No. 5 by Chanel (EDP Carded Sample)

Fragrance Family: Floral Aldehyde

Chanel N°5 has become a symbol of good taste and is currently one of the best selling perfumes in the world. Coco Chanel asked the perfume designer Ernest Beaux to create a perfume ' which smells like a woman'. Chanel N°5 is a very complex fragrance which does not allow any of the fragrant components to be isolated out of the composition, what was exactly a request of Chanel the perfume should not smell like a rose, or a lily of the valley, but as a composition.

Ernest Beaux created two series of perfume samples numbered 1-5 and 20-24 and asked Coco Chanel to choose one of them. Madame Chanel chose the sample no. 5 and thus the perfume got its name. Superstitious, Chanel presented her new perfume on the fifth day of the fifth month of 1921.

Working on creation of this perfume, Ernest Beaux created and for the first time used the synthetic component aldehydes. In his formula the aldehydes are accompanied by fragrances of rose and jasmine. The fragrance of aldehydes is pure and fresh, reminds of the odor of clean linen just brought in the house form the fresh frosty air. It is said that the famous creator drew his inspiration for creation of this fragrance from one of his visits to the Arctic Circle and the smell of water in midnight. The unique smell of frozen lakes and rivers fascinated him so much that he decided to replicate it in his creation.

Chanel N°5 is the first perfume in the floral-aldehyde group and the first by the quantity of aldehydes in its composition (another legend says that the Ernest Beaux's assistant overdosed the aldehydes in the composition by mistake).

The top notes are composed of aldehydes, bergamot, lemon, neroli and ylang-ylang, the heart of jasmine, rose, lily of the valley and iris, while the base is created of vetiver, sandalwood, vanilla, amber and patchouli.
Source: http://www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Chanel/Chanel-N-5-608.html

Like many fragrances, each concentration is almost a completely different fragrance (edt vs edp vs parfum)-
therefore, you may want to try each one to find your preference.

In fact, Luca Turin, in Perfumes: The Guide, gave 5 out of 5 stars to the eau de toilette and parfum versions.
(but don't let that alone turn you away from the wonderful eau de parfum!)