Wednesday, July 23, 2014

I Wore This: Chanel No.5 Eau De Cologne

I was in Berlin recently with Barbara Herman and Miguel Matos, and at some point, trading the smells we'd all brought, Miguel pulled out an atomizer of Chanel No. 5 eau de cologne.

I've never been a big No.5 fan, so the cologne concentration surprised me. It's sweet and ambery and a little leathery, less sharp than its better known siblings, more mellow. It doesn't last long but at least, unlike the edt and edp, it isn't meant to.

I bought this little bottle on Ebay. When I posted this picture on Facebook I was told that the bottle probably dates back to no earlier than the 70s, which is just fine with me. I put it on the back of my hand and enjoyed it most of the day, reapplying when I missed that initial rush of vanillic amber. The bottle is shaped like a flask you'd hide in your pocket to get through a particularly tedious ordeal.

I'd like to smell this on a guy.

3 comments:

Julie said...

Who would not want to smell this perfume? This is one of the best perfumes for me. Super love the scent!

Brian said...

The cologne is so nice. I have an atomizer in the shellac black square Chanel bottle too. Something about the snap when you replace that cap makes me excited.

Pat Borow/Olfacta said...

I have a bottle I bought at an estate sale for 10 bucks (one of my few such finds). It smells very different from the modern. I did a post on the various 5's and, in my research, found that my splash bottle was probably from the 60's. More leather. More skunk. (Not "skunk" damn you autocorrect -- you know the word I mean Brian) -- a little spoiled aldehyde but it goes quickly. 5 was my scent in college, when it was still ok to wear perfume to class -- imagine trying to do that now!