


It’s a scent fit for a queen.
A new exhibit at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum revealed that the late Queen Elizabeth II swooned over a Chanel fragrance at a young age.
As part of the “Gabrielle Chanel Fashion Manifesto” exhibition dedicated to the life of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, a 1955 handwritten note by the monarch revealed that she spritzed Chanel N°5 daily.
Penned just after her 29th birthday, the Queen thanked a friend for gifting her a bottle of the iconic scent.
“As usual, you have discovered just the very thing I particularly wanted, and I want to thank you very much for the birthday present of the Chanel scent,” she wrote. “I am already using it and, I hope, smelling all the better for it!”
Perhaps the most famous of all Chanel perfumes and the most popular in the world — the house sells 10 million bottles a year — N°5 is very floral with hints of rose, jasmine, citrus top notes and a “smooth touch of bourbon vanilla.”
Of course, she’s far from the only famous person who adores Chanel N°5, which was Marilyn Monroe’s favorite fragrance, too.
In fact, many A-listers, past, present and future, wear popular perfumes that are still on the market today — and these ladies aren’t spritzing aromas because they’re being paid to do it as part of endorsement deals, either. That means you might already smell like your favorite celeb and not even know it.
It’s long been speculated that the late Queen Elizabeth wore White Rose by Floris or L’Heure Bleue by Guerlain, but the newly discovered letter on display at the V&A revealed her love of Chanel.
The late Princess Diana adored Diorissimo by Christian Dior, according to the 1992 book Royal Fashion and Beauty Secrets by Ann Chubb. The floral scent is made with lily-of-the-valley, which was Christian Dior’s lucky flower and the emblem of Dior Couture.
Kate Middleton wore White Gardenia Petals by Illuminum on her wedding day in 2011 and has stuck with the fragrance — with lily, gardenia, ylang-ylang, jasmine and amber wood — ever since.
“Fragrance is my favorite thing,” Meghan Markle once wrote on her blog The Tig. “So much so that if I leave the house and I don’t put any on, I’ll turn around and go back home.” Her favorites? Oribe Côte d’Azur Eau de Parfum and Jo Malone’s Wild Bluebell and Wood Sage & Sea Salt Cologne.
Grace Kelly was reportedly wearing her signature scent — Chateau Krigler 12 — the night she won an Oscar for “Country Girl” and called it her “lucky charm.” “Grace Kelly lived close to the New York’s Plaza Hotel in the 1950s,” Ben Krigler, the head of the House of Krigler, told The Post. “She met my grandmother, who wore Chateau Krigler 12, at the hotel’s teatime, and Grace immediately fell in love with the scent.” The brand calls it a “distinctively lavish perfume” with rose, mimosa, lily of the valley and white musk.
Queen Bey fans were buzzing after reports claimed that Beyoncé was seen at London’s iconic department store Harrods while in the UK for a Renaissance tour stop and reportedly purchased Kilian Paris Angels’ Share at the store’s boutique. The brand said it’s “a rare concoction only angels should experience.”
The Histoires de Parfums website touts its many celeb fans, but one is none other than Angelina Jolie, who specifically wears Histoires de Parfums 1969, crafted to evoke memories of the “erotic year” and “represents the sexual revolution and evokes an intense sensuality, accentuated by white musk and intense chocolate.”
She famously slept in the pricey perfume — and only the pricey perfume. “You know, they ask me questions,” Marilyn Monroe said in an interview obtained by Chanel. “Just an example: ‘What do you wear to bed? A pajama top? The bottoms of the pajamas? A nightgown?’ So I said, ‘Chanel No. 5,’ because it’s the truth. And yet, I don’t want to say ‘nude.’ But it’s the truth!”
Audrey Hepburn was often dressed by French fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy, so it’s no surprise her favorite perfume was from the brand. In fact, Givenchy created L’Interdit — a mix of white flower and dark wood — just for the “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” actress.
Adele has been wearing the same perfume since she was a teenager, according to Vogue Australia, and that’s Dior’s Hypnotic Poison, which has notes of vanilla, almond and jasmine.
Judy Garland’s aroma was so iconic that last year her daughters Liza Minnelli and Lorna Luft created her signature scent so fans of the late stars can smell just like her today. Vincenzo Spinnato’s Judy — A Garland Fragrance — a unisex fragrance of Judy Garland Rose, dark orchid, coriander and spices —dropped just in time for what would have been the “Wizard of Oz” star’s 100th birthday. “I just remember that the last thing Mama always did before she walked out the door was to spray herself with fragrance,” Minnelli told People.
Of course, Rihanna has a Fenty perfume, but her own go-to fragrance is the pricey Love, Don’t Be Shy from Kilian, which has key notes of neroli, orange blossom and marshmallow.
Taylor Swift is enchanted by Tom Ford, according to a Swiftie who boldly asked her what perfume she wears. Posting on Reddit, the fan claimed the singer admitted to wearing Tom Ford’s spicy amber fragrance, Tobacco Vanille, during a concert.
She’s usually seen in Manolos for “Sex and the City,” but Sarah Jessica Parker uses an affordable drugstore scent as her go-to. The actress revealed to the New York Times that she uses an oil instead of a perfume — specifically, the surprisingly affordable Parfums de Coeur Skin Musk Perfume Oil, which is a combo of floral and warm musk.
Marlene Dietrich was an elusive Hollywood legend, but Krigler said its Lieber Gustav 14 eau de parfum — which smells of lavender, leather and black tea — was her cherished scent. “This perfume is for women with a strong personality who actually will take charge of things,” Krigler told Elle.
It’s long been said that Lauren Bacall favored the Diptyque brand and often wore L’Ombre Dans L’Eau, which smells of rose, blackcurrant and petitgrain.
Elizabeth Taylor will always be associated with her own line of perfumes that includes White Diamonds and Passion, but before the starlet because a successful fragrance entrepreneur, she was known to wear Jean Desprez Bal á Versailles Gold, an eau de parfum with top notes of bergamot, lemon, mandarin, neroli.
Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis always looked lovely — and smelled lovely, too, with Krigler Lovely Patchouli 55, which has a spicy, warm scent.