But they were extraordinarily powerful so perfumers were hesitant to use them.
During the late summer of 1920 Chanel went on holiday on the Cote d'Azur with her lover the Grand Duke Dimtri Pavlovich.
There she learned of a perfumer, a sophisticated and well-read character called Ernest Beaux who had worked for the Russian royal family and lived close by in Grasse, the center of the perfume industry. Beaux was a curious and daring craftsman and took up Chanel's challenge.