Chanel N°19 Eau de Toilette (2023)

Today I get play one of my favorite games: a multi format vintage vs. new comparison. The beautiful lady walking arm-in-arm with me today is none other than No. 19. On the back of my left hand and that wrist is an EdC from probably the late 1970s/early 80s, on the upper part of that arm is a new EdP, and on my right hand and arm is an extrait from the early 1990s. Sometimes I feel like the luckiest guy in the world. Curiously, No. 19 doesn't get much love, in fact it seems to get quite a bit of hate. I've heard some people say that if No. 19 was a woman, she would be a frigid "b" with no friends. Though I understand what they're saying, I think that's overly harsh and a classic case of being misunderstood. To me this character is more prim and proper rather than cold and mean; it's the difference between us loud and brash Americans versus British royalty, let's say: just because the Brit royalty is typical stiff-upper-lip and very proper doesn't make them cold and mean. This difference of character perception can also be seen across the formats and vintages I'm wearing today. Take my very old EdC vs. the new EdP as an example: though age has most assuredly tempered Ms. 19 in the EdC format, that hyper green claw-like galbanum top note is far smoother and well-rounded in the EdC than the EdP. The EdP is claws out, right from the get-go, and, as you would expect, those claws stay out for longer. Rather quickly, the EdC dries down to a very pleasant and soft powdery woody floral chock full of iris, lily, sandalwood, and oakmoss (real oakmoss - have I mentioned how much I love opportunities to smell real oakmoss?) - making this the easiest of the No. 19s to wear, and that's really the whole story of the EdC beyond this point. The EdC is desperately pretty, calm, and friendly after the last dry down and for the few hours beyond. After about an hour after application, the EdP's claws are still out but they've been filed down, and it's definitely more apparent that the use of synthetics is more prominent in this new EdP versus the old EdC. This is as you would expect, but I must emphasize that the "synthetic" quality of the EdP is more than you would expect. Now, I have a different frame of reference here because I'm smelling a very old EdC side-by-side with the new EdP, so don't take my comments to mean that the new EdP has an offputting fake quality to it, because it still smells amazing; if you don't have an old formulation to compare it to, you are likely not going to notice the synthetics much. The filed-down claws of the EdP that I mentioned are no longer in the form of a sharp green galbanum, but vivid, saturated, thorny florals. The EdP is all about the heart notes of rose, a rooty iris, jasmine, lily, and ylang ylang - but, again, be careful when you go in for a sniff or you reach your hand into that bouquet because there are thorns there. These aren't gentle florals by any means; they aren't going to actively scratch you, but they are fully capable of defending themselves if needed. Ms. 19 is no longer in fight-or-flight mode, but she still has her guard up. Those ylang-ylang and jasmine notes in the EdP are a tour de force team, all vivid and saturated colors of white, green, and yellow. But what about the extrait?! Yes, I know you want to know what the extrait is doing. Frankly, I'm at a loss for words with the extrait, but I shall try. It is just so, so, so good. Absolutely stunning. The extrait opened with the same hyper green galbanum note of the others - the EdP more specifically - but the galbanum is not claws-out like it is in the EdP. There are no claws here. The galbanum's personality is softened and gentrified by some of the most beautiful jasmine, iris, ylang-ylang and rose notes you will ever smell. Every note of the EdP (and EdC for that matter) are presented and accounted for in the extrait, but if I were to rate the materials/accords on realism, quality, and execution, the extrait would be 10 out of 10 while the EdP and EdC make do at 6. I love the EdC and the EdP, so this should hopefully place in understandable context just how good I think the extrait is. While the EdC and the EdP are playing around, drying down and doing there thing, at nearly three hours in the extrait is only just warming up. Remember what I said about No. 19 being prim and proper and not cold and mean? Picture then a beautiful, regal, proud and strong woman in the finest handmade dress and you have the extrait. Monica Belucci in Valentino, basically; the extrait smells the way she looks. It will be a couple hours more even at this point before the extrait begins moving, after the EdC and the EdP have mostly worn themselves out. One curiosity to definitely note, and it should also be mentioned it's quite a hot day here in my part of California, the bergamot and neroli of the extrait have a far greater voice on the blotter than they do on my skin. The same could be said for the EdP as well, but the voices of the bergamot and neroli of the extrait are still greater than that of EdP's. We're going to fast forward to the end of the day, many hours later. The EdC is long gone, the EdP is a very pleasant skin scent of soft sandalwoods and much more pronounced notes of vetiver and animalic musks than the EdC. And the extrait... it's still there. While I'm worn out from an afternoon of running around, this lovely lady on my arm is still there, energized, and ready for an evening soiree. The galbanum and florals are gone, but the vetiver, woods, and mosses are still going. Partly why the extrait is my favorite of the No. 19 formats is because Chanel have made it act like a proper extrait should. While the EdC and EdP tire themselves out in hours, launching themselves into the air and drying-down like they're in a race (a bit exaggerated, but you get my point), the extrait stays close to you. Very close. Insanely powerful, but close. That measured approach to its energy and output, like a real extrait in the classical style should be, is exemplary to the personality I find in Ms. No. 19. She's not cold and mean, she's elegant, proud, strong, and confident - with you for the long haul, so to speak. Those are my favorite kinds of people. And that's why No. 19 is very likely my favorite Chanel perfume.

