THE 20 BEST EVER PERFUMES

Classic fragrances are making a comeback, with sales of ­perfumes that evoke nostalgic memories increasing by up to 50 per cent in the past year. Why do perfumes from our past have such a powerful effect on us? 

Professor of Perfumes Roja Dove explains: ‘When we discover a scent we truly love, it will have large numbers of ­ingredients within it that have positive, feel-good associations. The scent itself then becomes an odour which also has positive associations, making us feel safe, secure, happy and well.’ 

As a new exhibition which celebrates the past, present and future of perfumery opens today in Harrods, we take the perfumed path down memory lane to bring you the top 20 classic scents.

                        Perfumed path down memory lane: We bring you the top 20 classic scents

CHANEL NO 5

From £59 (020 7493 3836)

Marilyn Monroe’s favourite scent and still the world’s best-selling perfume. 

In 1921, Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel wanted a perfume that would define how women should smell. Perfume designer Ernest Beaux was given the task — and, as the legend goes, on his fifth attempt Coco Chanel approved the scent, so it became No 5. 

And from this scent was born the idea of applying perfume to the wrists, behind the ears and the neck, as Coco Chanel believed women should wear perfume where they would be kissed.

                                                                                                 Chanel No 5

SHALIMAR BY GUERLAIN

From £38.50 (Harrods)

The launch of Shalimar in May 1925 by Jacques Guerlain was seen as a ‘small revolution’. Inspired by the Oriental love story of an Emperor who met his love in the Gardens of Shalimar and went on to build the Taj Mahal for her, Guerlain took the iconic bottle with the blue stopper on a steamship from Paris to New York, and immediately the fashion world was buzzing about this exotic scent. With notes of iris, jasmine, rose and vanilla, it’s a warm scent that has never dated.

                                                                                           Guerlain's Shalimar

L'AIR DU TEMPS BY NINA RICCI

From £36 (houseoffraser.co.uk)

Despite being more than 60 years old, one bottle of L’Air du Temps is still sold every five seconds around the world. Created by Robert Ricci in 1948, the scent is so pure in its composition that each flower is almost individually identifiable. Notes include carnation, gardenia, rose and jasmine, combined with spicy musk, sandalwood and iris root.

                                                                                         Nina Ricci's l'Air du Temps