raidersofthelostscent: April 2016

"Je lance ma collection le 5 mai, cinquième mois de l'année, laissons lui le numéro qu'il porte et ce numéro 5 lui portera chance" (Coco Chanel)

Satine - “Christian, I'm a courtesan. I'm paid to make men believe what they want to believe” (from "Moulin Rouge")

When it comes to legends, is always difficult to distinguish between reality and fantasy. And Chanel N°5 is a legend. So much has been spoken and much has been written about this creation, and the only certainty is that Chanel N°5 was a real olfactory revolution. In times when women wore fragrances dedicated to a single flower, the rebel Coco decided that things had to change and asked Ernest Beaux to create a complex perfume with a smell of woman.

A woman knowing how to combine the elegance with the sensuality of the boudoir. And so, the aldehydes transformed the opulent flowers and notes of amber, musky accord and aromatic woods in the golden drops of Chanel N°5 that in 1921 made his triumphal entry into the world of perfumery.

Approaching this legend is a delicate matter. You have to get closer on tiptoe and remain in silent adoration of its talc notes and its allure that evokes a boundless femininity. If we wanted to put a face to this fragrance we should look for a romantic and seductive female figure, a courtesan of a sweet beauty. As Satine in "Moulin Rouge!", a romantic musical melodrama directed by Baz Luhrmann in 2001. Satine, played by Nicole Kidman, is the star of Moulin Rouge, a place of joy and destruction for young bohemians and wealthy viveurs in the sparkling age of the can-can that animated the atmospheres of Pigalle in Paris at the turn between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Divided between the love for the penniless writer Christian (Ewan McGregor) and the temptation for the richness of the Duke of Monroth (Richard Roxburgh), in the end Satine will indulge in young love's arms, though the cruel fate will take over their romance. The whole film smells of N°5, but if we wanted to find a sequence which the perfume seems to accompany every moment in, it would probably be the one in which Satine appears for the first time.

The theater is full and the audience is breathless waiting for the favorite star. And here she comes in. She goes down from above like an angel covered with sparkling diamonds. Her skin is white, her lips are red. The wait is over and Satine hovers on the heads of the enraptured audience. The aldehydes realise into the air and amplify the sparkling notes of citrus and neroli. It's a sensual explosion that tickles the senses and has no way out. As a silver rain Satine spreads her fragrant essence around. Top notes expand and illuminate the scene with seductive scented waves that excite heart.

(VIDEO)

But Chanel N°5 is not a perfume to dissect or split in a traditional pyramid. Because from the moment it lays down on the skin all the notes that compose the jus sprout and mature together. The aldehydes are always there, never go away and amplify all the olfactory nuances. So Satine's allure penetrates deeper and deeper into souls. Duke and Christian's eyes never leave her, bewitched by the splendour of the Moulin Rouge Muse.

Satine goes down and as soon as his feet touch the ground, a source of opulent flowers gushes out. As fleshy and velvety rose, she indulges in the arms of enthusiastic fans, now at the mercy of her feminine charm. Fantasies of amorous liaison crowd the mind of its two main admirers. Citrus fruits and flowers sink into a vortex of creamy and amber woods heated by aldehydes and turned into unburnt embers.

Men are on Satine's feet, and she dissolves all their resistance by plunging them into the gripping spiral of her perfume. It's time for a complete surrender. Coco wanted a fragrance for women who make their mark. Sweet and stylish women with, however, a courtesan hidden impalpable cotè. So Beaux's olfactory creation is like Satine: the first time you meet it, you can lose yourself forever inside a caressing maze of alluring sensuality. Until a few years ago Chanel N°5 has been the best-selling perfume in the world, and like it or not it will always remain a touchstone in the history of perfumery. And even if the product currently on the market has been reformulated, Chanel N°5 will be the faithful companion of women all over the world for a long time.

