Elegant Frenchwoman Carole Bouquet was the face of Chanel N°5 in the 1980s.
Here is the commercial for the perfume.
Aesthetics have changed, fashion changes on a daily basis, but style and elegance are timeless, as both Carol and N°5 demonstrate.
I’m currently obsessing (yes, obsessing, there is no other word) about N°5, it is one of the great loves of my perfumed life, I feel I have come full circle in the last ten years.
How about you? What is your relationship with this iconic scent?
Olfactoria's Travels 
I need to get to the Chanel counter. I used to find this heavy and old when I was younger, so may appreciate it more now. I like No. 19 but was not too thrilled with the No. 19 poudre flanker. Gorgeous, elegant ads. I love great print media ads, Vanity Fair on the iPad is an even better experience…
You may fall in love with Eau Premiere. It is an excellent flanker, proof that such a thing exists. 😉
I was thirteen years old when our lovely French teacher told us about her wonderful perfume, Chanel No 5. I remember when I bought my first bottle of No 5 at the age of 16 and after that day I’ve always had it. I think I know exactly what you mean by saying “I feel I have come full circle”.
What a beautiful story.
It’s lovely that No5 has accompanied you throughout your life.
Sadly No5 and I have never got along, I like and own Eau Premiere though. I really like this add, I think it’s my favorite in this series so far!
Which concentration of No5 do you wear most, I understand that the EDP came later and is somewhat different from the EDT and parfum?
I wear the extrait most often and like you, Eau Premiere.
I have a vintage EdT, but I prefer the smoother extrait and the more modern EdP is excellent as well. There is a No5 for every occasion. 😉
I once viewed Chanel No. 5 as rather cold and aloof, and I think that had to do with how I connected with that scent as a young woman. I knew a couple women (one a teacher) who wore it and they seemed rather haughty and formidable in certain ways. And I think that association got tied to the scent for me and made me think of Chanel No. 5 as not so approachable. Now that I have the vintage parfum (and it does indeed have its aldehydes intact), it strikes me as quite elegant but also warm and sexy. My perception of it has changed completely and now I just love it.
Same here. It smelled awful to me when I first tried it, haughty and distant. But it is not. I find it quite warm and comfortable now, and elegant of course, but that never hurts. 😉
Never loved, let alone liked No.5, or any other scent with dominant aldehydes for that matter. But I love many other Chanels, No.19, No.18, No.22, Cuir de Russie and Bois des Iles. I have never smelled the extrait, so perhaps I’ll get a sample from STC or TPC and see if that changes my mind. But to be honest, my expectations for a turn around are not that great.
I must admit, that the Chanel ads are iconic and very, very classy. I just love Carole Bouquet, she’s so elegant.
But if you love No22, Bois des Iles and Cuir de Russie, I don’t see how you can still dislike No5, maybe your perception has changed in the meantime. I would be very curious to hear your opinion when you smell it now…
Maybe it has something to so with not ever having tried the extrait? None of the counters near me have a tester of the extrait to try. My daughter and husband gave me the Bois des Iles and Cuir de Russie in extrait this past Christmas. And I must admit, they are divine, at least to my nose. Off to search for a sample of No.5 extrait.
Oh, my! In extrait! I want Bois des Iles and Cuir de Russie in extrait too…
I love it when you do a 180 on a perfume!
No.5 has always intimidated me because it seems so far away from who I am, but knowing that you and dee have come to love it makes me think I should give it a try one day.
I think so too. 🙂
I like No. 5 very much; however, it is no No. 22. 🙂
That’s right. The incense drydown of No22 is amazing, but I prefer the top of 5.
I’m not mature enough for it yet (just arrived to Chamade…)
😀
You are indeed obsessing over No 5! I’m loving it!
I loved the Carole Bouquet ads from the 80s. That is when I started paying attention to fashion mags and her ads for No 5 were everywhere. I didn’t wear No 5 (No 19 instead) but in my mind Carole still is THE face of No 5, more than the models that came before and after.
No 5 was very much a part of my re-awakening of perfume appreciation about 5 years ago. I have tried (and own) a stupid number of vintages and concentrations. There are none that I don’t like (except some vintage EDC which has gone off, sadly, but which is fun to own). But I probably wear the EDP, created by Jacques Polge in the 80s, the least. But even there, it has a lovely rich vanilla facet I don’t get from the other concentrations. My favourite way to wear No 5 is to layer the extrait (modern) over the body creme. And the body creme by itself is extraordinarily rich and long-lasting. A perfume by itself, if you need to be subtle.
I bet your No5 collection is a beauty to behold.
Also, the body creme sounds very, very nice indeed.
I love the no.5 ads, especially the one with the wolf. Tried all incarnations of this fragrance except for the extract. I really, really wanted to love it, but I don’t even like it. It is all wrong on my skin.
I must try an extract.
It took me many years to love N°5, but now I know it is for life… 🙂
I hope you have more luck with the extrait, and if not, don’t worry, there are so many great perfumes out there.
I feel perfectly comfortable wearing the parfum and I enjoy, on occasion, the body lotion (although it is a lot more vanillic to my nose). It feels appropriate at almost any occasion.
It took me a long while to like it, but I suppose I was trying the wrong formulations.
The EdP is my second best option.
I like the stronger concentration the most too, and Eau Premiere of course, but that is a different story.
I like that you say the body lotion is more vanillic, I need to try it.