The perfume that every woman knows of - Chanel No. 5 is more than just a smell. It is an icon, a sign perhaps to yourself that you have reached somewhere, but what makes this perfume so sought after. Personally, I donn't find the scent too alluring, but Chanel No. 5 was my first Chanel buy, so this book was quite an interesting read.
The story starts with Gabrielle Chanel's humble beginnings, growing up as an orphan in a monastery in Aubazine where she picked up the skills as a seamstress, and perhaps also her penchant for simple clean lines. She also picked up a keen sense of appreciation for smells. The story then meanders through her life as she tries her hand at the stage, her life as a mistress to a series of men, from each of whom she picks up something for her signature perfume, though never really having thought of a perfume then. She also picked up the name "Coco" and the interlocking Cs - the Chanel log. The scent was born much later, when she meets her perfumer, Ernest Beaux, who brings with him the long-gone smells from the Russian czars that mixed with the perfumes from the Medici queens and the modern smells of aldehydes that gives the daring new Chanel No. 5 its provocative smell. The bitter rivalries and the fights behind the scenes, the German occupation, the secret deals, the story behind the perfume is quite an intriguing one right up to this very day. An interesting read for just about anyone, it is of course, most fascinating for the Chanel lover, or just about any perfume lover.
The story starts with Gabrielle Chanel's humble beginnings, growing up as an orphan in a monastery in Aubazine where she picked up the skills as a seamstress, and perhaps also her penchant for simple clean lines. She also picked up a keen sense of appreciation for smells. The story then meanders through her life as she tries her hand at the stage, her life as a mistress to a series of men, from each of whom she picks up something for her signature perfume, though never really having thought of a perfume then. She also picked up the name "Coco" and the interlocking Cs - the Chanel log. The scent was born much later, when she meets her perfumer, Ernest Beaux, who brings with him the long-gone smells from the Russian czars that mixed with the perfumes from the Medici queens and the modern smells of aldehydes that gives the daring new Chanel No. 5 its provocative smell. The bitter rivalries and the fights behind the scenes, the German occupation, the secret deals, the story behind the perfume is quite an intriguing one right up to this very day. An interesting read for just about anyone, it is of course, most fascinating for the Chanel lover, or just about any perfume lover.
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