The scent is said to have got its name after designer Coco Chanel was presented with several samples to choose from, each labelled with a number.After choosing the fifth bottle, she declared that the perfume would simply be called Chanel No.5. Chanel No.5 is classified as a floral-aldehyde. Its top notes include ylang ylang, neroli and aldehydes; its mid notes May rose and jasmine; and its base notes sandalwood, vetiver and vanilla.The perfume was an immediate success, and by 1924 Chanel had an entire perfume division with Ernest Beaux as its technical director. By the twenty-first century a bottle of Chanel No. 5 sold every thirty seconds.

Top ten most iconic perfumes of all time -[Telegraph.co.uk]

1. Chanel No 5

2. Calvin Klein - One

3. Calvin Klein - Eternity

4. Chanel - Coco

5. Dior - Poison

6. Ghost

7. Cacharel - Anais Anais

8. Lacoste - Pink

9. Yves Saint Lauren - Opium

10. Beckham - Intimately Her