After finishing my entire 10ml decant and wearing it through and through in different environments, I want to share my thoughts. And I know this might make some people angry, but this is my honest feeling: I don’t think this smells exactly like the older versions with the built-in sprayer. No.19 EdT has been my go-to scent in summer. I started to worry when I realized I only had a tiny amount left in my last 100ml EdT Reserve (produced in 2009). I also have a 50ml refillable grey-box version (produced in 1993), but that one is running low too. So I’ve been torn between hunting for another vintage (which is rare and much more expensive now) or buying a new bottle. Reading comments here, I saw many people saying the new packaging hasn’t been reformulated. But before committing to a full 100ml, I decided to play it safe and get a decant of the modern version. To my nose, the differences are obvious. I’m no professional perfumer, just an amateur wearer — but the differences shout at me. ⸻ Opening There’s no big difference between my 2009 and 1993 bottles. If I had to nitpick, the 1993 top note fades a little quicker, which makes sense given its age. But the modern decant opens very differently. It’s brighter. I suspect the galbanum has been changed — not in a bad way (it’s actually pleasant), but it’s definitely different. ⸻ Heart Among the 3, the modern one is the powdierest, and that powdery texture shows up quickly once it warms on the skin. I also feel like the vetiver and cedarwood are toned down compared to the older versions. This could refer to the 2009 & 1993 aged, or it could mean the modern formula tweaked the ratio between iris root, vetiver, and cedarwood. Just a guess — I’m cautious about making big claims since I’m not a professional. ⸻ Base The base is less dramatically different, but I still notice it. Honestly, I might even prefer the drydown of the modern one. It feels more well-rounded and has a slight hint of sweetness. It also clings to my skin much longer — it can still be detectable the next morning if I spray before bed. ⸻ Conclusion So, no, to my nose, this formulation is NOT unchanged as many have said. It is very different. But different in a pleasant way. Which means: I’ll be grabbing a full bottle at duty-free next time I travel — in 30 days. Yay.

