History of the mythical Chanel N° 5 perfume

Mademoiselle Chanel in her suite at the Ritz hotel in Paris in 1937 © François KOllar

Coco Chanel, the woman behind the famous N°5 fragrance, was a mysterious lady who shrouded herself in an aura of mystery. With N°5, Mademoiselle Chanel wanted to create a perfume that was like no other: "a woman's fragrance that smells like a woman".

Surprisingly perhaps, Coco also said: "I want to give women an artificial perfume, and yes, I really do mean "artificial." I want a perfume that is a composition".

N°5 brought about a revolution at a time when single-flower scents were all that you could get hold of! The N°5 formula contains more than 85 different components.