“The story of Chanel No 5 begins in Moscow in 1912 with perfumer Ernest Beaux’s studies of the aldehyde used in Houbigant’s Quelques Fleurs. It continues in La Bocca and Cannes, France, and then is almost derailed by competition from an unlikely source,” begins the article From Rallet No1 to Chanel No5 versus Mademoiselle Chanel No1 by Philip Kraft, Christine Ledard and Philip Goutell.
Published in October issue of Perfumer & Flavorist, it presents a fascinating account of the birth of Chanel No5. One can learn why Beaux was interested in aldehydes and how Coco Chanel decided to launch her own line of fragrances (breaking the agreement with Pierre Wertheimer of Parfums Chanel) during the WWII. Moreover, the piece offers the reconstituted formulas for Rallet No1 parfum and eau de toilette as well as mysterious Mademoiselle Chanel No1. Available for purchase from the Perfumer & Flavorist website.
I have to mention my own small involvement in this piece, which was consisted of providing some historical materials as well as a sample of Rallet No1 from my personal bottle. I have long treasured this gem, and I was glad to finally break open the seal for the purposes of analysis. It is certainly great to see it on the P&F pages.
3 Comments
Linda: Fascinating article! Totally worth the purchase. Who knew that Chanel had so many tricks up her sleeve. September 26, 2007 at 10:04am
Boisdejasmin: Octavian, I know that the authors are continuing to gather information, so I am sure that your paper would come in very useful. Of course, I would love to read the paper, if you would like to share (and in exchange I would be glad to send you something rare and vintage to try). September 26, 2007 at 2:48pm
Octavian: Well, If I knew about the writing of that article I would have been glad to provide one of the papers written by Ernest Beaux (I pusblished some posts on my blog).
A great article ! September 26, 2007 at 1:49pm