The cool gaze of a woman who does not flinch. She starts green, but not in a leafy or crisp way, rather taut and elegant like the snap of a freshly cut stem. Verdant, slick, polished, defiant. The perfect contrast to the iris which comes next: Iris pallida, that silvery, ghost-like powder that doesn’t bloom so much as breathe, slow and dry and full of restraint. Not buttery like iris germanica, this one floats. A whispered veil of soap and violet dust, like laundry drying on a Parisian balcony in early spring, the kind of air that still chills your lungs a little but promises you’ll be okay. Second time I’ve smelled this note, after Guerlain’s Extrait 6, and damn does it live up to my impression so far! The result is a soft, green-powdery warmth, not just skin-like but truly warm, truly soul-like. There’s rose too. A little. Just enough. Bulgarian, I think—girly and sheer, never stealing the show. Oakmoss slinks in at the base, dry and mineral, but only as a powdery bark scorched faintly by sun. It grounds the iris like soil cradles a root. The aldehydes this time are subdued, less like the fizzy champagne burst of No. 5, but a feather-light brush. Chanel at her most introspective. Cleanliness which I struggle with often, but here it is never clinical. Powdered soap that’s been passed from hand to hand in a silk-gloved world. And somehow—despite my fear of the soapy—it wears like a vibrant yet composed second skin. Freshness that hums of a quiet, cerebral kind of beauty. And it is every bit gorgeous.

It's a soft, powdery, soapy, well-rounded scent. Fresh green, but not aquatic, not cold feeling. Soapy in the best way, like fine quality soaps that create the nicest foam and won't dry out your skin. Luxurious, fancy. I was expecting to find "rose" in the notes, which isn't listed. Can't feel other than being well put together, sophisticated and elegant when wearing this. I read in the name and description, that this is a new 2023 version. Couldn't find another EdT, though and not sure, if the one that just says "Chanel No. 19" is the right one. Mine is from 2021, so I don't know how it compares to the 2023 version.

I don't smell any significant change in this new bottle. I was fearing the worst when all edt bottles disappeard from shops last Summer. Those notes above are tragic simplification of still quite glorious perfume. And still so much more than edp. I'm very happy with it. I don't see the point of this new page, it's the same perfume. Ingredients were ajusted to new norms, but if all new formulas were this respectfully done, we would have nothing to complain about. The cap looks lovely and feels expensive, but the old one has that plastic charm and I like the machinism. The '70 chic. It was always that way.

Just got my new bottle of this, as spring is near. I didn't even know they were updating. It's still a lovely lovely fragrance. I just love No 19, in all variations. It's my spring go to, well along with Guerlain Muguet. I will say this is a bit more powdery, and not as cold, and for that I am not going to complain, because they didn't reinterpret it and charge half a king's ransom for the update. I think I will do a hunt for the old version just to have when I want it to be icy cold that reminds you of what season we are pulling out of.

I fell in love with No 19 on a trans-Atlantic flight after spraying in duty free. It is the rose tucked into the mid-notes surrounded by greens and mosses that arrested my attention. It’s surprising to not see rose listed among the notes here but I see rose in the note breakdown of the EDP. It’s the flash of red, of sudden floral sweetness, that brings me back again and again to smell my wrist. I bought a full bottle shortly after landing.

Huh. The galbanum in this version is more toned down than the previous formulation. Weirdly a department store near me has an old tester bottle from 2022 (yes, I checked the batchcode, but it is obvious it was old because of the bottle) whilst another store has the newer version. They smell like 85% similar but the newer one is lighter and less galbanum heavy. I prefer this version.

It smells incredible on my shirt but vanished quickly on my hand. Delicate, needs many sprays. Very beautiful green! I guess some parfum version would be better to me but I am happy with this one as well.

It doesn’t really seem like the No. 19 line. It has a modern scent—fresh and pleasant. I absolutely love this one. I like the other versions too, but this is my favourite. 9/10

They bring back a precious gem 💎

Extremely watered-down version of the EDP (see my review for that) w/ zero longevity. I had heard that this was famously the sharpest of the three available forms of #19, but I'm not getting that at all. I barely detect the galbanum - smells simple, light & floral to me. Not bad, as you can't really go WRONG w/ #19, but still Very Disappointing. If I'm being honest, Chanel 19 bores me a tiny bit anyway compared to my beloved Cristalle, but this is absurd. If you're going to buy Chanel 19, the Poudre is the only way to go.

I got a bottle last year and opened it now. the Edt smells like I remember from the 70's, but unfortunately, has poor performance. My skin eats frags so no surprise, but I really do need the edp if I can find it. Still smells green and powdery. Summery, light, perfect, but must reapply every hour or two. I thought it was me being noseblind to it, but my family said they couldnt smell it much either unless right in my neck...oh well....

