What better way to understand the heart of a fragrance than to visit the fields where it all begins?

CHANEL has achieved with No.5 what other perfume brands can only hope for and “celebrity-based” fragrances won’t even dare dream of.

Marilyn Monroe wore it to bed. Artist Andy Warhol painted it. Perfumers used it to bookmark a new era.

It is so iconic that it goes simply by “No.5” and the mere mention conjures up an image of a woman who is sensual, feminine and confident.

The best way to get a better grasp of the allure of the fragrance is to visit Grasse, set in the French Riviera region where it all began.

The bottle and packaging of Chanel No.5 is elegant in its simplicity.

During one of Chanel’s fashion showcases, members of the media were also taken to the perfume capital of the world.

A delightful picnic was laid out right next to a vast field of flowers and journalists were invited to feast on deliciously fresh foods as we soaked in the enchanting environ.

There is a significance to the venue of choice. It was not just any open field overgrown with wild flowers; these were the precious ingredients of No.5.

The roses grown here are at the heart of the famous perfume, being one-half of its middle notes. These delicate blooms have to be handled with utmost care.

The Rosa Centifolia in the world today can only be found in Grasse, where it flowers only once a year, in May (hence it is also called May rose), for three weeks.

An undated picture of Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel in Paris.

They are so fragile that they have to be picked in the morning before the sun has the chance to damage it.

This particular field belongs to Joseph Mul, who is the third generation owner of the fields that grow these special prized flowers. And, it supplies exclusively to Chanel.

The visiting media group was fortunate enough to witness the gathering of the roses; lines of women moved systematically along their assigned rows, adroitly plucking just the blooms off the bush minus the stems.

The roses are then sent straight to a factory on site to be turned into a balm and subsequently, a concentrate known as “absolute”. About one tonne of the flowers go into creating just 1.5kg of absolute.

Also found in Grasse are the jasmines, which are harvested in September, that complete the middle notes, and the neroli that forms part of the top notes of No.5. The rest of the top note consists of ylang-ylang from the Comoros and aldehydes, while sandalwood as well as bourbon vetiver and vanilla make up the base.

The May rose, today found only in Grasse, France, is an essential ingredient of Chanel No.5.

Herein lies one of the characteristics that helped make No.5 iconic.

The fragrance went against the mono-floral trend of the day when Earnest Beaux first created it. It is the very first “abstract” composed fragrance. The magical concoction contained more than 80 ingredients; in place of a dominant note was a well-rounded floral richness. It met Gabrielle Chanel’s demand of “a fragrance that is composed; a women’s fragrance that smells like a woman.”

Another revolutionary feature is the bottle itself – an undeniable representation of Gabrielle. Designed by Mademoiselle Chanel herself, it is a total embodiment of minimalism and timeless elegance. And it perfectly complements the fragrance’s short and simple moniker.

The scent itself has undergone a number of reinterpretations, the latest by Chanel master perfumer Jacques Polge has been christened Eau Premiere.

Sealing the exclusivity and luxury – both in the metaphorical and literal sense – is a tradition that is solely practised by Chanel and only for the No.5 parfum.

The bottle-sealing method called baudru-chage involves applying a fine membrane over the neck of the bottle, thus ensuring it is water- and air-tight.

And then, of course, there is the mark of style and inimitable identity – the coveted double C symbol, perhaps the most seductive element in the formula.

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Chanel No.5: Sealed with care

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