Chanel N°19 Chanel for women

This is the aristocratic, much wealthier, well traveled older cousin to Gucci’s Envy.

That OG Chanel DNA, musk, green notes, and iris/orris root. It's a bit lipstick-y and a bit "dated" (which I love). High-class 1970s. Influenced by hippie culture and the new rebellions, but would never be willing to give up the luxury life style.

My bottle is old and really boils down to the orris root and leather. I love it. It says I may be an old lady, but I can still step on your neck with my well-heeled stiletto if the need arises.

I am a man who sampled this after seeing some reviewers say this could be unisex and reading about how green this one was. Well, truth is this really is a woman’s perfume. I am not saying a man cannot wear this if he really enjoys it, but just realize that if you are a man and you wear this, it does smell very feminine and borderline mature woman. Smells very “Chanel” and will be recognized by many people as a lady’s perfume. I recall smelling this kind of smell on women when I was a kid. So even if the scent profile theoretically could be unisex, most people will probably recognize this as a woman’s scent.

That being said, I do think this would smell nice on a woman for a more formal/dressed up occasion. Maybe a more dressed up casual situation as well. This scent is not for “Girls” if you know what I’m saying. This is for a lady. And I think it could smell quite attractive on the right kind of woman.

The opening is very nice. I actually didn’t get so much of the “Green” that people talk about. I mean it is green, but not wow in your face green. It has that Chanel airy perfumy thing going on. It’s not as aggressive as I expected from this EDT. But to be honest after the opening, which is quite nice, it dries down to be quite musky. I personally didn’t like this part as much.

Again this is from a guy’s perspective. I would tell other men who might be thinking about this one that it is definitely NOT unisex. This is a lady’s perfume for sure and many people will recognize the scent profile as such. So just be aware of that if you decide to wear it. For the women considering this… it smells nice. Classy choice. Leans a bit more mature and a bit more dressed up. But can be attractive on the right kind of woman.

Marketed toward women, but in 2024 this is most definitely unisex. I snagged some Chanel travel cases on Ebay (no 5 & no 19) and the 19 bottle still had about 10ml in. I expected it to be massively feminine like no 5 and I was surprised when it wasn't. I'll wear this for sure in spring. I won't go out my way to buy a full bottle, but if I see one at a bargain price I'd definitely grab it.

Green green green sweetened with a lot of rose and powdered with iris. This was my mother’s Chanel No. 19, circa late 80s/early 90s, in the EDT refill form. While this scent is far from being “me” it’s not sharp - just a bit bracing, like a chilly forest breeze, and it has a bit of a magical quality to it, and I can appreciate it. I don’t get leather from this, but I can detect hints of woodiness at the base. Far from being an “ice queen,” No. 19 is very much a “woodland witch.”

Green, greener, the greenest. I have the splasher bottle just sitting there. I take a sniff from time to time, but I’ve never worn it, because I find it a tad too dry.

my friend at work stole this for me at my first job a decade ago, i wish it were any other chanel because it’s so difficult to get through. it’s so musky and earthy you can put on some incense and get the same experience. i still have the bottle.

'70s Greens, M*A*S*H & Versatility...

There's a '70s green vibe here, and I could imagine smelling this on the set of M*A*S*H (film 1970), worn by Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan (played by Sally Kellerman) with her army greens. Opens with a burst of green galbanum & hiacynth with clean citrus touches from neroli & bergamot. Already the Chanel DNA is there, and that transitions into the floral heart of iris-rose, while the opening notes linger, tilting the whole composition green. Oakmoss & vetiver in the base fluff the florals, and help to continue the green vibe for well beyond excellent performance. This isn't a dupe of anything, but you will catch reminders of other classic floral green scents here and there, and although there's a '70s vibe it's versatile in a way that could be dressed up or down. This is targeted to women, but it leans unisex and could be worn by anyone who likes a green floral. I just have a miniature, but for fans of green scents, this is FB worthy. It's a love for me. Enjoy!

Aaah, the Queen of Green, Chanel 19.

I always thought I preferred the pure parfum, and I do love the parfum, but increasingly I find that I'm reaching for the more uplifting EDT.

I've been wearing this now for over thirty years and so it feels like pulling on an old, familiar yet very classy, or classic, coat.

I love iris in perfume, my other go-to being Infusion d'iris which I find wonderfully calming with its incense cedar and benzoin.

I'll reach for l'Iris by Santa Maria Novella for an elegant evening iris, it's not one to sit around relaxing in. No 19 I just squoosh on anytime I want to feel uplifted. It's almost become a signal to my husband that I feel happy and want to celebrate life with him since it's his favourite of all my perfumes.

I find that kind of amazing, I mean it's not known as a general favourite among men is it? It just shows you how perfumes become a part of us, or how the right perfume reflects us, far more than an item of clothing.

So in fact it's not like putting on a familiar old coat, it's more spiritual and emotional. It's a lifelong love. Hope they don't ruin it!

Of the Chanel families that involve numbers in their names, the N°19 family has always been the one that directly made my eyes shine from the first contact, regardless of its concentration, Parfum, Poudré, Eau de Parfum, Eau de Toilette, etc. .. However, the latter, in my opinion, is the concentration/version that most closely resembles Brazil and its everyday movements; much more the characteristics of its people.

It opens in a purely citric and full-bodied way, but behind these citruses there is a sunny content and with it comes a medium breeze which draws a protective area around us, creating a very admirable shield. The feeling is that the perfume will evaporate super fast, due to the pleasant feeling under the sun's warmth at that moment. It's just a feeling, it lasts a long time!

Iris is the protagonist from start to finish, with its sharp, dusty aroma, with the characteristics of a dressing table loaded with all kinds of makeup and another aroma of fine talcum powder around it that emanates from some blush, probably. It's incredible how Chanel manages to bring the same Iris as all the other fragrances of the House, where you have that note, here too, in the same way, with the same smell, to the same extent. Applause for the Maison, which, like Íris, has always brought Rosa, in the same way that it already exists and coexists in the other bottles of its production!

The bottom is comfortable, it's thin, it's made of rare leather like new bags in stores of the kind and the aroma is as polite as the raw material, as it stays in its place, dialoguing with some notes of vetiver still stuck in the earth, turning green. the sensation so glorious that the fragrance sends you just looking at the color of its juice. I feel humid woods, submerged in aromatic oils that are intercalated until everyone manages to appear politely, in a respectful and purely gentle cycle.

Never leave the collection, never again! <3

Coco happy birthday !

I don’t know how, but in my mid 20s (circa 2003) on a minimum wage I somehow managed to save up enough to afford a 50ml bottle of this, and even though it’s long gone I can STILL smell it in my mind’s olfactory. It was my go-to fragrance for hot daytime special occasions (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) and the sophisticated crisp-earthy green-ness of it was so refreshing, comforting, and reassuring - I felt more confident when I wore Chanel No.19. So I have to get another bottle of this, because now I appreciate it more. If you know Brisbane summers (which are 8 months of the year compared to other climates) and how much that makes perfumes wilt and fail, You Know. (Although, I grant you that it’s worse in Rockhampton, and Mackay, and Townsville, and HOOOOeeeee Cairns.) I reckon THIS is the perfume you should wear if you go on a bike ride or a hike in warm, mountain terrain and, when you reach the summit destination, you can confidently enter the silver-service white-linen-tablecloth restaurant at the top of the mountain and sit down in comfort and ease, because you belong there, because you smell GREAT because you are wearing Chanel No.19.

My sister had this as her wedding perfume, in the early eightees, so for me it is so nostalgic as can be.
When I was a teenager, I got my hands on a deodorant version what I used as my perfume. ( could had never afford a real perfume at that age )
But it made me feel so special. And when I wear it now, still it always makes my day.
Now, I will always have a bottle in my collection.
It is my all time favourite.
I love love love the dry scent, the green, It is almost crispy to my nose and I love that it is so different than all other perfumes because of the galbanum and the mossy notes.
Fantastic perfume.

This perfume really is a time capsule, as enrium says. I'm always amazed how closely scent is tied to memory. I discovered a few years back that No 19 is the smell of my late-70s childhood. Our very glamorous neighbor mom was always dripping in this when my sister and I would visit her house for a playdate. No 19 was mixed with the other smells of their house--crayons, freshly cut grass, Kraft macaroni and cheese (which my sister and I were forbidden.) Every time I make mac and cheese, I think of this scent, and vice versa--100% guilty pleasure. I know, it's a little weird, but not a bad association to have. Childhood, innocence, warmth, cheesy goodness, and No 19--'70s bliss.

This is the fragrance that made me realize galbanum is the green note that I really love. This fragrance smells like the forest on a dry, sunny, day. It is grassy, earthy with dry woodiness and a soft powdery dry down. The florals balance the bitterness of the galbanum, while still letting it shine. This is a classy, elegant fragrance that isn't stuffy. It is perfectly suited to casual everyday wear. It could even be office friendly if worn lightly.

I ignored this fragrance for a long time. Falling in love with No.19 Poudre pushed me into finally trying the original.
I assumed this would be mature and dated. When I finally tried it, I didn't find that at all. It's classically beautiful and timeless smelling. I bought it immediately. I have only tried the current formulation which accoring to quite a few reviews is a shell of it's former self. I find the current EDT beautiful, I can only imagine the magic of the original.

The performace is a bit disappointing. It's not terrible, but it only lasts around four hours with a light projection. The projection is a bit stronger for the first hour, but then it softens a lot and is a little more than a skin scent. I have sprayed a little heavier and it does help the projection but the longevity stays about the same. It doesn't even seem to stick to clothes very well. I assume this is one of the aspects that was hurt in the reformulations.

The outdoorsy, nature vibes I get from No.19 makes this fairly unisex to me. A sunny walk in nature can suit everyone.
I wear this most in the spring but it is easy to wear all year.

I really don't like the bottle. It's plain with a really ugly plastic cap/atomizer combo. At least the atomizer works well. It gives a nice fine, moderately generous mist. I don't understand why Chanel puts so many of their EDT's in these ugly bottles when their other bottles are so beautiful.

i am testing from a vintage vial. at first i get a lot of galbanum and oakmoss along with florals such as iris and narcissus. a fair amount of vetiver and orris too. then comes the leather and hyacinth. it's green and dewy but woody and powdery as well. it's kind of different than other perfumes i have, yet it's still familiar. i like it and would like to try the current version to compare.

Love everything about this. A masterpiece. I feel like the bottle and the colour tell you exactly what to expect I dunno it touches something deep inside my psyche. This is green yes, but to me the Chanel- ness unique to most chanel scents (which I think is the orris and iris combining to create a powder accord) is equal to the greenery. That same accord combined with the jasmine is incredibly relaxing to me almost trance-inducing, I remember as a child an evening in the Caribbean the powdery jasmine perfume of the woman in front of me wafting on the cool breeze, putting me to sleep on my father's lap. I still find it so trance-like. This is elegant, monied. Something about it says money to me literally money. Not CAD but classic paper US money there's a similar note there. The more I wear this the more I desire to make this my signature scent. Sometimes I think I will wear this half of the year and Chanel Sycamore the other half

I only had a decanted tester but after having used it all, it never was anything special. It was weak and short, too musky, hardly possible to get a picture of what it is. I almost suspect something was wrong with that tester. Maybe if I try it again in another place like in a shop I would see a difference, who knows.

This is so pretty and elegant. It's green but it's nowhere near as challenging as I'd imagined it would be. Maybe it used to be, once upon a time in the 70s when it was at its prime... Yes the galbanum opening is relatively bitter and green but it's pretty short-lived and No.19 very quickly dries down to a clean iris-y lily of the valley scent. Minimal oakmoss if any at all, at least on my skin.

This current version is so modest that I'd actually like for it to be greener and sharper and more bitter, and might as well mention that the longevity and projection are unfortunately subpar, which I've found to be a common issue among pretty much all Chanels in recent years.

All in all I love No.19 with all my heart, wear it pretty much all year round and I can only imagine the glamorous masterpiece that the original formulation was.

Easily tops my list of "Best Blind Buys Ever."

No. 19 is SUPER green, SUPER 70's, and SUPER awesome.

My bottle is older, probably from the 90's. It smells remarkably similar to Silences, as countless others have noted. Chanel is a bit more powdery and herbal, Jacomo a bit more animalic. Both are dry, dry, dry--despite capturing the beautiful smell of wet leaves--there is no sweetness here.

If you're mourning the old No. 19 due to reformulation, give Silences a try. To anyone who's not among the perfume-obsessed, Silences is a dupe, and the prices are more friendly (even for vintage bottles.)

Eeeek! =O ... =(

This strong fresh-cut-blades-of-grass scent is INTENSELY sharp! My mind was screaming "Oww ow ow! Please chill out!" the whole time I was wearing this. It was also quite nauseating. I'm not sure who the culprit is... I'm guessing the Galbanum or Bergamot (No 5 also has Bergamot and I had a similar negative experience with that perfume as well). I can't do greens, I guess. I have a soft personality and vibe and this smell is super cold and hard.

I wanted to like this, but alas, No 19 is not for me.

I would love to sell my full bottle of this (India), but would be open to shipping to a different country as well. Only ever sprayed it once, please message if interested!

I have half a bottle bought 15 years ago. I am dreading the thought of replacing it with an updated version.

The drydown of this current EdT reminds me of the base in Cartier Déclaration, a translucent vetiver-cedar-leather thing that softly radiates without punching you in the nose. It's lovely, and lasts longer than you might think, particularly on fabric. The opening feels like an entirely different scent, crisp and floral but condensed, like your aunt's green chypre on fast-forward. Bright galbanum, freshly cut hyacinth and lily-of-the-valley, muted moss, and a prickly iris that zips by like a Rolls-Royce through a bad neighborhood. Chanel are clearly doing their best here, in the face of IFRA regulations and an overall attenuation of the luxury fragrance industry, but longtime fans of No. 19 might be disappointed with what the old gal smells like today. (Full disclosure: I'm not familiar with vintage 19, but I can just tell it didn't smell like this in the '70s. You get a sense of these things when you've been around perfumes for a while.) No great tragedy if you're new to the franchise, though: No. 19 EdT is still a quality scent, and as perfect a fit for transitional spring weather as windbreakers and dirt-stained garden shears. I love it, but I do wonder what I'm missing.

this is very interesting. the beginning leans slightly feminine, mature feminine.but the drydown is much more doable for a guy. hardcore perfume lovers only for sure. grassy and fresh while being extremely complex

I would LOVE to have a FB of this if anyone would like to trade! 😊

As an avid perfume admirer and novice collector, I can only imagine the forest witch greenness that the original no. 19 possessed. It's even getting hard to find a current bottle to test, though I did track one down. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but the current EDT is the winner among the 19s you can still get. It doesn't seem like a shadow of something greater, like the EDP does, or an attempt to update something dated to appeal to the under 30 crowd, like the Poudre does (though that one is very nice too, and the runner up).

