We all have a smell engraved in our memory, linked to a bottle placed on the family dressing table. A century after its creation, the best-selling perfume of all time still resists all new developments.
This historic bestseller was, however, imagined in 1921. It is called Chanel N°5 and no rival, from Shalimar by Guerlain to Angel by Thierry Mugler, has managed to steal this first place in the world.
Chanel N°5, a perfume born to break the codes in 1921
It all began on the Côte d’Azur, when Gabrielle Coco Chanel wanted to offer her customers a truly different perfume. She commissioned the nose Ernest Beaux, who developed a formula of around 80 ingredients where aldehydes, these synthetic molecules with a sparkling and metallic effect, take a unique place.
Among the tests he presented to her, she chose the fifth, launched on May 5, 1921, hence this minimalist name. The bouquet opens with accents of lemon and neroli, continues with a heart of jasmine, rose and ylang-ylang, then melts into a trail of iris, vanilla, vetiver and musk.
Record sales for the world’s best-selling perfume
To support this ambitious juice, the house created Les Parfums Chanel with Pierre Wertheimer, who industrialized production and global distribution. The rectangular bottle, inspired by Place Vendôme, entered the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1959, then was taken over by Andy Warhol.
Today, Chanel N°5 remains regularly cited as the best-selling perfume in history. It is estimated that a bottle is sold every 30 seconds in the world, or around 10 million bottles per year, and more than a hundred million in total, for billions of dollars, or several billion euros in cumulative turnover.
Muses, heritage and memory: why Chanel N°5 remains unbeatable
Its legend is also due to the faces who wore it. Marilyn Monroe said she slept with a few drops of the perfume; later, Catherine Deneuve and Audrey Tautou took over as muses. , explained Ernest Beaux, quoted by the Journal des Femmes.
From generation to generation, many women receive their first bottle of Chanel N°5 as a gift, often echoing that of their mother. Recent blockbusters like Angel by Thierry Mugler, J’adore by Dior or La Vie est Belle by Lancôme were able to shine for a few years, but none have yet achieved so many decades of global success.
What is the best-selling perfume of all time?
Chanel N°5, created in 1921, is generally considered to be this perfume.
Who created the Chanel N°5 perfume?
It was designed by Gabrielle Coco Chanel and composed by Ernest Beaux.
How many bottles of Chanel N°5 are sold each year?
We are talking about ten million bottles sold per year worldwide.
