Chanel Chanel No. 5 Review
Illustration, not a product photo.
Chanel Chanel No. 5 is a floral fragrance (rose, jasmine, tuberose and white flowers) from Chanel, marketed for women. Chanel is a designer house.
Price varies (no price snapshot observed)
Based on 48 Reddit owner comments (24 with a clear rating) · Top 98% of tracked fragrances by overall score
Is Chanel Chanel No. 5 worth it?
Owners are often disappointed: 2.8/5 overall from 24 rated owner comments, with an average owner rating of 3.9★. Owners talk most about value (5 mentions).
Who it suits
- You want value: 1 owner comment praise it.
- You want projection: 1 owner comment praise it.
- You want compliments: 1 owner comment praise it.
- Office: the occasion owners mention most (2 comments).
Who should skip it
- Projection matters to you: 2 owner comments raise it as a downside.
- Mass appeal matters to you: 1 owner comment raise it as a downside.
- Synthetic / harsh matters to you: 1 owner comment raise it as a downside.
Longevity, projection and compliments
| What owners report | Positive | Negative | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Longevityi | 0 say it lasts well | 1 say it fades fast | 2.7 |
| Projectioni | 1 say it projects well | 2 call it weak or a skin scent | 3.0 |
| Complimentsi | 1 report compliments | 0 report none | 1.8 |
Counts of owner comments that describe this fragrance's performance on their own skin. "Not rated" means no owner described it.
When owners wear it
Seasons
Occasions
Number of owner comments mentioning each season or occasion alongside this fragrance (positive or negative).
What Reddit owners say
3/5“My mother wore Red Door and my grandmother wore LuLu so i was used to strong scents but Chanel No5 was genuinely vile and i wonder how much Margot Robbie got paid to pretend she wears it.”
2/5 Mass appealOffice“There is a reason some scents are described as office-safe.”
3/5“I always hate that "It's for older folks" likeeeeee who are YOU to decide that as a fact as I'm wearing my chanel no 5 right now and it smells amazing.”
5/5“Chanel knows how to make a minimalist bottle look elegant. My fill size no 5 Eau Premiere may be the best looking bottle I own.”
1/5“Chanel No 5. I have always disliked it but a couple days ago I tried it on skin for the first time thinking maybe it would be better on skin. No, I hated it even more and had to wash it off”
+43 more owner comments
3/5 Unique“No. 5 needs to be passed on from a mother or grandmother. I thought it was just meh until I went shopping with my mom and we smelled it together and it was just different. Special. Magical. But only the eau de parfum. It was her mother's favorite. We both bought one.”
3/5 Projection“I wore some vintage No 5 from the 1970s to sleep last night, and it's still going 18+ hours later. Just a strong skin scent at this point, but lovely, sensual, and warm. Just wonderful.”
4/5“I wear vintage 70's No 5 to bed, Cuir Beluga to grocery shop, YSL Muse just to read in my rumpled sleepwear. Heck, I extend the same attitude to my 'nice' makeup too since that stuff actually has a more limited lifespan.”
5/5 Everyday“Chanel No. 5 is amazing! It's a warm, aldehydic scent that sparkles and comes to life on your skin, rather like a flute of Sauternes. I personally prefer the EDP to the EDT as I find the latter a little greener for my taste, but they are both incredible. P.s.: I can never understand why “smells like a granny” is the go-to insult for any vintage fragrance. I have wonderful memories of my grandmother and I admire older women — so smelling *old* had never been an issue for me!”
5/5“No. 5, I have loved for decades. Opium I recently discovered. I think I had a mental block based on the name.”
5/5“I wear Chanel No 5 because nobody loves it like I do 😭”
1/5“The amount of times they try to get me to smell chanel no 5. Like babes i have a bottle and hate it”
3/5 SummerSpring“Amouage Memoir perhaps, but that's not exactly summer holiday friendly. Although I tried layering it with Chanel no 5 in the spring and it was to die for. And I normally hate layering. Otherwise anything by uncle Serge. Chergui (I have the oil version) is intoxicating in summer... a good frankincense also goes hard”
5/5 Value“https://preview.redd.it/5izjxzrjuwnh1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d781a2209498e022d955a23ce9c75d1500fa8172”
5/5“My mom also wore Chanel no.”
