N°19 Chanel (1971) Eau de Toilette

8.6 / 10 141 Ratings

N°19 (Eau de Toilette) is a popular perfume by Chanel for women and was released in 1971. The scent is green-floral. It is still in production.

Perfumer

Henri Robert

Fragrance Notes

Top Notes	Bergamot, Galbanum, Hyacinth, Neroli
Heart Notes	Iris, Jasmine, Lily-of-the-valley, Narcissus, Rose, Ylang-ylang
Base Notes	Oakmoss, Leather, Musk, Sandalwood, Cedarwood

Ratings

Scent

8.6 (141 Ratings)

Longevity

7.4 (102 Ratings)

Sillage

6.8 (105 Ratings)

Bottle

7.8 (106 Ratings)

Submitted by Gonsada, last update on 13.07.2019

Variant of the fragrance concentration

N°19 (Eau de Toilette)

This is a variant of the perfume N°19 (Parfum) by Chanel, which differs in concentration.

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Reviews

04/13/2019

9.0 8.0 9.0 9.0/10

Alex1984
40 Reviews

Alex1984

Forrest Queen

It took me almost a year to be able to grasp the beauty of N°19. While my vintage, early 70’s bottle was a wonderful discovery, and a wonderful experience every time it hit my skin, the golden liquid never unveiled its secrets to me. Yes, I could see the beauty of it, I could smell the marvel inside, but it didn’t resonate.
I decided to give it some time. After all, galbanum galore!
And all of a sudden, a month ago, I could finally understand. This is N°19 in all of its glorious beauty.

In the beginning, I could smell the green splendor inside, the leather wrapping the iris..but now there’s a revelation.
The star of the show, shines fiercely. There’s an intense verdancy that grabs me by the head and spins me around. The galbanum is simply stunning; piquant, spicy, herbal. Mesmerizing on its own, and stellar when surrounded by the hyacinth, the lilly of the valley and the warm narcissus. It’s a green bouquet with the flowers doing second act. The vetiver and the oakmoss serve as the forest canopy, the leather provides, along with the musk (nitromusks?), the animalic growl that warms this fantasy dreamland.
There’s also a freshness all along; the neroli/bergamot duo feel as if a gentle mist, hovering above the skin until the late drydown, when a beautifully rich sandalwood engulfs my skin in creamy softness. It’s an edt, rich like an extrait, and made at a time when quality meant something. Unveiling its beauty, I’m transported back to the early 70’s with all of its dreams, big ideas and hazy beauty, ready to grab the world by the balls.

N°19 has always been considered a ‘cold’ fragrance. I find it to be quite the opposite. Warm, radiant, pulsating from the skin, all while keeping a distance. It’s strong willed, stubborn, and yet serene. Perhaps the association with Coco influences our perception, and while I could never picture her wearing something like N°5, the image I have of her persona is absolutely N°19. And while I can’t comment on her as a person, this and the latter Coco give me an idea of what her personality might have been.

N°19 belongs in the pantheon of lost beauties. My vintage bottle with all of its glorious Iranian galbanum, animal musks and rich absolutes, comes alive on skin like very few. The current, even in extrait, is a diluted watercolor painting that can only dream of such vivid green tapestry.
Sillage is moderate, but longevity is from morning to evening.
Absolutely and resolutely for every man and woman that loves green and chypre fragrances.

05/18/2018

10.0 7.0 7.0 7.5/10

Stanze
0 Reviews

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Stanze

Greatly helpful Review 23

The spirits of the past

She says (let's call her Q): "I still have something from the old days. It's a Chanel with a number. I used to use this all the time before... was born." Punktpunktpunkt was born in 1990. I (Parfumo spoiled me): "How did you store it?" Q: "I stored it in the dark." So we go to a wooden cupboard. She looks for something and then pulls out an ancient cardboard box. From before the time of the barcode. (Barcode was introduced in Europe in 1976. Chanel introduced barcodes in 1990.) I get all excited. I didn't even know there was N°19 before. I open the slightly yellowed package, which says "Refillable atomizer" on the back. A noble matt silver plastic cover with a golden ribbon in the middle. The matt silver cover with the logo can be pulled upwards. You can press on both sides of the golden part under the spray head. Then you can pull up the golden part. In the lower plastic case there is a clear bottle with green liquid. "Recharge Refill Eau de Toilette N°19 Chanel Paris 50ml-80% vol" it says.

I reverently put everything back together again, grab Q's right forearm and spray him with the hint that she would now travel backwards in time. She didn't expect it, she thought I'd spray myself. Q: "But maybe I don't want that at all" (traveling in time). She's got to go through this. There's no going back. You also have to make sacrifices for science.
The top note is a galbanum bomb. I don't like this at all. It smells medical. Then there'll be lots of little sweet flowers. A few minutes later, countless old-fashioned bikers in leather outfits spread out on the meadow with the small flowers. So much leather and little flowers. "I have to smell it again in an hour," I said. Q: "I'll wash it off". I'm like, "You can't wash that off." And Q pulls away from thenen.

