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 There is a
little bit of mystery surrounding Chanel No. 22 (which, of course, makes it all
the more appealing). On the one hand, according to Chanel.com, the scent was
named after the year in which it was created, 1922. On the other hand, it is
also said that the fragrance «was presented in 1928 to a world yearning for
lightness to dispel the gloom of difficult economic times».
According to the
cute and amazingly uninformative little book that accompanies Les Exclusifs, No.
22 is «a light variation of the brilliant No. 5», and it thus might be possible
that No. 22 was one of the numbers given to Chanel by Ernest Beaux, among which
she has chosen the variation that became No. 5, and No. 22 was returned to a
year later and became a «white floral» to match Chanel's new White Look.
Chanel
fragrances have always been the essence of chic. They do need an sophisticated
bottle or any commercials when a chic and luxury woman passing by leaves the
trail of scent to attract men. French Chanel House became the acknowledged lawmaker
not only in the world of fashion but also in the segment of aldehyde scents.
Ernest
Beaux created Chanel No. 22 in
1922, and the same year he released Caron Nuit de Noël and another Chanel, No.
55.
The same as
the legendary precursor Chanel №22 got its original number since preliminary it
is in the number of experimental sample scents presented by Ernest Beaux to the
reputed Coco Chanel. The couturier selected Chanel №5 as the debut fragrance of
Chanel House that appeared most attractive composition that acquired the right
to exist and prolonged the traditions set for aldehyde scents becoming too
thin, elegant and gentle unlike the original Chanel №5.
Most perfumes
of today tend to call Chanel №22 the lighter version of the iconic Chanel №5, though
Chanel №22 is actually absolutely unique representative of the perfume line of
the French House, though it was a little bit tender and smoother. In spite of the
most distinctive aldehyde note and the entire abstraction of the fragrance that
became the «corporate» style of the most perfume works by Chanel, Chanel №22 is
not the version of the other scent. It is wholly unique and absolutely individual. Chanel №5was the avant-garde and courageous scent
for the time it was launched as the works by the painters of the newest epoch, while
Chanel №22 is more like the classic art work similar to Da Vinci works.
The classic
aldehyde flowery scent of Chanel №22 is built on the top notes that are
aldehydes, white roses, tuberose, jasmine, lily of the valley, lilac and orange
blossom. The heart of the perfume is orchid and ylang ylang, and the base is
vanilla, incense, and vetiver. The beginning of Chanel №22 has a joyous,
vibrant feel brought on by the aldehydes: the top notes are sparkling like
precious stones and effervescent like the most expensive of champagnes.
After
twenty minutes, when the yelling coloratura of the aldehydes loses its strength,
a gorgeous duet of white flowers and gentle incense emerges. After an hour and
a half or so, just the incense, grounded slightly by vetiver, burns along
quietly. And this is what Chanel №22 says to you.
The white
flowers aroma with sparkling and brilliant aldehyde was the base of Chanel №22,
assigned to add the new trendy line by Coco Chanel with the promising White
Look. The note of the orange blossom is a little bit creamy and powdery in the
perfume composition by Chanel №22 that is somewhat along the lines of the
orange blossom in Patou's Divine Folie, only much less sweet..
The various
versions of Chanel №22 are strikingly different as well as with most
fragrances, not limited to vintage scents, depending on the concentration of
notes. The vintage version of the scent, in spite of the sharp and strikingly
intensive aldehyde beginning notes is different for its special gentleness and
delicacy when the abstract and extraordinarily concordant scent softly wraps
the skin like a veil. In the meantime, the current versions of Chanel №22 sound
far more intensive and jagged thanks to the pronounced aldehyde notes slightly
smoothed by the flowery notes of the heart, though as told by Chanel, it is
created from the same ingredients as the legendary and original Chanel №22.
Chanel №22
seemed to disappear in 2007 though it had the second birth when the perfumer of
the Chanel House Jacques Polge reformulated the legendary scent making it as
the integral part of Chanel Les Exclusifs Perfume Collection. Apart from Chanel
№22, this exclusive collection of recreated vintage scents by Chanel includes
three more fragrances created by Ernest Beaux in 20s of the XX century: Cuir de
Russie, Gardenia and Bois Des Iles. Jacques Polge added six more new scents
created by him to the vintage works by Chanel House. All the scents in the Chanel
Les Exclusifs Collection is united with the simple and laconic design of the
bottle - that legendary and easily recognizable square bottle without ant
features which was used for Chanel №5 and
which is still the most recognizable perfume bottles in the world. Today Exclusifs
de Chanel scents are offered only by the elite boutiques by Chanel and several
perfume stores.
No. 22 is
warm enough to save for cool weather, and could be a day or night fragrance,
although it might be too pretty for work.
Chanel №22
is beautiful, with more subtle incense, it is softer and the perfume is so
expertly blended that no one note dominates, and the overall effect is one of
refined, feminine elegance. This is definitely a perfume for mature and elegant
women.
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