I have the vintage No. 19 edt. It’s very nice but I don’t know why they only have the new one on here. I’d like to know how they compare. I’m not gonna buy the new one. I still have a 90% full bottle of the vintage and it very strong. Is the formula the same or was it changed. I know Chanel changes formulas a lot. I have a vintage #5 and a newer one bought in 2022 and they are very different. I highly prefer my vintage bottle.

It is N19 Poudre, just a bit bitter and surprisingly longer lasting despite being edt and Poudre is edp. So, for me it is an option instead of Poudre, which I love but don't smell it on me after 2 hours. Green, soft, powdery, elegant smell with a hint of sweetness. Love it.

I got this from Costco at a discount on a blind buy. The top note reminds me of this green-colored perfume my mom had in the 80s. It was very chemical and I remember my young self thinking how could anyone tolerate this smell on themselves! But after the top note, the remaining journey becomes quite pleasant. It is powdery but not cloying or stifling probably because the iris smells a little bitter to me. Even though it is an EDT, the sillage and longevity are very impressive. I love the base note but I think I am still too young to wear it in public and it might feel a little dated in this era of skin scents. I occasionally test it at home, hoping that one day it will work on me. If you also like the iris tone of this fragrance, you may want to try Chanel Venise.

Green and sharp, perfumey, linear, not particularly performent nor lasting. Also, "an old lady perfume" as my partner puts it. I don't find it super interesting and I wonder if it would have any success without "Chanel" written on the bottle.

I smelled it yesterday and it was the perfect example of a NIGHTMARE ON THE NOSE. No, no, no. Terrible. Electric in a bad way. I like cleanliness but this was too green for me. Green, but not young, not fun, not free. Nothing. Artificial green. Monster green. I don't know how is it like when it sits on the skin, because I was so repulsed by it that I pulled the mouillette away from me and I disappeared.

After accumulating some 400 bottles, I decided it may be time to stop. With a $50 credit from a retailer burning a hole in my brain, it occurred to me that, even with that reduction, everything was still cheaper on the grey market. Everything except, of course, Chanel, who must hire a squad of goons to enforce their pricing so it is never reduced. It was time to purchase my first Chanel. That's right, 400 bottles in and no Chanel. A large part of the reason is alluded to above; I don't pay retail, they don't go on sale. I have tried my sister's tiny treasure, the pure parfum of No.5. I did not 'get it'. I have what I'm told is a fair clone of Platinum Egoiste, same disappointment. But there is one more thing, perhaps the best reason to ignore Chanel. While I am most often able to separate artists from their art, in these times in particular, it is not a useless exercise to recall the way Coco survived the occupation of France during WW2. That is, very comfortably, in lap of luxury, and in the lap of a German officer. And she somehow managed to avoid the head-shaving shaming endured by many other 'comfort collaborators'. So it was with some considerable guilt that I bought the only Chanel that has ever intrigued me: 19. The guilt must be doing it's work. While very impressive when first sprayed on, it's gone before any exploration of the scent can be made. Galbanum and orris are two of my fav. notes, I can't detect them after 1/2 hour, and after an hour I detect nothing. What a joke. I am starting to strongly suspect that there is actually very little behind their curtain of marketing, air of exclusivity and brand deification, all skills she may well have picked up from the Nazis.

this version of No19 eau de toilette I found to be genius. having known Chanel No19 practically from its inception (1971) where I strutted in the perfumery in 1974 and thus the perfume (which was Edt or the Extrait which I both had in the 1970s) sits in my olphactive memory from off its origines to up til this iteration. I must say I am quite enamoured with it so much so, that I had spritzed Cristalle Edt & Eau Verte Edp on a card and next to these, Chanel No19 Edt 2023. at home there was one card that jumped forward. this perfume. in a couple of weeks I got the 100mL flacon and it is a delight. I find it very loyal to the original. there is a cleanliness which I find très Chanel. I have an older rendition of Chanel No19 Edp plus a Chanel No19 Poudrée. (both excellent.) but I find this concoction by far the best. perhaps only to show that there are a lot of variations in Taste of Smell (which I will call it). it is a veritable monument to No19, the Iris Pallida note is beyond refined. I never smell 'white musk' but here I seemed to smell it as a Hyper Clean Athmosphere. perhaps the Iris and Powdery notes contribute to this. the Galbanum set off a Crisp Green note which is in perfect synergy with the overall idea of this 'New No19'. I love it.

