Grasse, birthplace of Chanel No. 5, sees perfume revival

60 Minutes Overtime Grasse, birthplace to Chanel No. 5, is experiencing a perfume revival .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-60-minutes-overtime.jpg'); } By Cecilia Vega, Cecilia Vega 60 Minutes Correspondent Cecilia Vega is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and "60 Minutes" correspondent who joined the CBS newsmagazine in 2023. Read Full Bio Cecilia Vega, Aliza Chasan, Aliza Chasan Digital Content Producer Aliza Chasan is a Digital Content Producer for "60 Minutes" and CBSNews.com. She has previously written for outlets including PIX11 News, The New York Daily News, Inside Edition and DNAinfo. Aliza covers trending news, often focusing on crime and politics. Read Full Bio Aliza Chasan, Natalie Jimenez Peel, Mirella Brussani May 3, 2026 / 7:00 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google One thousand jasmine flowers go into every 1 ounce bottle of Chanel No. 5 parfum, making the blooms critically important for the iconic scent launched in 1921.For over a century, the jasmine blossoms used in each bottle of No. 5 have been grown and harvested in the French town of Grasse, where Coco Chanel helped craft the signature fragrance for her fashion house. Most of Grasse jasmine is grown by the Mul family, who, since the 1800s, has farmed the land for six generations. Joseph Mul, 87, says Grasse jasmine has a distinct scent because, like grapes used in wine, it matters where it's grown. "You can't put Burgundy in a bottle of Bordeaux," he said in French. "People will tell you, 'No, that's not Bordeaux!' For the fragrances we do here for Chanel, it's exactly the same thing."How a town that smelled terrible became a perfume capitalGrasse, located in the hills of southern France, where the Mediterranean meets the southern Alps, was known in the 15th century for its booming leather trade, but that trade came with a problem: It made the town stink. Then came a clever idea: to mask the stench by infusing a pair of gloves with...