No. 19, released in August 19th, 1970, only after Coco Chanel’s death, was known to be her very own personal signature perfume. It was named after her birth date, on the same launching date…

I feel it is the most refined and sophisticated of all the Chanel fragrances, perhaps the one that truly stands for its own sake as a perfume, separately from fashion, and can be compatible with perfume from other great houses (that is not to say that her other fragrances are not good – I simply feel that this one is uniquely different and original).
No. 19 is equally natural and urbane, simple and sophisticated.
It derives its materials primarily from nature, yet radiates certain elegant and distant melancholy that perhaps suggests something about Chanel’s deepest emotions…

No. 19 Starts off with sharp, green galbanum note, backed up with bergamot and some of the top notes of jasmine and orange blossom absolute “lifted up” from the heart...
Soon enough, No. 19 mellows down and reveals its heart – an interesting rose accord appears: first it is green and fresh Rose de Mai, somewhat powdery as it is backed up with precious Florentian orris root and violet leaf absolute. It will soon reveal a sophisticated, more complex phase, as a powdery, woody-leather note emerges – it is reminiscent of cedarwood and dry burnished leather, and surprisingly creates a very soft and somewhat warm accord together with the rose.
This note surprisingly reminds me of other great French perfumes, which I believe No. 19 can proudly stand hand-in-hand with – Ivoire, Tocade and Nahema. The rose accord in all three possesses a similar almost-smoky quality that is interesting and complicated…

The drydown will bring forward more of the woody notes – distant and quite dry oakmoss, subtle cedar and sandalwood, and primarily the balsamic, somewhat fresh notes of frankincense oil. It still is possessed by the green notes of the former phases, but is not as sharp and is somewhat rounder, more powdery…

No. 19 is the most mysterious and enigmatic of all Chanel’s perfume, and I feel it requires a lot of effort to wear with the right spirit of class and refinement and certain elegant distance...

Top notes: Green, mainly galbanum
Heart notes: violet leaf, orris root, rose, jasmine
Base notes: Moss, Sandalwood, Leather