Ultimately though what dawned on me most profoundly is that this is the long lost relative of one of my first perfumes as an adult, the secretly sophisticated Bulgari The Vert Extreme. Drydown is virtually the same, though my old Bulgari has the lasting power that we took for granted in the mid-2000s, and Chanel unfortunately does not.

Always been a favorite but not been purchasing for a while. Bought the EDT from Chanel. So disappointed! The barest hint of the unique No. 19 character which after a few minutes (by the time I dressed, I kid you not) I couldn’t smell at all even close to skin. So bought the Edp in case that was better. Not. And not prepared to risk the parfum. I am moisturized etc., and put enough on. Part of the pleasure for me of perfume is having a sniff during the day. I put on < hour ago and cannot smell it AT ALL!
So not only has it degenerated into a blah scent at first spray it is hardly worth having. I feel cheated.

Happy birthday coco Chanel!!! My forever signature scent Chanel N19!!!!

i used to swear by N.19 edt, but after getting bottle after bottle of weaker and more watered down juice the past few years, i'm done with N.19. Not only is it now lighter than an eau de cologne, dies within 15 minutes, but even the smell is no longer a cold, assertive green powdery blast but a baby powder with a green nuance to it. Current N.19? A beautiful opening for 30 seconds than it dials down to a shy fragrance with nothing to say, lol the ads used to say the "assertive Chanel" yeah right. Switching to silences by Jacomo instead, the green sharpness stays till the end.

I just received this from Chanel online since it was sold out at all the major department stores. Cristalle has been sold out everywhere for a year, so I figured I should buy this before never seeing it ever again.
Sometimes I wear sweet scents, sometimes I love a deep amber, but when I'm craving a fresh green beauty, there is something so unique about the dry down on skin of a Chanel. I like wearing the fresh scents of Acqua di Parma, Atelier Calogne, and I still want to try Tom Ford's green offerings. . . verte something or other, but I keep coming back to No19. I don't get hyacinth, or jasmine, and barely violet. This is an alert yet relaxed type of vibe. Green, but not harsh or choking or sneezing. Great for studying or staying on task. I have a vintage toilette, and parfum that's been in my family since the 80's and those are what started my love for this, but honestly, this new bottle holds up to my vintage toilette. The vintage has a tiny bit of hyacinth, and a more nuanced dry down after 12 hours, but it's not enough to really notice, or to not enjoy this modern version.

As a lover of green scents, Chanel No. 19 is a top-tier scent for me. A 1970s time capsule, it is austere - slightly bitter, almost metallic at times, given a restrained feminine edge by its powdery florals. The verdant galbanum delivers vintage-style greenery in spades. I didn't like No. 19 as a teenager when I first tried it (not being a sweet, unchallenging scent with mass appeal), but I have grown to love it in the interim. It is an acquired taste from a different era, and is a thing of true beauty. I have a vintage miniature EDT from the 1980s, which is what I'm reviewing.

No. 19 opens with hazy green galbanum, paving the way for the other green notes throughout. Tart bergamot adds a little zest, while some heady hyacinth, a note I love, gets the floral accord off to a great start.

As it develops, more florals emerge. A fresh, green lily-of-the-valley note is the perfect addition, while powdery iris, bolstered by orris root, takes centre stage, in perfect keeping with the Chanel fragrance DNA. It is a beautiful example of an iris accord - soft and powdery, somehow petal-like and melancholy. Whispers of other floral notes round out the bouquet, such as rose and clean jasmine, but the narcissus adds a green, polleny, hay-like edge, complementing the greenness to perfection.

As it dries down, the chypre base emerges, and it is rich and beautiful in the manner of vintage chypres. Oakmoss and dry, woody vetiver round out the thinner green notes from the earlier stages, adding earthy goodness. It is a little bit leathery, a little bit animalic - a perfect, cohesive development from the austere opening. Sillage and longevity are both moderate - the performance of this vintage EDT surpasses the modern EDP.

In a nutshell, No. 19 is a 1970s green scent that delivers cold, clean ladylike elegance. It also smells great on a man. An excellent office scent, it is inoffensive and fresh, yet masterfully composed. No. 19 is a prim and proper lady by day, and a 70s diva by night. Understated power in a bottle. One of my favourite Chanels. 5/5.

Woody vetiver with a nice dose of dry powdery iris. Sophisticated and unisex. By comparison, the parfum is a bit brutal and the edp has an annoying metallic note.

Cold, green, metallic, floral, bitter, powdery. Masterpiece. Everyone should love it and noone should wear it but me.

I’m a guy and this works, and I’m liking it more and more by every wear. The earthiness became apparent to me only by the third time. No doubt my bottle is the current, lesser formulation—which is probably why this is now unisex? It’s either no longer heavily floral, or it’s that it presents a different facet depending on the weather, not to mention the skin of the wearer. Nothing else like it. I love this, especially in high heat. Total summer banger, I’m not kidding.

To have a bottle of No 19 EDT from the late 80s-early 90s like I have is nothing short of a blessing.

It's not that I want to perpetuate the myth that vintage is always superior, which can be dispelled time and again depending on where you look (and what you smell), but with all the talk of more recent formulations of the EDT being a bit "thin" I figured I'd patiently await the discovery of an older bottle at a price that was not astronomical, and here we are today.

This is magnificent. Yes, cold, aloof, steely, but to limit it to such adjectives is to sell it short, as it also has an astonishing vibrance and life to it, from the bitter, astringent opening galbanum blast to the waltz between hyacinth and iris as it warms on my skin. Fresh, crisp, yet with a powdery and somewhat melancholy slant, showcasing the magic of orris root itself. In its heart, No. 19 is just as much a deep purple as it is a saturated green, but each tone lightens in shade further into its development, into wistful pastels.

Further into its dry down, my nose experiences how oakmoss and orris blend together in woods shrouded in a musk mist. It feels truly spellbinding on this rainy late March day.

This one only stuck around for 10 minuts! 😬

I received No. 19 as a gift from my mom in high school and had the same bottle all throughout college. In the past year, I've felt like revisiting it but waited until the new year to get it. After a few decades, my new bottle of No. 19 at first seemed familiar but different from what I remember, and now I love it. It is the perfect antidote to the heavy, vanilla-laden or the generic citrus-floral fragrances out there. I enjoy how different and unique it is, as well as the personal nostalgia.

I bought a bottle of this today. Wearing it, I smell like a bar of soap, and I bloody love it! I've worn No. 19 Poudre since it came out, as I always considered the original too green and sharp for me. I only tested the EDT today because I read in one of the recent Fragrantica forums that the EDT is more powdery than Poudre - I would say they're equally powdery. Today, I discovered that whilst the EDP is still a bit sharp for me, the EDT is an absolute cracker - cool, clean, fresh, and dry. Goes really well with the hot humid weather at the moment. It reminds me of Prada Infusion d'Iris, which someone once said smells like Glen 20 (after I had sprayed it on myself) but in this day and age, who cares! 😁😷

Chanel No. 19 (1971) - coco’s swan song - #henrirobert created a perfume for #cocochanel ‘s birthday that is polar opposite vs. No. 5. Whereas, No. 5 is warm and joyous, No. 19 is cold & steely. This perfume is a floral-green that sets a strong reference to future Green Chanel fragrances. Cut-grass Galbanum, earthy Iris, Oakmoss supported by white florals and sandalwood. Such an expensive formula to do and I won’t be surprised if Chanel pulls the plug or turns it into #chanellesexclusifs - buy now.

I have the N°19 edt splash. I do like this fragrance very much. It's not a sweet little girlie fragrance, it's sophisticated and mature. Younger women can easily wear but sadly, I don't think many would be mature enough to appreciate. No disrespect intended, it's an acquired taste, like mushrooms or calamari.
I was fortunate enough to babysit for a neighbor's daughter, Anne (mom) wore many Chanel perfumes and let me sample them back in the 70's when I was a teenager. I didn't quite get this one until I was older and it popped into my head and I bought my splash and loved it! I'm not great at picking out notes. I can usually pick out Cedar, which I love! The same lady I babysat for, they had a large cedar closet for storage cashmere, wool, ect. because it's moth proof. This was in Houston, don't wear lots of wool but nice to have if you're able.
There is a note in opening that reminds me of play dough, not unpleasant and is fleeting 15 minutes. It's definitely green and could be unisex. The dry down is lovely with the oakmoss, cedar, and vetiver. Those 3 are nice basenotes. Even if I could read the notes, this is pretty complicated with many things mixing around in it. I have a signature "Fracas" that I wear the most but for some reason I love to wear this when I'm alone at home. From what I've read, sounds like Chanel might be trying to phase this one out, discontinued the splash but still have the edp and edt sprays.
If anyone knows what the "play dough" smelling note is, please enlighten me. I can Google as well.
To anyone who has this and loves it like I do, please introduce to younger generations so maybe they'll acquire an affinity for it. I'd really hate to see this beauty be a thing of the past. Like many of ya'll, I have a decent collection I keep in a closet out of the light. Lately I've been trying to acquire some of the older classics from the 40's and 50's. The creator of my beloved "Fracas", Germaine Cellier was a genius! I just ordered a vintage Jolie Madame by Pierre Balmain that she created. Can't wait to try it. I've never been that impressed with celebrity scents or even Estee Lauder, Lancome, Dolce Gabbana, especially not Clinique. Great makeup and beauty but not a fan of the fragrances.

I have to disagree with the reviewer below. I don’t find No. 19 edt to be like Silences. Maybe for the edp, but Silences is so much heavier, so much darker and mossier than 19 edt. The latter is way more snappy and fresh. More contemporary even. I am a person who loves dupes, I’m not a purist. And still I could not wear silences. Just not the same.

I have a little splash bottle of the EDT. Nice when smelling on skin, I like the green & fresh, and might be picking up a little on the leather if I try. But without a spray it's hard for me to evaluate, not much projection.

I used the last of my No. 19 EdT, from 1989-90, somewhere through there. It was my third job and I finally landed a junior sales assistant at Macy's cosmetics counter (that was a big deal back in the day, lol, freebies were a big perk of the job). Not Chanels counter, mind you, but if you know how to network, you make good friends with the SA's of your choice bc...well, that's self explanatory. Anywhoo, I made a great friend who I communicate with to this day, if fact she got me hooked on Fragrantica, and she gave me the promo size No. 19 edt. It's teensy tiny and looks just like larger bottles, just miniature. Loved it. That bitter Galbanum gives you the zings, oakmoss tames her a bit then Iris and Hyacinth pick up the ball and blend, blend, blend. Gorgeous. Will I pick up a new bottle? No, the Galbanum & Oakmoss are pretty much nonexistent in the new EdT, but that's not Chanels fault, IFRA had a huge hand in it. Plus, sometimes you just need to put a fragrance away and just sniff the bottle for the memories. But I had a blast today going down olfactory induced memory lane. Plus, I spayed all over my winter coat 😋. She'll be back.

I just received my somewhat vintage version of this! I totally blind bought this and I’m not at all disappointed! In fact, my love for green fragrances has been brought back to me.

I bought the now discontinued travel set of this. Not the silver metal or plastic case. They are three little 15 ml glass bottles with a silver spray top/cap that you twist onto a refill bottle. They came sealed in a cool plastic case that even has a holder that the bottles can stand upright in. The eBay seller said she bought it in a Japanese airport back in either 2003/2004, and it has some Japanese print on it so I believe it’s authentic.

This reminds me of someone. I’m not sure who. But a woman in my family used to wear this. I don’t have negative or positive memories associated, I just know I’ve smelled it before.

As for the scent, I absolutely love this. It’s GREEN. It has a slight freshness to it. The freshness of freshly blossomed white flowers, cut grass, body powder, and something else that I can’t point out. I’m, admittedly, not good at picking out notes yet. But I do get some iris, rose, citrus, musk, and wood. I do get the leather, but I find it balanced with the other notes and it creates something smooth.

People say this is cold, and I guess I get that a little bit. But I find it reminiscent of a sunny day, I think around 3-5 pm. Not the early morning.

So far I’ve gotten 4 hours of longevity with this formulation. I don’t find it to project loudly, which is not an issue as many scents I find very special and love being able to smell them on myself. But I still enjoy compliments when others enjoy my scent.

I definitely plan on buying a real vintage (hopefully 80s) of this in the near future, but for now this has made me very happy!


Update 01/25/22 - Got a real vintage of this finally! I can definitely tell that my Japanese airport travel sprays of no 19 are from after reformulation now.

The bottle I just received is from the 70s. It’s a 100 ml RIBBED (special edition and not common) glass bottle, with the metal cap/sprayer. There is a sticker on the bottom instead of embossed glass.

Such a refreshing, green, powdery beauty. I think I’ll be spraying multiple spritz of modern bottles on me and then finish with a spritz of this.

*Btw, I get a slight resemblance of modern Antaeus here and there in the base notes stage.

🥀

I heard lots of rave reviews about this EDT so I went to the Chanel counter at Boots and asked to try it. After warning me that this was a very 'green' fragrance, the lady sprayed the paper strip multiple times, waved it around in the air and gave it to me. I moved a few steps away, pulled my mask under my nose and took a sniff. A clear image came to my mind: my late grandmother putting on her long black cashmere coat and a vintage brooch, getting ready to go to a funeral on a clear sunny but cold winter day. I couldn't get rid of that mental image. This is a very cold, austere, dark green fragrance that I now associate with graveyards and funerals for some weird reason. If the angel of death had a smell, they'd smell like n°19 EDT. It also doesn't smell modern at all to my nose and made me feel kind of sad. The smell completely disappeared from the strip after a couple of hours.

Although I now have over three dozen fragrances in my collection, I had nothing from Chanel. While No. 5 is 100 years old this year, No. 19 is 50. Based on the notes I somehow had it in my mind that No. 19 would be a spring fragrance, so I decided to treat myself to a new bottle of the EDT to my spring wardrobe. Why the EDT instead of the EDP or parfum? Although I'll be 35 later this year I just don't think I'm ready yet for stronger Chanel concentrations, I feel that one must grow into them. That said if you're a teenager and can pull off No. 5 parfum, babe good for you.

