Finding out when men start Christmas shopping is simple - sales of Chanel No.5 perfume go through the roof.
It’s the most popular fragrance bought by men every year, and signals the beginning of their annual Christmas splurge, says high street store Debenhams.
— Read more at How to tell when men start their Christmas shopping... sales of Chanel No.5 go through the roof at the UK's Mail Online.
No, that’s when men with no imagination or education start shopping.
Other men…aren’t shopping for the icons of the perfume world, unless they know that’s what someone wants. And I highly doubt they wait for there to be a run on them.
Please tell me that article was written by a rather clueless individual who can be forgiven for saying something so blatantly idiotic and sexst?
I’m a man, and I don’t think it was idiotic or sexist: men as a rule just aren’t as good as giving gifts as women are. I hate clothes-shopping for myself, and I know what I like, so it’s much harder to shop for someone else. For the most part, men really do want to just get in, buy it, and get out.
A local department store has a HUGE Chanel No. 5 window display that was put up in the last week or so, and when I saw it yesterday I knew that the store was making its push for men to buy it as a last-minute gift: that scent has, for better or worse, established itself as iconic in a way that no other ever has (apparently started when GIs returning from France after the second World War brought home bottles of it for their girls, and boosted when Marilyn Monroe said, when asked what she wore to bed, “Just a few drops of Chanel No. 5”).
Every man I know HATES to shop! But of course, that’s not EVERY man in the world. This is a statement on a trend that has some basis in fact. It’s not a sexist slam against men.
Well, that’s the Mail in a nutshell anyway….
Will stay out of the dispute about whether or not it’s sexist — I found it funny either way!
(And my husband has education but no imagination, at least when it comes to shopping)
Love this!
Chanel probably loves it too 😉
Maybe that’s more because Chanel has huge No. 5 ads at every bus stop here in the UK? They certainly do a bigger push at Christmas for it, so it’s not exactly rocket science that a guy stumped for a gift will remember that.
I think they still advertise heavily here too.
This article wasn’t too far from the mark for many of the men I know, both family as well as close friends. Mr. Ab. Scent has gotten me No. 5 as a gift in the past since he knows I go through it so quickly between wearing it and decants, that it is perfume I clearly like and he does fall in the category of a very goal-oriented shopper as well so he can just go buy the edp, wrap it up and tah-dah. It is a sure thing, as they say, and one that I’m always glad to have and that doesn’t require a gamble that might not come through.
Browsing (unless for electronics) doesn’t appeal to him at all because he usually knows just what he’s looking for whether that’s clothes, gifts or items for around the house. Though he’s gotten pretty good at remembering other perfumes etc. I’ve name dropped however, and is now friendly with a local Macy’s associate who shares most of my perfume tastes and “helps him out” now and then for ideas.
But I know about as much concerning choosing the best TV as he does about what I want from Lucky Scent, so I appreciate the effort. At least it isn’t a gift card… Though a gift card to LS or TPC is always good. No. 5’s enduring popularity is amazing and wonderful, and in my perfume wardrobe, not likely to end any time soon. 🙂
“Browsing (unless for electronics) doesn’t appeal”…
Lol! That is Mr. Zazie too!
Ditto on this front, and add my dad in as well, lol!
yeah, the first perfume my dad ever gave my mom was chanel no5.
and then hermes caleche…
I kind of want a serious boyfriend just so I can find him a fragrance to give to him. I guess because I want my collection to be 3-5 bottles, and I already have 5, so I want to shop for other people.
When I buy someone gifts, I usually buy something that was vaguely mentioned months before. Like I bought a friend in Berlin macarons because he mentioned weeks before that he had never heard of them. I wrapped it in notebook paper that I drew Christmas trees and ornaments on, which he seemed to like more than the macarons though.
Sweet little gift!
I tend to wind up with guys who don’t wear perfume and just smell like Downy. Shame.
Oh, I don’t know. . .I kinda like snuggling up to a new beau and smelling Downy!
I think a significant part of the Chanel No.5 Christmas popularity is also from women for whom C#5 is the one fragrance they think is elegant/chic/classic and safe, due to the heavy C#5 marketing and general media legend/hype surrounding it. I think many women who don’t follow fragrance think they SHOULD have a bottle of it, even if they’ve never tested it.
Well, it’s hardly sexist if it’s a statistic! What would be sexist is the inferences we could make: men have no imagination, men are bad at giving presents, etc. I would love to receive some No. 5 for the holidays, but it’s not actually a particularly safe gift! Most people don’t seem crazy about the smell (at least of the EDP, which is what most people buy because it’s in the classic Chanel bottle).
It’s all true. My partner went to a nearby department store yesterday to help a colleague choose Chanel No.5 products for his wife: he ended up with a 100ml bottle of the EDT (b/c that’s what she wears) and the body lotion. Apparently, he had tried twice to make a purchase on his own and twice he had retreated in a panic.
Men could do worse than buy Chanel No.5 perfume for their SOs: they could buy them fuchsia underwear. LOL!
Fuchsia underwear with hearts on it?
Oooh, and “Juicy” written on the butt! Much worse!
