A STUDY ON CONSUMER PREFERENCE TOWARDS PERFUMES IN

CHENNAI CITY

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION
PERFUMES
The history of fragrance is as old as time. There are a vast number of scents in the world. It is
often said that humans can feel and differentiate between about 40,000 kinds of scents. The
variety of reactions that scents can bring to living things are immeasurable. Also, scents can
sometimes be harmful. However, it is essential for human beings to have their own signature
fragrance. A vast amount of scientific information is naturally coded into many perfumes.
The etymology of “perfume” stems from Latin “per-” and “fumum.”

People feel happy when they experience a pleasant scent. On the other hand, people feel
uncomfortable when they sniff an unpleasant stench. We Japanese value our own unique
sense of hospitality: “Omotenashi,” very much. And we often enjoy using a variety of scents
in our daily lives. We enjoy scents by ourselves and our family. Sometimes we use fragrances
as part of our unique sense of hospitality.

We make original perfumes based off of other people’s preferences, and depending on the
season, and depending on the unique atmosphere of our house, we make our selection and
transfuse fragrances into a piece of test paper in order to produce the scent. In addition, we
burn incense, sprinkle room fragrance, and even use aroma diffusers, aroma pots, and aroma
oil etc.

By creating a custom scent, we create a specifically relaxed atmosphere, glamor and

personality. We always gauge our guests’ reaction at that time, and we try to make a mental
note for the next time we will create a unique scent.

In Japan, there are many songs and stories about fragrances in classical literature. In addition
to the incense burned in the Buddhist ceremony, we Japanese also have created a unique
imaginary world called “Koudo.” That allows us to enjoy fragrances in their original form.
The fragrance creates a special atmosphere and takes people to a comfortable and dreamy
world . This also shows that the Japanese have been with experimenting with fragrances for a
long, long time. At every stage of life, each scent represents our state of mind. The heart of
our hospitality and fragrances are deeply connected.

In hospitality-inspired scents, while entertaining people, it is necessary to consider the

preference of the scent to the nose of the beholder. In order to properly identify their taste, we
used different types of perfume and conducted a questionnaire survey on Japanese men and
women. Afterwards, we analyzed the results and verified the tendency towards people’s
hospitality and Japanese aroma.

Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives

and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and
living-spaces an agreeable scent. Perfumes can be defined as substances that emit and diffuse
a pleasant and fragrant odor. They consist of manmade mixtures of aromatic chemicals and
HISTORY
INDUSTRY PROFILE

Perfume makes you feel more confident and appealing while stepping out, even with a single
spray! But choosing the best perfume brands in India can be tricky unless you know the
luxury brands and the details of the fragrances. So, our experts have hand-picked the best
products from the top brands. Check this guide thoroughly to know the best perfume brands
and the products they offer.

BEST PERFUME BRANDS

Sl. No. Product Price (INR)

1. Gucci Bamboo Eau De Parfum Spray for Women 8,980

2. Chanel No 5 for Women 20,575

3. Christian Dior Men Perfume Spray, EDP 17,225

4. MONT BLANC Explorer Ultra Blue EDP 8,050

5. Hugo Boss Man Eau De Toilette 7,750
6. Calvin Klein All Eau De Toilette 5,049
7. AZZARO CHROME For Men 3.3 oz EDT Spray By 5,340
AZZARO
8. Tommy Hilfiger GIRL NOW Eau de Toilette 3,995
9. Giorgio Armani Emporio Armani Stronger with You Eau De 10,790
Toilette Spray
10. Versace Eros Flame Eau De Parfum Natural Spray 7,750

1. Gucci Bamboo Eau De Perfum Spray for

Women

Gucci is a renowned luxury perfume brand. And this variant

this a fantastic choice for women who love floral-woody
scents. The top note is of bergamot. And the middle notes
are of Casablanca lily, ylang-ylang, and orange blossom. The base notes are of sandalwood,
Tahitian vanilla, and amber.

Pros Cons
Popular floral-woody smell Price is high
The long lasting uplifting scent

Best Suited for

Women who love the floral smell
Women who want a subtle yet uplifting fragrance
User Feedback
4.7 out of 5 (4,222 ratings)
Most women love the refreshing smell that lasts longer

Country: Italy
Main activity: Fashion
Brand website: link
Parent company: Coty

The House of Gucci was founded by Guccio Gucci in 1921. Inspired by the beautiful luggage
he had seen travelers carrying while working at the Savoy Hotel in London, Gucci returned to
Florence with a goal of combining the refined elegance of the wealthy travelers he observed
with the fine craftmanship of traditional Florentine artisans.

The company's equestrian-themed quality leather goods were in high demand, and when
leather was scarce during World War II, Gucci's innovative use of hemp, linen and jute
expanded the brand's aesthetic. Guccio Gucci passed in 1953 but his sons and grandson
oversaw the succesful expansion of the company into a luxury goods manufacturer known
around the world. The company's signature "double G" logo was adopted in the 1960s.

The company's first fragrance, Gucci No. 1 for women, was introduced in 1974. A series of
fragrances for men and women have since been launched, with many taking legendary status
amongst perfume collectors, including Gucci 3 and L'Arte di Gucci. Tom Ford served as the
company's creator director in mid-90s through the early 21st century. Creative director Frida
Giannini took over for Ford and since 2015, Alessandro Michele has been at the helm.

Designer Gucci has 112 perfumes in our fragrance base. The earliest edition was created in
1974 and the newest is from 2023. Gucci fragrances were made in collaboration with
perfumers Michel Almairac, Dominique Ropion, Daniela (Roche) Andrier, Antoine
Maisondieu, Guy Robert, Firmenich, Karine Dubreuil-Sereni, Aurelien Guichard, Alberto
Morillas, Maurice Roucel, Honorine Blanc, Olivier Cresp, Ilias Ermenidis, Jacques Huclier
and Lorenzo Villoresi.

