I ran after a woman in my local David Jones department store yesterday, because the sillage from her perfume was HEAVENLY!! I was not familiar with it, so I had to ask her on the escalator as she left the beauty department.
Well, she had been outside the store, at the Chanel boutique, and had sprayed Chanel 22......it was breathtaking!!

I had sniffed this on the atomiser in the boutique some time ago, along with the other Les Excl. fragrances, but had not tried it on my skin....it certainly smelt amazing on this woman, wafting past me yesterday.
Mmmmmnnnn......I'll be trying this on my skin today!!

Chanel No 22 is amazing, isn't it? It's one of only one or two floral fragrances that I can actually wear without gagging myself and everyone around me.

Breathtaking is the word, isn't it? And unmistakable too.

I love it in all its forms, too, except the lotion, which I tried once and which was very nice but didn't smell anything like the perfume. I think this is one of about three perfumes that I could take on a desert island with me and never get tired of.

Susan, a very lovely scent. Looking forward to hearing how you like it on yourself.

I first encountered No 22 at about the age of ten or eleven when I smelled it on a lady in a fur coat outdoors on a December night in New York. I was thrilled by the scent at the time and it was only about twenty years later that I came across it in a store and realized what that scent had been. I should wear it more.

Lovely to hear your opinions....and what a gorgeous image you created, with your story of discovering the perfume of the lady in the fur coat Fiveoaks!!

I cannot wear No5 as it turns very plastic on me. But No22 works wonderfully, and yes it does have big sillage.
A very classey white floral, if you get the chance to sniff the parfum it is divine.

When Chanel brought out its Special Edition perfumes (in the normal Chanel bottle) in the 80s I bought this and Bois des Isles in the Rue Cambon boutique. Both were utterly gorgeous. I have absolutely no idea what happened to them though....I don't recall using them up but I suppose I must have done. I've always been slightly anti- No 5 because it is such a cliche.

I went into the Chanel Beaute Boutique this afternoon ,and the SAs were busy....so I made a grab for the BIG BOTTLE and sprayed each wrist and down my top.....then grabbed a take away coffee, and went into watch Sex and the City (2nd time) while my boys were watching the new Batman movie.
Oh perfume heaven!!
The initial aldehyde blast reminds me of No.5... and I think that is why I dismissed it when I tried it on paper years ago, but it is a very different perfume,
Why didn't I fall under its spell when it was available in a smaller bottle? Oh well...on to my wish list it goes...... but I will be visiting the tester quite often, that's for sure!!

Well, one could, if one were so inclined, bring a small decant vial....or, perhaps, a slightly larger spray decant vial.....to the store and ask ever-so-sweetly if you could have a sample to use at home. If this sweet request is denied, one could, if one were so inclined, wait for the salesperson's back to be turned, and help oneself. Mind you, this is merely a suggestion. If you're so inclined.

altodiva, your cunning plan had crossed my mind......I might give it a try!!
Perhaps I should ask staight up....I think I'd feel too sneaky trying unasked!!

I recently fell in love with this one, too, when I sniffed it last spring at a Chanel boutique in Chicago. I didn't feel drawn to it in the past, but I LOVE the Les Exclusifs version. I'm pondering a decant, since a full bottle is currently out of the question, sadly. And I wouldn't want them to ship in the heat of summer, anyway. (No Chanel boutiques in my neck of the woods, alas.)

This Chanel scent is truly one of the absolute greats of perfumery.

Beautiful is truly what this perfume is. There's such a lightness to the composition and it just radiates this effortless elegance, oldfashioned and modern at the same time. Personally, the incence doesn't agree all too well with my skin, but still, sometimes I have to put it on just for the experience!

Chanel No. 22 is one of few floral scents I adore. It is a true classic! I would love to try the parfum!

Maybe a tiny parfum decant and a 15ml atomiser from TPC would be a good way to go.
$35 for 15ml EDT(Les Exc) and $22 for 1 ml Parfum(vintage)....... wouldn't that be a gorgeous addititon to my collection!!

LaLaLaLa....I can't hear you!

Kidding of course!

I have to know. What formulations do they make in this? Prices?

Not sure if I've ever smelled this one but it smells like something that I would love. I love the Bois Des Iles! I've figured out that if I don't wear it more than 2 days in a row it doesn't give me a rash/make my skin raw. More than 2 days....oh boy....aldehydes.....

I think Chanel No. 22 has the greatest sillage of any scent I've ever had. I used to be afraid of it. Not any more!

Fumebag,
From what I know the Parfum is available in Paris, and the EDT is part of Les Exclusifs range at Chanel Boutiques, and possibly in high end Department Stores.
I don't know the prices....but the bottles are 200mls....so expect... expensive!!

After reading this thread I ordered the vintage EDT and parfum from the Perfumedcourt.
It's everything everyone has said and I love it, and I have a question. This is a white floral and I smell all of the whites. There's an oldworldliness underneath. Something earthy and mortal at the same time. I wouldn't call it musk. But then again maybe? Can anyone enlighten an earnest neophite to this smell. Is it oakmoss?

I'm certainly no expert on scent here but could it be the incense giving No.22 that quality you describe?

Yes could be. There's an Angelique Incense wang about it. Thank you!