Chanel No. 5 became the most famous perfume in history because of what was possibly a “mistake.” An overdose of aldehydes made it smell nothing like the safe floral perfumes of its time, and Coco Chanel loved it for exactly that reason. She didn’t sell ingredients, she sold mystery, modernity and the idea of a woman who couldn’t be boxed into one scent. What others would have thrown away, she turned into a century-long symbol of luxury and sensuality. Sometimes what feels too strong, too strange

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