Guccio Gucci (1881-1953) established the Gucci brand in 1920 in Florence, specializing in
leather goods. His four sons, and later his grandson, joined the firm, and despite years of
family in-fighting and legal disputes, the company grew to become one of the world's premier
luxury goods houses.
Gucci was struggling as a company in 1990 when Tom Ford was brought in, first as a ready-
to-wear designer, later as Creative Director of the brand. In 2000, Gucci took over Yves Saint
Laurent, and Tom Ford became Creative Director there as well. Ford's sexy designs
revitalized both houses; when he left in 2004, many speculated that Gucci's glory days were
over. The current Creative Director is Sabato De Sarno, who replaced Alessandro Michele
(2015-2022). Fragrances were produced under arrangements with Procter & Gamble until
2015, when P&G sold their fragrance business to Coty.
Fragrances were introduced with Gucci no. 1 in 1974. Subsequent releases include Eau de
Gucci (1982, first version), Gucci no. 3 (1985), Nobile (1988), L'Arte di Gucci (1991), Eau
de Gucci (1993, second version), Accenti (1995), Envy (1997), Envy for men (1998), Rush
(1999), Rush for men (2000), Gucci Eau de Parfum (2002), Gucci Pour Homme (2003),
Gucci Eau de Parfum II (2004) and Envy Me (2004).
Recent fragrances from Gucci
2006: Envy Me 2
2007: Gucci Pour Homme 2, Gucci by Gucci
2008: Gucci by Gucci Pour Homme
2009: Gucci Flora
2010: Gucci by Gucci Sport Pour Homme, Gucci Guilty
2011: Gucci Guilty Pour Homme, Flora Eau Fraîche, Gucci Guilty Intense
2012: Flora by Gucci The Garden Generous Violet, Glorious Mandarin, Gorgeous Gardenia,
Gracious Tuberose and Glamorous Magnolia, Gucci Premiere
2013: Gucci Museo Forever Now, Gucci Guilty Black & Gucci Guilty Black Pour Homme,
Gucci Flora 1966, Made to Measure
2014: Gucci Oud
2015: Gucci Bamboo, Gucci Intense Oud, Gucci Guilty Eau
2016: Flora Anniversary Edition
2017: Gucci Guilty Absolute Pour Homme, Gucci Bloom
2018: Gucci Guilty Absolute Pour Femme, Bloom Acqua di Fiori, Guilty Oud, Bloom
Nettare di Fiori
2019: A Kiss From Violet, A Nocturnal Whisper, A Forgotten Rose, Ode on Melancholy, A
Song for the Rose, The Voice of the Snake, The Eyes of the Tiger, The Virgin Violet,
Winter's Spring, The Last Day of Summer, Tears of Iris, A Winter Melody, Moonlight
Serenade & Fading Autumn, Guilty Cologne, Bloom Gocce di Fiori, Flora Emerald Gardenia,
Mémoire d'une Odeur, Bloom Ambrosia di Fiori
Where to buy
The Gucci fragrances can be found at department stores and online fragrance discounters.
Website
Gucci

CHANEL NO. 5

CHANNEL NO.5 was the first perfume launched by French couturier Gabrielle "Coco"
Chanel in 1921. The scent formula for the fragrance was compounded by French-Russian
chemist and perfumer Ernest Beaux. The design of its bottle has been an important part of the
product's branding. Coco Chanel was the first face of the fragrance, appearing in the
advertisement published by Harper's Bazaar in 1937.

INSPIRATION

Traditionally, fragrances worn by women fell into two basic categories. "Respectable
women" favored the essence of a single garden flower while sexually provocative indolic
perfumes heavy with animal musk or jasmine were associated with women of the demi-
monde, prostitutes, or courtesans: 20  Chanel sought a new scent that would appeal to the
flapper and celebrate the seemingly liberated feminine spirit of the 1920s.

THE NO. 5 NAME

At the age of twelve, Chanel was handed over to the care of nuns, and for the next six years
spent a stark, disciplined existence in a convent orphanage, Aubazine, founded by 12th-
century Cistercians: 4  in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of central France. From her earliest
days there, the number five had potent associations for her. For Chanel, the number five was
especially esteemed as signifying the pure embodiment of a thing, its spirit, its mystic
meaning. The paths that led Chanel to the cathedral for daily prayers were laid out in circular
patterns repeating the number five

Her affinity for the number five co-mingled with the abbey gardens, and by extension the
lush surrounding hillsides abounding with Cistus (rock roses).: 

In 1920, when presented with small glass vials containing sample scents numbered 1 to 5 and
20 to 24 for her assessment, she chose the fifth vial. Chanel told her master perfumer, Ernest
Beaux, whom she had commissioned to develop a new fragrance, "I present my dress
collections on the fifth of May, the fifth month of the year and so we will let this sample
number five keep the name it has already, it will bring good luck."

BOTTLE DESIGN

Chanel envisioned a design that would be an antidote for the over-elaborate, precious
fussiness of the crystal fragrance bottles then in fashion popularized by Lalique and Baccarat.
Her bottle would be "pure transparency...an invisible bottle". It is generally considered that
the bottle design was inspired by the rectangular beveled lines of the Charvet toiletry bottles,
which, outfitted in a leather traveling case, were favored by her lover, Arthur "Boy" Capel.
Some say it was the whiskey decanter he used that she admired and wished to reproduce in
"exquisite, expensive, delicate glass".

The first bottle produced in 1922, differed from the Chanel No. 5 bottle known today. The
original container had small, delicate, rounded shoulders and was sold only in Chanel
boutiques to select clients. In 1924, when "Parfums Chanel" incorporated, the glass proved
too thin to survive shipping and distribution. The bottle was modified with square, faceted
corners, its only significant design change.  In a 1924 marketing brochure, Parfums Chanel
described the bottle as, "the perfection of the product forbids dressing it in the customary
artifices. Why rely on the art of the glassmaker...Mademoiselle is proud to present simple
bottles adorned only by...precious teardrops of perfume of incomparable quality, unique in
composition, revealing the artistic personality of their creator." Others claim that the bottle's
design was inspired by a whiskey bottle, while some say that the inspiration was drawn from
glass pharmaceutical vials. In choosing the design for her perfume's bottle, was looking for
something simple, even clinical, to stand apart from the overstated designs customarily seen
on the perfume counter.

Unlike the bottle, which has remained the same since the 1924 redesign, the stopper has gone
through numerous modifications. The original stopper was a small glass plug. The octagonal
stopper, which became a brand signature, was created in 1924, when the bottle shape was
changed. The 1950s gave the stopper a bevel cut and a larger, thicker silhouette. In the 1970s
the stopper became even more prominent but, in 1986, it was re-proportioned so its size was
more harmonious with the scale of the bottle.

The "pocket flacon," designed to be carried in a purse, was introduced in 1934. The price and
container size were reduced to appeal to a broader customer base.

The bottle, over the decades, has itself become an identifiable cultural artifact, so much so
that Andy Warhol chose to commemorate its iconic status in the mid-1980s with his pop art,
silk-screened, Ads: Chanel.

A limited-edition, crimson red crystal glass bottle in the three editions of Chanel No. 5,
namely Eau de Parfum, Parfum, and L'Eau, was launched for Christmas in 2018.