Here we go again, people are running their mouths about things they have no clue about. NO my dear naysayers, N°19 Eau de Toilette has NOT been reformulated with the change of bottle. The formula code before the change was IL96-I and after the change it still is IL96-I. So whatever differences you are perceiving are a product of your poor imagination. Just for your information, the fragrance was indeed reformulated, but it happened way before the bottle change. The formula changed from IL47-I to the current IL96-I and NO ONE NOTICED, because people only think about reformulation when the bottle or packaging changes. Let me tell you, the only thing that changed during this unnoticed refomulation was that Isoeugenol (a spicy-floral scent) appeared on the ingredients list. That's all. But as I said, no one noticed since the bottle stayed the same during that time. But now that they slightly altered the bottle, people scream REFORMULATION, when in truth nothing changed. Poor unfortunate souls.

The perfumer of Chanel has to use all the latest technology available in order to overcome the IFRA obstacles and give this fine art perfume, its former glory. Its performance, nowadays, is that of an eau de cologne - I had a No 19 in the old tall bottle with the opaque grey plastic cover over the glass bottle which smelled richer and lasted forever (I eventually gave it away due to the oakmoss of these old batches doing something to my nose). The No 19 soap was also fantastic - I have one more than 10 years old with a lovely traceable smell. Compare this to my "Allure Homme" soap, which I bought soon after its release and its smell didn't even last a couple of weeks. :( So, more than a review, this is a direct call to the perfumery department of Chanel in order to give us back the true "No 19" and the true "Pour Monsieur". Life, really, has less grace without them. -ΙΩΝ

I just bought it today! This parfum represents exactly the notes that are described. This is very very similar to nr 19 pudre EDP, if you have nr 19 pudre EDP you don’t need this. This is a little, just a little more powdery and bitter then the Nr 19 pudre EDP. The Iris is more stronger. Nr 19 pudre it’s just a little more airy and light. I had the chance in store to try Nr 19 EDT the old version and to me the old version dry down it’s more crisp, white floral and fresh citrusy. The 2023 version to me it’s very green and pudre like the notes are describing. I really love this unique scent , clearly the ingredients are top notch, smells expensive

Dear God ---What is this thing????? Tried this reformulation--there is nothing left. This smells nothing like N19. I have many bottles going back all the way to 1975 Extrait, tons of 80's EdT and Edp. Buy vintage ASAP--or get the current Edp before they make it a ghost too. Maybe Olivier will fix this in a couple years, like he had to do with bel respiro edp

I find it better than the older version. However, it is still a very heavy and green scent. It is heavy on galbanum which I don't like. Longetivity is moderate, lasts up to 3 hours or so before turning into skin scent. Projection is good but only for first hour maybe. I sold mine bottle.

I tried it today. It is a real disapointment. The original n 19 was a green chypre.This is just a green floral there is no moss no patchouli. It does not evolve at all and has no staying power Fortunately I hoarded the vintage formula.

True Chanel: a green chypre opening that settles into elegant, refined powder; pristine, clean, austere, with a faint animalic whisper. Tag(s): green chypre, austere elegance, cool powder, tailored

This might seem odd but to my nose this is sweet ? Like fruit sweet, like sucking on an apple kind of a sweet, very green slightly floral, somewhat fresh, not as bitter as i remember it to be ?

I've just had the confirmation from Chanel Canada that the formula stays the same. It's not a new fragrance just a new bottle design.

Reformulated?? The bottle looks so pretty tho