No. 22 Parfum 
Chanel (1922)

TLDR: Excellent (4.5/5). If No. 5 seems quite old as she reaches her 100th birthday, her 99 year old sister still has a contemporary bounce in her step.

Released a year after No. 5 as a lighter alternative, No. 22 is, in today's parlance, a flanker to Chanel's Grande dame fragrance. No. 22 is brightly aldehydic during most of its progression after an opening that is nearly 100% aldehydes. This fragrance smells distinctly less animalic than any No. 5. As such, the fragrance seems more contemporary and less old-ladyish than 5 while still having the house's polished demeanor. The heart is less jasmine forward than 5 and the base has a somewhat soapy vetiver that gradually gives way to a vanilla powder. Throughout this progression, the fizzy aldehydes make their airy presence known. No. 22 is an interesting alternative to No. 5 for those who like the idea of the grand dame but find her reality out of step with current tastes.

Gorgeous aldehydes here. Much "clearer" than in No. 5, and I prefer 22 over 5 (for the record). No. 22 just screams high class, with its bouquet of flowers. Well executed. For my nose, it is the tuberose and ylang ylang that stand out just a tad more, than the other notes.

Just the perfect end with vibrant vetiver, a touch of vanilla, and the incense is lady-like. No. 22 is the quintessential, French Parfum.

Dries to a fine powder much later, with a bit more vanilla revealing itself.

In my non-perfume life, I'm a music producer and studio engineer, so I'm kind of a nerd about how music sounds (stick with me, this will be about perfume eventually...) In the 70's and 80's, music was generally mixed with a lot of midrange, with the highs and bass quieter in the mix. Now, years later, tastes have changed and music is released with loud highs and bass, with the midrange turned down. So, in order to fit with current tastes, old music is often "Digitally Remastered", which basically means that they turn down the midrange and turn up the bass and highs. When done poorly, this can make old songs sound shrieky and shrill and weirdly loud but still kind of hollow.

So, back to No. 22. It reminds me of a "Digital Remaster" of No. 5. It's got the same basic ingredients as No. 5, but with the highs turned up, so the powdery aldehydes are amplified into a loud blast while the flowers and wonderful No. 5 base get kind of lost. Meanwhile, the pink pepper and peach which are buried deep in No. 5 come to the forefront in No. 22, giving it a subtle whiff of "cheapness" while a lot of the beauty gets lost in the shrill powder.

All that being said, even a weirdly remixed version of No. 5 is better than 95% of the perfumes out there, so I still feel like I owe No. 22 a thumbs up, but I'd never buy a bottle of this when I could just wear No. 5 extrait...

A Basenoter sent me a sample of No. 22, perhaps a version from before the exclusive line was released, and it's a great Chanel fragrance as I have come to expect; a variation on Chanel No. 5, of which there are several, and this one is impeccable.