I was mistaken that this is a spring fragrance, Tania Sanchez is absolutely right when she says in Perfumes: The A-Z Guide (2010) that "For all its springtime references, white flowers and leafy greenery, it keeps you in a boardroom in 3 inch stilettos and pencil skirts." Words like cruel, heartless, ruthless, and bitch get thrown around a lot in reviews of No. 19 but I wouldn't go that far. While it is not at all verdant despite the inclusion of over a half dozen flowers, the powdery note of iris causes it to warm up on the dry down. I would describe No. 19 as controlled, professional, and cool (rather than cold). Rather than the office bitch she's the woman at work that coworkers initially find intimidating, until you get to know her and realize that she totally has your back on projects and is happy to mentor new colleagues. This is a great office perfume and perfect for job interviews, as it's quietly confident. A few years from now, when I finish my bottle of the EDT and have moved up in my own career, I'll be ready for a stronger concentration.

Fresh, green, and a lot of white floral.
I really love it because I'm a big fan of white floral, especially jasmine scent. I find it's really hard to find JASMINE WITHOUT VANILLA, because if the two are combined it becomes too sweet and sometimes give me a headache. Fyi, I don't like vanilla in any fragrance.
And, Chanel N19 is the answer for me!
Unfortunately, the longevity is not that strong.
Overall: 8/10

I wore my sample of No 19 EDT today in the prescribed conditions that @Akscent mentioned. It was a spring day, ~72 F, overcast and rather humid.

When first applied, something in the opening of No 19 EDT reminds me faintly of Ormonde Woman--perhaps their shared base notes? As No 19 dries down, I begin to enjoy it less and less. I prefer the sweetness and versatility of Ormonde Woman. Something about my sample of No 19 just screams vintage, and not in the way that I would prefer.

I suspect that the troublemaker notes (for my nose, at least) might be the iris and orris root, which are often combined to produce "lipstick" fragrances, which I personally have a great deal of trouble with.

I was hoping for fresh, spring green (perhaps an upscale version of EA's Beauty?). Instead this reminds me of a few lipstick fragrances that I've tried before, and did not get along with. Probably the most masculine lipstick fragrance I’ve ever sampled, so I feel confident calling this unisex thanks to the galbanum.

Despite the supposedly ideal weather conditions for this fragrance, I noticed that projection was still very intimate, and longevity was on the longer side of moderate (5-6 hours). I had high hopes for No. 19, but I think No. 5 is more my speed as far as Chanels go. C’est la vie.

Following up on a previous statement - my bottle of vintage EDP from Russia complete with grey cannister arrived and it was worth the wait. This is luscious and wonderful and blows my EDP out of the water. I can sense each layer peeling away and reviewing a new facet as the galbanum and to a lesser extent the iris form the backbone. It really is a sophisticated scent and the fact that it retains that level of sophistication and chic over 50 years later speaks lots about the once formerly great Chanel's that have taken a beating, such as their star, No 5.
There is a strong soapy element in the mids, so be aware if that's not your thing. It projects fairly well for up to 4 hours, at which point, it becomes a delicate, green lily of the valley scent with other florals. A masterpiece.

I just love No. 19 EdT.

The galbanum has such a beautiful green bitterness and the base notes' blend of oak moss, vetiver, musky, animalic leather and sandalwood is among the best blends in all of perfume. "A women's perfume, for a CIS-HET guy like you?" you well may ask. Well, first of all, I don't let marketing and the gender designations on Fragrantica determine which scents I choose to wear. Second, look at the notes pyramid. If this isn't a unisex fragrance, nothing is. Third, and last, I have never, ever, even once been asked if, or heard anyone suggest that, I was wearing a feminine fragrance or tell me I "smelled like a girl". This fact remains even though from time to time I wear this fragrance, No. 5 EdT, Shalimar EdP, Mitsuko EdT, Une Rose (Fr. Malle) and other so called feminine fragrances. So in answer to the "woman's perfume" question, I say "absolutely!"

I never cease to be struck by how fresh No. 19 EdT smells, even though it has none of the currently trendy fresh notes (apart from a brief pop of citrus in the very early opening). This is a great scent for sunny spring and fall days and it also works for warm, breezy summer nights. I don't tend to reach for it in cold weather as I have other fragrances I prefer for winter time. But there is nothing intrinsic to No. 19 that makes it ill-suited to cold days.

No. 19 can get cloying in very hot weather or if over sprayed. The EdT thrives on humid conditions, in which it will display both extended longevity and projection. In low humidity settings, the longevity is poor and the projection never more than moderate. Dry days will require resprays if you want 8 hours out of this scent. The EdP and, particularly, the extrait last considerably longer than the EdT, but have been updated in reformulation and are less bitter and animalic than the EdT. The EdT also has a brighter opening than the others. At the risk of repeating myself: this stuff becomes border line toxic if heavily oversprayed. Use judiciously until you see what works for you.

No. 19 is another of those great scents that need to be at least sampled by fragrance lovers of all sorts. Don't let your gender, fears of being "caught" in a mis-gendered fragrance (there is REALLY is no such thing as a gendered scent) or the counter where this scent is displayed stop you from experiencing this remarkable fragrance. And when you do smell it, be prepared to love it! Recommended.

This is a very pretty scent, daytime wear, IMO, not sexy but elegant. I echo the green note, and while floral comments; they are prevalent. Layers? Yes, definitely complex in the best of ways. Having read the Fragrantica comments before testing, I saw the claims that Silences by Jacomo is a great knockoff. Meh, it's okay, but it's definitely not Chanel 19. Maybe if a lemon pissed in the Chanel bottle? But Silences has that acidic tinge to it, that 19 doesn't. While I say it's more acidic, somehow, it's also more sweet. Upon analysis of the two pyramids, I see Silences' lemon is absent in Chanel 19, and Silences also has added hyacinth, which is probably that sweet scent.

Silences is strong AF too, while 19 is subtle. That said, I would argue that Jacomo's mimicry is somehow more feminine than the 19, which one reviewer below questioned, saying 19 smelled masculine to him. I can see that. Seriously, I see these two as the video for "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer. Palmer is Chanel 19, and the lipstick babes are Silences. Of course, then you have the spoof video created by Ingrid Michaelson, "Girls Chase Boys" which turns that comparison on its head.

Regardless, it's a great, classic scent. Made in 1970, though it doesn't smell like the streets of the 70s to me, more like a 5th Ave apartment, where Robert Palmer is prepping to host a party of lipstick babes.

Today I enjoyed a satisfying wear, with projection and longevity, from my bottle that mostly disappoints me for being weak. I don't quite understand what's going on. But today was nice!

Chanel...What in the hell did you do to this unforgiving green bitch?! (I mean this fondly) Where is the piercing galbanum and hyacinth that sends olfactory nails to your brain in the beginning. Wheres the knife edge then the florals to make it somewhat pleasant? Shes gone by way of noseblind white musks, weak sillage and....
Get this back into form. You know better Polge.
Current 100ml edt reviewed

I already own both the EDP, and one of my all time favorites, Poudre. I've wanted to own the EDT for a while now, but it's difficult to track down the vintage version, especially through Ebay. Well, I just took a big risk and purchased a 3/4 vintage bottle that comes with the silver cannister they used to sell it in as far back as the 80s as far as I remember. My concern stems from the fact that I purchased it through a Russian vendor. This the second time I have done this, the first being a large decant of Ex Nihilo Fleur Narcotique; it was legit.
Everything about the pictures and description makes me feel like I may have scored a bottle at a very reasonable price. The presence of the silver cannister reassures me as well, and the very high seller reviews provide something. I can always get a refund too. But I have to admit, the fact that Chanel is one of the most counterfeited brands in the world, combined with it coming from Russia, has left me feeling somewhat apprehensive.

Yes - I know this isn't a review yet - my memories of trying the vintage EDT remain though, and I am really looking forward to experiencing the cool iris and bitter galbanum again. I've been building my vintage Chanel collection and I've had quite a bit of success, particularly through my new favorite site, Mercari! Ebay is a little more dicey though, so wish me luck, though I don't expect to receive it for at least 6 weeks! I will give a proper review at that time.

Is this a feminine scent? You must be kidding... the testosterone content in this is higher than that in JPG Le Male, A*Men or Dior Homme, LOL.

Jokes aside, galbanum is the reason why it can be tagged as a unisex scent.

You can check how the gender divide has been redefined even in the case of perfumery comparing Dior Homme 2011 with this one. Interesting.

I tested and tested the new formulation and at the end settled for vtg Jacomo Silences vtg from Ebay Germany. My other green favourite is Balmain Vent Vert, so I know how green perfumes can get. It is not a safe blind buy any more. Oakmoss can not be mimicked in my humble opinion.
Either it gives you a red rush on your skin for couple of minutes after application or it does not, and in that case it is not oakmoss at all.

I'm going to buy a vintage bottle of No 19 EDT. I've kept my new bottle a year now and it's not getting stronger. I still like it a lot but I feel it is teasing me and ultimately it's not satisfying. I see vintage EDTs for reasonable prices.

Try this current version in the shop and wait before you impulse buy.

Judespeak is correct . Chanel seems content to make mediocre formulations of legendary classics and price them without conscience . This house was once my favorite , but I also have sworn off Chanel after spending big bucks for perfumes with very dismal performance . No 19 is a thin version of its former self without the strong presence that once made a sophisticated statement .

I first wore this in my sophomore and junior years in high school. I had moved in with an aunt who had many vintage and wonderful frags, and this was my favorite. I fell in love with the blinding blast of fresh green grass on a spring day. I also picked up the florals but it was the grass I craved. My aunt's bottle was from the late 70's, and I purchased this again in the late 90's/2000's. It was the same. On a whim, again, craving that green elixir, I purchased a new formulation bottle. It was exactly the same as I remembered: long-lasting on me, relatively low sillage, and a wonderful balance of grass and bright white florals with a leatherette drydown.

It's a good fragrance, but green? Maybe in the first few seconds, but to me this is primarily a sweet iris-rose composition. I don't smell much greenness here, and no leather whatsoever. If you like the iris-rose combo, you will like this a lot, but I was expecting something different. I would love to smell a vintage version to see whether there used to be a better balance of notes that got lost through the many reformulations.

m_mtz40, or maybe Silences was a dupe for No.19 since No.19 came out in 1970 and Silences in 1978. I do agree that aside from the opening, they smell remarkably alike though Silences has a bitter aspect that #19 lacks.

DUPE = SILENCES JACOMO?

Vintage No.19 Eau de Toilette smells (to me) like money, money that's passed through several hands, seen a few ups and downs, taken some wrong turns along the way and some right ones too. Perhaps Mme. Coco Chanel loved the smell of used money; I have to wonder what her "requirements" were for Henri Robert, how I would have liked to be a fly on the wall for that conversation. Someone wrote that this is a scent that evokes "rich older lady" however I say it's the smell of power and success and most likely the scent of the interior of Coco Chanel's personal quilted leather 2.55 flap bag. So what does money smell like? Marc Vome Ende of Symrise who created the scent of "Tender" for artist Mike Bouchet said about the smell of money "Starting with base notes of cotton, soap and ink...the scent sweeps in odors derived from more than 100 volatile organic chemicals. It includes whiffs of leather from time spent in wallets and handbags, a metallic tang that evokes cash registers, salty human sweat and even bacterial and bathroom smells." Sounds like a good enough match to me. To be honest I have always loved the smell of not fresh money which is possibly why I love my vintage Refillable Atomiser so much. I recommend that everyone should smell this gender fluid scent and judge for themselves.

There are scents made tumultuous that we fall into the trap which concludes that perfumes should precede its wearer. Some are purposefully made to be ethereal as representation of the impermanence of beauty. 19 falls unto the latter category.

I despise the green motif for I find it harsh, unforgiving and without the pinkness of femininity. It’s all rigid. However 19 is an exception, of course in its divine extrait, nothing comes close. But for the lesser concentration, which was always widely available, lies a great facet of what I should say ‘death of summer.’

If the extrait is the afternoon before autumn, then the eau de toilette’s the dusk that follows noon. Coldness is attributed to 19, perhaps due to the use of iris which makes it somewhat wistful but there’s a thoughtfulness here thanks to the galbanum. More than being green, it exemplifies Chanel’s desexualized pattern and this is perhaps why I equate this with the aristocracy of chypres.

In vintage form, the Chanel base gets more pertinent and I feel it compliments 19’s accord for both use heavy balsams I presume.

The newer one is heavy on vetiver which I despise. The older one feels sappy, somewhat leathery and mossier.

I'm wearing this today ,I'm in heaven ladies and gentlemen.Yesterday I was wearing NO 19 poudre, it's very sweet this one (EDT) it's very green and smooth.I enjoy the opening of the EDT and dry-down is similar to the Poudre.

I have to jump in here with a comment about the performance issues of Chanel's fragrances. Last year I purchased Chanel No. 5 edt. It was like water. I should have sent it back but somehow got sidetracked with other things, stuck it in my perfume cabinet, and forgot about it. Fast forward to a few weeks ago. I wanted to wear No.5 edt again. I only had a few sprays left from my old bottle and then remembered the bottle I purchased sitting in the cabinet. Thinking I'd use it to top off what I had already applied, I was astonished to find that it was now exactly like my old bottle.

I've now come to the conclusion that Chanel is rushing their product to market without allowing it time to fully maturate, because this is not the only Chanel perfume where this has happened. L'Eau, which I purchased again a few months ago, also seems to be stronger now than when I first purchased it. Not ideal yet, like my old bottle, but it's getting close. From now on I think I am going to repurchase any perfume from this house well in advance to give it the time it needs that Chanel clearly is not.

Just opened a 2019 batch.

I've been wearing this perfume in the EDT for 30 years.

Chanel, what is this watered down faux perfume? This is about 1/4 or 1/6 of my previous 15 year old batch.

It's not worth buying Chanel perfumes when they are doing this to loyal customers. It's not like their perfumes are inexpensive. There are heaps of other prestige and new niche brands to try.

Bring back the case bottle or bottle with a lid, please. The present one looks and feels cheap.

