Chanel No.5 Leau or Chanel N5 perfume if you have to choose between the two? When wearing perfume, I’d usually have two considerations – a scent that sets the desired mood, and the persona you want to present to the person or people around you on that occasion. Personally, I disagree with the reviews that say the Chanel No.5 L’eau smells like a particular “version” or “interpretation” of the Chanel N5 perfume. Relatively speaking, apart from sharing the same core notes, the No.5 l’eau EDT is not necessarily a literal spin-off from the classic No.5 perfume. Chanel N5 L’eau, all aspects considered, is a tribute to the icon at best; and a semblance, if I’m being unforgiving. But that is not to say it hasn’t got qualities to call its own.
Chanel No. 5 L’Eau Eau de Toilette Review
Notes & Tones
Top notes include lemon (bright and fresh) and mandarin (juicy & uplifting), orange (tart & summery)
Heart notes include ylang-ylang (warm & tropical), rose (sweet & delicate), jasmine (fruity & heady)
Base notes include white musk (powdery & subtle), cedar (woody & outdoorsy), vanilla (rich & creamy)
The Opening
Chanel No.5 L’eau Eau de Toilette wasn’t the burst of energy for me on the initial spritzes, it was more like a passionate kiss-on-the-cheek kind of warmth. It gets tangier on clothes than on skin at first, but bizarrely, it was the other way round after a few minutes. The significant amount of aldehydes in the formulation opens Chanel no.5 L’eau in the most celebratory way – sparkly in every sense.
Sillage & Projection
The Chanel No.5 L’eau is an EDT, so the weaker projection is expected as compared with the N5 Parfum. The sillage is not too shabby perhaps because the water component makes it airier. In other words, if you want your presence known, move around more. It is made for the actives, and the social butterflies. The trail of sunshine and romance fleets by but never lingers. Carpe diem.
Drydown – floral notes prevail upon drydown, which make up the true essence of this creation. At this point, almost all the citrusy layers have peeled away, leaving your skin thinly veiled with a comforting blanket of soft petals.
Depth & Performance – ‘L’eau’ being ‘water’ is an overall good effort with this composition, it thins out the accords while clutching at the bouquet, and so preventing the fragrance from disrobing away the romance ever so swiftly. Amazingly, the Chanel No.5 L’eau spray has nice staying power, it lasts about 7 hours on my skin even in humid Singapore.
Chanel No.5 Eau de Parfum Perfume Review
Notes & Tones
Top notes include ylang-ylang (warm & tropical), bergamot (sweet & invigorating), peach (aromatic & powdery)
Heart notes include rose (sweet & delicate), jasmine (fruity & heady), iris (floral & powdery)
Base notes include patchouli (earthy & calming), vanilla (rich & creamy), sandalwood (warm & spicy), amber (honeyed & balsamic)
The Opening
The Chanel No.5 Eau de Parfum opens you to a world of glam, lux and comfort. It takes you through a suite of glitter, piquancy and a hint of suede. The opening of the Chanel N5 parfum is a lot warmer and bloomier than the L’eau; nectarous rather than effervescent, rightfully so because it has more powdery notes.
Sillage & Projection
The Chanel No.5 Eau de Parfum has both decent projection and sillage. It radiates well with a calmer aura and carries a more luscious fragrance trail.
Drydown – both the Chanel No.5 L’eau and the Eau de Parfum dry-down very similarly; they both dissipate into a gentle, clean, cottony breath as they ease themselves out, however, Chanel Eau de Parfum has way more edge in this olfactory phase because of the intense base notes.
Depth & Performance – The Chanel No.5 EDP embodies a more noticeable depth in comparison. Spray it on the skin it lasts for the entire day, and on clothes – for a couple more days!
Chanel No.5 L’eau & Chanel N5 Eau de Parfum Price
Both the Chanel No.5 L’eau Eau de Toilette and the Eau de Parfum retail at SGD$195 for 50ml, and SGD$280 for 100ml on the Singapore Chanel e-store and beauty boutiques and counters.
Verdict
The Chanel No.5 Eau de Parfum and the L’eau Eau de Toilette are not to do with the old or young, or the modern or timelessness (even though No.5 perfume has been the acclaimed classic fragrance for decades). I do not think they put us into cohorts of age or generations. They just boil down to personas and personal redolences of lifestyle, fashion and even food. Say, tame vs sensual, garden party vs burlesque, scenic getaway at the rolling hills & lakes vs retreat in a luxury hotel. The thing is, some of us wear the L’eau like wearing a fluffy bathrobe, feeling light as cotton, as opposed to a weightier, warmer cashmere coat. And some of you drenched in the Eau de Parfum love how rich caramel is, as apposed to, say, marmalade.
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