BATTLE FOR CONTROL OF PARFUMS CHANEL

In 1924, Chanel made an agreement with the Wertheimer brothers, Pierre and Paul, directors
of the perfume house Bourjois, creating a new corporate entity, Parfums Chanel. The
Wertheimers agreed to manage production, marketing, and distribution of Chanel No. 5. The
Wertheimers would receive a 70 percent share of the company, and Théophile Bader, founder
of the Paris department store Galeries Lafayette, would receive 20 percent. Bader had been
instrumental in brokering the business connection by introducing Chanel to Pierre
Wertheimer at the Longchamps races in 1922. For 10 percent of the stock, Chanel licensed
her name to Parfums Chanel and removed herself from involvement in all business
operations.  Later, unhappy with the arrangement, Chanel worked for more than twenty years
to gain full control of Parfums Chanel. She said that Pierre Wertheimer was "the bandit who
screwed me".

World War II brought with it the Nazi seizure of all Jewish-owned property and businesses,
providing Chanel with the opportunity to gain control of Parfums Chanel and its most
profitable product, Chanel No. 5. The Wertheimers were Jewish, and Chanel used her
position as an "Aryan" to petition German officials to legalize her right to sole ownership.

On 5 May 1941, Chanel wrote to the government administrator charged with ruling on the
disposition of Jewish financial assets. Her grounds for proprietary ownership were based on
the claim that Parfums Chanel "is still the property of Jews" and had been legally
"abandoned" by the owners. 

I have an indisputable right of priority ... the profits that I have received from my creations
since the foundation of this business ... are disproportionate ... [and] you can help to repair in
part the prejudices I have suffered in the course of these seventeen years.

Chanel was not aware that the Wertheimers, anticipating the forthcoming Nazi confiscations,
had, in May 1940, legally turned control of Parfums Chanel over to a Christian, French
businessman and industrialist Felix Amiot. At the end of World War II, Amiot returned
Parfums Chanel to the Wertheimers.

CHANEL MANEUVERS FOR CONTROL

Coco Chanel, 1920

By the mid-1940s, the worldwide sales of Chanel No. 5 amounted to nine million dollars
annually. The monetary stakes were high and Chanel was determined to wrest control of
Parfums Chanel from the Wertheimers. Chanel's plan was to destroy customer confidence in
the brand and tarnish its image, crippling its marketing and distribution. She stated that
Chanel No. 5 was no longer the original fragrance created by "Mademoiselle Chanel," it was
no longer being compounded according to her standards, and what was now being offered to
the public was an inferior product that she could no longer endorse. Further, Chanel
announced she would make available an authentic Chanel No. 5, to be named "Mademoiselle
Chanel No. 5", offered to a group of select clients.

Chanel may have been unaware that the Wertheimers, who had fled from France to New
York in 1940, had instituted a process whereby the quality of Chanel No. 5 would not be
compromised. In America, the Wertheimers had recruited H. Gregory Thomas as European
emissary for Parfums Chanel. Thomas' mission was to establish the mechanisms required to
maintain the quality of the Chanel products, particularly its most profitable fragrance, Chanel
No. 5. Thomas worked to ensure that the supply of key components, the oils of jasmine and
tuberose, obtained exclusively from the fields of the valley of Siagne above the French town
of Grasse, remained uninterrupted by war. Thomas was later promoted to position as
president of Chanel US, a position he held for thirty-two years.

Chanel escalated her game plan by instigating a lawsuit against Parfums Chanel and the
Wertheimers. The legal battle garnered wide publicity. The New York Times reported on 3
June 1946:

The suit asks that the French parent concern [Les Parfums Chanel] be ordered to cease
manufacture and sale of all products bearing the name and restore to her the ownership and
sole rights over the products, formulas and manufacturing process [on grounds of] "inferior
quality".

The Wertheimers were aware of Chanel's collaboration during the Nazi occupation. Forbes
magazine summarized the Wertheimers' dilemma: "[Pierre Wertheimer worries that] a legal
fight might illuminate Chanel's wartime activities and wreck her image—and his business".

Ultimately, the Wertheimers and Chanel came to an agreement, re-negotiating the original
1924 contract. On 17 May 1947, Chanel received her share of the wartime profits of Chanel
No. 5. Post-war, her share was two percent of all Chanel No. 5 sales worldwide. Her earnings
were in the vicinity of US$25 million a year, making her at the time one of the richest women
in the world.  The new arrangement also gave Chanel the freedom to create new scents, which
would be independent of Parfums Chanel, with the proviso that none would contain the
number 5 in its name. She never acted on this opportunity.

ADVERTISING AND MARKETING

1920s and 1930s

Chanel's initial marketing strategy was to generate buzz for her new fragrance by hosting a
promotional event. She invited a group of elite friends to dine with her in an elegant
restaurant in Grasse where she surprised and delighted her guests by spraying them with
Chanel No. 5. The official launch place and date of Chanel No. 5 was in her rue Cambon [fr]
boutique in the fifth month of the year, on the fifth day of the month: 5 May 1921. She
infused the shop's dressing rooms with the scent, and she gave bottles to a select few of her
high society friends. The success of Chanel No. 5 was immediate. Chanel's friend Misia Sert
exclaimed: "It was like a winning lottery ticket.

Parfums Chanel was the corporate entity established in 1924 to run the production,
marketing, and distribution of the fragrance business. Chanel wanted to spread the sale of
Chanel No. 5 from beyond her boutiques to the rest of the world. The first new market was
New York City. The initial marketing was discreet and deliberately restricted. The first ad
appeared in The New York Times on 16 December 1924. It was a small ad for Parfums Chanel
announcing the Chanel line of fragrances available at Bonwit Teller, an upscale department
store. In the ad, all the bottles were indistinguishable from each another, displaying all the
Chanel perfumes available, Numbers 9, 11, 22, and the centerpiece of the line, No. 5. This
was the extent of the advertising campaign in the 1920s and appeared only intermittently. In
the US, the sale of Chanel No. 5 was promoted at perfume counters in high-end department
stores. The Galeries Lafayette was the first retailer of the fragrance in Paris. In France itself,
Chanel No. 5 was not advertised until the 1940s.

The first solo advertisement for Chanel No. 5 ran in The New York Times on 10 June 1934.

1940s
 Chanel N°5 Elixir sensuel

In the early 1940s, when other perfume makers were increasing

brand exposure, Parfums Chanel took a contrary track and
decreased advertising. In 1939 and 1940, Chanel ads had been
prominent. By 1941, there was almost no Chanel print
advertising. Fragrance sales flourished during World War II.
Perfume sales in the United States from 1940 to 1945 increased
tenfold; Chanel No. 5 prospered, even without advertising.

