Chanel N°5 (Vintage)

What a beauty this is! Sadly, I can only have the most fleeting time in this. My mom bid on, and won a lot of vintages from a local estate sale, including 4 mini Chanel vintages. All of them open up (Cuir de Russie was stubborn and took some effort), but No.5 WILL. NOT. OPEN. I've tried it all; boiling water and dipping the neck into it, twisting, putting it in the freezer...twisting...trying to pick whatever congealed perfume is gluing the stopper stuck...nothing. My husband has tried as well. Any more force and we're sure to break the glass. As it is, I already feel like a monster for exposing it to so much temperature trauma :( At any rate, there was a fair amount of fragrance transfer onto my fingers as I've attempted to open this b*tch. - The citruses are shot, and it is vinegary. But barely (Shalimar parfum was much moreso), because this opens (maybe the temp had something to do with this admittedly) into such a rich, blended, complex, WALL of iconic scent that it truly is difficult to pick apart facets. I see what people mean by claiming No.5 is hard to explain, because it is. There are aldehydes, and somehow they're indolic. Or, it's merely the civet coming through paired with them...it does verge into fecal territory. Initially, I'm tricked into thinking I dislike this, but I don't, because within minutes it settles down and at that point I begin to get mostly ylang ylang and powdery-orrisy-sandalwoody-amber. Again, it's so blended I don't even feel like these notes should be separated into different words when trying to express this in language. The liquid here is a rich brown, but this fragrance smells like liquefied gold. It's such an oversaturated YELLOW. Everything is dense, and the civet serves to highlight how rich the florals are. Yes...this is an amber, but to me it feels like there's no true vanilla in here. Rather, the vanilla or resinous tones are extensions from an overdose of the florals. Essentially, it's all stemming from a blended reduction of thickly, rich, jam-packed morass of warm, indolic florals. I appreciate current No.5 EDP, I enjoy the EDT, but I am STUNNED into respect by the extrait Now I truly feel like I understand No.5. And this only coming from a microdose of stuck fragrance emanating off the bottle. This stuff is extremely potent. Forgive me for not wearing this for months or even years before reviewing, because this absolutely deserves to be studied over time, but I simply cannot and I hurried to write all of this down before I lose track of it. I'll keep my eye out for another bottle.

To start writing a review on vintage No.5, having recently acquired various iterations smelling different from eachother, yet they are all recognisable as No.5. I would say the same for the modern versions (except L'eau, which doesnt smell like No.5). The oldest is an extrait, from I think the 1950's, EDTs from the 70's/80's, to a previously unopened 1986 EDP. I can testify that they all smell like Chanel No.5., but the differences between extrait, EDP and EDT also make writing a review on "vintage No.5" nigh on impossible. But what I can say about vintage No.5 compared to the modern one, is that from my bottles dating back over the last 70 years, every decade or so, there are alterations that probably are due to tastes/the market and the ingredients themselves having to change. And that EDP has plenty of sandalwood (and ylang ylang) similar to the extrait (and Bois des Iles!). The EDT is more powdery, a bit more skunky (in the vintages I have anyhow), lighter, more soapy and less floral to my nose. My favourite is the oldest version of extrait that I have found. The florals really bloom in the extrait, tempered by the civet, musks and sandalwood. I wonder if it smells as it should, being about 70 years old! The bottle was full, never opened and it is absolutely breathtaking! Lasting a long time, the stages of development are incredible, with a dry down so complex and beautiful. Yes this is a perfume, for a lot of us was worn by our mums and grandmas (actually, my grandma wore 4711!), and I think for that reason I steered clear, thinking I was all too familiar with it. This is my Mum's signature afterall. But this September (after giving her another bottle for her birthday, she likes EDT the best), I thought what the heck and decided to test some. And yes, it does smell totally different on my person than catching my Mum's scent. Chanel No.5 has fast become my favourite, having been collecting for a few years, I am now reaching for a version of it every day. Vintage or modern. This is the quintessential perfume to me, perfection to my nose and having spent a while baffled by my Mum's loyalty to this fragrance, now I understand. Simply put, this certain combination of aldehydes, jasmine, ylang, sandalwood, civet, iris, rose, ambergris, smells so good! And I am in no doubt that this is the reason why it is still so popular 100 years later. I suspect there will be an anniversary edition coming out in 2021!

I have managed to go my whole life without knowingly trying Chanel No.5. I’m a man but still. A couple months ago I purchased a small auction lot of vintage perfumes and among the treasure was a gift set of Chanel (pre 1953) minis in their box with onion skin and cords still intact. I’ve been wearing the Bois Des Iles and Cuir de Russie frequently but saved the aldehydic No.5 and No.22 for a rainy day. Well that rainy day came last week and I am floored by how beautiful this juice is. The opening has been reduced to a short burst of egyptian jasmine and bright white linen because the spicy/sweet base notes have swelled up to gigantic proportions with age. This ancient No.5 has transformed into a sublime floriental with a perfectly balanced clean soapy accord of white flowers, buttery ylang, rose and iris just under the surface of the treacle of amber and spicy woods. It is suitably unisex and perceivably high quality (despite its’ age it retains its’ smoothness and subtlety). While I still can’t say I’ve actually tried No.5 (this must be almost a completely different animal) I can now see the hunt for a larger bottle or bottles of this aged version in the imminent future. Great stuff. In the past couple of years, I have fallen in love with Chanel’s creations time and time again. 5 out of 5.

I am a lucky girl! This past weekend I found a Vintage bottle of No. 5 at an estate sale almost full for $15. It is one of the 1.5 ounce purse sprays from the fifties-sixties that says "Spray Cologne". It has a metal casing actually. So nice. I am super excited! The modern formulation is beautiful but it is not quite the same as this treasure. I applied it to my freshly bathed skin and I am in pure Heaven! I never thought I could wear Miss No. 5 but now I know that I am just fine with this ultra feminine cloud of luxury. I would never be able to describe this gorgeous iconic fragrance's notes so I will leave that up to someone else with a more discerning nose and writing skill set. I will definitely be saving this for some of the most memorable moments of my life. This juice is AMAZING! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! 10/10 for Vintage and 9.5/10 for Modern.

Just received a vintage sample ca late 1930s from a kind friend whose bottle belonged to her grandmother. Sadly, the scent is quite fractured due to age, especially in the topnotes. But wow that base lingers forever in all of its ambery animalic goodness! This led me to considering how all of the recent variations attempt to brighten 5 up and how much I would love a darker, muskier, spicier version instead!