Chanel No 5 L’Eau; The Legacy of Modernity Drops with a Limited Edition

Like a drop of water seen through the gaze of the sun; it sparkles. Like the greatest stars of stage and cinema that glowingly vibrate with life. Like the most mesmerising diamond that reflects the brightest light. And glass.; that simple substance made from sand becomes the most delicate yet shimmering item. It can bring light into a room via a window and it can be shaped to hold something as ephemeral and precious as perfume. When we think of a glass perfume bottle what probably comes to mind is the Chanel N°5 bottle with its square clean modernity. The perfume that the dazzling Marylin Monroe wore to bed. But what if we were to tell you this most historic of bottles has a limited edition new shape?

During a 1952 interview with a magazine, asked what she wore to bed,

“what do you wear to bed?”

“‘Do you wear a pyjama top? The bottoms of the pyjamas? Or a nightgown?’

“So I said Chanel No.5! Because it’s the truth! And yet, I don’t want to say nude.

and this little passing phase went on to become a cultural touchstone.

This declaration was more than a testament to the perfume’s allure, it was a bold, intimate glimpse into Monroe’s private world, blending simplicity with seduction in a way only she could. 

Chanel N°5, is still the world’s most popular perfume. The story goes that Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel approached perfumer Ernest Beaux with her vision. She wanted him to create a fragrance, unlike anything that had come before.

At this time it was popular to wear specific style scents of floral notes such as Gardenia, Jasmine, or Rose. Yet Mademoiselle Chanels‘s brief to the master perfumer was for something far more abstract, aligning the idea of perfume to a piece of high fashion. Much like most things she did, this was revolutionary.

It’s understandable from this idea why Ernest Beaux used the notes he did, as they represented a modern take on the idea of a feminine scent. Aldehydes, an organic compound with a carbonyl structure, that brings freshness brightness, sparkling and radiance, was a rather new compound made synthetically that blew open the world of perfumery when first used in Chanel N° 5

Other notes that open the scent alongside Aldehydes are, Ylang-Ylang, Neroli, Bergamot and Lemon, whilst the centre holds facets of Iris, Jasmine, Rose, Orris Root and Lily-of-the-Valley; It is all held in place with a base of Civet, Musk, Sandalwood, Amber, Moss, Vanilla, Vetiver and Patchouli.

And as much as the scent was modernity itself, so was the bottle. Clean strong lines, bold forms, this angular rectangle bottle is somewhat like a head, shoulders and torso, all wrapped in a fitted suit jacket. But a story does suggest, the bottle shape was inspired by a gentlemen’s toiletry travel bottles. Whatever the whole story the bottle and perfume were both absolute in capturing the mode of the moment.

The house of Chanel has always kept modernity as the cornerstone of the house, so it’s no surprise that this iconic perfume has been revisited over time, keeping, absolutely the iconic voluptuous original in Parfum and Eau de Parfum, but exploring facets of the elixir to ensure the house is always ahead of the curve.

Next came the woody facets scent, so find echoes of the floral bouquet intensified with woody notes. A warm and bright version of the original fragrance. This Eau de Toilette is bottled in a more rectangular shape, similar to say, N°19 and is topped with a black lacquer cap.

Next up comes N°5 Eau Premiere which shares an olfactory signature with the Parfum. This unique and airy take on the scent brings together the oriental spice of Bourbon Vanilla, the freshness of juicy citrus fruits, and the sharpness of Vetiver, alongside signature Jasmine combined with Ylang-Ylang and Rose finishing with lingering notes of amber and sandalwood.

Chanel N°5 Eau Premier shares an olfactory signature with the Parfum. The Jasmine notes of the floral bouquet delicately reveal Ylang-Ylang from the Comoros. A modern, airy interpretation of the classic N°5. Silky-smooth harmony of notes that reveals delicate aspects of the fragrance of nowadays and the future.

Then in 2016 the nose behind its latest incarnation Olivier Polge brought Chanel L’ Eau to the world. Radiant with bright Citrus top notes melded with the brightness and cloudy light of Aldehydes, followed by a floral whirlwind of Jasmine, Rose and Ylang-Ylang, and then the dynamic liveliness of Vetiver and Cedar. The most fresh and vibrant version in the N°5 family and in many ways the most abstract since the original. Meaning it not only echoes back but looks forward too. Here Olivier Polge has skillfully reinvented this iconic scent to suit the tastes of a new generation.

