The event lasted about an hour, during which guests were served drinks and fancy canapés. Unfortunately, all of us were told that no photography was allowed, which is a pity as I had been looking forward to sharing pictures with you! Oh well. :( On a brighter note, I found some good pictures at Metro’s Facebook page - those were taken at the event held at Paragon on 10 and 11 December 2010. Go check them out!
Anyways, the event began with an introduction by Ms Jean Loy, a fragrance specialist with Chanel. She shared with us the origins of Chanel’s famous perfume, Chanel No. 5. Launched in 1921, the legendary perfume was created by French perfumer Ernest Beaux for Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel, upon her request for him to create a fragrance that best represents “the scent of a woman”. Beaux concocted several versions of the ideal fragrance for Chanel’s consideration, and the latter chose the 5th vial presented to her, hence the name “Chanel No. 5″ was born. Following that, we were given perfume strips with emphases on different notes, accompanied by explanations on the types of emotions these notes intend to conjure.
After having a clearer picture of the story behind Chanel’s fragrances, we welcomed the baudrucheuse, who had specially flown in to Singapore from Compiègne for the event. The purpose of the event was to introduce the baudruchage, an artful and delicate technique of wrapping a silken thread around the neck of a bottle of perfume, in order to protect the perfume in the bottle. The technique, first introduced in the 17th century for pharmacological purposes, is performed entirely by hand and has been used since Chanel No. 5 was launched in 1921. To date, the technique is still in use to ensure a water-and-air-tight seal. In this day and age, machines are capable of performing most of the tasks which, in the past, were done by human hands. It is indeed a wonder that Chanel chooses to continue using the old-fashioned technique to seal its perfume bottles when most of the other perfumeries have moved on to using screw-on tops.
The baudrucheuse demonstrated the technique effortlessly in a few steps. Firstly, a thin membrane is put around the bottle of the neck. Following that, the neck is secured by two rows of black pearl cotton. The last step is the application of wax seal – the bottle is sealed twice with wax and the double C Chanel logo. Voila! It’s done. Ms Jean Loy explained that the historical technique is used not only on Chanel No. 5 perfume bottles, but on all of Chanel’s fragrances. Pretty amazing, don’t you think? :)
A baudrucheuse is capable of sealing up to 100 bottles of perfume per hour! Today, there are less than 10 skilled baudrucheuse in Chanel. To become a certified baudrucheuse, one has to undergo months of intensive training. Having witnessed the sealing of Chanel perfume bottles, I now understand the art behind Chanel’s fragrances. Now, not many perfumeries can claim that they do the same!
We were presented with exclusive door gifts for this event. Pics below!
Curious?
It’s a vial of Chanel No. 5 Eau Premiere and a book on Chanel perfumes!
Pretty box!
Simple paper cutting made fanciful
Stunning even when in miniature form :)
Book on Chanel perfumes
Tiny preview of the contents
Behind each strip of paper cutting is the story of each fragrance and its composition
I think both the fragrance and the book are awesome! The book’s a very good reference for perfume beginners like myself. ;)
I learnt a whole lot about Chanel fragrances at the event – I’m definitely getting me some Chanel fragrances! Like Ms Jean Loy puts it, owning a Chanel fragrance is akin to owning “a piece of history”. I’m certainly looking forward to attending more Chanel events in future.
Did you attend this event too? Please do share your thoughts! :)
J
That book is gorgeous!!
I’m curious, who make up their guest list? I thought it’ll b interesting to attend! So informative. But, yup, a shame that no photography allowed :(
If I’m not mistaken, the guests in attendance were staff from Chanel’s office, journalists and readers of Style: Magazine. :)
Only staff and journalists were allowed to take photos / record videos.
Ooh! Then probably need to get Style or something to see the pics. :(
new era in style and fashion Thanks for sharing it