During the war years the directors of Parfums Chanel came up

with an innovative marketing idea. Expanding sales to the
middle-class customer had been started in 1934 with the introduction of the pocket flaçon.
The plan was now to grow the market by selling the perfume at military post exchanges. It
was a risky move that might have damaged the allure of the brand. But it did not: instead, it
became a souvenir soldiers coveted for their sweetheart back home.

At the end of World War II, Coco Chanel's wartime collaboration threatened her with arrest
and incarceration. In an attempt at damage control, she placed a sign in the window of her rue
Cambon boutique, announcing that free bottles of Chanel No. 5 were available to American
GIs. Soldiers waited in long lines to take a bottle of Paris luxe back home, and "would have
been outraged if the French police had touched a hair on her head".

1950s

In April 1952, American actress Marilyn Monroe appears for the first time on the cover of
Life, and the article mentions her answer to the question, "What do you wear to bed?" and her
reply, "Chanel No. 5." In an unpublished photo shoot for an article by Sidney Skolsky in
Modern Screen in 1953, a Chanel No. 5 bottle is seen on her nightstand.

1960s

In the 1960s, the glossy fashion magazines such as Vogue and Bazaar presented Chanel No. 5
as a required accessory. Print advertising for Chanel No. 5 was staid and conservative in both
visuals and text, eschewing the energy and quirky aesthetic of the youth culture. Two catch
phrases alternated as ad copy: "Every woman alive wants Chanel No. 5" and "Every woman
alive loves Chanel No. 5".

1970s and 1980s

 Chanel N°5 perfume

In the 1970s, the brand needed revitalization. For the first time
it ran the risk of being labeled as "mass market" and passé. The
fragrance was removed from drug stores and similar outlets.
Outside advertising agencies were dropped. The rebranding was
managed by Jacques Helleu, the artistic director for Parfums
Chanel. Helleu chose French actress Catherine Deneuve as the new face of Chanel. Print ads
showcased the iconic sculpture of the bottle. Television commercials were inventive mini-
films with production values of surreal fantasy and seduction. Directed by Ridley Scott in the
1970s and 1980s, they "played on the same visual imagery, with the same silhouette of the
bottle."

1990s

In the 1990s, more money was reportedly spent advertising Chanel No. 5 than was spent for
the promotion of any other fragrance. Carole Bouquet was the face of Chanel No. 5 during
this decade.

Since 2000

In 2003, actress Nicole Kidman was enlisted to represent the fragrance. Film director Baz
Luhrmann, brought in to conceive and direct a new advertising campaign featuring her,
described his concept for what he titled No. 5 the Film as "a two-minute trailer ... for a film
that has actually never been made, not about Chanel No. 5 but Chanel No. 5 is the
touchstone". The eventual commercial, produced in two-minute and 30-second versions, cost
£18 million, with Kidman paid US$3.7 million for her work.

It has been estimated, as of 2011, that between US$20–25 million was spent annually
marketing Chanel No. 5.

In May 2012, the company announced that Brad Pitt would be the first male to advertise
Chanel No. 5.
In 2013 Chanel ran an advertising campaign using a recorded interview with Marilyn Monroe
in which she is asked about her use of Chanel No. 5. It featured Ed Feingersh's photograph of
the actress splashing herself with a bottle of the perfume.

On her first cover of Life magazine in 1952, Marilyn Monroe famously said she wore only
Chanel No. 5 to bed. A recording of her discussing the subject further with Georges Belmont
for Marie Claire in 1960 has been found. She said people pose questions. "They ask me:
'What do you wear to bed? A pajama top? The bottoms of the pajamas? A nightgown?' So I
said, 'Chanel No. 5', because it's the truth" she explained. "And yet, I don't want to say nude.
But it's the truth!"

In October 2014, Luhrmann again collaborated with Chanel, creating a second advertising
campaign for No. 5, this time starring Gisele Bündchen and Michiel Huisman.Throughout the
film, singer Lo-Fang performs his rendition of You're the One That I Want.

On 17 February 2020, French actress Marion Cotillard was announced as the new face of
Chanel No. 5.

THE SCENT
Provenance of the recipe

Le nez de Chanel: The perfumer Ernest Beaux (1881–1961)

Coco Chanel had wanted to develop a distinctly modern fragrance

for some time prior to early-1920. At this time, Chanel's lover was
Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich Romanov of Russia, the murderer of Rasputin. The duke
introduced her to Ernest Beaux on the French Riviera. Beaux was the master perfumer at A.
Rallet and Company, where he had been employed since 1898. The company was the official
perfumer to the Russian royal family, and "the imperial palace at St. Petersburg was a
famously perfumed court."  The favorite scent of the Tsarina Alexandra, composed
specifically for her by Rallet in Moscow, had been an eau de cologne opulent with rose and
jasmine named Rallet O-De-Kolon N°1 Vesovoi.

In 1912, Beaux created a men's cologne, Le Bouquet de Napoleon, to commemorate the 100th
anniversary of the Battle of Borodino, a decisive battle in the Napoleonic Wars. Its success
inspired Beaux to create a feminine counterpart, whose starting point was the chemical
composition of aldehydic multiflores in Houbigant's immensely popular fragrance, Quelques
Fleurs (1912).

His experiments with the aldehydes in Quelques Fleurs, resulted in a fragrance that he called
Le Bouquet de Catherine. He intended to use the scent to celebrate, in 1913, the 300th
anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. The debut of this new perfume was ill-timed
commercially. World War I was approaching, and the tsarina and the perfume's namesake,
the Empress Catherine, had both been German-born. Timing and unfavorable associations,
combined with Le Bouquet de Catherine's hefty price tag, made it a commercial failure. An
attempt to re-brand the perfume, as Rallet N°1 was unsuccessful, and the outbreak of World
War I in 1914 effectively killed the product.

Beaux, who had affiliated himself with the Allies and the White Russian army, had spent
1917–1919 as a lieutenant stationed far north, in the last arctic outpost of the continent,
Arkangelsk, at Mudyug Island Prison where he interrogated Bolshevik prisoners.The polar
ice, frigid seascape, and whiteness of the snowy terrain sparked his desire to capture the crisp
fragrance of this landscape in a new perfume.

Beaux perfected what was to become Chanel No. 5 over several months in the late summer
and autumn of 1920. He worked from the rose and jasmine base of Rallet N°1, altering it to
make it cleaner, more daring, reminiscent of the polar freshness he had experienced during
his war years. He experimented with modern synthetics, adding his own invention "Rose
E.B." and notes derived from a new jasmine source, a commercial ingredient called
Jasophore. The revamped, complex formula also increased the quantities of orris root, iris
root, and natural musks.

