanel herself. The design is kept very minimalistic.
Chanel No.5 was the first perfume ever created to contain such a high concentrate of aldehyde, which is what gives the fragrance its vibrancy. While Chanel No.5 is now considered a classic, in 1921 it was thought to be revolutionary. The jasmine used in the perfume is grown in Chanel’s own fields in Grasse. The floral bouquet of Jasmine, Mayrose and Lily of the Valley blend harmoniously with the amber and sandalwood.
After months of work, Beaux finally presented eight bottles to Chanel, numbered one through five, and twenty through twenty-four. After sampling each one, legend has it Chanel said without hesitation, “Number Five. Yes, that is what I was waiting for. A perfume like nothing else. A woman’s perfume, with the scent of a woman.”
Chanel N°5 Ad with Maude Adams - 1970’s