Chanel No.5 perfume: The 100th anniversary collection review

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for insider tips and product reviews from our shopping experts Sign up for our free IndyBest email Sign up for our free IndyBest email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Today, Chanel is celebrating 100 years of the perfume Chanel No.5, with the launch of a very cool and quirky limited-edition collection – Factory No.5. Similar to what she did with fashion, Chanel stripped back all the external frills and fripperies associated with perfumery, resulting in a streamlined square bottle, an intriguing numerical name and above all, a “fiercely feminine” bouquet – and one of the first to experiment with synthetic notes, making it highly addictive and worlds away from the many “natural” perfumes women were wearing at the time – and a classic was born. Launching today, the 17 piece collection is “inspired by ordinary objects” – a nod to No.5’s original packaging which was a simple laboratory bottle which has since become as iconic as the scent itself. Pop Art elevated ordinary objects to artistic iconic status – the most famous example is Warhol’s paintings of Campbells Soup tins – and this collection aims to do something similar, imbuing mundane objects with some No.5 magic.