The key was Beaux's use of aldehydes. Aldehydes are organic compounds of carbon, oxygen
and hydrogen. They are manipulated in the laboratory at crucial stages of chemical reaction
whereby the process arrests and isolates the scent. When used creatively, aldehydes act as
"seasonings", as aroma boosters. Beaux's student, Constantin Weriguine, said the aldehyde
Beaux used had the clean note of the arctic, "a melting winter note". A laboratory assistant,
mistaking a full strength mixture for a ten percent dilution, had jolted the compound with a
quantity of aldehyde never before used. Beaux prepared ten glass vials for Chanel's
assessment. Numbered 1–5 and 20–24, each group a variation of the compound. "Number
five. Yes," Chanel said later, "that is what I was waiting for. A perfume like nothing else. A
woman's perfume, with the scent of a woman."

According to Chanel, the formula used to produce No. 5 has changed little since its creation,
except for the necessary exclusion of natural civet and certain nitro-musks. The Eau de
Parfume, though, is a different fragrance from the Parfum and the Eau de Toilette, and was
composed in the eighties by Jacques Polge as a modern version of No. 5.

CELEBRITY AMBASSADORS

 Coco Chanel (1937)

 Suzy Parker (1957)
 Ali MacGraw (1966)
 Jean Shrimpton (1971)
 Catherine Deneuve (1969–1979)
 Carole Bouquet (1986–1997)
 Estella Warren (1998–2000)
 Nicole Kidman (2004–2005)
 Audrey Tautou (2009)
 Brad Pitt (2012)
 Marilyn Monroe (2013)
 Gisele Bundchen (2014)
 Lily-Rose Depp (2016–2019)
 Marion Cotillard (2020–present)

PARFUMS CHRISTIAN DIOR

PERFUMES CHRISTIAN DIOR is the perfumery and cosmetics (makeup and skincare) line
of the French fashion house, Christian Dior SE. However, the line belongs to the perfumes
and cosmetics portfolio of the world's largest luxury group, the LVMH Group.Nevertheless,
both Christian Dior SE and LVMH are headed by chairman Bernard Arnault, and Christian
Dior SE is the major shareholder of LVMH.

History
Beginning in 1947 with the introduction of the women's Miss Dior perfume, Parfums
Christian Dior has since come to include men's fragrances and a variety of cosmetics sold at
Dior retail stores and fine cosmetics counters worldwide.

It was headquartered at 33 Avenue Hoche in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France.Recently

the headquarter moved to Neuilly sur Seine in a modern new building called Kosmos.

MAKEUP

Makeup offerings fall into the following categories:

 Face: Foundations, concealers, powders, blush, and sun makeup

 Eyes: Mascara, eyeshadow, liners, eyebrows
 Lips: Lipstick, gloss, lipliners, lip balm
 Nails: Nail lacquers and manicure
 Accessories: Brushes

Dior and other prestige cosmetics at Life Pharmacy at Westfield Albany on the North Shore
of Auckland, New Zealand

PRODUCTS INCLUDE:

 Dior Addict (lip makeup)

 DiorSkin (face makeup)
 Dior Rouge (lip makeup)
 Backstage Makeup (theatrically inspired makeup, mainly eye makeup)
 Diorshow (mascara)

Dior makeup is used to prepare models backstage for Dior fashion shows.

SKINCARE
Skincare offerings fall into the following categories:

 Face skincare: Hydration and protection; premium anti-aging skincare; global anti-
aging skincare; wrinkle correction; firmness correction; cleansers, toners, and masks
 Body care: Hydration and refining
 Eye care: Specialist eye treatment
 Suncare: Self-tanners, sun protection, after-sun
 Men skincare: Shaving, relaxing; repairing, nourishing

PRODUCTS INCLUDE:

 Dior Homme (men's skincare)

 Dior Bronze (suncare)
 Hydra Life (hydration)
 Diorsnow (whitening skincare)
 Capture XP (anti-wrinkle skincare, wrinkle correction, discontinued)
 Capture Youth
 Capture V (sold in Asia)
 Capture Totale (global anti-aging)
 One Essential (detoxification)
 Dior Prestige (extraordinary, regeneration, perfection & anti-aging skincare)
 Dior Prestige White (extraordinary, regeneration,
perfection, whitening & anti-aging skincare)
 L'or de Vie (skincare masterpiece, anti-aging)

IDENTITY
Christian Dior described himself as a fashion and perfume
designer. The House of Dior, founded in 1946, changed the
face of ladies’ style forever when its New Look was
unveiled in the halls of 30 Avenue Montaigne on February
12, 1947. The revolutionary look was accompanied by a
fragrance, Miss Dior, the finishing touch designed to “leave
a trail of desire in a woman’s wake”. This timeless perfume
was the first fragrance created by a visionary brand which invented the concept of global
beauty with its Rouge Dior and subsequent cosmetic lines.

The current-day trustees of this legendary expertise – Francis Kurkdjian, Perfume Creation
Director, and Peter Philips, Creative and Image Director for Dior Makeup – are the heirs to
Christian Dior’s perfectionism. The worldwide renown of the House’s creations is partly
down to its seductive muses, including Charlize Theron, Natalie Portman and Robert
Pattinson.

DIOR

‘A woman’s perfume tells me more about her than her handwriting.’ So said Christian Dior
(b. 1905) one of the greatest-ever couturiers – and a man whose name is also synonymous, all
over the world, with the glorious art of perfume.

As design careers go, Christian Dior‘s didn’t start well. His parents – who lived in a grand
villa on the Normandy coast – refused to let him attend a school of fine arts, telling him that it
wouldn’t help him find a real job. He kept his parents quiet, initially, by enrolling for Paris’s
Institute of Political Sciences – but little did his parents realise that this was also a door to
Paris’s exotic night-life.

Dior drifted happily into the company of artists and writers who later went on to become
among the greatest of their time: painter Christian Bérard, Jean Cocteau, poet Max Jacob
and actor Marcel Herrand all became friends. And another arty friend asked Christian Dior
– who really longed to be an artist himself – if he’d be interested in becoming a partner in his
new gallery. With funding from Dior’s father, it went on to showcase works by Paul Klee,
Otto Dix, Salvador Dalí, Joan Miro and Raoul Dufy, among many others, But sadly, the
Wall Street crash of 1929 made for few buyers – and badly dented the Dior family fortunes –
and this adventure ended when tuberculosis forced Christian Dior to leave Paris, in 1934.