5/5 ProjectionCompliments“>I have no issues with my identity or anything, my nose has just really liked those scents as of late.”
4/5“Not a huge fan of Chanel no 5, but I would never go around telling people not to wear it. I bet a lot of people would have stuff to say about what I wear, but I don't care. I wear it because I like it, and because the smell makes me happy. This is what wearing a perfume should be all about.”
5/5“This is so amusing to me, because my feelings about eau fraiche / eau tendre are reversed lol. On me, eau fraiche smells just like my dad 🤮 I dunno which Chanel frag he used in the 90s / early 2000s but that's all I can get on it, I'm never using it again and I need to offload my sample on someone lol. Conversely, eau tendre smells like my deceased grandma (a lifelong Chanel no 5 wearer) on me, but with a lighter and sweeter twist, and I absolutely love it”
4/5“Rosendo mateu no 5 I hate it with all my heart!!! I have tried it again n again thinking I might like it this time but NO!! I feel like puking every time it's so so bad!!”
5/5“I absolutely love the coco mademoiselle intense. I also love the original chance eau de parfum (amber color). I wish so bad they would bring back the lotion/cream for original chance! I also love Allure for women, I rarely hear people talk about it and it's so good, I'll always have a bottle of it. I really disliked Gabrielle for a long time but eventually the Gabrielle essence version grew on me. I also have 1932 and it's everything I wanted no. 5 to be lol. I can't stand number 5 but I enjoy 1932.”
5/5“I mean how old are you fam? You dont look too much younger than me in your profile pic. Im 29 and I dont feel they are mature scents.. more complex yes, definitely. I just prefer that I suppose. I have been sniffing frags since I was about 12 so my nose has done a bit of refining since then and my tastes have changed a bit as I aged but like I said I really dont feel like fragrances have age demographics and I find allot of the classics like Chanel no5 to be beautiful and timeless imo.”
5/5“I love Chanel. I wear Coromandel, Beige, Gardenia and Comete. I also like No 5, Cristalle and 19.”
5/5“Welp, I guess I should be happy that I got some amazing vintages/used scents when I did. In fact, that best deal I ever got was a barely sprayed 3.4 bottle of Chanel No. 5 Eau Premiere.”
2/5 LongevityValue“I bought it from TikTok shop but it wasn't perfumebox selling it. There was a "flash sale" for a seller with no ratings and it was $22. I figured what the hell, it was worth the gamble lol. Either I got a fake and only wasted $22. Or I got the real deal and got it for a steal lol. I use the fake as my house air freshener. It lasts way longer than regular house sprays, but still doesn't last no 5 to 6 hours so i know is a fake”
Not rated (no clear sentiment)“This reminds me of the time when I walked into Sephora and asked if they have Chanel no 5 EDT (I wanted to try it). The worker said „yes of course” and took me to an aisle with no 5 L'eau. I said that I wanted to try the EDT version and she said that this is the EDT version, she said again „yes it is” and I said „no it's not, this is L'eau which I'm wearing right now”. She sighed and said „well we don't have the EDT”. WOAH. She knew all that time but thought I was a newbie and that she had a chance to sell me the L'eau which I'm sure was on their sales target.”
Not rated (no clear sentiment)“I smelt No.5 once. I have chosen not smelt it ever again. lmao”
Not rated (no clear sentiment) Synthetic / harsh“Aldehydes? Notably in Chanel No. 5. That also has Ambroxan which has increasingly been a turnoff for me if there's more than a little, also concern re: it getting stronger over time as I've had that happen multiple times. There is also the general use of synthetics - musks, iso E super, the Grosjman Accord combo, etc.”
Not rated (no clear sentiment) Night out“Omg! I thought I was the only one who did this! I have a bar of chanel no 5 in my cashmere sweater drawer. It lasts about a year as a drawer scent and then it becomes my shower bar. I must have unconsciously stolen this idea from someone at sometime.”
Not rated (no clear sentiment)“Musc Ravageur, Iris Dragees, Cuir Beluga, vintage Poison cologne, grand aunt's old bottle of No 5 Parfum, dad's Bleu de Chanel, husband's L'homme Ideal etc. Although lately I've rediscovered TF Noir pour femme, I've worn it for 3 days straight now.”