After a few minutes of contemplation I succumbed to temptation and sprayed my own right forearm. In the top note, N°19 has the same medical smell as Q, but it's not as unpleasant as her. With much benevolence, I can call it green resinous. The top note lasts much longer than Q. It could have gone faster for me. Where are the little flowers? My friend thinks it smells like older drugstore salesgirls. I think he means positively. He always makes nice remarks about my test series and should actually be registered here instead of me.
A century later the fragrance becomes at least sweeter. But I can't make out individual flowers. It's a very undefined sweetness. Then the leather comes back. And my friend says the smell's getting stronger. With Q it became weaker, with me it becomes allegedly more intensive as soon as the leather fetishists arrive. But galbanum stays there.
Half an hour later the individual scents melt together again. The cute drugstore saleswomen hug the bikers in a forest full of moss, cedars and sandalwood trees and suddenly it smells totally great. Everybody smiles at each other. A fragrance of well-being.
This is not suitable for everyday use. Who can wait an hour and a half for the perfume to take on a nice smell?
Afterwards the sweetness passes slowly and only moss and woods remain behind. An empty forest. My friend says it still smells exactly the same. Either I have become insensitive due to sensory overload or he suffers from Stockholm syndrome. (Because I was sitting right next to him the whole time.)

Of course, it is possible that the perfume has suffered a bit in the wood cabinet during all this time. It was dark in the closet but not cool. This is a terribly warm area in summer.

Of course I will photograph the bottle. Morning. Morning.

8 Replies

04/28/2017

10.0 7.0 7.0 9.5/10

Mark030
5 Reviews

Mark030

Very helpful Review 4

N°19 edt

Can't say enough to describe it. The green bitter opening is stunning, and this are the notes that i like the most. I would like that this notes last longer, but everything beautiful doesn't last long. Than there are two fact; the first if you spray it on fabrics, it doesn't develope completely so it can remind on a sort of hair spray. It is not a bad fact, it depends if you like this smell. The second option is to spray it on the skin and here comes the magic. The smell of clean, soft, the smell of good, a very fine soap. Totally genderless and delicate. It is the sort of smell you can notice in the intimacy of a hug. The sillage is not very strong so it is really a personal choice and pleasure.
The opening is of course sharp, like opening a bottle of syrup, medicinal and vegetal-alcoholic. Personally i can't descibe how i like and admire this opening. It is life literally. Than the powdery, earthy and dry notes are just divine. So this are the traits of this perfume in my modest opinion.
Last but not least are the feelings and the fantasies that this perfume evokes to me. Yes, it can smell dated, classy and mature but this is not enough. In this notes lie the creativity and originality of this perfume. So don't expect nothing sweet and sugary nor the fresh-watery sweet kind of 'perfume' that nowdays is fashionable. With this perfume i can fantasize of an era that it is gone, which doesn't exist anymore, but on the other hand evocative of good memories and a tender melancholy. It is really an other world. As a smell it also has a sort of aristocratic and intellectual recall. It is so evocative to me, but i really don't want to sound pretentious. At the same time it reminds me of a grey rainy day, but in spring so with this rain the grass, flowers and trees can explode with their beauty and greatness. To me it is a 'particular' perfume for 'particular' persons.

04/01/2015

7.5 5.0 5.0 9.0/10

MasterLi
367 Reviews

MasterLi

Very helpful Review 6

Eau de Toilette Review

No. 19 is a strange one... A lot of people label this as a cold, heartless, "ice queen/boardroom bitch", kind of fragrance. I don't get that at all. To me it smells like a bunch of freshly cut morning spring flowers being newly placed in a vase.

I find this to be very soft, slightly powdery, and sensual. I don't find it "unemotional" or whatever. To me I think Chanel Cristalle fulfils all of those previous labels, that is one that I see as more masculine (and one which as a man I happily wear). No. 19 EDT opens a little like the Cristalle EDT does (hyacinth and bergamot) but the galbanum really gives it an amazing quality (warm and sensual). The powdery iris is really beautiful here. It's clean and fresh and sexy at the same time. I do get Oak moss and Vetiver and I think the earthiness of the Iris (orris root) and the dryness of the Vetiver compliment each other beautifully.

It's true that this fragrance is the opposite of "girly", as it definitely gives off a grown up vibe, but I wouldn't say it's a "cold-hearted bitch" kind of perfume. To me it's quite alive and soft. The kind of person I would see wearing this would be an intellectual, kind hearted young woman, the kind of girl who is really attractive with a sweater and glasses who always has her head in a book, but doesn't know just how beautiful she is kind of thing. Alternatively any woman who wears a suit to work or academic but deep down is still really kind and loving to those around her.

With reference to the unisex quality often attributed to this, I find Chanel Cristalle (also by Henri Robert) more masculine than this, but something like "Dior Homme" (also an iris leathery fragrance) more feminine than this, it being sweeter and more gourmand than No. 19. Coincidentally... I know that my grandfather sometimes wears on occasion so I think it certainly wouldn't be out of place being worn on a man.

As mentioned before, this was Gabrielle Chanel's signature scent. It was originally private and exclusive to her, before being released publicly just before she died. However, that being said... I'm now starting to get a pattern in late Chanel perfumer, Henri Robert's creations: Chanel Pour Monsieur (1955) is a green Chypre, No. 19 (1971) is a green floral, and Cristalle (1974) is floral Chypre. All have Citrus notes, all have Oak moss, and all have Vetiver. But what sets No. 19 apart is the beautiful, sublime Iris note. Powdery, soft, warm and somehow elegantly clean... it undoubtedly makes No. 19 the plushest, most sensual, and most feminine of the trio. It really is a masterfully blended perfume.

I don't see Chanel No. 19 as a cold, "unemotional" fragrance, to me (a man's opinion) it's like meeting a very attractive yet quiet, shy, intellectual type of girl with a kind, warm, loving heart who you just want to cuddle up with on the sofa by the fire. This is just one gorgeously grown-up, well- balanced fragrance!

1 Replies