|
The Secret of Chanel No. 5: The Intimate History of the World's Most Famous Perfume
Tilar J. Mazzeo
#UE8332
Paperback, 281 pages; 2011 (2010)
$15.99
 Members' Price: $13.59
In 1952, when a reporter asked Marilyn Monroe what she wore to bed, she famously replied, "Nothing but a few drops of Chanel No. 5." Such an endorsement would make any perfume famous--if it wasn't already the bestselling scent in the world. Created in the glittering days of the Jazz Age by Coco Chanel and a perfumer with ties to the ill-fated Romanovs, Chanel No. 5 was an instant sensation. During World War II, soldiers lined up outside the couturier's Paris boutique to buy the fragrance for their sweethearts back home, and bottles of it could be used as currency on the black market. Yet by 1945, Coco Chanel was prepared to ruin her magnificent creation to avenge a business deal gone wrong. Thankfully, she failed: Ninety years after the perfume's debut, the French government estimates that a bottle of Chanel No. 5 is sold every thirty seconds. A heady blend of science and history, with a whiff of scandal for good measure, this "biography" explores the fascinating life of one of the modern world's most coveted luxuries.
(KG)
|
