Who created the original Chanel No. 5 fragrance with Coco Chanel?

Ernest Beaux created the original Chanel No. 5 fragrance with Coco Chanel.

Beaux was a French-Russian perfumer who presented Chanel with a series of fragrance samples in 1921. Chanel selected the fifth sample, and the number became the perfume’s name. Beaux’s formula used aldehydes alongside floral ingredients, producing a modern, abstract scent profile rather than a straightforward single-flower perfume.

The collaboration connected Chanel’s fashion sensibility with the emerging importance of fragrance as a luxury product. Chanel supplied the brand direction and aesthetic, while Beaux supplied the perfumery expertise behind the formula.

Beaux is sometimes confused with other famous French perfumers, including François Coty and Jacques Guerlain. They were separate figures and were not the creator credited with the original Chanel No. 5 composition. Later versions and related Chanel fragrances do not change the identity of the original perfumer: Ernest Beaux.