Jacque Polges disfigured this masterpiece into a sharper, less sweet version of his pathetic interpretation of Chanel 19: Poudre. So this is now Poudre but with sharper white musks instead of the murky musks found in Poudre. Current Edt also has a weird candle wax/ milky note now

This week, I acquired a 100 ml tester bottle of Chanel 19 for the reasonable amount of 0.50 € per ml. At first spray, I immediately had a this-is-familiar moment. When I get these flashback moments, I usually think that I must have smelled this decades ago on some lady, who I have met in my years at school or some other educational establishment. Back in those days, which were the 90s, people actually still wore fragrances where I live and I remember many distinctive scents on various people. These days, this habit has fallen into desuetude, either because the significant impoverishment of large groups of people, due to a more pragmatic, no-frills approach to life, where wearing fragrances may be seen as redundant luxury or maybe because the type of people who wear fragrances don’t mingle with the hoi polloi, keeping to their chauffeured vehicles and invitation-only clubs, only occasionally venturing onto the sidewalks.
But to go back to the issue at hand, which is the fragrance itself. Chanel 19 is a green, sparkling, very fresh fragrance with moderate performance. All the green notes are prominent, whether it’s the king of greens galbanum, the iris, hyacinth, narcissus, obligatory vetiver or lily of the valley. The impression of the composition is very cool and sparkling, like a glass of champagne.
This isn’t a powerhouse, it’s rather similar to the Pour Monsieur fragrance launched just two decades prior, except it is supposed to be “devastatingly feminine”, as some vintage ads would have you believe. I for one, see this as being with one step in masculine territory, which isn’t surprising, given that most women’s fragrances from the period can easily pass for a masculine fragrance today, whereas most feminine fragrances being launched in our times would be regarded as good for children or girls, being as silly and immature as they are. (And we are supposed to have advanced on women’s rights, treating women not as women, but as children.)
This fragrance is meant to be worn on a daily basis, as it’s very versatile and casual. More special occasions may call for a more daring and special fragrance. Then again, it all depends on the mood of wearer and the impression they want to make.
Back in the days of carefully thought, modestly numbered releases, fashion houses had a specific set of customers or a clientele, if you want, who paid a premium for their own capacity for discernment. Nowadays, there is the market and consumers, who will buy any junk you care to shove down their throat and will give you their money for it.

@Miasha

This is the EDT. The deodorant spray comes in an opaque white bottle.

Almost every time I wear it I think I could be perfectly happy to wear it for the rest of my days. With maybe Féminité du Bois in the evenings. It's that good.
But I don't because after few hours, I can't smell a thing and I'm surprised that I'm getting compliments. And on the second day I don't even get those few hours. You see, my nose had decided to adopt N°19 like it was my own body odour and everybody is enjoying it except me.
But what little I do smell is glorious. Especially when it's very hot or very cold.
Smooth, cold, dry and chic. And green, very green.

I've worn the EDT since the mid-80s, on and off. I have some bottles left over from earlier days with some perfume still in them, and a few vintage bottles I've picked up here and there. This is useful because I can compare with what is on the market now. The current formulation disappoints me. I don't want to sound like one one of those ranty vintage obsessives, but I really do smell a difference.

The opening notes are not much different but I find that the galbanum sticks around much longer than it ever did. It overpowers the iris, which used to spread a delicate powdery sheen over the fragrance. The galbanum now is extra sharp, almost sour and acidy. Vetiver is also more prominent. The iris struggles to get a look in.

I first noticed all this about 2 years ago when I bought a bottle from an online discounter. Wondering if I'd ended up with a bad batch, I bought a bottle from a Chanel counter. Nope. Still don't like it as much. Sillage and longevity remained unchanged, ie moderate. Chanel No 19 EDT was never a heavy-hitter.

It's not a disaster. With everything going on in the world right now it would be ridiculous to whinge because I smell less iris in my favourite perfume. All the same, the balance of the fragrance has altered. People who wear the same fragrance over many years really do get to know it well and I just don't love the current juice. I will wear out my bottles of vintage stuff - may as well - and hope in the meantime that No 19 EDT may magically revert to how it was. Hope springs eternal!

To me this smells like blood on a stainless steel blade. But sexy! I wear it into battle... meaning, to every job interview or difficult meeting.

Interesting one. I didn’t like it at first. I’m still not sure how I feel about it. It’s not a dislike or a really like. I suppose I like it. It’s a hard one to figure out. It’s green but it’s slightly powderey and floral. I dig the neroli I can sense in it. Then mostly rose and iris. It’s a quiet scent. It’d be perfect to wear on a spring day. Maybe even after it rained, a bit muggy weather. I think it’d come alive

Just opened EDT bottle from early 90’s, hunted it down on eBay. God… have we fallen this low as a species? Do we even realize how much the thing being produced today is a far cry from the real thing??

I am not even blaming Chanel, just wondering whether all these “regulatory” soulless people wouldn’t stop butchering fragrances! Let’s pick our poison, shall we? I don’t care if there are allergens; I prefer to feel alive while enduring those allergens.

Chanel N19 edt is the green queen with no doubt at all.
Most people call it the perfume of an evil queen, they say it’s cold, distant and cruel.
How can something so perfect be that bad?
N19 smells like freshly cut grass with some citrusy zest. That opening awakens your senses. It’s like opening your windows in a spring morning after a delicate mist covered the fields and gardens.
Then you are wrapped in lots of roses, jasmines, hyacinths and ylang-ylang. However the herbs from the opening mix with the flowers and the wonderful and elegant base notes of moss, iris, leather, vetiver and sandalwood in such a perfect harmony that you can barely tell all those notes apart.
Due to it’s nature N19 could be used all year. But it shines in spring and early autumn even in summer when the temperature is not too hot.
A true perfume that translates the real spirit of Coco Chanel.
Magnificent for anyone who can pull it off. Devastatingly beautiful!

One of the staples of my ex mother-in-law (she really is just the mother of a former boyfriend, but we have become friends, so this is more fun to say).
She is incredibly elegant, good-looking and self-controlled. Can be - and was!! ;-) - frosty in the beginning, but has many hidden qualities. The more you know her, to more you see her girlish and melancholic sides.

To me she seems like the embodiment of N°19. An ice-queen at first sniff. Sweet from the iris and bitter from the oakmoss and galbanum (they are very strong in my nose). But it is a complex scent, full of surprises. Later in the development I notice the woods, which give a little warmth, and the lily-of-the-valley, always very upbeat to me.

A beautiful scent, but probably not for everyone. Not for me, either. But maybe in a few years. It might be a perfume one has to grow into.

Green, bitter with a little bit, just a little bit of sweetness provided by flowers. There's nothing much to say about N°19 other than that it is typically Chanel- simple, yet elegant, fresh, yet intriguing, light, yet long-lasting and projecting. Exactly what I've been searching for spring. I'm completelly in love with the bottle and the green juice inside of it!

I am a guy. EDT 19 is an elegant skin scent on me. I picked it up last week at the post office, one of the few public accommodations still open in my town. Isolation time, but could anyone smell this on me? It's so light. I'll try it in coming days with heavier sprays.

It projects my mind backward, not forward. It smells like my aunties in the 70s. Modern ladies but still with lacquered hair, drinkers, smokers, luxury cars with leather interior, wide lawn of cut grass, charcoal, battleship grey paint. It smells like a fragrance for summer. I regret that it's so light, certainly a shadow of its original creation. That's a plus for men. Because I do like it. It's hardly feminine and there is nothing sharp about what's in the bottle, 2020. Also, the design is chic.

Such a beautiful fragrance. Elegant, clean, pure, different not like anything else. I wear this when i want to feel close to earth and pure. I dont know how to describe this. If a perfume can smell angelic, this one does

This CHANEL fragrance was my signature scent for at least a decade. It has a sophisticated powdery green woodsy scent. I once heard it described as the smell of Paris and french bread. As odd as that sounds I find the bread part to be true. You would expect this to exude cool crisp vibes but it is actually quite cozy and warm and comforting.

It has become a more difficult perfume to find. I used to use the body lotion along with the perfume or EDP. Now just thinking of it makes me want it again.

Obsessed. Always have been, always will be. Magic in a bottle.

An encore review, and how could I not, I'm obsessed with this thing. Since always, tumbling down the rabbit hole searching for perfumes where iris is not merely used as a fixative but as the aesthetic nervecentre of the composition, No.19 places iris as the polestar in a cosmos of greens and hubs it up there with oakmoss, vetiver, hyacinth and galbanum, all favorites, as if the perfume gods had given me a chance to spin their wheel of fortune, it falling at last on the slot called " Thy Catnip".

Iris, with more than a touch of frost, muffed as mittens and ritzy enough to chariot-carry you to high tea at the Savoy where she makes you feel inadequate, clinks on their rose-engraved fine bone china teacups with nails in bitchy red and the hands accustomed to write blank checks in the inky poison-pen six-figure stamp of oakmoss, hemmed starch-pressed husband shirts with layered pearls, strass and gold leather caviar bags and weekends at Fontainebleue.

A little too "parisian patrician" and So.Not.Me, but at the same time idiosyncratic and bent on a point which is the main trait in my prefered fragrances/things. Dignified yet direct, Lady Agnew in a tweed jacket and yacht pants ruling the countryside with an iron fist.

I feel like Chanel's No.19 is ahead of it's time and maybe in the future i would understand it.
The scent is not my favourite it turns me off and i can't figure out who would pull this off.
I have to say this is absolutely the best designed perfume bottle in my opinion, but the juice is not my favourite.
★☆☆☆☆

The best Nº 19 version currently in the market. I love the dry galbanum opening so much, which is tinted with just a bit of bergamot and neroli, giving it a citric undertone. The scent slowly becomes powdery by the rise of the iris accord, which is accompanied by some orris and leather. The scent sits quite close to the skin, but it's pretty long-lasting (8h or so). I'm wearing it today on a warm, rainy autumn day and the humidity really makes the scent bloom.
A really beautiful green fragrance, and my favourite from Chanel.

8/10

Designed for women, but probably more unisex than many current unisex frags, and for sure the most unisex of the 4 versions of No 19.Green iris with a hint of vetiver in the drydown. A masterpiece, but is it necessary to repeat it?

An elegant office fragrance that men also can easily pull out. I just wish the performance was improved.

Spring/Summer, 25+

Edit: Now testing the vintage EDT side-by-side. The vintage opens a bit more aldehydic, with leather-y and incens-y undertones, overall giving me an impression of 'green olives'. The current will show its leathery tones in the base, and it's a better defined/less blurry leather note. In a nutshell, the vintage smells a bit more 'dirty'/sour/tobacco-ish while current smells quite clean. I'd say that the vintage is green/brown in colour, while current is green/grey. Interesting to see the differences, although I have no clues about the juice status of the vintage (notes changes/turning), and I'm testing it from a sample sprayer - all elements that might impact the juice. The vintage EDT is closer to Gres Cabochard and Lauder for Men than to the current EDT.
The vintage results being a tiny bit more feminine compared to the perfectly unisex current juice. Still, both are easy to wear for confident men.

I just purchased a vintage, unopened bottle of No. 19 EDT on Ebay for a great price, even more so because it included a .25 vintage spray No. 5 extrait, used, but about half full. I have recently developed a fondness for green fragrances and added a few to my collection. I wanted this in a vintage form, because let's face it - the IFRA regulations have hit Chanel particularly hard, and they have become a shadow of their former greatness. It's a quasi-blind buy. I remember trying No. 19 back in the 80s, and at the time I was unable to appreciate it. I can not wait to receive this as I am anxious to properly test it. My gut tells me that I will finally be able to appreciate the beauty of this legendary fragrance. I will be updating this post once I receive it.

EDIT - I received my bottle and decanted some into a spray bottle. I have no way of determining the era of this vintage but I am certain it is prior to to the IFRA regs. This is REAL oak moss.
These are my impressions. Wow - the galbanum and oakmoss are strong!! I am certain that this is the reason I thought I hated No. 19 in my youth, before I understood how fragrances develop. Now I enjoy the bitter greenness and inky moss. Jacomo Silences comes to mind, as does the opening of my vintage Vol du Nuit extrait.
About a half hour in, and the bitterness is receding, as the iris begins to emerge, lending a powdery feel without being too "lipsticky". I am catching whiffs of leather as well, a note that I can rarely pick up on.
A little later now, and the florals are peeking through, along with a woody quality I am attributing to the hyacinth. Where have you been all my life! Starting to fall in love. Far from the cold bitchiness others have attributed to this fragrance, I am getting a sense of sunshine parting through the chilly mists of the morning. Is it the vetiver? Maybe the orange blossom? Hard to tell, as things are blended so well.
Heading into the dry down now. Not much of a change from the mid notes. Mostly just an overall cohesion as it becomes one distinct scent - unmistakably Chanel No. 19. This will always have a place in my collection.

19 will forever be my go to Chanel,less popular then 5 and Coco, but that pleases me, years back you'd smell it in tea shops and Marks and Spencer, now it's so green and woody it's probably considered out of fashion. I love it, in the EDT form especially. It reminds of a chic, sophisticated era. It's a classic.

Took me a few attempts to get this, but now I love its sharp, green opening that smells of flower stems, and then the softening down. Yesterday n19 became even a little bit comforting.

Today, however, I needed to get shit done despite feeling rather miserable, and so I donned a power outfit, combed my hair, sprayed 5 spritzes of N19, got a latte, and was on the run. N19 does not indulge my moods, but lifts me out of them. That's pretty powerful stuff.

Chanel N°19 EDT ranks as one of my favorite green scents. The galbanum, oakmoss, and iris have been expertly blended to produce a fragrance that’s on a whole other tier. We mortals are just lucky to experience it. Somehow, N°19 has acquired a reputation of being cold, bitchy, and aloof. Maybe it’s the underlying leather, or perhaps its upright greenness, that leads to that (mis)perception? Rather than those negatively connoted descriptors, I sense independence, self-assurance, and a deep well of insight into the self. N°19 pursues life in her own time, on her own terms.

I wish I could try the original Chanel No 19 EDT from the 1970s, which contained real oakmoss, galbanum and vetiver. What is today sold as No 19 EDT is a mediocre 'green' scent that doesn't last more than 3 hours, and projects even less than that. The opening smells like a herbal tea, and then it becomes kind of leathery. Among the floral notes, I can only detect iris and hyacinth. IDK. I wish I could love this one, because normally I love 'cold', herbal, unisex and green-mossy fragrances, but the current version of No 19 is too unremarkable.

Nº19 starts very soapy and powdery, but in a mossy way. It reminds me of the soaps my grandmother used to have in her bathroom. As a kid, I found them very stinky but, as an adult, I can now appreciate this kind of scent.

After two hours, the soapiness fades and it becomes a very sharp, green scent that is quite cologne-y and masculine leaning. I'm not very fond of this phase, but hopefully the sharpness mellows down a couple of hours later.

I find this fragrance enjoyable, but it's not how I personally want to smell. Looking forward to testing the EDP and Poudré versions soon.

Did anyone notice how much the recent No19 edt with vetiver added resembles Jean-Claude Ellena's Declaration? Both drydowns are really similar... I guess men who are looking for a perfect iris fragrance can just stop and buy this.

Another masterpiece from Chanel. I love it indefinitely! It’s fresh and breezy, never gets boring. I usually bring the no.19 on vacations.

Hands down the finest green perfume ever made.

Smells very vintage but expensive and always gets comments.

I love Poudre but this is the best.

Perfect for all seasons and when you want to feel connected to the earth.

The hard-bitten thuggery of galbanum, a high-brow contempt from iris, the inky stealth of oakmoss... How is it that something so fiendish can also be so alluring?

