In early spring 1921, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel approached perfumer Ernest Beaux – the house’s first nose – with her vision. She wanted him to create a fragrance like none that had come before it. She vowed to turn perfume into fashion. This was an era when smelling of something specific – gardenia, jasmine, rose – was en vogue. “Gabrielle didn’t want a perfume which simply smelled like a specific raw material,” says Polge, “she didn’t have the outlook of a traditional perfumer.” But was it? Well, we can never know with certainty. Being a popular fragrance already, it’s certainly possible that Marilyn was aware and even wore Chanel No.5. Equally though, it might have simply rolled off the tongue better than a perfume we know she loved. What Was Marilyn Monroe’s Favorite Perfume?

In typical teenage fashion, young Olivier spent his adolescence determined to do anything but follow in his father’s footsteps. He loved music, design and crafting, and enrolled on an art history course; during his first summer break he asked his father if they could spend a month in the lab together. “If you knew my father, you’d know he doesn’t speak too much,” Polge says. “That all changed when I arrived for the first time in the lab and he started to teach me.” There’s nothing genetic, Polge says, that made him a suitable successor. A perfumer, he explains, shouldn’t smell things nobody else can, it’s not about possessing a palate that’s distinctly accurate: “We all have a huge memory of scent. The work is much more about activating the link between your nose and memory.” One of the most notable mistreatments Monroe experienced was in 1953 when Playboy Magazine published nude photographs she had taken before her career without Monroe’s knowledge or consent, only fuelling the previous and proceeding restrictions of her career. In a contemporary outlook, this would align with today’s female stars having nudes leaked. We can also identify Monroe’s misogynistic struggles in today’s entertainment industry, with modern stars such as Britney Spears, Megan Fox and Sydney Sweeney all suffering this same sexualisation which results in psychological issues.

Iconic No. 5

Warhol seemed to regard the wearing and collecting of perfume as an art form, a form of documentation, and a way of exerting more control over atmosphere and near-total control over nostalgia. Warhol began amassing his collection of semi-used perfumes in the early '60s. "Before that the smells in my life were all just whatever happened to hit my nose by chance," he wrote. "But then I realized I had to have a kind of smell museum so certain smells wouldn’t get lost forever." At Chanel, Polge tells me, the role of the nose is unique: elsewhere, his counterparts are primarily responsible for product development. Here, however, he also oversees all the house’s ongoing fragrance production. “All those perfumes have very specific raw materials which I have to gather year after year,” he says, “while ensuring we have each of these specific elements available and sustainable in the long term to keep going.” The fragrance featured top notes of citronella, geranium, and greens, as well as middle notes of palmarosa, rose, rosewood and a bottom note of cedarwood.

Up until the first half of the 20th century, fashion houses were not in the business of creating perfumes, but the launch of Chanel No. 5 inspired many. The English House of Worth launched Dans La Nuit in 1922. In France, Jeanne Lanvin launched My Sin in 1925, and Jean Patou launched Joy in 1930. One of the most elegant actresses of all time, it’s unsurprising that the fashion house Givenchy wanted to create a perfume for Hepburn, who already was a big fan of their clothes. It might take him weeks to know whether a certain iteration is correct: “I must be sure I won’t become bored of it.” It is, of course, not just the power of the brand that makes No. 5 successful, but also the fragrance itself, with floral scents blended over what has been described as a “warm, woody base”. When it comes to Hollywood icons, very few have obtained the level of fame and success that Marilyn Monroe reached. Even after all these years, Monroe is undoubtedly one of contemporary culture’s most legendary stars. Born Norma Jean on June 1st, 1926, the actor cemented herself into pop cultural DNA through her onscreen performances of comedic ‘blonde bombshell’ characters, a term synonymous with Monroe. From this, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s. Film and society employed her as a statement badge for its re-assessment of sexual expression.At the heart of this operation sits Chanel No 5, the world’s most popular perfume. This year marks its centenary, in that time faces of the scent have included Nicole Kidman, Catherine Deneuve and, more recently, actor and activist Marion Cotillard. Now, for the first time, a book dedicated to exploring the perfume’s history has been published, celebrating this milestone. According to The Mirror, Miller’s biographer, Professor Bigsby, said: “He was completely bowled over by her. It was certainly a love affair. One of his love letters to her was an almost adolescent outpouring of love." Our liability is limited and excluded to the maximum extent permitted under applicable law. We will

But where did this quote come from? It originated from an interview with Monroe in Life Magazine in April 1952. The interviewer didn’t ask this question themselves, but rather the quote came about during an anecdote Marilyn was telling: Later, Warhol reflected on the (arguably underrated) power of smell, as well as a scent’s ability to be a time capsule in and of itself: As he explains: ‘I feel immensely proud to be part of the family business and to have the opportunity to help introduce our perfume house to a new generation. I have such fond memories of visiting the shop from a young age, and it is very nostalgic for me to be around the fragrances that I have grown up with my whole life. They really are like old friends to me.’

One reason may be that it tells us a lot more about their personalities and their preferences. Does the fact that Marilyn Monroe favored a geranium scent tell us something about her personality? Creed is an esteemed family-owned fragrance house, and Grace Kelly’s favorite perfume was commissioned especially by her husband Prince Rainier to compliment her bouquet. Interestingly, it is widely believed that women tend to be more drawn to geranium essential oil as geranium has properties that regulate hormones. We can only assume that Marilyn might have found the geranium scent soothing too! One of the most iconic quotes of all time, when asked about her nighttime apparel, Monroe said she only wears the famous scent Chanel No.5 in bed.