One hundred years of the world's best-selling perfume

American soldiers bought it in Paris to take to their women after World War II.

Years later,

confessed to wearing it as the only pajamas and thus its smell was forever linked to the actress's sensuality.

formula

is the best kept secret of the Chanel empire, which celebrates this Wednesday 100 years of a historic success that revolutionized the world of fashion and perfumery.

In 1921, French designer Coco Chanel commissioned her perfumer to create a new feminine fragrance.

A perfume that smelled "like a woman, not like a rose", "something very special, that does not stain, that smells very good".

The triumph of this composition, which is only known to hide roses, jasmine and ylang-ylang, still stands and has become the best-selling fragrance in history.

It is also the first perfume exhibited in an art museum, the

.

It has been part of the permanent collection since 1959.