No.19 sets in motion with the poised quicksilver elegance of a siamese cat, a galbanum bite that leaves toothmarks and a porcelain ladies-who-lunch Chanel rose inside a couture tweed ensemble in Kodachrome green. It´s then paired with the velvet and dusk of iris enriched leather, gloom and chill enough to serve a round of Martinis while carrying black, expensive purses that hog-tie family secrets.
Is she bitchy? Not really, but she will still sweep an eyebrow when she sees my “Chic Happens” posts.

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.

19 is the slightly older sister of Cristalle - in my imagination.

She's classy, mature, beautiful, confident enough to wear the green, leathery concoction Madame Coco designed with specific intent to discombobulate any man coming in its proximity.

19 is fresh faced, blessed with a warm personality. She is the epitome of confidence, gently wrapped in the comfort of a fragrance oozing the tenderness of iris, the delicate sweetness of orris, and the clean, just about soapish caress of vetiver.

The lily of the valley here is just a reminder of how enchating a green scent can be, with its alluring spring call.

I am lucky enough to have just secured myself a bottle of the vintage formula and cannot wait to start dreaming at first dab!

Merci, Madame Coco!!!!

I don't get all the fuzz about this perfume.
Maybe the original formula in the 70s was a masterpiece or something (I would love to smell that).
But today, with the current formulation, all I get is a pleasant, elegant, versatile and very green smell.
That's it. Nothing to write home about.

If I was to sing an accolade in the most angelic voice! Even that would not give this the credit it deserves! Words can’t describe its beauty! It is slightly complicated yet also elegant if that is at all possible!
This grounds me energises me and refreshes me! I always come back to this even though I sometimes tire of it! Mossy, earthy, tranquil, assertive, green, awakening and unique.
Reminds me of when I was younger and Dad took me fishing for trout in the most pristine beautiful clean Snowy River in the early hours where the mornings were fresh and the air was misty and moist rolling in off the mountains. And the valley was quiet with only the sounds of rushing water, the birds chirping and the crumpling earth beneath our feet! Everything was beginning afresh for this new day! I would sit on the shady bank in silence watching my Dad fish with such intent and passion, casting a line myself the cool air against my cheeks and inhaling the smell of pure life itself!
The alpine flowing water was so clean and clear I use to watch the pink willow roots dancing in the flow of the currants in the shallow waters edge! Maybe there was a mossy smell that subconsciously takes me there or galbanum plants?or maybe it’s just simply the freshness or coolness of No 19 that reminds me! It was relaxing, and invigorating drinking in the beauty this place freely gave! Oh the love the tranquility, peace and vibrancy of this place and time! If only I could bottle these memories! Albeit the closest tangible thing would be this!
I wonder what Coco Chanel thought of this creation! I like that this was made for her! The Vetiver and moss and galbanum really earth this and the rose hyacinth and Iris add a vital touch of sweet and powder!
I owned the vintage which I adored and now have the latest in the toilette! I prefer the vintage it is rounder deeper more powdery and generally better somehow! But this is also lovely.
I would love to know the story as to why they chose the notes they did in this creation in dedication to Coco Chanel! I think it’s fitting as I feel strength, life, beauty and confidence in this that is edgy and visionary! Like Coco Chanel herself A creative genius!
Please forgive me for such a long review my dear Fragrantica friends<3

Wow, this is a beauty! Lately I'm interested in getting to know chanel fragrances and so far I like or love all of them. They have a certain classy smell, very nice. Most are different from all the gourmands I love, but I can really appreciate their beauty. This was a blind gift for a good price and I already love it! I really agree with all the positive reviews. I sprayed it once on a piece of paper towel and I'm very very satisfied with the smell that comes from it. I'm not good at picking notes. I have a decant of an iris perfume from l'erbolario which I truly love and I do think I can recognize the iris in this because it has a familiar smell. For me this smells definitely powdery and soft, it's just lovely. And since I love powdery scents I'm very happy with it. It is noticeable with good longevity, it perfectly matches the type of scent in my opinion. Will have to test on skin yet, but I expect the same amazing ecperience from it.

Now I'm even more excited to try other perfumes from the chanel house. Hope to test the no 19 edp and no 19 poudre soon for comparison.

Green powdery but still warm floral bouquet. A fine aristocratic scent, a bridge between 19 Edp, 19 Poudre and Cristalle. I don't get the leather yet...
It lasts 4-5 hours with a decent sillage. All-season, daylight wearing.

I love No.19 a lot in all its iterations, but the EDT most of all. I feel like it is ubiquitously misunderstood, though. Too often I hear people toss around words like cold and distant, even bitchy (of all things...) to describe this fragrance, but I don't get any of that---No.19 strikes me as quite serene and still (the EDT more so than the other concentrations). I imagine the sun rising over a misty valley in the French countryside on a cool summer morning when I smell this---if morning dew on the grass had a smell, I imagine this would be it.

I once heard somebody refer to No.19 as a swan song, and I think that is such a poetic way of describing it as the final fragrance composed during Chanel's lifetime. Perhaps a rather literal way of interpreting a "swan song," but I imagine the sound of the first bird chirping at sunrise in the idyllic vision No.19 brings to me. It is very meditative and isolated, but not uninviting.

And I'm not sure if it has ever occurred to anybody else, but the opening of No.19 EDT reminds me a lot of Giorgio Beverly Hills, sans the tuberose. Maybe it's just me.

I had this in small parfum spray back in 2002 gifted by my father in law; it was one of his own favorite scents. Though being marketed as female use, I felt this was breathtakingly beautiful, unisex scent. However, I did not enjoy wearing it as much as I did Allure, another well known Chanel.

I thought 19 was discontinued as it was not on the counters of Chanel. What a surprise that I spotted 19 edt at Nordstrom! Bought it on the spot, took it home and was ready to relive my past. Green galbanum, powdery iris, deep oakmoss and leather stood out to me. Other notes such as citrus and flowers were all present. This time, I could finally appreciate how well theses notes were seamlessly blended. A bit icy first, yet warm oakmoss balances out nicely. Pretty long lasting, 6 hours, with a nice projection albeit not too noticeable.

N°19 is a special fragrance due to the fact that it was the last released, legitimately, under Chanel's name. Fragrances came after, of course, but very few reached the same level. Those released afterwards had plenty of warmth, class and elegance but none were as cold and intentionally distant.

I am one of those people for whom the modern EDT does not last. Many of the modern (post 2010, say) Chanel eau de toilette concentrations fail in longevity. No, for fragrances like N°5, N°19, and Coco, one must venture into the past and attempt to acquire a vintage. The EDP versions all do reasonably well and the parfum concentrations sort of stagger along, trying to keep up with the EDP.

The vintage eau de toilette is sheer, cool and mossy. It doesn't really smell like anything completely natural - it is a scent of its own, like the majority of fragrances released by the house. The powdery quality from the iris creates a make-up scent that one would come to expect. Galbanum is a note that I love and expected to be much more prominent but, alas, it wasn't the case. Imagine being in the lounging area of a wealthy relative's rather large house, windows open to the rather large garden and you hear the birds tweeting and singing away in the soft Winter sunshine. The air is crisp, and this is what you smell. Only not *quite*. It's inches away from nature, and I think that's what makes it so remarkable for me.

I get roughly 10+ hours on the vintage EDT. Projects reasonably well, you might be noticed from upwards of 3-4ft. If that interests you.

So, yes. Get the vintage if you can. If not, the modern smells reasonably close to the vintage ... just less.

Edit: Galbanum has been used in a great deal of fragrances to create coolness / cold textures which create a scent of austerity. 'Cold' is a perfectly acceptable term to describe this scent, please and thank you.

@Sandalwood__,
If you love No. 19, find yourself a good deal on some vintage pur parfum (sealed, from a reputable seller). You will not be disappointed.

Was at the mall and all of Saks, Neimans, and Nordstrom were out of stock. The associate sayid since it isn’t in high demand they may get like 3-4 in a shipment and they sell quickly. Under-appreciated. Was doing some retail therapy and this was gonna be my remedy. Too impatient to wait for a shipment lol I’ll wait til spring. Very austere, soapy scent, it is striking. Easily unisex.

This is a happy walk in rain, a playful kiss, a ray of sunshine through a shaded meadow. If I were to describe a fragrance in a song, No. 19 would be "Stardust".

"Though I dream in vain
In my heart, it will remain
My stardust melody
The memory of love's refrain.."

I wore No19 EDT all through the 80's while my kids were growing up and loved it. Sometime around 2000 after not wearing it for years, I was shopping and sprayed some on my wrist. When my grown son got home after his class he came in the kitchen and grabbed my arm and inhaled. He closed his eyes and said he just got a rush of childhood memories and asked what I was wearing because it was a smell he remembered and loved and associated as his mom. How awesome that a fragrance can become that much a part of a person.

Fast forward to 2018 when I found an EDT sample, wearing it until every last drop is gone. Then decide to order a bottle of EDT from Chanel only to be so dissapointed that I sent it back the next day. So, a few days later after realizing how much I missed my signature scent, I found an older parfum on e-bay. I won't go into notes since that's been done many times, but for those who are searching for a scent of your own, or like the new version, try to find at least a sample of pre-reformulated No19 to compare. I'm sad that I don't get along with the new but happy the original is still around to treasure.

Edit: I got a vintage No19 EDT from EBay and it's perfection! It's heaven in a bottle and a great find because it's 3.4 oz in the old silver refillable bottle.

Not just for women, No. 19 is a green, almost menthol scent. One of my favorites by Chanel.

This smells like cigarette smoke. I'm not the first person on here to make that association. But if you let it dry down for a while, the sharp, green, floral-leather comes out. This isn't soft and comforting, it's green and alive. It's an interesting EdT, that's for sure. There are a lot of layers and facets here. Almost smells like a cleaning product shallowly, but if you go deeper you can get the green and floral notes. Quite complicated.

This is for the vintage versions.

I nearly passed up the sample-sized bottle of 19 cologne at a yard sale, as I was never impressed by No 5, but I opened it up and took a sniff, paid the quarter they were asking and brought it home.

This fragrance has definite classroom associations for me--a well-liked teacher must have worn it when it was still new on the market; perhaps young, pretty but-with-a-steel-backbone Ms. Miller. It would have suited her.

I detect a natural fresh green that doesn't shriek. I detect subtle leather, and yes, a stale cigarette-smoke note, which would have been perfectly appropriate in a creation for Coco Chanel. This last is also nostalgic for me, as my formative years were prior to the time that anyone worried about 2nd-hand smoke and nearly all my initial experiences had the aroma of cigarettes wafting around *somewhere*.

19's florals briefly echo Hermes Caleche--a little soap, but not an abidingly-soapy fragrance. Sometimes I get a little burst of aniseed at the outset that quickly dissipates.

Conventional wisdom used to hold that delicate scents were for the pale-complected, while the deeper-hued were allowed the delicious orientals. Being pale, myself, this disgruntled me as if I'd been sentenced to a lifetime of nothing but beige. I love the complexity and spice of orientals, but if I'm honest with myself, they do tend to wear me, instead of the other way around.
19 has all the complexity and surprises I could ever want, but with the good manners to let me be the boss.

This lingers faintly on my skin overnight and into the next morning, sometimes even after a shower. It becomes an intimate, erotic powder scent.

Some find 19 a bitchy, cold fragrance. It is not. Rather, it is not ingratiating. It doesn't wheedle, grovel, giggle or scream. It is for women who don't need to jump up and down for attention, who don't need to be obvious to be noticed. I wish I could have afforded this when I was younger!

I was looking for SOMETHING SPECIAL.

Something delicate yet strong.
Something herbal, resinous & green - but not medicinal.
Something earthy, dusty & smoky - yet clear.
Something sweet & impressive - but without a drama queen effect.

The answer to those requests is Chanel No. 19.

Velvety green /yet diaphanous/, aromatic, sophisticated, daring, distinctive & refined.

Not much I can say about this one that hasn't been said already. Green galbanum and iris goodness, oakmoss and vetiver, springy florals, so many great notes. Classic, elegant, confident, fantastic. One of my all time faves.

Oakmoss and vetiver, but in a way that is not dated, unlike similar male-marketed fragrances from the same period. Great for a man in 2018

This is far too good for the ladies to keep to themselves particularly in the EDT. It has garnered compliments from friends and intimates almost more than any other scent. The dry down with dusty iris mossy and leather notes and creamy sandalwood underpinning beautifully blended florals is a delight for all.

I really wanted to like No.19, after having read all of the reviews about the fresh, green scent. The initial impression was of strong, cut flower stems.I was reminded of something my Grandma used to say if something smelled too "green" or medicinal/herbal. She would say "That smells like funeral home." I realized that was exactly what this scent reminded me of.Not a pleasant association. I waited for it to dry down into something I liked, but it just didn't happen.Darn.

DH gifted this to me a few weeks ago.
For years I have been sighing about how much I miss Chanel 19, which I used to love as a very young woman, decades ago, but haven't worn in many, many years. He didn't realize that the reason I hadn't re-purchased this is that I haven't been wowed by the current, weaker reformulations and I am not prepared to pay the steep price that they are asking for something that I do not absolutely love. Since I am not a vintage hunter, Chanel 19, as far as I was concerned, was a thing of the past. Therefore, when I opened his gift and found a tall bottle of the current EDT, I was surprised and also a bit dismayed. Two things however have since mitigated my dismay: I discovered that DH had gotten a very good deal on the bottle,and hadn't paid a totally astronomical price and the scent has grown on me. Something very odd happened actually. I found that after I had turned the bottle over to inspect the label (I was concerned about the possibility of it being a counterfeit)the notes were more discernible, smelling fresher and closer to the scent that I remembered. Since then I have noticed this consistently: when I remember to give the bottle a quick turn the scent smells better and I am quite enjoying it. I know that this controverts the conventional wisdom about how perfumes are blended but for me this is a thing.

I initially disregarded this scent when I tried it for the first time at the start of the year. The current formulation is just much too weak and really has zero staying power.

Zoom forward several months and my lovely friend sent me a 15mL recharge from her mother's vintage selection. As this was an heirloom of sorts, I've been very careful with it as it means a great deal to my friend - enough that she passed it on to someone who'd use it. Maybe it's the sentimentality talking, but I honestly think the vintage is the way to go. It's roughly above the strength of the current EDP and has much more complexity than any of the current formulas - and I love both the eau de parfum and parfum.

It's very green, very powdery and VERY galbanum heavy. It's not in the same league as Chamade or Vol de Nuit, but the three are barely comparable to one another. This is cold, hard and straight to the point. The current eau de parfum I find to be very kind and loving, whereas this is a total b word. Not to be crossed, only for those who do the crossing. My nan wore something very similar as I was growing up - now she hates it. Go figure.
A bit oakmossy, like Hermes' Un Jardin Sur Le Toit and leathery / powdery like a handbag that's seen a few years of make up abuse.
Timeless, classy, exceptional, crystalline, effortless and undeniably Chanel.

and no, my dear milennials, NOT just for the older generations.

