Most people know Chanel for its clean smell, but few know what actually creates radiance. The secret is aldehydes: mysterious molecules that changed perfume forever. And surprisingly , they also reveal powerful lessons about emotion, elegance and how to handle life.
In nature they are found in citrus peel, cut grass, flowers but in perfumes they are synthesized.
Their nature smells of abstraction , geometry. Depending on the type they smell :
- sparkling fizzy ( like champagne bubble)
- soapy – clean like luxury soap
- metallic cold
- wax creamy like candle wax
- citrucy like lemon peeel
Like all perfumes, Chanel No 5 has top, heart and base notes.
The top notes include aldehydes, bergamot, lemon, ylang yland;
The heart notes are the floral nucleus of the perfume – jasmine, rose, iris;
And base notes? The lingering ‘ache’ sandalwood, vetiver, oakmoss, musk…
Aldehydes, when added to the perfume enhance it through radiance, this is why the opening feels sparkling , luminous, icy.
They are geometric and so is the bottle of the perfume . Unlike other bottles which were highly decorative it was minimalist, architectural almost masculine.
Regarding the heart notes themselves, without aldehydes the perfume would smell like a real bouquet of jasmine which is nice but not iconic. Not only is jasmine a bit animalistic , and roses intense and sentimental but their smell has been worn a thousand times like a beautiful face which seems predictable lacking personality.
Aldehydes refine the floral bouquet it feels abstract, modern , airy, polished you smell of couture and architecture. In fact, as we saw in the article Coco Mademoiselle Chanel has the precision of an architect. On another note. just like the leading hotels of the world where cultural essence is distilled and presented through the senses and/or a cultural echo Chanel No 5 thrives because it smells of an aura of femininity not an actual flower. She wanted it to smell clean modern and impossible to define, in line with Chanel’s revolutionary liberated woman.
In the same spirit the perfume doesn’t rest on the skin it diffuses in the air. Doesn’t culture in top design resemble this? If it carried nostalgia , it would rest tied to the past, resting like a perfume on the skin, but it doesn’t it blends with timeless principles and diffuses in the air. It breathes…
If we were to pause and recap, we would see there are parallels between aldehydes, Chanel’s overall philosophy, leading hotels of the world design and the perfume’s bottle. It’s interesting to see another layer of the cohesiveness in Chanel’s world view in that the perfume is the olfactory equivalent of the little black dress.
Before Chanel, women’ fashion was ornamental and restrictive. The little black dress provided, clean lines elegance through simplicity.
Secondly it can be worn on multiple occasions
The perfume itself is
not too sweet
not overpowering
refined yet sensual
It becomes the equivalent of a the essential wardrobe.
In this sense I would speculate that the perfume could act as a Paradigm applicable to many life occasions. Let’s examine a universal theme, that of handling of sorrow:
Wouldn’t it be interesting to see the role of aldehydes?
Create distance first
Instead of saying I am sad, you say there is sadness here, or I am experiencing sadness . You can visualize it as a temporary aura which is in you but not you. You are encouraged to separate the emotion from your identity. You become the observer, not the drowning centre. On a second note, aldehydes open with a sudden sting but then expand in the air. Likewise pause before reacting , breathe .
Let the sting happen
Aldehydes have a sharp electric impulse, they sting for a second but the sting is clean not destructive.
Lesson learned: Don’t soften sorrow too quickly Let it pierce , it will quiet down~~~~
Transform don’t suppress
Rose and jasmine don’t ger erased they just get refined into elegance. The same way thanks to aldehydes , you are not expected to erase sadness. You can transform it into dignity, meaning, or a mixture of ache and gratitude . Paradox is central to the nature of Chanel mentality.
Let is be part of your architecture, not your weight
Aldehydes give structure to the fragrance, they lift it upwards
Lesson learned: Let sorrow give you shape not burden. Like Letter Bet of the Hebrew alphabet which is stronger with the dot inside, you becomes a carrier of depth after handling adversity.
As Odysseas Elytis , the Greek poet would say
Τη λύπη που λάμπει σαν ήλιος χειμωνιάτικος
The sadness that shines like a winter sun
Sadness in this line is kept at a distance , becomes refined ( the winter illuminates but isn’t overwhelming ) and intermixed with beauty and light.
Pure Aldehydes at work
Isn’t it interesting to see boundaries dissolving, disciplines smiling at each other in a sigh of mutual recognition? This is on of the the aims of this project, to bring some unity in our wonderful fragmented world.
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World: Eternal : cross disciplinary unity, universal life principles, transforming sorry
Note: French – perfumery , couture clarity
Echo: Greek luminous poetics
Mood :Clean luminosity, a lifted abstraction
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