So for this summer talking of reinvention, the house has bought out a limited edition bottle to contain this juice. Again it echoes back to the history of the house and Marilyn Monroe‘s famous about going to bed in N°5 comment, bringing clarity in shape and modern form. Think of the bottle like it is shaped by a single drop of perfume wrapped in glass.

This design, crafted by Sylvie Legastelois, Chanel’s head of packaging and design, is a technical achievement in glassmaking. Designed to be both aesthetically pleasing and functional, the bottle’s unique shape required precise engineering and expert craftsmanship to produce. Alongside the beauty is a sense of ergonomics; you desire to hold the bottle in your hand.

Image Norma Solomon

To experience N°5 L’Eau Drop is to embrace a piece of this rich history. This limited-edition bottle is not just a fragrance, it’s a story; an echo of Monroe’s charm. Known often to play ‘dumb’ in films the woman was very intelligent. She also left behind many great quotes including

“Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world.”

Maybe an updated version would be “Give a girl the right shoes and spray her with L’eau N°5 Chanel and she can conquer the world.

Now was that not enough hot news from Chanel, know that the N°1 DE CHANEL skincare line of anti-ageing beauty products, has a new product.

After studying camellias for 19 years, CHANEL Research brought to light that red camellia extract boosts the skin’s vitality and protects it from oxidative stress to preserve its youth. This collection targets the signs of ageing by harnessing the power of an extraordinary flower.

Of course, the Camilla is the signature flower of the house. The new Revitalizing Eye Serum instantly smooths and revives the eye area. Its rotating applicator, features a cooling effect, massages, and cools down the eye area.

Easy to use every morning and evening, by rolling it all over the eye area with the applicator. Perform smoothing movements across the upper eyelid, from the inner corner outwards then repeat three times.  Also, smooth the area around the crow’s feet and repeat three times. 

Finally using the fingers, smooth the area below the eye in an outward direction: start from the outer corner of the eye, then from the middle of the eye, and lastly from the inner corner of the eye repeating three times. 

Next, perform smoothing movements on the frown lines in an upward direction, followed by the eyebrows, working from the inner edge to the tip of each brow. 

Enriched with red camellia extract and camellia yeast, its fresh gel formula boosts the skin’s vitality and protects the delicate eye area. It features a 3D complex that acts on the three dimensions of the eyes: under-eye bags, dark circles and stress lines appear reduced.

And lastly, for anyone who is fascinated by who will take on the new head of design at Chanel. Afterall, the announcement of a new creative director at one of the world’s most famous luxury brands is imminent. Among the most prestigious positions in the fashion universe, the appointment of a new Creative Director at French Chanel has created huge speculation.

JOOR, the fashion industry’s leading wholesale management ecosystem, has leveraged the power of AI to hypothesise what the aesthetic of Chanel could look like under the leadership of a range of potential new creative directors. Collating a collection of the biggest designers in the fashion industry, names that are floating around as potentials including Phoebe Philo, Hedi Slimane, and Jeremy Scott JOOR have utilised an AI image generator to imagine each of these talented designers’ take on the iconic look of Chanel.

To do this, JOOR explored each designer’s signature style and how this could translate into Chanel’s house codes. AI then generated a mock-up of what it predicts the designer fits to look like.

From Top right to Bottom left Sarah Burton, Hedi Slimane, Marc Jacobs and Haider Ackerman.

JOOR is the world’s leading wholesale management ecosystem, with nearly $20 billion in transactions processed annually. More than 14,000 brands and 640,000 curated fashion buyers across 150 countries connect on the platform. Their notable client base includes leading luxury conglomerates LVMH, Richemont, and Tapestry, as well as brands such as Valentino, Loewe, and Stella McCartney.

JOOR has exclusive partnerships with 30+ leading global retailers using the JOOR Retail Partner platform including Harrods, Neiman Marcus, Harvey Nichols, Printemps, Bergdorf Goodman, Shopbop, and Dover Street Market.

But what would Karl say?

To find out how to buy the limited edition Scent please visit Chanel.com/l’Eau here, buy the N°1 DE CHANEL eye Serum here and to find out about the brand please visit Chanel.Com Here

To find out more about Joor please visit www.joor.com here

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