Chanel N°5 - Chanel, 1921
Eau de Parfum
Nose: Ernest Beaux
Family: Floral aldehyde
Olfactory Pyramid: Chanel N°5 includes notes of bergamot, lemon, neroli, aldehydes, jasmine, rose, lily of the valley, iris, vetiver, sandalwood, vanilla, amber

Moulin Rouge! - Baz Luhrmann, 2001
Cast: Nicole Kidman (Satine); Ewan McGregor (Christian); John Leguizamo (Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec); Jim Broadbent (Harold Zidler); Richard Roxburgh (Duke of Monroth); Kylie Minogue (the Green Fairy)
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Written by Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce
Moulin Rouge! won, amongst others, two Academy Awards, three Golden Globes and three BAFTAs

(italian) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quando si parla di leggende è sempre difficile distinguere tra realtà e fantasia. E Chanel nr 5 è una leggenda. Tanto si è parlato e tanto si è scritto sulla sua creazione, ma l'unica cosa certa è che Chanel nr.5 è stata una vera e propria rivoluzione olfattiva. In tempi in cui le donne indossavano fragranze dedicate a un solo fiore, la ribelle Coco decise che le cose dovevano cambiare e chiese a Ernest Beaux di creare un profumo elaborato che odorasse di donna. Una donna che sapesse coniugare l'eleganza con la sensualità del boudoir. E fu così che le aldeidi trasformarono fiori opulenti e note ambrate, accordi muschiati e legni aromatici nelle gocce dorate di Chanel nr.5 che nel 1921 fece il suo trionfale ingresso nel mondo della profumeria.
Accostarsi a tale leggenda è un operazione delicata. Bisogna avvicinarsi in punta di piedi e restare in silenziosa adorazione delle sue note talcate e del suo allure che evoca una femminilità senza confini. Se volessimo dare un volto a questa fragranza dovremmo cercare una figura femminile romantica e seducente, una cortigiana dalla bellezza soave. Come Satine di Moulin Rouge!, del 2001, melodramma sentimentale raccontato da Baz Luhrman con il linguaggio del musical. Satine, interpretata da Nicole Kidman, è la stella del Moulin Rouge, luogo di gioia e perdizione di giovani bohémienne e facoltosi viveur nella scintillante era del can-can che animava le atmosfere della Pigalle parigina a cavallo del XIX e XX secolo. Divisa tra l'amore per lo squattrinato scrittore Christian (Ewan McGregor) e la tentazione per la ricchezza del duca di Monroth (Richard Roxburgh), alla fine Satine si abbandonerà tra le braccia del giovane amante, anche se il crudele destino avrà il sopravvento sulla loro storia d'amore. Tutto il film profuma di N°5, ma se volessimo trovare una sequenza in cui il profumo sembra accompagnare ogni attimo, probabilmente sarebbe quella in cui appare Satine per la prima volta. Il teatro è pieno e il pubblico è in spasmodica attesa della sua star preferita. Ed ecco che lei entra in scena. Scende dall'alto come un angelo coperto di scintillanti diamanti. La sua pelle è candida, le labbra rosse. L'attesa è finita e Satine si libra sulle teste del pubblico in visibilio. Le aldeidi si liberano nell'aria e amplifica le note scintillanti di agrumi e neroli. E' un esplosione di sensualità che solletica i sensi e non lascia scampo. Come pioggia d'argento Satine sparge la sua essenza profumata intorno. Le note di testa si espandono e illuminano la scena di seducenti onde profumate che eccitano i cuori. Ma Chanel n°5 non è un profumo che si può sezionare o dividere in una piramide tradizionale. Perchè dal momento che si adagia sulla pelle tutte le note che compongono il jus germogliano e maturano insieme. Le aldeidi sono sempre lì, non se ne vanno mai e fanno da amplificatore di tutte le sfumature olfattive. Così l'allure di Satine penetra sempre più profondamente nell'anima. Gli occhi del duca e di Christian non la lasciano un istante, ammaliati dallo splendore della musa del Moulin Rouge. Satine scende e appena il suo piede tocca terra ecco sgorgare una fonte di fiori opulenti. Come rosa carnosa e vellutata si abbandona tra le braccia di ammiratori ormai alla mercè del suo fascino femminile. Fantasie di liaison amorose affollano la mente dei suoi due principali adoratori. Gli agrumi e i fiori affondano in un vortice di legni cremosi e ambrati che le aldeidi accendono e li trasformano in braci incombuste. Gli uomini sono ai piedi di Satine che dissolve ogni loro resistenza tuffandoli nelle avvincenti spirali del suo profumo. Ormai non resta che capitolare. Coco voleva un profumo per donne che lasciassero il segno. Donne dolci ed eleganti che celassero però un impalpabile cotè di cortigiana. Per questo la creazione olfattiva di Beaux è come Satine: la prima volta che la incontri potresti perderti per sempre in carezzevoli meandri di provocante sensualità. Chanel N°5 è stato fino a pochi anni fa il profumo più venduto al mondo e che piaccia o no rimarrà sempre una pietra di paragone nella storia della profumeria. E anche se il prodotto attualmente in commercio è stato riformulato, Chanel N°5 per lungo tempo sarà ancora il fedele compagno di donne di tutto il mondo.

