No. 5 Eau de Parfum
Chanel (1986)
Average Rating:
5 User Reviews
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About No. 5 Eau de Parfum by Chanel
The company say:
Since its creation in 1921, N°5 has exuded the very essence of femininity: An abstract, mysterious scent, alive with countless subtle facets, radiating an extravagant floral richness. In 1986, Jacques Polge, reinterpreted his predecessor Ernest Beaux’s composition to create a fuller, more voluminous version of the now and forever fragrance: the Eau de Parfum.
Fragrance notes.
Top Notes
Heart Notes
Base Notes
Where to buy No. 5 Eau de Parfum
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No. 5 Eau de Parfum on eBay (No. 5 Eau de Parfum by Chanel )
Reviews of No. 5 Eau de Parfum by Chanel
There are 5 reviews of No. 5 Eau de Parfum by Chanel .
We used to wash clothes by hand with the unscented lye soap when I was a kid - it was so unglamorous, but so cheap and effective. I always disliked that detergenty-fatty smell of the brown soap bar. Apparently it has always smelled like No. 5, so expensive and glamorous - who knew.
It's that good. I favor the EDP for when I want more bitterness and less comfort. Not as rounded as the golden elixir of the parfum, or as cozy as the soapier and woodier EDT, this has more jagged edges, a redder rose. Like so many Chanels, a go anywhere, do anything, be anyone scent. For my money, not cheap, but worth my money. If I could only have one... I'm tempted to say it would probably be this.
Update: Chanel is experiencing quality issues across the board and symultaneous price increases. Bags, even ones featured on their website and promotional materials have lopsided loosey stitching more akin to what you'd find at your local Zara. Their 22 bag, the new release for the year has leather cracking issues unheard of in the luxury business since Miu Miu in the early-aughts. Their jackets look clonky and wonky in the mannequins on stores. The stores look a lot emptier and in some cases almost devoid of merchandise. You feel the materials and construction of some of these items in your hands and it's nothing short of disheartening. Yet, through it all, prices keep hiking up and up. (A great thing for Dior, which has snapped up a grand portion of Chanel's former loyal clients).
Chanel's perfumery sadly hasn't been immune to this scenario. I can't speak for many fragrances because after smelling the current No. 5 EDP, I just didn't wanna try on anything else.
No. 5 EDP, as it currently stands, is a straight-away skin scent on me that lasts about 4 hours, is stripped of almost all its complexity, character and intellect and is just high on a barely there soapy-feel interspersed with white musk. I get none of the floral quality, the herbaceous undertones, the magnificent shifts, the sparkling fizziness, the golden aura. Hard pass. Well, I guess it was bound to happen: in perfume forums we've always talked about how Chanel insisted on maintaining as much quality as possible, and now the day has come when not so much.
Update: Chanel is experiencing quality issues across the board and symultaneous price increases. Bags, even ones featured on their website and promotional materials have lopsided loosey stitching more akin to what you'd find at your local Zara. Their 22 bag, the new release for the year has leather cracking issues unheard of in the luxury business since Miu Miu in the early-aughts. Their jackets look clonky and wonky in the mannequins on stores. The stores look a lot emptier and in some cases almost devoid of merchandise. You feel the materials and construction of some of these items in your hands and it's nothing short of disheartening. Yet, through it all, prices keep hiking up and up. (A great thing for Dior, which has snapped up a grand portion of Chanel's former loyal clients).
Chanel's perfumery sadly hasn't been immune to this scenario. I can't speak for many fragrances because after smelling the current No. 5 EDP, I just didn't wanna try on anything else.
No. 5 EDP, as it currently stands, is a straight-away skin scent on me that lasts about 4 hours, is stripped of almost all its complexity, character and intellect and is just high on a barely there soapy-feel interspersed with white musk. I get none of the floral quality, the herbaceous undertones, the magnificent shifts, the sparkling fizziness, the golden aura. Hard pass. Well, I guess it was bound to happen: in perfume forums we've always talked about how Chanel insisted on maintaining as much quality as possible, and now the day has come when not so much.
Aldehydes and neroli - well-mixed. The aldehydes are better here, than in the EDT formula. They aren't as cloudy or sickeningly harsh. The EDP is the formula I've always been used to. It is what my father used to bring me from his Chicago trips, as a special gift. However, No. 5 isn't the ultimate favorite of mine, that it used to be. My tastes have certainly changed, maybe progressed?
I don't smell bergamot at all. The rose and jasmine combo are nice, even-keeled, maybe old-fashioned in their profile. Iris seems green-ish, not powdery sweet. I get hints of LOTV.
The aldehydes are long-lasting. They do mellow a bit with time. The base is quite mellow as well. Only hints of vanilla and ylang ylang. Breezy sandalwood and vetiver, albeit thin. Overall, I still enjoy this. Just not like I did in my 20's.
I don't smell bergamot at all. The rose and jasmine combo are nice, even-keeled, maybe old-fashioned in their profile. Iris seems green-ish, not powdery sweet. I get hints of LOTV.
The aldehydes are long-lasting. They do mellow a bit with time. The base is quite mellow as well. Only hints of vanilla and ylang ylang. Breezy sandalwood and vetiver, albeit thin. Overall, I still enjoy this. Just not like I did in my 20's.
I bought Chanel N°5 Eau de Perfume in 1990 (I think it was this version). It was good scent like Perfume. It difference Edp.in the present. That version, bottle was not spray. White sticker on the bottle was paper.
I formerly had access to a bottle of No. 5 edp from around 2012. I picked it for my ex-wife as a present. I liked it more than the edt. It was richer, and had more of the aldehyde smell I associate with Chanel and classic perfumery. That bottle had a subtle nag champa incense / incense stick smell that I liked. It was subtle, and done just right. The perfume smelled great, but it was light. It didn't project for very long.
I now have access to a bottle purchased in 2018, made in Paris, purchased in Montreal. The incense smell is gone, or at least I cannot detect it. The aldehyde smell is still there and still lovely. It's a pretty perfume, but it's so subtle, it's hard to imagine it making such a big splash as it reportedly did for its first few decades of release.
I sprayed it in the air the other day to refresh the room, and it smelled all wrong. I've applied it skin just now, and it's much better. I still feel like it's not quite as good as it was in 2012. In addition to having the incense note, that version had more distinct florals. I felt like I was smelling jasmine. This newer version smells like aldehydes and powder, and it's nice, but I feel like they could give it more of a floral concentrate boost to make it worthy of its historical reputation.
It becomes sweet woods in the base. The listed note of bourbon vanilla sounds right.
I now have access to a bottle purchased in 2018, made in Paris, purchased in Montreal. The incense smell is gone, or at least I cannot detect it. The aldehyde smell is still there and still lovely. It's a pretty perfume, but it's so subtle, it's hard to imagine it making such a big splash as it reportedly did for its first few decades of release.
I sprayed it in the air the other day to refresh the room, and it smelled all wrong. I've applied it skin just now, and it's much better. I still feel like it's not quite as good as it was in 2012. In addition to having the incense note, that version had more distinct florals. I felt like I was smelling jasmine. This newer version smells like aldehydes and powder, and it's nice, but I feel like they could give it more of a floral concentrate boost to make it worthy of its historical reputation.
It becomes sweet woods in the base. The listed note of bourbon vanilla sounds right.
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