Eternity's great grandmother, in a way.

On me this is not sharp, bitter or cold. Cold is cristalle! It does have a distinct salty soapyness that does not appeal to me. I do appreciate the scent for its character, balance and interest, it does keep me sniffing but I cannot see myself wearing it on a regular basis. I love the florals, honeyed rose violet, that are unfortunately very subdued on me, also the green notes, and the slightly soapy ambery notes complement the green/floral notes very nicely. One to try if you want a complex soapy scent of distinction and subtlety. It is a long time since I tried the edp but I would say this one has less heavily iris and violet.

Full disclosure: Iris and I don't typically get along. She has a tendency to either turn to powder on me, or smell like vinyl both from the bottle and on my skin -- so I doubt it has much to do with skin chemistry but more my perception. However, I have much appreciation for this note.

It's like this: the iris note is used a lot in shampoos and to scent pure and innocent things like dolls and rubber duckies. We have our own set of experiences with smell that can imprint so strongly in our psyche and cause an emotional response. For me, somewhere in my childhood I must have been overwhelmed with plastic toys that smelled like iris. I think that's also why I have trouble with iris based leather scents -- most smell like nursery room vinyl to me. I'm hoping to retrain my brain and reset my olfactive memory. I'm choosing a 5 ml spray decant of Chanel No. 19 EDT as my treatment serum.

Clean soapy notes like aldehydes that I associate with class are present here. Galbanum is bright and a little bitter and contrasts well with the softness of iris. Other bitter but cheerful white florals like narcissus and lily of the valley are also detected and enhance the green aspects of iris. Oakmoss here is very smooth, and although it adds to that feeling of vinyl for me, it's also luxurious and supple.

After a while as No. 19 EDT dries down, it turns to a musky smooth green softness and loses any crispness about it. My brain is still translating this as soapy vinyl or pleather, nothing natural or woody. However I have much appreciation for this composition -- it's very well blended, clean and chic. It's rather cool and reticent, romantic too like a watercolor painting. I do like those sharp opening notes much better than the drydown. But I can see how others are comfortable in the finishing fresh airiness and classy muskiness of this beauty.

We'll see how those lovely fresh green notes carry the iris and how I feel after I get to the bottom of my 5 ml. Perhaps this one may be something that I can appreciate from a distance or on another person but not on myself beyond those opening notes.

Layering it with Prada Infusion d'Iris is heavenly!

Wow. This perfume is sharp. It's definitely a unisex scent to my nose. I like how mossy it is! The other Chanel 19 perfume with the glass cap and gold rim is more feminine. This perfume is green but also powdery which makes me think of dry, soft hay. That's not bad but it's different. I start to like this perfume more as it dries down. The florals come trough after a few minutes. A woody, musky chiqueness shows up soon after. Man? Woman? Who cares? It's definitely complex and interesting!

Looks like its sharp but its not :)
Please don't let the color of water to mislead You...

Oris...Vetiver...oak moss and...pretty light burned wood is a first plan...Dry down is really fast.... beautiful... woody relaxing notes... covered with... powder....

Absolute masterpiece to me.

My summer scent I purchased yesterday...

Its was stormy day in Chicago... I felt so great to walk with my umbrella... while it was raining... I wear Chanel 19.... and nothing really matter :) after first spray....

While it was raining I went to park and I felt so relaxed and so classy....
This is amazing scent.I would never say myself and I would never let anyone to say: - harsh green. ~I would say- hard to describe a rare gem...hidden diamond...

Love the bottle as well.

Amazing quality of Vetiver ..... covered with a high quality of poudre...
Masterpiece to me.
I am glad everyone loves Chanel 5 :) 19 is only for me :)

It's a common cliche that No 19 is cold. Well, yes, it is - in the same way that the sweeping metallic curves of a well-proportioned classic car are cold, or the finely etched stone of a masterful sculpture.

It is also often said that No 19 is sharp. That is also true - in the same way that the wit of the finest satirist is sharp, or the point of a perfectly cut jewel.

Also commonly acknowledged is No 19's aloof beauty. Here, I have no simile to offer; the statement is what it is. Chanel No 19 possesses an aloof beauty that remains unrivaled in the world of perfumery. There's a reason she is regarded as the ultimate ice queen - she is beautiful, yet cutting; inviting, yet prickly; and oh so statuesque in the surety of her very being.

No 19 opens with a subliminal dose of aldehydes and a truckload of galbanum, both of which continue to add sparkle and depth (respectively) throughout. The florals are both soft and crunchy - powdery iris meets bitchy jasmine. The base is all transparent wood, vetiver and leather - a foundation, rather than a monolith. But the sappy, resinous galbanum is the real star here - and it's the best example of a galbanum-forward perfume you're likely to find.

I have a pre-IFRA sprayer of the EDT, and it is marvelous. Longevity is 10 hours plus, with soft projection throughout. I find the EDT to be the purest expression of the No 19 ethos - but then again, as a male, I prefer its sharpness over the more iris-forward EDP. I wear No 19 at the office, to dinner, or on any crisp spring or autumn day that takes my fancy. She will neither offend nor fade into the background; she is admirably resolute.

A world without No 19 would be like the moon without the stars; still bright, yet without that extra sparkle.

Oh, and while we're still on the cliches, here's one more. It's a cliche that is as irrefutable as it is impossible to avoid; one that I can't bear to use until literally the very last word of this review. Here goes: No 19 is, without a shred of doubt, without the least wimper of postmodern pandering, without the slightest equivocation, the one, the only, the ultimate green.

Heavenly Spring morning <3
this smells of spring in Norway to me , a cool breeze of chill still in the air but the sun is up and you know it will warm you up in a few hours . The dewy foog still in the grass make your new ballerina shoes a bit weet but who cares . The day will unfold and bring trilling new oportunitys of bright smiles , friendly giggles . The heart beats faster and spring love comes to mind. Thsi feals ike a tripp down memory lan to me . I dont think i knew anybody whearing this beauty. but the scent itself brings back so many beautiful memorys .
Im lucky enough to get a vintage bottle of this juice so it has tons of oakmoss and crisp galbanum . To me i cant realy detect that much iris in this one . Its more about the green and leather then the powder i normaly get from Iris .but the iris and orris roots makes it earthy and green more then powdery in this perhaps. This beauty will shurly be one of my favorites this Spring , side by side with miss dior original and Estee Lauder privat collection. Spring scents and green cravings for shure.
I will absolutly tell you that this is far better then the poudre version . infact i desided that the poudre version was a bit boring on me . So will rather go for this for the green crisp fix . And probebly the edp aswell , havent tested jet . but hopfully soon it will be mine aswell . If somebody wants the poudre and have the edp no 19 and look to swapp let me know :)

best green out there. it smells so natural and elegant.... gem.

Had to search for an older version because the reformulations smell so off on my skin--too florally and not green enough. Happy to stumble upon a bottle on ebay and now my summer fragrance. Unfortunately something in the bottle makes my boyfriend swell up in hives so something to be worn only for myself. A really aggressive green, which I love! A scent that hugs you when you wear it.

This is the perfume I wore all through college, and a few years on and off in my 20s. I wore this when I was dating my first boyfriend. My good friend turned me on to this senior year of HS, she wore either this or Revlon Charlie when she couldn't afford the Chanel. Both smelled so good on her. Eventually I stopped borrowing the Chanel and bought some for myself.

I still have a bottle of this from the 90s, and it smells mossy, leathery, green, earthy. The type of scent that molds with your skin and your own personal body chemistry and doesn't smell like "perfume", but makes you smell good. The cold, aloof corporate board woman in a business suit associations with scents like this aren't what come to mind for me. When I smell this, I think of the type of young woman who shopped at vintage clothing stores, old book stores, and hung out in NYC on the weekends, in the 90s, when you had more individualists, and hipsters & special products for them, or generic mass market fragrances, weren't a thing yet.

I keep hearing about the reformulation and haven't brought myself to smell it yet. These reformulations, especially the ones that took away things like oakmoss when it was the heart of the fragrance, smell to me like what those Designer Imposter body sprays were to the originals ("If you like Giorgio, you'll love Primo!"). So many of these classic scents are just a shell of what they used to be, and now people ask "what perfume are you wearing?", instead of saying "you smell good". I just can't bear to see that with Chanel 19 :/

edit 11/17- I tried the current formulation. In the late 80s & 90s, the EDT and parfum were 2 different things..the parfum being greener and sharper, the EDT having more of a leathery/ oakmoss/ mossy smell. The EDT now smells similar to the parfum, green and sharp, and the leathery/ oakmoss dry down is gone. Also, neither the EDT nor the parfum smell as natural as they used to, they both have this "metallic" note that wasn't there before.

Rediscovering this. SHARP as a knife
To wear when taking something like a
Physics class. Serious. Assertive. And
SHARP did I mention SHARP Wonder
how I ever got through First Semester
without this Class A Decadence Mmm

High hopes for this one.... But when I finally tired it, I found it to be too sharp for me. Like a prim school teacher with a pursed lip and a flat ruler to snip at students' fingers. A perfume I love on others only.

This perfume is classy and complicated, ever changing. It also has a sadness to it without even knowing the backstory. It isn't me. I think it might only be hers!

Powdery, warm woody floral. A hint of green, a hint of leather. I cannot detect the notes individually, though.

On me, a very elegant, sophisticated, serene and feminine scent.

Easier to wear than Crystalle, which is really sharp and almost masculine.

Neither one of them has made me fall in love with them, but both are scents I enjoy and really, really well-done.

If I could have a large set of Chanels, I would enjoy owning them both.

---

I own a sample.

Galbanum via Chanel, a little powdery but not too much, green, formal. This is what I wear when I have a work meeting with new people and it does make me feel elegant and put together, but not in a cold way at all. A workhorse fragrance, like a white shirt or a black pair of pumps.

I am surprised by how many people get leather from this, but then again I am a leather fiend. I am also surprised by how many people find this sharp, unless to their nose green associates with sharpness-- it doesn't to mine.

Good longevity, work-appropriate silage.

This is a beautiful green floral in the vintage version but the current version is so weak, fades away after less than an hour and isn't worth buying for that reason.

This perfume is ICONIC !!
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.

A very wonderful, mature, green scent. Perfect for spring weather, and I also love it anytime. I love the fresh, dry, crisp feel of it. It's beautiful.

This is my Spring scent. Interesting, because an earlier reviewer, more knowledgeable than I, thought that it was the perfect Autumn fragrance.I wear it exclusively in the warmer months and Coromandel during the cooler ones.Hoping that this site will elucidate me so I can branch out.

I think Chanel 19 takes a couple wears to understand. For me I smell the pyramid almost upside down. The first impression is sharp, tough, and off putting. Leather, bitter dry woods, and some floral funk underneath. You give it 5-10 minutes and it's already changing a lot and smells more floral.
An hour later and Chanel 19 lifts her veil and reveals that she really is a pleasant lady. Cool, crisp, and dignified. Mimose, iris, rose, leather, and a bright bergamot.
I really get two sides of Chanel 19, and I really do need to wait for the dry down to enjoy it the way I do. The transformation is interesting like a flower blooming, it doesn't take too long so I don't mind waiting. I enjoy the complexity and that it's a classic scent, and I think I will always find room for 19 in my collection.

I bought this in the 80s, when I was 19. It felt very sophisticated but fresh. it reminded me of gin and tonic, and vintage fur. It felt slightly debauched!.
I never went off it but I didn't get compliments for it. It's not a friendly cuddly smell, it's dry and classy..

On my skin no 19 is subtle to the point of being non existent an hour later......must be my skin chemistry

Chanel No 19 is a verdant lawn in a country manor house. It might not be to everyone's liking but to me it is the reigning queen of the chypres. This tops every "green" floral chypre I've experienced in my many years as a perfumista: Blue Grass by Elizabeth Arden, Vent Vert by Balmain, Estee Lauder's Aliage and Balmain's Ivoire not to mention Scherrer and Ma Griffe.

It's scented moss, vetiver, perfumed grass in a bottle. This is a mature fragrance. Nothing about it is fruity, sugary, gourmand, or even sweet. It opens with a nocturnal galbanum, green and aromatic, like hanging moss from trees and a breeze blowing under the foliage. The air is perfumed with moss and galbanum. The mood is mellow, relaxed, serene. It smells like falling asleep on a rolling hill. It also reminds me of the scent of cut and mowed grass.

The florals come and go quickly. There was a distinct hyacinth flower that I really loved, perhaps an iris, a jasmine and narcissus, rose and lily of the valley. The flowers are dainty and subtle, faint, in the background. The aroma can hardly be called a floral although it has a very well made lily of the valley note that always matches up with anything green in perfumery: galbanum, patchouli, moss or vetiver. If you're looking for a bigger floral in a classic Chanel scent, stick with Chanel No 5 with that beautiful rose and ylang ylang, or Chanel No. 22 and it's exquisite whit floral scents of tuberose and white roses/jasmines, and or Chanel Gardenia with that heady gardenia. This is a perfume in which the top notes with galbanum and the base notes with moss are at the forefront.

The dry down is woodsy and aromatic with a powerful vetiver. The moss, too, is right on your nose. It's mossy, mysterious, dark, nocturnal, and elegant as well. This is a Church perfume. It seems to have almost an incense note but it's coming out of that moss. This perfume reminds me of Sundays, Church, and parks, lawns, well manicured front yards and the autumn. It is most definitely a Fall Fragrance. The autumnal air is melancholic. It has the saddest dry down, like a funeral fragrance. This matches up with black funeral clothes or just black dresses "old lady in black" Whistlers Mother dress. It is the closet to Chanel's personality as a perfume can get. She never wore Chanel No 5 and she was all over this perfume.

It is also unmistakably French.

This contains every conceivable French perfume ingredient that was traditionally formulated during Coco Chanel's time. It was created as her last perfume and it has a bit of a sad tone, but also comforting and peaceful. It smells like the green lawns of the Elysian Fields in the After Life. Chanel, walking around in a state of perpetual peace, still wears this perfume in that afterlife.

In it's practical use, this is a superb autumn fragrance for Church (not a wedding) funerals, and for formal events and occasions.

Buy this perfume if you enjoy the following frags

Blue Grass By Elizabeth Arden

Vent Vert By Pierre Balmain

Aliage by Estee Lauder

Scherrer by Jean Louis Scherrer

Ma Griffe by Carven

Ivoire de Balmain by Balmain

I'm a huge fan of the Poudrée version, but the EDT is probably the most versatile of the bunch and I have a lot love for this one as well. It's less makeupy like Poudrée, although there is an element of that as well, and overall just lighter but still a force to be reckoned with.