Chanel N°5 – Chanel, 1921
Eau de Parfum
Naso: Ernest Beaux
Famiglia: Aldeide fiorito
Piramide Olfattiva: Chanel N°5 racchiude note di bergamotto, limone, neroli, aldeidi, gelsomino, rosa, mughetto, iris, vetiver, sandalo, vaniglia, ambra

Moulin Rouge! - Baz Luhrmann, 2001
Cast: Nicole Kidman (Satine); Ewan McGregor (Christian); John Leguizamo (Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec); Jim Broadbent (Harold Zidler); Richard Roxburgh (duca di Monroth); Kylie Minogue (the Green Fairy)
Regia: Baz Luhrmann
Soggetto e sceneggiatura: Baz Luhrmann e Craig Pearce
Moulin Rouge! ha vinto, tra gli altri numerosi premi, due Oscar, tre Golden Globes e tre BAFTA

Dear Sirs, a few years ago, during the 2000s, I had a brief stint in the cosmetic industry as a chemist. Although I am not particularly fond of those years, I am nonetheless entertained in knowing all debates about "reformulations", analyzing batch-by-batch, month-by-month, picture-by-picture.
I especially enjoyed the ones regarding to Dior Homme, Dior Homme Intense, Dior Homme Parfum, and generically, all Dior perfumes and cosmetics. And when Andre from "Raiders" pointed out another probable reformulation occurring at the beginning of 2015, I decided to write this short note. Why? Because there is basically a very quick way to understand if a "reformulation" happened.

Actually, all Dior products silently advice you when a "reformulation" occurred: you simply have to check "the Number" written on the box, i.e. the number appearing on the corner of the box referring to the composition of the scent/cosmetic: when this number changes, it means the scent/cosmetic composition consequently changed: so, you know a reformulation occurred.
Here's a picture describing how to find the Number (Dior Homme Intense)

And here is a box of Dior Homme:

But what is exactly this Number? We need a few steps backwards....
During year 2003, the European Commission issued the 2003/14/EC Directive, about the mandatory labeling of the "allergens" on the box of all European-marketed scents and cosmetics, to be implemented within two years (i.e. year 2005, at latest).
Furthermore, one of the rules involved the "order of appearance" of each allergen, which had to be proportionate to its amount. For example: if you read on the box: "eugenol-linalool-citral", it means eugenol is present in a greater concentration than linalool; and linalool is present at a greater concentration than citral, and so on.

Since 2004-2005, Dior wrote this mandatory list on all perfumes, adding the Number: obviously it is a different number for each type of scent (EdT, EdP, Parfum, Cologne, Aftershave, Soaps, Body creams etc, have a different number, since the "composition" is different)
But when you read a different Number in the same product (for eample, EdT during different years), it means the "composition" inside the bottle changed, and a reformulation occurred. You could see differences in the listing, too.

Beware: a changing in Number/Formula means the composition changed; but this does NOT automatically mean the "smelling" changed, too: actually it could be possible having a change in the formula, leaving the smell unaltered, and vice versa (a bit unlikely, however...)

Back to the original question, Andre was right: at the end of 2014/ beginning of 2015 a reformulation occurred, and the Number changed, and you can smell the subtle difference.

Please note: this method is suitable for any Dior product. You could apply it on Eau Sauvage, Fahrenheit, Poison, J'adore, etc., and any cosmetic produced after 2005.
(Alberto Converano)

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"In my opinion, there was another reformulation at the end of 2014/early in 2015. Dior Homme (DH, EdT) has now a stronger opening, more similar to Dior Homme Intense. On the contrary, Dior Homme Intense (DHI, EdP) seems much more powdery, and the 'lipstick' tone appears more pronounced. Longevity and projection are unaltered. Both still very good in my opinion, but clearly reformulated again." (Andre)

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And now a few pictures with the Numbers /Formulae (use it as a reference):

Dior Homme EdT

original (2005-2010) : formula 01704/A (or 01792/A)

2010-2014 : formula 05434/A

2015- current: formula 08853/A