On his return, post-recovery, an impoverished Dior looked for work. A friend suggested he
take up fashion illustration; he dedicated himself to the task, studying the great designers –
 Molyneux, Schiaparelli, Lanvin – and his dress designers were
sought out by couturier Robert Piguet. The paper Le Figaro gave
Dior‘s vibrant sketches a weekly page – and his hat designs did well,
too.

During the Second World War, Dior worked as a designer beneath

couturier Lucien Lelong, then in 1945 got the opportunity to head
up the house of Gaston. A great believer in omens and fortune-tellers
– Dior had once been told ‘You will be penniless, but women will be good to you and it is
thanks to them you will succeed’ – he turned to his favourite psychic, Madame Delahaye, for
advice when offered two proposals to open his own couture house. ‘Accept, she ordered me,’
recalled Dior. ‘Accept! You must create the house of Christian Dior.’

So it came to pass. And on 12th February 1947, Christian Dior turned the austere post-
wartime world on its head, creating the most headline-grabbing collection ever known.
Overnight, Christian Dior‘s ‘New Look’ – with its full, swirling skirts, wasp-waisted jackets
and bold use of colour – became, as Vogue puts it, ‘catnip to a luxury-starved populace eager
to return to the rituals of grooming and dressing up’.

But women didn’t just want to look good. They wanted to smell beautiful, too. Soon after the
success of his ground-breaking New Look, Dior recalled, ‘Miss Dior was born. It was born
of those Provençal evenings filled with fireflies when green jasmine serves as a counterpoint
to the melody of the night and the earth.’

Miss Dior became one of the great fragrance icons of the 20th Century. Allegedly, as Dior
was preparing for the launch of his first perfume, the name for the fragrance had yet to be
invented. Then his sister, Catherine Dior, walked into the salon of 30 Avenue Montaigne.
Dior’s muse, Mitzah Bricard, announced: ‘Here’s Miss Dior!’ On the day of the show, the
salon was sprayed with this bewitching perfume – and clients and journalists left with its
scent on their clothes and their skin. Eau Fraîche also appeared during the Dior years: a
summery splash by perfumer Edmond Roudnitska, uplifting with mandarin and lemon, with
oak moss and vanilla in its base.

Scent had always been incredibly important to Dior. Eternally superstitious, he slipped a
sprig of lily of the valley into the hem of every haute couture dress, and always kept it with
 him. (He had his own hot-
houses, expressly for the
purpose of growing this
favourite flower.) So it was
natural that in 1956, he
should launch a fragrance –
another Roudnitska
creation – based on this
favourite flower. Sadly,
Dior died just a year after the stunning lily of the valley-based Diorissimo was first unveiled
(see the detail above of a beautiful vintage bottle). But happily for perfume-lovers, the
creative spark ignited by Christian Dior became a flame that burns brightly to this day.

Dior has become known for fragrant landmarks. The wonderfully shareable, zingy-zesty Eau
Sauvage (1966). The ground-breaking Poison (1985), one of the boldest fragrance
innovations of the already-bold 80s. More recently, the hypnotising J’Adore, an opulent
golden floral, which has evolved into many different concentrations ‘signed’ by François
Demachy (see below). And lately, we’ve been able to bathe our senses in new interpretations
of the classic Miss Dior, including the sparkling floral Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet (see
above), which glorifies peony, mandarin, Damascus rose and white musk – ‘like a dress
embroidered with a thousand flowers…’

Parfums Christian Dior is one of the few perfume houses with its own in-house ‘nose’,
François Demachy, whose role is Head of Olfactory Development. Demachy was raised in
the heartland of perfumery, in Grasse, where ‘we learned about natural ingredients. I took an
apprenticeship in a plant there where I passed my time learning different talents. We actually
had a contract for the manufacturing of natural ingredients; we had a different rapport with
them. It was very helpful afterwards because I approached things differently in my creations
– and this was specific to growing up in Grasse.’

Dior La Collection Privée is the ultimate expression of this perfumer’s talents. ‘Rare
ingredients, daring olfactory statements and creation that knows no bounds,’ is how Demachy
sums it up. ‘This collection reflects the freedom that only true luxury can provide.’ Demachy
himself choose and selects ingredients from around the world: Arabian jasmine, Tuscan iris,
 tuberose, patchouli, neroli, Calabrian
bergamot.

These handcrafted fragrances for women (and

men) include Milly-la-Forêt (it was Dior’s
romantic countryside retreat), exquisite
Grand Bal – ‘an echo of one of Christian
Dior’s great ball gowns, whose full skirts and
beauty evoked the petals of a flower in full
bloom’, explains Demachy – and Granville,
named for Dior’s childhood home in
Normandy, ‘the scent of fresh pine, whipping
in the wind…’

2016 offered two landmark moments in the

history of Dior. They bought back and restored the designer’s beautiful home in the South of
France, the Château de la Colle Noire – reopening it for special events after rescuing this
neglected ‘fallen angel’ of a property. Once again, the air in the château’s gardens will be
filled with the scent of Rosa Centifolia and jasmine – and to mark the occasion, François
Demachy created a roselicious namesake fragrance, La Colle Noire.

Equally excitingly, Dior re-established its links with the heartland of perfumery, Grasse, with
Demachy moving to Les Fontaines Parfumées (see right). Another historic building restored
from near-ruin, this was once a famous perfume factory where mimosa, rose, jasmine and
more were distilled – and today, is home to Dior’s perfumery studio.

As Demachy puts it: ‘It’s a homecoming of sorts. The story that unites Dior with Grasse has
always touched me: the idea for Miss Dior was born in this region, Eau Sauvage was created
by Edmond Roudnitska, who lived near here and was a customer at my father’s
pharmacy… All of this speaks to me, and it is very significant that Dior is back here. More
importantly, it influences the quality of the perfumes that we’re creating, through the quality
of the ingredients and expertise inherent to the area.’

We look forward to the fragrances which will be created in this sun-filled space. All of
which will tell someone more about you than your handwriting, we suspect…
HISTORY

You don’t have to be a history buff (or anorak) to be bewitched by the history of fragrance.
We know it’s been used to communicate with the Gods, to seduce, as a display of wealth – or
for pure pleasure – for thousands of years. (And perhaps much longer, even if archaeologists
can’t yet find the tangible proof through their excavations.)

Perfume’s fascinating trail leads us from Ancient Egypt to Ancient Greece, to Rome – where
rosewater played in fountains – and up to France, where Louis XIV’s court was known as ‘la
cour parfumée‘, with the king demanding a different fragrance for every single day.

