Sunday, December 7, 2008

Chanel No. 22 = Perfection


Oh, Chanel No. 22, how do I love thee? I cannot count the ways. No’s 5 and 19 receive all the attention and devotion. I say, let the droves have 5 & 19 and leave me with 22.

No. 22 is meant to be an aldehydic white floral with a touch of incense. I must admit to not even smelling white florals – to me, it’s all about aldehydes, soap and incense. No. 22 smells as if the most pure French soap were crafted into an incense cone and burned – cleanly – without smoke. Where No. 5 is haughty, you’re humble. Where No. 19 is cold, you’re warm. You are the epitome of class and grace. I am devoted to you, you are perfection.

8 comments:

Julie H. Rose said...

Oh my, I realize I've never sniffed No.22. What an oversight!

I have loved No.19 and Cristalle but not their current incarnations. Rather gave up on Chanel, I suppose. Although I did enjoy the not very unusual Les Exclusifs Cologne. . .

Been enjoying this blog very much, btw. Thanks!

Abigail said...

Julie,

Aww, thank you SO much!

Chanel describes 22 as being very similar to 5 but I don't think so at all. Not everyone smells the incensey quality but that's *all* I smell. I have the pure parfum on my holiday wish list so we shall see (if I get it) how it differs from the EdT. I imagine I'll be able to smell the white florals in the pure parfum.

I liked the Cologne too. It's not particularly unusual but very refreshing for summer.

Oh, and I love Cristalle, even the current reformulation...

I used to dislike Chanel - not sure what happened..?

Thanks for reading! :-)

Andrea Karim said...

It's so funny - I wore 22 all through my college years (with a few months set aside for some violet and apricot oils purchased in a tiny town in Washington state) and no one has EVER mentioned the scent to me before it became a part of the Exclusifs line this year. I am SO relieved, as I was beginning to think that I was the only one wearing it at all.

Abigail said...

Andrea,

I didn't know it existed until it showed up in the Les Exclusifs line. Since then I've purchased a vintage off ebay, a huge family size jug of the new Les Exclusifs EdT bottle, another 'eau de cologne' version from ebay, AND I just treated myself this holiday to the pure parfum! Oddly, the one I like the best is the eau de cologne. It projects the most and lasts the longest. The pure parfum is gorgeous, as you'd expect, but not so terribly different smelling and much closer to the skin that I would have thought. Oh, and I also got the 22 body lotion.

For sure I am set for life with 22 (and the next two generations in my lineage!) ;-)

emmapeelDallas said...

This is my favorite scent of all time. I've worn it since I was 22 years old. I'll be 60 this September, and since it was discontinued had despaired of finding it again, but when it was brought back, my 4 kids got together and bought me the BIG bottle. Needless to say, that was one terrific birthday present. I'm happy to see that younger women love it too! Great post!

Unknown said...

PLEASE HELP...DESPERATELY SEEKING CHANEL 22!!!!!

Does anyone know where to buy Chanel 22 - this was my "signature" fragrance for years and I can no longer find it anywhere! I don't recall exactly what "form" is was - just the spray that was enclosed in a white case and you could purchase a refill, pop the used bottle out and replace the old with the new bottle in the same white container.

Abigail said...

Hi there DaNene,

You can find Chanel No. 22 at Saks or at any Chanel boutique in the U.S. Chanel made No. 22 part of their Exclusifs collection a few years back. Usually these stores don't have it on their website so you'll need to call.

Good luck!

VintageFashionAddict said...

You can buy a rare Vintage Chanel No.22 in my shop. I have other fragrances to at reasonable prices and am willing to negotiate on price... http://tinyurl.com/bpota9