When I first smelled Chanel n. 19...and I don't remember if it was this EDT or the EDP or the Poudrée, but I thought "good grief, this really is sharp!". But my nose at that time was used to sweet, more mainstream fragrances. Nowadays this does not feel all that sharp to me (or sharp to the right degree that it is a pleasure to smell). It's an aquired taste...coffee used to taste horrible, as did beer, until I learned to appreciate them, and with perfume it's pretty much the same. If you cannot handle it, though, give Infusion d'Iris, by Prada, a try, as it is similar to the n. 19 line but much softer and delicate.

The opening reminds me of Estee Lauder Youth Dew, though the notes aren't at all similar. I honestly don't get the green notes. However, the scent is so dry and strong that there is a bitter, puckering taste/feeling in the back of my mouth. The iris and orris root give 19 a divine powder, and my husband says I smell like a flower.

It's past time I pointed a finger. There is a guilty party here, and I'm naming names.

I could say...
Chanel no. 19 isn't just sharp, it's SHARP! I mean, it is samurai wielding katana sharp.
...but, I won't.

I could say...
Chanel no. 19 doesn't just screech, it SCREEEEECHES! It screeches like a thousand hardened nails on a chalkboard in a silent room.
...but, I won't.

What I will say is, it's NOT (I repeat, NOT) her fault. Chanel no. 19 is blameless.
She is an undeserving victim of the ill-intentioned, GALBANUM! That's right, I said it, galbanum. I too am a victim of galbanum and you should be warned. Take heed. Your continued love of fragrance might depend on it.

Galbanum decimates ALL other notes in its path. Never so much so as here in Chanel no. 19. It is relentless. It is all Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to my olfactory system. I'm left bloodied and deaf at the fragrance counter from the sampling experience. I smell a sharp, screechy, green galbanum from top to bottom, and nothing, absolutely nothing else. You can't wipe it off, you can't wash it off, you can only endure.

There is no floral.

There is no powder.

There is no reprieve.


Galbanum, I blame you.

Like velvet curtains at a hidden night club from the early 1900's, never washed, seen it all.

This review is for the vintage 60 ml splash bottle. I wanted to love this. I was so looking forward to its freshness and green-nes. On me it's nothing like that. It's a strong old world flower, smells like my grandmother's Sunday purse. The one she took out and wore when she went to church. I can't detect anything special about it. I am deeply saddened - I've read so much great thing about it:(

best green out there.

on me it smells like kerosene

My fantastic female friend helped me to find a genuine vintage version of this. It is one of the greatest masterpieces from the 70-ties. Of course it is made by Monsieur Henri Robert, I think of an ABBA tune called "Dreamworld" when i put a little of this on the wrist and smell it, I just happen to forget the world around me.

I received my first bottle of Chanel No 19 in the 80's on my 14th birthday from my "Chanel Grandma". That was the original formula with a fabulous Silver & Gold refillable case. I miss that formula, I shop for it online & have a few bottles for backup.

This Chanel No 19 is what I wear more than any other fragrance though! I personally don't smell a likeness to any other greens from this version. I'm a little surprised people compare it to other green fragrances.

To me, this Chanel No 19 is a light earthy version of the original. Very Chic, Sophisticated, Airy & Neutral with just enough depth & romance to keep it exclusively- Chanel

For anyone considering adding Chanel No 19 to their collection, you should! It's a wear anywhere fragrance that will not overwhelm or engulf you!

For me, this is the best "green" scent with honourable mentions going to Lauder for Men and Xeryus. It really makes me wonder if I live long enough to see men's perfumery at least approximate the women's. No other "green" can compare to this. Enough said.
----------------------------
Btw, this is for the late 80's version. I haven't tried Polge's reformulation yet.
________________

Opps....wrong perfume. This review is for a vintage No. 19.

Part 2 of my adventures with No 19. Modern EDT Opening Notes.
I thought as much! I thought - within seconds of spraying my pre-reformulation 4ml sample - I recognise this. A quick phone call confirmed that my mother wore it in the 70s.
To recap, the opening of my older version is fresh flowers, but not green, with a soft powdery sometimes leathery Lily of the Valley dry down.
I've just come back from Debenhams in town where I drenched 2 cards with the EDT and EDP.
Now I understand all the talk of sharp green notes. It is truly awful and I can describe accurately what it smells like: not cut grass or spring flowers but the 'reflex bleeding' as it is called, of a Ladybird beetle. The yellowy orange stuff it secretes when under threat. The only 'flower' I smell at this opening stage is the oozing severed stem of a Dandelion.
The strip is incubating its drydown in my coat pocket which is beginning to reveal the dry sweetness of the older formula now: 3 hours later. But my God, however lovely the drydown, one would have to apply the stuff the night before in order for it to be safe to venture outside. Honestly, even if that opener is your thing you'd be hard pressed to put up with it for that long.
This is only step 2 and I suspect that I will continue to fall in love with No19 as I did with No5; I remember having a similar reaction to a blast of the classic in Boots, just couldn't understand what all the fuss was about until I discovered the forgotten about card in a pocket!
HazelMae's review is spot on and I am looking forward to my deepening relationship with No 19.

This will not be my first review. I have been using a 'pre reformulation' 4ml sample spray for a few days and I am aware that perfumes must 'build up' to be fully understood and appreciated.
First of all I really cannot understand the common and popular description of fresh, green crispness. My initial feelings about No 19 are really simple: Musky, Lily of the Valley.
The opening notes are, in my opinion, totally irrelevant because they last only a few minutes. There is a hint of leather to which the Lily of the Valley clings and the last breath that lingers close to the skin, watch straps and cuffs is a bit 'farty' and I suppose that this must be the orris root. Soft and powdery with a hint of something eggy.
I love it. It is what I wanted Diorissimo to be.
Although I have a way to go with No 19, my opinion about its character will not change: boardrooms and stilettos?? No 19 can only be described as 'pretty'. I just don't understand why it is considered ballsy or brash and truly 'green'. This stuff is for Sunday School Teachers and Christenings. No one will be offended by it because even though it has elegance about it No 19 is 'prim'.

No. 19 EDT is a woody, powdery and green masterpiece. It encompasses sunny luminosity and cool shade simultaneously, and as others have noted, feels "foresty." To me, the forest floor and foliage is dappled with sun rays that stream down from a lush canopy of trees. No. 19 uses "big", earthy notes while remaining delicate and balanced - iris, leather, oakmoss, and mountain florals are all very present, yet blend together seamlessly.

While this fragrance doesn't feel cold to me, as others interpret, it certainly isn't overtly friendly or cozy. The scent reminds me of women who rarely smile, but when they do the joy seems more profound because of the rarity and honesty of the reaction. Though No. 19 is almost somber in character, it feels versatile - determined enough for a work environment, relaxed enough for casual wear and refined enough for a "little black dress" and pearls. Another defining fragrance "personality" from the house of Chanel.

What took me so long! This is just what I wanted. I went with the dryer, more austere EDT but I'm already feeling like I might want the parfum as well! The EDP is a bit sweet and feminine for me. (I dislike all the 80`s reinterpretations of the classic Chanels).

It's amazing how easy it is to overlook No. 19, I cant imagine how someone like me, who's constantly checking out fragrance counters and boutiques never noticed No. 19, sitting there the whole time. Then again its not exactly front and centre.

I can see myself using this year round, and repurchasing frequently. A few sprays after the gym or a shower of this is so much better than any sporty men's offering. Maybe not exactly a fun night out scent though. No. 19 is serene, thoughtful, sober, intelligent... and maybe just a little cruel, in the best possible way.

A new addition to my top 10! Maybe even top 5? We'll see.

My holy grail perfume. I've worn it every day for 7+ years (I'm 26). I grew up with my mum wearing this on special occasions and I have always loved it. It's crisp, clean, kind of reminds me of cologne in a way. I love it. If I could only own one perfume for the rest of my life it would be this. Hands down.

I've never tried Chanel no 19, so I felt privileged to receive a decant in a recent give away. Alas, neither my nose nor my skin can appreciate this fragrance. I lean more toward orientals, and this feels like the polar opposite.

Chanel no 19 is a soaring white limestone castle of an aldehydic fragrance with loads of galbanum. Soaring, pristine powderiness that is cool and aloof. It is like pulverized stone dust, blinding white sunlight and crushed dandelion stems. Even after several hours, it sits on my skin like a veil, largely aloof from my chemistry. I prefer a scent that melds and merges with my skin, and this does not.

I have and enjoy Jacamo Silences, which smells very similar to no 19. However, Silences is more companionable and friendly, it doesn't hold back from communing with my chemistry. So Silences will fill the slot for "powdery aldehydes and galbanum" in my perfume wardrobe, as I feel no need to add Chanel no 19, even with it's iconic status. Cheers to those who love this scent, it's got power and charisma--and solid sillage with 5+ hour longevity-- but it's not for me.

The more I love a scent, the harder I find to describe it. Chanel No.19 is one of such scents. On me, this floral iris is a soft, green, smooth and well-blended skin scent.

My all time favourite.

One of my all-time favourites, but it is not an "anytime" scent. Sophisticated.

I received a bottle of the newest version of Chanel 19 for my birthday as I had run out of my original bottle. This newer version unfortunately is NOT the same. The green scent that I loved is there but is overshadowed by another heavier, musk-like scent that shows itself after the scent has settled on the skin. I am not happy with this newer version and wish the older version was available as it was my favorite scent. I now will mainly wear Givenchy's Amarige and am hoping that the original Chanel 19 scent returns soon!

All I can smell is a heavy rose scent. Dry down on the cloth next day is not absolutely rose though, it's much better but still disappointing.

I'm looking for this if anyone wants to swap for it . I'm particular I'm wanting the version that has that beautiful leather vibe! Thank you !

I find it sharper than the original, but charmingly sharper. It's very complex, but I prefer the original.

Created in 1970, this perfume portrayed the audacious side of the strong and well known personality of Gabrielle Chanel. The number 19 was a tribute to her birth date – August 19, 1883 – and this was the last perfume released (and worn) by her, since she died shortly thereafter, in January 1971.

Some say she faced some criticism of people who did not believe in the success of a new fragrance. But she, resolute, asked to the perfumer Henri Robert (who had previously created Pour Monsieur, in 1955) to create something as powerful as her Nº 5, contrasting green and powdery nuances. And he did it!
Gabrielle liked so much the result that forbade its mass production, because she wanted some units for her own use and also to give as gift to some clients and closest friends. So, this perfume was only officially released in the market in 1971, after her death.

A curiosity: when was created, it took pure oil of Iranian galbanum. However, with the Iranian Revolution in 1979, this oil stopped being produced and was needed a revamp, already at that time. The fragrance brings notes of hyacinth, bergamot, neroli and galbanum, in the head. In the heart, May rose, narcissus, Lily of the Valley, jasmine and iris of Florence. Finally, notes of vetiver, sandalwood, oakmoss, musk and leather complete the base of the olfactory pyramid.

On the skin, Chanel Nº 19 features that scent that is referred to as "smell of a chic woman." It's floral and green, with very rich and bitter nuances of galbanum and narcissus. The lily of the Valley is also noteworthy, with its nuances of jasmine, which were reinforced by the presence of the jasmine itself, in the body of the fragrance. From the base, unfortunately, I just noticed a touch of musk with a slight presence of oakmoss. I'd love to have felt the sandalwood and leather, but it didn't happen. In fact, for some reason, this perfume causes me what we call of olfactory fatigue and because of that, I can never feel anything projecting after two hours of application. It's like if it's gone. But it lasts more than 10 hours on my skin, although very close and soft. This is dangerous, because in cases like this, people tend to reapply the perfume and forget that the others are still feeling it very well. Be careful!

In my perception, I imagine that Nº 19 was a starting point and inspiration for Henri Robert in order to create, in 1974, the perfume called Cristalle. It was Gabrielle's response to men and to the chauvinism of the time.

The current bottle (there have been several) is what I like the most in this perfume. If I'm not mistaken, only this one and Coco Mademoiselle EDT (2002) won this design. It looks like a lid, but in fact you trigger a spray, which sprays the perfume on the skin gently. I don't know why the company never thought of relaunch all its perfumes in this type of packaging. Would end, once and for all, with the complaints of people who pulls the lid and the finish goes together (for those who don't know, the cover should be slightly twisted, not pulled).

To finish, I would say that Chanel Nº 19 is the bottled meaning of a beautiful female look over her shoulders, filled with contempt and with that implicit question: "What are you looking at?".

It's strange to me to read reviews which class this perfume as cold, austere and distant. For me, it's definitely cool, but in a feminine, flirty way. It's just I think the woman who wears no.19 isn't anyone's fool - she's not taken in by flattery and fawning, she's intellectual and open. She knows her own mind and has many adventures. I'd love to be this woman, which is why I wear 19! Hey, fake it 'til ya make it. The florals soon dry down into the leather base; it's your favourite jacket, the one you take on all your best nights out, scented with your most confident statement. When I wear it it feels part of me. I love 19 although I do prefer the edt, as the green notes sparkle more than in the edp, and they stay sparkling.

No. 19 is an austere green soapy fragrance with a bitter twist. It reminds me a little of green Palmolive soap (which may have changed somewhat since I last smelt it as a kid). It is the perfect fragrance for Cate Blanchett's Lady Tremaine. I do love my greens but not quite so severe. I will keep my sample for those rare times when I need to be ruthless and detached.

Chanel No. 19 EDT is one of my favorite perfumes. With one of the best oakmoss in it. Today I bought the Chanel No.19 Emulsion pour le corps/ bodylotion. My o my, what a joy. I feel like a green queen steeped in timeless and classy elegance!

(I already reviewed N.19 on the edp page, mentioning both concentrations. But yesterday i stumbled upon-YAAY- a vintage refillable edt bottle at a perfume shop. They had a dozen new edt's and that one box that stood apart. old, slightly dusty, the eau de toilette inscription on top of "N.19", i immediately recognized it as vintage and snapped it:) )
**********************

The scent of N.19 is timeless, green tinged iris, with a cool hazy cloud of leather and clean moss. It's the only green vintage scent that hasn't aged one bit. Silences and Givenchy 3 or the chypres all have that resinous sharp bitter thing, i like it, but it translates as "time-specific". N,19 with it's polished iris smells current.

the edt is different from the edp as it's galbanum is more crisp, biting and sharp than the edp, which is more floral and has a more calm and "muted" green accord.

I can finally compare the vintage to the modern edt:
the modern has-believe or not- a slightly more imposing opening; the green is a bit sharper, and feels higher-pitched than the vintage. I love this opening. However it quickly dials down to a soft, too soft skin scent with more musk than it needs. Basically it's a green slightly vetiver-ish drydown.