‘Modern’ perfumery, though, was born in the late 19th Century – with the creation of
synthetic ingredients, and the dawn of great names like Coty, Guerlain, Roger & Gallet.
Along came Coco Chanel, and No. 5 – and ‘designer’ perfumes were firmly on the map. And
it was Estée Lauder, in America in the 1950s, who with Youth Dew started the trend for
wearing perfume as an everyday pleasure, rather than a just-for-special-occasions luxury.

INGREDIENTS

Fragrances today are mostly a fusion of ingredients taken from nature – or inspired by nature
– together with the synthetics (man-made ingredients) that are used to make them last longer,
‘carry further’, or stay ‘true’, when worn on the skin.

Here, you can read about literally hundreds of the different perfume elements in use today. If
you know which ingredient you want to read about, you can either input the name into our
‘search’ box (top right). Or click on a letter of the alphabet below – and it’ll take you to a
collage of all the ingredients that start with that letter. Alternatively, let your eye travel over
the scrolling, rolling collage below – and click on whatever takes your fancy: a visual ‘lucky
dip’…

FRAGRANCES OF DIOR

THE RAW MATERIALS

 It was at his birthplace in
Grasse, Provence, the
historic heart of French
perfumery, that François
Demachy, Dior Perfumer-
Creator, developed his
unconditional love of fine
materials. He travels the
world in search of flowers to
forge the olfactory identity
of his fragrances and meets the very best producers from all over the world. At the Domaine
de Manon in Grasse, François Demachy likes to follow the harvest of grandiflorum jasmine,
a delicate flower at the heart of the composition of the J'adore perfume. It is a demanding
crop, only lasting from August to October. Over the course of a hundred or so days, several
million jasmine flowers are harvested, before being weighed and treated to enhance their
properties.

THE FORMULATION

With a rich palette of over 600 raw materials,

François Demachy defines himself as the
director of the ingredients' rare quality. He
creates accords with unique character, which he
then translates into formulas.

At the Perfume Creation Laboratory, these

ingredients are weighed in small quantities according to the required proportions, then
blended with alcohol before the fragrance is returned to François Demachy. If necessary, the
perfumer makes any modifications in the Creation Laboratory. The process involved in
finalising a formula can take anywhere between several months and several years.

CONSERVING THE RAW MATERIALS

All Dior's perfumes are produced at its factory in

Saint Jean de Braye (France). This factory has its
own cellar in which nearly 600 ingredients are
stocked. Whether naturalor synthetic, they all
require special care - preserving the ingredients and the perfume itself requires a high level of
expertise.

PRODUCTION

Weighed by hand, the raw materials are first

blended together according to the proportions
indicated in the formula. The concentrate is
then allowed to mature so that the materials
are able to integrate and blend, before being
diluted in alcohol. The blend is then filtered
and chilled in order to ‘set’ the interactions
between the various ingredients. Each stage is
subject to strict monitoring to ensure the olfactory quality of the product, as well as its
coherence. It is absolutely essential that every bottle contains a perfume whose quality
remains unchanged over time.
THE ART OF BOTTLING AND PACKAGING
A room bathed in light at the Saint
Jean de Braye factory. At the entrance
is a quotation from Christian Dior: "I
want to return to forgotten manual
skills". These manual skills are
mastered by the dozen or so employees
who dedicate their expertise to
extracts, fragrances for La Collection
Privée and J'adore l'Or, as well as the
Dior Prestige editions. Each bottle is unique and calls for particular attention to detail. The
craftsman positions the label by hand to ensure it follows the curves of the bottle, a little
finishing touch that typifies Dior excellence.
Dior's manual skills: the remarkable work ofTHE WOMEN OF THE
ATELIERS
At the Dior factory, craftsmen master forgotten manual skills, in particular the secret to tying
the ‘poignard’ bow adorning every bottle of Miss Dior perfume extract, the signature of
Dior’s first fragrance.
 The craftsmen who create these satin bows also master
a unique skill; positioning the gold thread that
decorates the bottle of the J'adore extract. It is coiled,
then hand-sealed using a succession of very precise
manual gestures like an elegant choreography
mastered only by their hands.

CALVIN KLEIN

Country: United States

Main activity: Fashion
Brand website: link
Parent company: Coty

Calvin Klein Inc. is an American fashion brand started

by Calvin Klein at the end of the 1960s. The brand is
famous for its minimalism and classic style, and helped
launch the craze for designer jeans in the 1970s when Klein began adding his name on the
back pocket. Today, Calvin Klein is known worldwide for their jeans, casual collections,
underwear collections and perfumes. Watches and a jewelry collection became part of the
brand's offering in 1997. The company's "cK" logo is as recognizable as its brand name and
adorns many products in their line.
The company's first perfume, Calvin, was launched in 1981. Calvin Klein has since launched
a series of successful perfumes that, for many, capture the spirit of the decades in which they
were introduced, including Obsession (1985 for Women, 1986 for Men), cK One (one of the
first fragrances marketed as unisex, in 1994), and Euphoria (2005 for women, 2006 for Men).
Klein's license for perfumes now belongs to Coty.
Designer Calvin Klein has 185 perfumes in our fragrance base. The earliest edition was
created in 1978 and the newest is from 2023. Calvin Klein fragrances were made in
collaboration with perfumers Pascal Gaurin, Yves Cassar, Jean-Marc Chaillan, Caroline
Sabas, Ann Gottlieb, Sophie Labbe, Honorine Blanc, Annick Menardo, Alberto Morillas,
Harry Fremont, René Morgenthaler, Rodrigo Flores-Roux, Ellen Molner, Bruno Jovanovic,
Loc Dong, Carlos Benaim, Gabriela Chelariu, Ilias Ermenidis, Pierre Negrin, Christelle
Laprade, Alexandra Carlin, IFF, Richard Herpin, Clement Gavarry, Daniela (Roche) Andrier,
Pierre Wargnye, Anne Flipo, Claude Dir, Steve DeMercado, Sophia Grojsman, Julie Masse,
Ralf Schwieger, Veronique Nyberg, Laurent Le Guernec, Olivier Gillotin, Sonia Constant,
Jacques Cavallier, Frank Voelkl, Dominique Ropion, Coty, Fanny Bal, Christophe Raynaud,
Jean Guichard, Robert Slattery, Givaudan, Calice Becker, Marypierre Julien, , Thierry
Wasser and Michel Almairac.

