Chanel No. 19

Chanel No. 19 perfume was first marketed in 1971. The number 19 was chosen to commemorate Coco Chanel's birthday, 19 August. The perfume was launched a year before she died. The scent was created by Henri Robert.^[1]

No. 19 is a balsamic-green scent, quite different to the aldehydic Chanel No. 5, the floral Chanel No. 22 and ambrette-green Chanel No. 18. The pure perfume and eau de parfum have a slight greenish tint, and the eau de toilette is pale green. (In many vintage adverts for No. 19 (and in old factice bottles), it appears that No. 19 was originally a much deeper green colour than it is now). Many describe it as a refreshing, gentle, floral fragrance. The No. 19 refillable sprays are silver-grey in colour (originally brushed stainless-steel), in contrast to the black No. 5 and white No. 22. No. 19 was made as an evening fragrance.

In a recent (c.2000) revamp of No. 19, Chanel has drastically reduced the products available: in the UK the original splash bottles and refillable sprays of Eau de Toilette and Eau de Parfum have been discontinued, as have the two sizes of refillable Parfum spray. The Parfum is now only available in 7.5ml and 15ml size bottles (the Parfum has been discontinued in the US altogether). The range of bath and body products, which was previously identical to the range available in No. 5, is now reduced to Body Lotion and Bath and Shower Gel.

In Lisi Harrison's book series The Clique, Massie Block wears Chanel No. 19 every day. On special occasions, she wears No. 5.^{[citation needed]}

In a number of reviews, Bel Respiro (a 2006 Eau de Toilette from Chanel's Les Exclusifs range) is described having a certain similarity to No. 19, especially in its top notes.^{[citation needed]}

Notes

Chanel No. 19 contains fragrant notes of galbanum, neroli, bergamot, jasmine, rose, lily of the valley, iris, vetiver, sandalwood, leather and musk. The galbanum and leather on a musky base makes the scent v difficult to classify. Some call it a green floral, others a chypre. Chanel announced the scent "Audacious and assertive. Never conventional".

1. ^ Chanel.com