Allure EDT 50ml

The story of Chanel herself has become legend. After growing up in an orphanage, Gabrielle Chanel – born 19th August 1883, in Saumur – went on to open her first Paris boutique, selling hats, at 21 Rue Cambon in 1910. She made her name selling clothes that were not just beautiful and stylish, but comfortable, freeing women from tight corsetry through her innovative use of tweed and jersey, tailored with a nod to men’s clothing – including trousers. She’s also widely credited as first to introduce that essential in a woman’s wardrobe: ‘The Little Black Dress’. Chanel also designed costumes for plays (Cocteau’s ‘Antigone’, in 1923), and movies, including Renoir’s ‘La Règle de Jeu’. The clothes – and the fragrances – have been loved and worn by stars all over the world, though perhaps Chanel’s most famous endorsement of all was from Marilyn Monroe, who in 1960 breathlessly proclaimed: ‘What do I wear in bed? Why, Chanel No. 5, of course…’ Chanel‘s first men’s fragrance – Chanel Pour Monsieur – was introduced in 1995, created by Henri Robert, who took over from Ernest Beaux as in-house perfumer. (Since then, an entire men’s fragrance wardrobe has been introduced, spanning leathery, virile Antaeus through to the aromatic-woody blockbuster BLEU DE CHANEL. Henri Robert also created No. 19 – named for Chanel’s birthday – which was initially reserved for special friends and clients. Coco Chanel died on 10th January 1971 in Paris, on the eve of presenting her latest collection – and later that year, the rest of us were able to enjoy this floral-green masterpiece. A new era in Chanel‘s perfume history was born –a wave of creativity that continues to this day. In 1974, Cristalle was unveiled: Chanel‘s freshest scent yet. In 1979, Jacques Polge became Chanel‘s third perfume designer; his first feminine creation was richly opulent Coco, in 1984. Allure followed, in 1996, then in 2001, Coco Mademoiselle, which in the US (among other countries) has become even more widely worn than the iconic No. 5… screenshot-2016-12-12-19-33-102007 heralded a new era in Chanel perfume creativity with the unveiling of Les Exclusifs, initially a collection of 10 fragrances (though many more have since been added). Jacques Polge’s inspiration was the rich Chanel heritage – and, above all, the ingredients themselves. ‘As a perfumer, I’m always playing with notes to come up with new and intriguing accords,’ explains M. Polge. (Chanel, uniquely, still control their own acres of roses and jasmine in Grasse). The acclaimed collection revived three of Ernest Beaux’s masterpieces, adding a new portfolio of scents inspired by Chanel‘s life, loves and the places that mattered to her – from languid, exotic Coromandel (named after the priceless Oriental screens in Mademoiselle’s Rue Cambon apartment) to airy Bel Respiro, with its notes of hyacinth, green tea and aromatic grasses. (The name comes from Chanel’s beige-and-black holiday home, where she holed up with her composer lover, Igor Stravinsky).