Either way, nothing like it, and one of my fave fave favourites.

scent: 9/10
longevity: 4/10 (vintage 5/10)
sillage: 4/10 (vintage 5/10)

This is all I wanted 19edp to be when I had first smelt it. The galbanum lives throughout the scent and dominates it. The rose is there, but lingers in the background. The powder is crisp, clean, green and resinous. I detect some infinitesimal sweetness,and a touch of wood. The stuff dreams are made of.

I got a bottle of the vintage Eau de Cologne strength of No 19 but it is stronger and deeper then the modern Eau de Toilette version. It is more green chypre, there is no powdery element and no much floral either. It isn't sharp green, more woody and evoking walk through a forest, probably it is the oakmoss doing. In today's terms it is unisex, but in the late seventies it was probably a staple for female perfumes, it has the same DNA as Cristalle and my favorite Givenchy III.
Too bad every comparison of the vintage and new Chanels ends up with a disappointment and a longing for the times past.
Oh, well, that's life.

if you imagine hard, this has similarities to Mona Di Orio Violette Fumee in the heart. Not consistently, but it is there. I would purchase a full bottle if it were a little more similar, but besides that this is beautiful in it's own right. It has a dark wet green vibe going on for a while, that demands attention. I bet this was super hip back in the day for strong powerful women. The leather in the opening matches so beautifully with the dark wet green.

the edp is the best more iris butter probably ?????
perfect for a woman in summer nights

wearing vintage EDT version.
green, woody, sparkling.
yes, someone said she is "refined".
and a woman who still owns and wears suspender belts.
it is for someone who is already beautiful with an air of sophistication i'm not sure she knows she has...
i feel like an imposter wearing this, but it's nice to pretend.
it truly is beautiful and sparkles like a cool woodland stream...i don't get the ice-maiden, wire-mother, aloof-distant thing others describe. but i do think she is out of reach, even from herself.

reminds me of my Mum in the 70's, tanned and always out in the garden...then looking beautiful on her way to another dinner party (they had a lot of dinner parties in the 70's) leather bag slung across her shoulder, exquisite high heels to match, her departed mother in law's fur coat...and the only times i saw her wearing a little makeup. that being a hasty brush of eyeshadow, sweep of lipstick and a touch of mascara. This was the out of reach version of my Mum...the one not wearing the pinny, baking bread, tending her roses and laughing her socks off trying to read me paddington bear.

HOWEVER....i just tried a 2014 version.
i am shocked at how repellant i find this.
it "resembles" my vintage sample, which i adore...but i could NEVER wear this!
i find it sharp, plastic and nauseating.
it actually makes me sneeze and my eyes water.
i keep sniffing in the hope that the dry down matches, but it doesn't, not really.
what a shame :-(

This is for a paper spray review of EDT. I had fun smelling different versions of No 19 and found the EDT really quite loud in the opening notes but settled down quickly after a few minutes. I find this to be more wearable than the EDP as it softens to a light soapy/powder fragrance, so light in fact that I can't pick up any of it off the sample spray 2 hours later. Too bad.

Was there ever a perfume in the 80's that portrayed "rich b****" better than No 19? I think that's why it seems snobby to some, and memorable to others. The commercials did swing that way...This is one of my mom's favorites, but she does not fit that icy persona at all.

Love love love. My favourite ever fragrance. Green, complex and very beautiful. You need to "own" this when you wear it. Not for everyone.

This is not cold at all to me. It's very green, but not as "icy" as I had expected it to be. As it develops, I smell iris, a hint of leather (more like suede), and a green powdery vibe. Perhaps a bit too powdery for me, but I might test it again in the future, and I think I could easily pull it off. It's a very pleasant, well-blended scent.

Headed to Nordy's with my baby because she had to pick up something. So I headed straightaway to the Valentino pumps (OMG), then to seek out some others that looked like them, haha. Of course, they were all sold out, but same look, just a fraction of the price. Hereinto, I thought, I need a new Chanel lipstick and few other things. If you are going to pay, might as well get Chanel. I zipped to the other side of the counter, and saw all the fragrances I am familiar with, except this one. One spray, WOW....I'm in love. Not at first, it was the oddest feeling, not recognizing anything, which I usually don't. I'm not good at picking out notes in fragrances, one by one. But however, as we looked at lipsticks, this started to smell so good on me. I tried the Poudre also, it had a doughy smell to it. Not powder to me, but dough. Not bad, but I don't want to smell like dough. This turned into a living gem on me. I adore it. How did I miss this? Oh do give yourself a treat, and if you can, try this at the Chanel counter, or get a sample. So good, I think this might be my fragrance for all of spring, if that ever does arrive. Wow, was the SA ever wrong about this though. She said Coco wore this only, until after her death they released it to the public? Anybody? it doesn't say that above in the description. Anyways......try it....try it.....try it......There is absolutely nothing to compare it with!
Let me add I feel like I am on the Queens lawn at Buckingham Palace while this aroma surrounds me! Glorious....

Again a scent that has changed considerably from what it used to be. But that's already history.

Many have commented on its being an icy perfume, cold in manners, far from being tender, soft.
Yes, maybe.

I still have a little Chanel N°19 in the huge bottle I bought in 1978.
I was 15 then and experiencing my first Chanel at that age made me feel a queen, an elegant young lady.
Never ever in those days I had the feeling it was an icy scent.
Not even today.

True that the new Chanel N°19 is sharper, maybe with little soul, but it still retains that subdued elegance that does not go unnoticed even if not screamed aloud.
It's very green and very flowery but the flowers seem to hide and not get prominent, maybe in awe of the greenery that wants to convey the coldness.
Maybe.

Let the greenery do whatever it wants and, exhausted at last, let the flowers peep from behind until gaining the stage.
Shy, they are shy and still a little scared by the greenery, so they won't gain the scene alone. They command company: soft powder notes and beautiful woods take the flowers by the hand and lead the show.
There at last!

Where's the sharpness? Gone.
Where's the iciness? Disappeared.
Elegance, class, beauty has finally taken the lead.
Beautiful from start to finish.
Incomparable to me.
Yes, the vintage has a creaminess that the current version can only dream of, but it's still a
WONDERFUL, UNSURPASSED MASTERPIECE

I was given a bottle of the Eau de Toilette, and wore it for a full day for the first time today. I'm not sure I care for the sharp green scent when it's first sprayed, but it mellows out after a few minutes into something more comfortable that's both fresh and grown-up. For most of the day, it was all green and floral notes with just a hint of powder and woods. I can still smell it 12 hours later, but it's finally worn down to a powdery, leathery earthen scent. There might be a touch of something floral left but I can't pick out anything specific now like I could earlier in the day, and there's no green left at all.

All in all, I think this is a great day-to-day scent for spring and summer, at least for me. It's light and close-wearing, but still complex and a little sensual. I am still obsessed with Coco for evenings and winter, but No. 19 has very quickly won a place in my heart (and on my wrist).

I'm revisiting this little gem, thanks to tneequeenie! I had a mini of this "way back" when I had no idea what I liked for sure, but found a mini at a garage sale (!) alongside the Rive Gauche and bought them both. I was in college and didn't have any money-who would have thought I'd find THOSE two at a garage sale?! Anyway, I forgot how much I really like 19 and now that I've learned what oakmoss is, it just jumps out on me right along with the subtle leather, green and florals. I'm really really happy this was in my give away package! Thank you tneequeenie! Loving this!

This was my first failed love perfume & I can no longer wear it! Bad memories. However, at the time I loved it so much. Sophisticated and very classy, I was neither at 19! I would recommend for day wear in a business environment, not too overpowering but powerful.

This has the classic bracing feel of No. 19 as we know it - cooler in feel than No 19. Poudre, more floral. There's oakmoss here, at least in a small amount and the florals are all those that lend a spring-like feel

I find the Eau de Toilette delightful, the mood is uplifting, tonic-water-like, it's as though the scent from nearby spring hedgerows is drifting past on a warm breeze while you sip pure icy tonic-water. I love it!

This shares the Parfum's austerity and elegance, but in a minimalist way; less rich, more 'natural' in as much as its florals, though similar to the parfum, are lighter, giving way to drier, more savoury facets such as oakmoss and galbanum.

Of all the No 19's, I find the Parfum and Eau de Toilette the most authentic in feel. The Eau de Parfum and Poudre, though lovely too, are sweeter and softer.

Sillage moderate, longevity good

This green fragrance is refined, elegant and amazing. I have the Parfum and love it so much I had to get a bottle of the EDT.

It is sharp at first but then it becomes an earthy yet heavenly scent that lifts my spirits. The Green, Oakmoss and Vetiver are very present from start to finish. The florals are not overdone with the Iris being the main one I can detect. The leather is present but light.

This is a distinct fragrance either in the parfum or the EDT. I have not tried the EDP but I am sure it is lovely as well. I give it 10/10+++

This is for the vintage parfum. At first I didn't like it but I only put some on my wrists which washed off. This time I sprayed it below my collarbone and under my shirt. About an hour later that sharp green astringent smell faded and without sounding cheesy, a warm fresh bouquet of green and white flowers wrapped in a leather ribbon rose up and continues to do so. I love lily of the valley and can detect it and galbanum. Something an Alexander McQueen bride would carry down the runway (pre-Kate Middleton of course.)

I love this , it kind of got lost in my collection but I brought it back and it's a brake fron all the flowery -apply-pear-fruity confusion. Plus it lasts ( on me ) a long time :o

I do not have the ability(yet) to parse out notes but I can say that I fall in love easily with certain things and perfume is one of them.
After wearing my sample for a day and half, I was obsessed. i would forever be smelling my wrists and smiling. I was so obsessed that on my day off, I went to the Chanel store which I have never been to and bought it--as an early Christmas present to myself.
It's angular, green, polished, cool but it warms up, rounds out--green but with a baby powder made from ash sort of dry down(and I mean that in the best possible way) with some leather and earthiness thrown in. All that with crisp green notes sticking around.
It's true love.

Gentle Chypre Green Floral that is absolutely gorgeous.It's crispy, delicate and truly a masterpiece.This will be one of my go to perfumes this coming fall :)

Borrowed from Mom one more time, this time to see if Chanel No. 19 would suit me. Surprisingly this one is nearly identical on both of us: soft, sweet, woody, and powdery, but green and deep underneath. This could easily be a unisex scent and is very elegant and clean. Once it settles into the skin it gets softer, almost soapy, and remains there as a beautiful blend of flowers, woods, and the softest hint of leather. It's the exact opposite of what I usually wear and yet I'm enchanted.

I don't feel that I could wear this on a day-to-day basis, and I don't think I would want to. I'm having a hard time describing my reaction to this perfume because it's like a dream: it sparkles. The powdery-sweet drydown is similar to other classic Chanels and feels like something to be worn for a wedding, birthday, or anniversary to be remembered. It's definitely a special scent.

Sadly it seems my father doesn't like this one, so I may look into the Poudre and EDP versions and see how those are on me. The cloud of fragrance around me right now is truly heavenly, so perhaps I'll wear it when he's not around in the meantime (when I want to feel otherworldly, of course!).

Typical French fragrance. Very elegant and aromatic, but at the same time, deep powdery and green. Very different from my style.

This review if for Chanel No 19 EDT purchased in 2014.

First of all, I absolutely love this fragrance. I consider it to be my other signature fragrance (Opium is the first), which is funny as this is so far away from Opium it isn't even funny. This sharp EDT means business. Many people consider this a 'heartless womens' perfume which I find absurd, it simply isn't what I would call 'cosy'.

No 19 has quite an androgynous appeal to it, if you like super feminine fragrances I don't really think this one is for you. I love the tartness to this avant grade masterpiece. The woods, geranium, and earthy feel to this perfume is simply exquisite. When I picture the type of individual who would wear this fragrance it is someone with very refined tastes, they know exactly what they like and do not let themselves be phased by others. To put it simply they are an individual.

I used to wear this every single day in the spring time as the notes suggested to me that this would be the perfect warmer weather perfume but I recently read somewhere that it really comes into its best in the colder months so I tested it out in winter and boy was that good advice. No 19 is STUNNING in colder temperatures, don't get me wrong its beautiful year round, but please don't think because it is a green fragrance that you couldn't wear it in the dead of winter because you most certainly can.

If you love fragrance please try out No 19 because it is something so unique that it is a pleasure to try. This would suit both men & women. I prefer the EDT myself as the EDP seemed slightly more floral to me which put me off.

PS, forgot to mention, if you don't already know this was created for Coco Chanel in the final years of her life which is what originally drew me in.

This perfume is an absolute master piece. Please try it out.

There's no denying that this is masterpiece. I recognize quality when I smell it. But this is SO not me. I'm the shy woman who hasn't grown out of her Hello Kitty accessory phase. No 19 is the Queen Bee Boardroom bitch who wears business skirt suites and mega high stilettos. I wish I could pull off wearing No 19, but I feel about as comfortable wearing it as I would wearing those stilletos (that I would inevitably trip in). No 19 is a sharp green, woody, powdery masterpiece...She's definitely soprano...lots of high notes....cold without any warming notes such as amber. I envy the woman who can pull this off in the same way I envy the Queen Bee Alpha woman who inevitably wins the promotion over me at every job I've had.
Hanai Mori Butterfly or Pink Sugar are more my style. They are not nearly as good quality wise of course, but I think it's important to take your personality and the perfume's vibe into account. I'm wearing a sample of No 19 right now and can't wait to wash it off later on, despite it being a masterpiece.
Hmmmm maybe I should try the Poudre version?

I find Chanel edt perfumes differs from edp, so if reviewing Chanel's make sure it is either edt or edp first.

Very unexpected, but this was love at first sniff for me.
I found a small sample in a drawer, and decided to try it. Thinking I would never like it, I put it on both wrists. The opening was quite harsh, It didn't wake me up softly, it just flipped the matress so I fell out of bed onto the cold hard floor. After a couple of minutes it settled, and the bad mood it had was over. It smells like freshly cut flowers, after the rainstorm. I feel fresh, energized and 'green'. Very suitable for spring, and hopefully for summer. It is oerfect for the office, and will not bother anyone there. But make no mistake, it will be noticed! Longevity is about 4-5 hours, after that you can still faintly detect it when you put your nose close to your skin, but you might want to reapply. Another hit from Chanel with me.

Cold. Money. Standoffish. Privileged.

This is a very, "I'm wearing this for me not you so don't even..." fragrance.

I love it, but I kinda wish I didn't. Feels wrong to love something this snobbish.

I MUST get this one soon!!!!!!!
I already have the EDP and I love it.

SayakaP you made me want this perfume sooo bad. Just ordered a sample from eBay.