Coco Chanel is an iconic figure of the last century. Very often associated with feminine emancipation, she turned French couture and perfumery into luxuries with worldwide reach. As such, some of Chanel's fragrances stand as true icons.
Created in 1921, N°5 has marked the history of perfumery indelibly. A true legend, N°5 has managed to cross eras without a wrinkle. Almost 100 years later, N°5 is among the 10 best-selling perfumes in the world. In 2016, Chanel decided to revisit its legendary fragrance, bringing it more modernity, more lightness. It is Lily-Rose Depp, just 16 years old, who is the face of the campaign for N°5 L'Eau, thus succeeding her mother, Vanessa Paradis. A way of remaining attached to the values of the past, while giving it a touch of renewal. As the advertising campaign puts it: You know me, but you don't know me…
The revisiting of the legendary N°5, by Olivier Polge
Since 2013, Olivier Polge has been the house nose of Chanel. He succeeds his own father, the highly talented Jacques Polge. After Ernest Beaux, the creator of N°5, then Jacques Polge, for the revisit Eau Première, it is now Olivier Polge's turn to present his own take on the mythical N°5. L'Eau N°5 is not a lighter version of the original, it is simply the N°5 of today. To do so, Olivier Polge decided to bring the aldehydes even further to the fore by pairing them with ultra-luminous citrus top notes. The floral bouquet is still present, and the base is slightly more sensual.
Citrus shines, flowers swirl
Olivier Polge thus modified the composition of N°5, without modifying it… The aldehydes are much more present, more airy. They combine, as top notes, with citrus radiating with vividness: orange, lemon, mandarin. The heart of N°5 L'Eau is floral, but soft, the notes are light, one discovers rose, paired with an airy jasmine, and a more modern ylang-ylang. The base is meant to be more sensual than the original. It blends vetiver, musks, and cedar. Olivier Polge made it a point of honor to recreate a new balance, and an ideal of freshness… It seems he succeeded! An N°5 would not be itself without its bottle. Here, the bottle takes up the codes of its elder. Streamlined, ultra elegant, the bottle of N°5 L'Eau sports a heavy, square shape, letting the nectar show through in a color much softer than the original.
For the revisiting of Chanel's legend, it is Olivier Polge who was chosen to prove himself. N°5 L'Eau is at once different yet so similar. The ties are the same, the attraction is still the same. Because a legend remains a legend, what appealed in 1921 still appeals in 2016, with a small extra touch of modernity. Another great success for the house of Chanel.