OK, maybe I am sexist, but my own experience is that men are much worse at shopping than women are, and they don’t take hints very well. Many time my husband’s reaction to a gift has been “How did you know I wanted this?” My answer is “Because I have heard you mention it several times.” If I drop a hint, it is to no avail. I’ve tried saying things like “Gee, I really wish I had a (fill in the blank)” in the weeks before Christmas, but the item in question will not be in the package he gives me.
One year, the following conversation occurred:
DH: I don’t know what to get you for Christmas.
Me: How about (name of item)?
DH: But I want to surprise you!
Me: Well, then pick out something yourself and surprise me.
DH: But I want to get you something you want. If I pick out something, you might not like it.
Me: I already told you what I want.
DH: But if I get you that, it won’t be a surprise!
Me: Then surprise me.
And so forth.
What I wanted was jewelry, so my solution was to take him with me to a jewelry store and pick out 3 or 4 things I liked, so that he could buy one of them when I wasn’t there. That way, it would be something I liked (since I had picked it out), but it would also be a surprise, since I wouldn’t know which of several things he would actually buy. Unfortunately, my plan was only halfway successful. I was surprised, because when I opened my gift, there was a necklace, but it was not one of the items I had picked out. He explained that he had chosen it instead of the one of the ones I had selected because he thought it looked better. In fact, it was one that I had deliberately not chosen because I did not care for it at all (sigh!).
Good grief if I didn’t know better I’d say my husband was cheating on me with a second wife…YOU! Mine is exactly the same and we’ve had the exact same discussion and final experience! LOL He asked for suggestions, I gave him a broad list of ideas saying, whatever you pick will be a surprise. He goes “off list” and sort of bungles it. I love him dearly but really the gift area is something I’ve had to live and learn.
I imagine of lot of men are like our husbands when it comes to gift giving. My husband is the kindest, sweetest man on earth, and l love him with all my heart, but he has had a hard time getting the hang of the whole gift shopping thing. We’ve pretty much got a tradition now that he gets me a gift basket from the Godiva shop. He can’t go very far wrong with anything that they sell, although I had to remind him one year that I prefer dark chocolate.
Mr Fifty apparently has clones. My own sweet husband and I have had the exact same conversation innumerable times. I laughed out loud. I do think when he say surprise, he means total surprise, not like having 20 things on a list he can choose from, which somehow negates the surprise factor in his mind.
The Amazon Wishlist function has been a godsend, though there is always a thing or two under the tree that makes me sort of scratch my head.
I have noticed that he is very good at picking out things he’s familiar with, like gadgets and music….I adore music; gadgets, not so much, but God bless him for trying.
You don’t mind Amazon wishlist, Jolie? I stopped putting things on it. The whole “targeted” thing bugs me, and the suggestions “for you” just really sets my teeth on edge. Most of the time the things suggested, based on my previous purchases, don’t interest me in the slightest.
I have, managed to so discombobulate it, though, that I usually get the “we’re sorry, but Amazon is unable to make any suggestions for you.”
Yep — I think I’ve received three perfume gifts from men in my life, two of them were No. 5, and the third was another Chanel — Coco Mademoiselle.
My husband is great at getting what I want. We pay close attention to our wants and when we mention something around this time of the year..we both know they are Christmas hints! He’s supportive with my interest in perfumes and he has a slight interest himself. This year I made it easy..I just ordered perfumes that I wanted online and that was that. I ordered them myself cause I just didn’t want to wait till Christmas and wanted to search out good deals. I just told him, ya, I just kinda went ahead and ordered them:). I’ve worn them..but maybe I will wrap ’em up and put under the tree:D.
I bought myself BLV Jasmin Noir L’essence and Shiseido Zen White Heat Edition. I believe both are limited editions..so they were a must get cause I love both scents, esp the BLV for the winter:D.
Wasn’t there a famous blind test in which chanel no5 was always favoured the least – except when the subject knew it was Chanel no.5 – and then it almost always came out tops?
Oh Robin, they’ve opened the first officially licenced Chanel makeup and frag store here in Argentina. They even carry Les Exclusifs!. This will be their first Christmas here..
I might not resist and may splurge on a 75ml bottle of one of les exclusifs. Merry Christmas to me! 😉
AND I found the article funny. My dad would rather go for a root canal than shopping. Chanel Nro 5 is one of my mom’s faves, so he brings that one of her, whenever he is not getting her travel editions of L air du temps. 🙂
Oh good!!! But you’ve tried them all already, yes? Which will you get?
I’ve tried them all (but Jersey) they have the fancy ceramic testers here… I had tried all but Beige in Houston back in 08.
Daisy sent me Cuir De Russie and La Pausa (my faves) and finally I did it, and got La Pausa. I am really happy AND feeling a little weird because I never thought I could “Feel This Way” 🙂 with an IRIS frag!
Not feminine to me… just right and sexy and smells like money! 🙂 hehehehehehe
Just to clarify she got me a couple of decants, and I’ve been test driving La Pausa for a while now. So that did it.
Lucky you! La Pausa is my favorite.