TAKING THE FRAGRANCE INDUSTRY BY STORM

The classic brand first released their fragrances in the 70s and 80s but it wasn’t until the
legendary scent, Obsession, was released in 1985 that the designer became recognised for his
perfumes. It was reported that he spent a staggering $13 million to promote the product,
which was the most they had ever spent at the time but this only helped it become a huge
success.
When discussing his thoughts behind the scent, Klein said: “I wanted something direct,
sensuous, provocative, which represents the way I feel about women.”
Their following perfume, Eternity, was launched in 1988 and had the enormous budget of
$18 million. However, it paid off as it became their most popular fragrance after bringing in a
whopping $35 million by the end of its first year.
The label has since expanded these two fragrances with scents such as Obsession Night,
Obsession for Men and Eternity Moment.
CALVIN KLEIN

From the moment a pale grey wool coat appeared on the cover of Vogue, Calvin Klein‘s
destiny as a major fashion force – or as Vogue puts it, ‘America’s King of Clothes’ was
sealed. Within seven years, he’d made it to fashion’s Hall of Fame, winning a coveted Coty
award in 1973 for creating a whole new style of timeless, clean, modern sportswear.
 But it was really Calvin Klein‘s use of striking
photographic imagery – and his move into fragrances
– which ignited global interest in the Bronx-born
designer, carving out his place in ad. history.
Prowling on all fours on a vast billboard dominating
New York’s Times Square wearing curve-clinging
jeans, Patti Hansen – 1970s supermodel and the
future Mrs. Keith Richards – was star of the first
headline-grabbing campaign, which triggered sales as
blazing hot as the ad. itself.
Brooke Shields was next to pour herself into his
denims – declaring, controversially, that ‘nothing comes between me and my Calvins’ – and
by 1980, two million pairs were being sold every month.

Then the launch of Calvin Klein Obsession in 1985 – a seriously smouldering Ambrée
fusing peach, spices, sandalwood, orange blossom, amber, musk, civet, vanilla, incense and
so much more, advertised by a tangle of naked (and beautiful bodies) – marked the dawn of a
new era in ‘designer’ perfumery, in which Calvin Klein fragrances have played such an
important and ground-breaking role.

Obsession itself tapped into the mood-of-the-moment: decadent, daring, basically va-va-
voom in a bottle. Then in 1988 came its counterpoint: the pure white floral Eternity, which
featured the exquisite Christy Turlington as its ‘face’. Its message of marriage and family
was expressed via a beautiful ring-design on the simple silver cap – inspired by the eternity
ring Calvin Klein bought for his wife Kelly from the estate sale of the Duchess of Windsor.
(As Calvin Klein commented in an interview with fellow designer Marc Jacobs, ‘I’d always
seen Christy as the epitome of the woman who was my woman – the woman who I wanted to
dress – whether it was when she was 17 or today. They just don’t come finer than her, I don’t
think.’)

Skip to 1991, and he’s talking about Calvin Klein Escape perfume. ‘It’s about Kelly and
myself, what we do and how we live,’ Klein explained. (And we surely all lusted over the
 Kleins’ stunning minimalist
East Hampton house, with its
linen drapes, limed wood floors
and dazzling sea views.) The
scent’s message, he explained,
‘is about getting out, being
active, finding things in your
life that transport you in a
really healthy way.’

The world’s love for Calvin

Klein clothing, accessories and fragrances continued to swell – until in 1994 came fresh-
fresh-fresh Ck One: a first-of-its kind unisex eau de toilette, launched with ads. by Steven
Meisel starring Kate Moss, future movie director Sofia Coppola and Donovan Leitch. Ck
One went on to notch up a staggering $60 million of global sales in three months,
kickstarting a trend for sheerer, more transparent fragrances that endures to this day.

And although Calvin Klein‘s own last runway show was more than 10 years ago, his
signature style – simple, wearable, and so-so stylish – continues to infuse the clothing and the
much-loved fragrances today.

For many, the smell of summer just IS the scent of, yes, Ck One Summer – with a fresh,
refreshing spin on those citrus, fruity, aquatic and aromatic notes we all know so well being
launched each year in a ‘collectible’ new bottle, for every season. (Always a fragrance that
you could happily steal from your partner’s side of the bathroom shelf, however, Ck One
Red Edition offers separate versions for men and women: ‘hers’ playing up the fruity floral
qualities with watermelon, violet, white amber, patchouli and skin musk, with ‘his’ featuring
sparkling aldehydes, pear, suede, vetiver, tonka and musk.)

In 2005, the voluptuous Euphoria made its debut, created by perfumers Dominique Ropion,
Carlos Benaim and Loc Dong, winning a Fragrance Foundation Award in its first year for
‘Best Luxe Fragrance’. Since, then, new spins on Euphoria have seduced us all over again,
the most recent being Endless Euphoria: lighter, fresher, more outdoorsy, with its notes of
cherry blossom, violet, bamboo, sandalwood and musk.
Importantly, in 2014, Calvin Klein also celebrates the landmark 25th anniversary of the
introduction of Eternity with exclusive, silver-finished limited edition bottles, filled with the
signature fragrances for men and women. And that iconic advertisement (top right) –
featuring his ‘perfect woman’ Christy Turlington with Mark Vanderloo, shot by Peter
Lindbergh. ‘As long as intimacy goes on, so will Eternity,’ the designer comments.
DILUTION CLASSES

Perfume types reflect the concentration of aromatic compounds in a solvent, which in fine
fragrance is typically ethanol or a mix of water and ethanol. Various sources differ
considerably in the definitions of perfume types. The intensity and longevity of a perfume is
based on the concentration, intensity, and longevity of the aromatic compounds, or perfume
oils, used. As the percentage of aromatic compounds increases, so does the intensity and
longevity of the scent. Specific terms are used to describe a fragrance's approximate
concentration by the percent of perfume oil in the volume of the final product. The most
widespread terms are:
1. parfum or extrait, in English known as perfume extract, pure perfume, or simply
perfume: 15–40% aromatic compounds (IFRA: typically ~20%);
2. esprit de parfum (ESdP): 15–30% aromatic compounds, a seldom used strength
concentration in between EdP and perfume;
3. eau de parfum (EdP) or parfum de toilette (PdT): 10–20% aromatic compounds
(typically ~15%); sometimes called "eau de perfume" or "millésime." Parfum de toilette
is a less common term, most popular in the 1980s, that is generally analogous to eau de
parfum.
4. eau de toilette (EdT): 5–15% aromatic compounds (typically ~10%); This is the staple
for most masculine perfumes.
5. eau de Cologne (EdC): 3–8% aromatic compounds (typically ~5%). This concentration
is often simply called cologne; see below for more information on the confusing nature of
the term.
6. eau fraîche: products sold as "splashes", "mists", "veils" and other imprecise terms.
Generally these products contain 3% or less aromatic compounds and are diluted with
water rather than oil or alcohol.