[perfume] Chanel No5

[kaberett]

... goes through an early phase of unpleasant acridity reminiscent of burning plastic and hothouse flowers in jumbled profusion, before settling on "cheap synthetic handwash".

I assume it has redeeming features on people who aren't me.

(This observation brought to you by trying the sample on my way out of the pharmacy with my prescriptions.)

Comments

[cosmolinguist]

I can't even tell; it's my mom's 'for good not for everyday' perfume, so to me it will always smell of the oppressive tedium and unfairness of having to go to church on Sunday mornings all through my childhood.

[kaberett]

Hah, yep. Makes sense. (Though... hmm. Now I want to get hold of some vintage No5 and wear it to the Mass of my religious tradition, and see how things layer!)

[cosmolinguist]

Oh I hope you do. I'd love to have that connection in my mind, if not severed, at least complicated. :)

[carmilla]

I am prejudiced in its favour because I got a bottle in Paris when I was 17 - to me it smells like Being A Grownup :) I haven't actually worn any in a couple of years, though.

[kaberett]

You're welcome to try it on me if you like!

[minim_calibre]

This is one that belongs on all lists of "only ever try it in vintage."

Not that I like it in vintage, but I can appreciate it. I see where it has influenced perfumes over the years, I can even see why other people (such as my mother) might like it.

I still wouldn't wear it myself (I find it bland), but I understand why people do.

Apparently, it's morphed over the years into a complete horror show of wrong.

[kaberett]

HAH, good to know. I probably don't care enough to actually hunt some vintage down - it's not really My Kind Of Thing - but it's... interesting to know that that is what is going on :-) And, yes, "a complete horror show of wrong" is pretty damn' accurate to my experience...

[minim_calibre]

I got a vintage decant from The Perfumed Court, just to see. That 1/4 ml is enough No. 5 to last me a lifetime.

From your experience, it sounds like modern No. 5 would cause in me a similar reaction to circa 2012 Mitsouko, which, in my case, was to flail away from my arm and immediately start scrubbing and scrubbing while wrinkling my nose in fear and loathing. And I love vintage Mitsouko.

[kaberett]

Bahahahaha that sounds like something I might want to try just for the horror!

[onyxlynx]

I bought the bath gel around eight or nine years ago for "special occasions," i.e. jobhunting, because I was looking for something subtle but sophisticated. (Also because bath gel smells great in the shower but doesn't announce itself to the entire world thirty feet away.) I haven't used it in ages, and now (in the bottle) it smells powdery.

Now I wonder what happened to that bottle of Donna Karan scented whatever I bought and put away in '95...

[kaberett]

Heeeeeee. Yes. I... yeah. Haven't yet been in this fandom long enough to reaaaaaally know how things age, but am curious about finding out (though heavens forfend the powder etc etc!).

[stewardess]

I prefer the Eau de Toilette version. The smell is quite different, and has remained the same over the years (1960s to present). The Chanel perfume has changed drastically; I don't even recognize it any more.