Hi Crew, My girlfriend Ersilia was asking about CHANEL No 19. Went to the cupboard and realized I’d given away or sold off my vintage 50ml EdT so then I hit the resellers. Found one for a very reasonable price and grabbed it. Came with a box and is so pristine I wondered if the bottle had ever been opened. That original bright green has been maintained, so no oxidization, because the older opened and used ones often skew a little more beige. The parfum in vintage was beige-er than the EdT and most of that age group are golden by now. I took some out to give to Ersilia, it’s now getting some wears around here too.

CHANEL No 19 EdT vintage

These are the original notes given for the 1970 EdT:
Top: Galbanum, Hyacinth, Bergamot, Neroli
Heart: Iris, Orris Root, Rose, Lily-of-the-Valley, Narcissus, Jasmine, Ylang-Ylang
Base: Oakmoss, Vetiver, Leather, Cedar, Musk, Sandalwood

The crisp green of galbanum and flower stalks fresh cut open. It’s so youthful and springlike. When they call CHANEL No 19 a floral chypre it has some very beautiful cousins like Silences, Niki de Saint Phalle, Futur and others. Yes, it’s that but for me the flowers are a bouquet that is really more about the stems and some of the juicier leaves. The greenery is king, with the cool breeze of lily of the valley, feral richness of narcissus and bright dewiness of jasmine all playing supporting roles.

One of the loveliest things about the vintage EdT is how slowly the layers peel back. The opening is a slow morph into the heart and the heart stays for such a long while as the base builds up, overtaking the brightness with furry oakmoss, shiny new leather shoes and slightly petroleum washed vetiver.

Even in the base I can still get memories of the galbanum and bouquet softly coating above the still mainly green scent. No wonder CHANEL No 19 has been such a beautiful, resolve strengthening battle armor since August 19 1970, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s last birthday.

Are you a CHANEL No 19 fan? Did you ever get to sniff some vintage?
Portia xx