Not rated (no clear sentiment)“I wear Chanel no.5, Ysl Opium, Coco Mademoiselle, and Youth Dew to name a few. I don't care what anyone else thinks lol.”
Not rated (no clear sentiment)“As Marilyn Monroe once famously said, "What do I wear to bed? Why, Chanel No. 5, of course" Literacy and grammar are on a serious decline.”
Not rated (no clear sentiment)“IEP Meeting Scent. I wanted to come off as powerful mom with my big binder and ready to advocate and get what my son needed. I tried to channel equal parts Anna Wintour (decisive and efficient) and Lisa Vanderpump (type A but charming) I wore Chanel No 5 Premiere.”
Not rated (no clear sentiment) Value“I have some expensive perfumes, Allure and No. 5 Eau Premiere... and while I feel posh when I wear them, nothing smells like rich lady to me like Estee Lauder Private Collection”
Not rated (no clear sentiment) Value“makes me sick and always oversprayed which makes it worst!), chanel n°5 and other Chanel fragrances (just smell old and very unpleasant), Shalimar, Paradoxe (a weird hint of poop smell on my skin), Vanilla 28 (worst vanilla), Black Opium, Angel, La Petite Robe Noire (disgusting), most "For her" fragrances, le Labo fragrances, Love Don't be Shy (stinky and overrated for that price)...”
Not rated (no clear sentiment) Value“So badly, you'd think they had the original bottle of Chanel No.5 Marilyn Monroe was holding in the old school print ad!!”
Not rated (no clear sentiment)“Yup. I wear chanel no 5 often”
Not rated (no clear sentiment)“Chanel No 5, Amouage Epic Woman. Both on my woman (she doesn't know much about perfumes, so I got decants for her)”
Not rated (no clear sentiment)“https://preview.redd.it/83dwp730gw4h1.png?width=291&format=png&auto=webp&s=173502a9b249316afad4d51ce03dd5fbd107e061 Catherine volunteered to submit my SOTD. In the USA, gay pride month began june 1. belle de soir delay. nothing is ever out of reach. reached for Chanel no 5. This is everything you will potentially put in a do not want, so powdery so floral in a vase. this was everything to reach for.”
Not rated (no clear sentiment)“i still have my bottle of aqua di gio from like 2012 and everytime i spray it i remember my first job interview, the smell is just stuck in my memory somehow also my mother's old chanel no 5 bottle from the 90s, she never uses it anymore but i keep it in my drawer, sometimes i just open the cap to smell it and it takes me back to sunday mornings at her dressing table”
Not rated (no clear sentiment)“Yup! Chanel No 5 edp actually feels lotiony to me if I spray lightly.”
Dupes and similar fragrances
No dupe pairing for this fragrance reached our evidence bar (2+ comments naming both with a "dupe/clone/smells like" phrase).
Alternatives in the same family
- Tom Ford Soleil Blanc — 2.8 from 27 owner comments
- Yves Saint Laurent Libre — 2.9 from 41 owner comments
- Dior Miss Dior — 3.3 from 61 owner comments
FAQ
How long does Chanel Chanel No. 5 last?
In the Reddit owner comments we analysed, 0 owners said it lasts well and 1 said it fades quickly. Longevity varies with skin, climate and concentration.
What season is Chanel Chanel No. 5 best for?
Owners mention summer most often (1 comment), followed by spring (1).
Does Chanel Chanel No. 5 get compliments?
1 owner comment in our sample report compliments while wearing it.
Can I buy Chanel Chanel No. 5 on Amazon safely?
We did not find it sold by Amazon.com or by the brand's own Amazon store, so we do not link to it. Third-party fragrance listings carry a counterfeit and grey-market risk.
Keep deciding
- Chanel fragrances ranked
- Best floral fragrances
- Best Women’s Perfumes
- Best Designer Fragrances
- Buying guide shortlists · Methodology
Details
| Brand | Chanel (Designer) |
| Fragrance family | Floral |
| Marketed for | women |
| Amazon listing | No listing sold by Amazon.com or the brand store found |
| Reddit evidence | 48 owner comments, 246 mentions in total across r/fragrance, r/FemFragLab and related subreddits |
| Last updated | 2026-11-03 |
Family and "marketed for" follow the brand's positioning and common fragrance references; flankers (Intense, Elixir, Parfum editions) are tracked separately or excluded.