Chanel
Explore 151 Chanel fragrances — notes, longevity, sillage and community ratings, matched to how you want to smell.
About the house
The Chanel perfume business starts with No. 5, which Ernest Beaux composed for Gabrielle Chanel in 1921. It was released on 5 May 1921 to select clients at the rue Cambon in Paris. At first it was handed to clients as a gift, and its popularity led the house to offer it for sale in 1922. The Perfume Society says Beaux presented a set of samples and Chanel chose the fifth. She is quoted as saying she shows her collections on the fifth day of the fifth month, so the number stayed as the name.
Beaux also made Cuir de Russie, Gardenia and Bois des Iles, three perfumes that now sit in the Les Exclusifs line. Henri Robert took over from him as in-house perfumer and stayed until 1978. Chanel No. 19 came out in 1971 from Robert, and its number marks Gabrielle Chanel's birthday, 19 August.
Jacques Polge trained in Grasse under Jean Carles and was head perfumer until 2015. His work includes Coco, Allure, Coco Mademoiselle, Chance and Bleu de Chanel. Asked about his method, he said he was always playing with notes to come up with new accords. Historyofperfume.net describes exclusive harvests from the Mul family in Grasse, with Chanel eventually buying 30 hectares of land.
His son Olivier Polge, an IFF perfumer since 1998, joined Chanel in September 2013. He is credited with No. 5 L'Eau and with Bleu de Chanel Parfum, a new version of his father's Bleu de Chanel. The company is privately held by the brothers Alain and Gérard Wertheimer through Chanel Limited.
Signature notes
These notes show up in Chanel fragrances at least twice as often as in the catalogue as a whole. We worked this out from each fragrance's listed notes. It is not how the house describes itself.
Best known for
Coco Mademoiselle, Bleu de Chanel, Bleu de Chanel Eau de Parfum, Chance Eau Tendre, Chance Eau Fraiche and Allure Homme Sport — the most-rated in our catalogue.
Releases
From 1921 to 2026, 137 fragrances with a known year.
Said to be the inspiration
Some houses say which fragrance one of theirs was inspired by. These are the Chanel fragrances they name.
- One house describes one fragrance as inspired by Coco Mademoiselle. What they say →
- One house describes one fragrance as inspired by Bleu de Chanel. What they say →
- One house describes one fragrance as inspired by Allure Homme Sport Eau Extreme. What they say →
- One house describes one fragrance as inspired by Allure Sensuelle. What they say →
- One house describes one fragrance as inspired by Allure Homme Sport Superleggera. What they say →
