No5? It don't even make my top ten list...sorry! (Revised) (Chanel: N°5, Eau de Parfum)

Member Name: xxfoxyredxx

Product:	Chanel: N°5, Eau de Parfum
Date:	14/11/07 (313 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Makes a good air freshener but an expensive one!

Disadvantages: Very expensive and isn't a strong, long lasting scent

I absolutely detest this fragrance and have no idea why I choose to waste any of my time writing about it as to me it reeks of bad taste and following the crowd and having no imagination at all and I'm very sorry if your sat there reading this and thinking I'm rude and blunt, it's really what I think and I won't mince my words! People tell us this fragrance is the best selling fragrance of all time and that it is decadence itself and so people still run to the shops buying it! I personally think somewhere along the line there is a big conspiracy going on cos in my mid it just can't be true!

I can't work out what its meant to smell of and I really like to recognise something in a fragrance that I'm wearing. Anything my Granny and Mother wear for 'special occasions' is simply not for me I'm afraid though don't get me wrong I like designer fragrances and not z lister celebrity stuff but this I just don't get lol! I prefer a stronger and more up to date fragrance with an identity and just cos Marilyn wore it doesn't mean I shall be lol

The Packaging....

Black oblong, plastic refillable container with gold integrated spray, push on black lid with the Chanel logo on the top in gold and a gold band round the centre of the bottle. To be fair it's lovely smart packaging but it does scratch easily and is a bit on the bulky side to stick in a handbag and cart around with you. Which is a good thing cos you'd soon knacker the packaging if you did take it out and now there are alternative sizes, shapes and styles of bottles of this nowadays to choose from although this is still the most popular selling bottle (according to a shop assistant I was chatting to Boots a couple of months ago). Not sure about the outer packaging I can't remember what it looks like to be honest! This packaging is for the Eau De Toilette bottle of course. The Eau De Parfum bottle as far as I'm aware is a square glass bottle and comes in a white box but this is the one I own and use air freshener (as I'm walking out the door usually).

What The Product Says About Itself....

N°5 works its powerful magic by enveloping women in a subtle cloud of elegance and sophistication. Whenever they wear this symbol of femininity, women express their seductiveness moment after magical moment.

With its links to Andy Warhol and Marilyn Monroe, it's Ylang-Ylang from the Comoros and its Grasse Jasmine, N°5 remains the greatest and best known perfume in the world. This timeless classic, both contemporary and unusual, remains the absolute benchmark of feminine fragrances, entrancing, elegant and always modern. Known to all women and yet belonging to each individual, this abstract olfactory bouquet was the first of its kind to blend floral essences and aldehydes in these proportions. Aldehydes originate in the chemistry of synthesis and bring a new lightness to natural raw materials. This is what gives N°5 its modernity, its classic and its simplicity. « Alléger, supprimer, ne garder que l'essentiel, tel est le secret de l'intemporel », « The secret of timelessness is to simplify, to pare down, to keep only what is essential » in the words of the woman behind its creation.

The Fragrance....

Well this fragrance sits in the 'floral' type of perfumes according to it's definition by Chanel. Personally I can't smell anything 'floral' about it and it isn't long lasting on the skin therefore uneconomical to use as you keep trying to 'top it up'. I use loads to try and get some sort of smell to grip onto my skin and it simply won't. I could use half a bottle and/or bath in it and I still don't smell overwhelmingly...smelly! Now you'd expect that with a floral fragrance above anything else I think!

Top notes: Neroli from Grasse (flower of the bitter orange tree), Ylang-Ylang from the Comoros, Aldehydes.

Middle notes: Grasse Jasmine, May Rose.

Base notes: Sandalwood note, Vetiver from Réunion, Vanilla from Réunion (Bourbon Vanilla).

There really isn't a lot I can say about the scent. It is smooth and well blended (again to be fair) but I just can't identify any of the ingredients so I'm at a loss with it. No Vanilla even? It's just rather sad and bland although it does manage to smell expensive all at the same time. It just doesn't make me go wow till I see the prices of it!

I'd guess if anyone is going to use this it'd be the more mature lady who actually has very little imagination and has been using it for years and is stuck in a rut or it's a gift from someone with little taste and they've plumped for the history of the perfume and the fact its been on the market forever and it's expensive! If your going to wear it keep it for daytime use as it's light!

For me this will always be the most uninteresting of the Channel range. It's past it and I would be gutted if someone bought this for me!

Sold in all good chemists like Boots. At the moment it's only being sold in Boots in a glass 10ml bottle for £103.00 and no other sizes are listed on the boots site to buy. Also a word to the wise. do be careful of fakes of this one!

Summary: Not for me!