No. 1 15th Year Anniversary Women

The Verdict

Clive Christian No. 1 15th Year Anniversary Women, released in 2014, celebrates a decade and a half of what Guinness World Records recognized as one of the world's most expensive perfumes. Limited to just 500 bottles of 47ml at $1,500 each, this edition uses an even richer, deeper concentration of the original No. 1's ingredients to create what the house describes as an even more complex and luxurious perfume.

The original No. 1 for Women is already an opulent Oriental Floral, and the 15th Anniversary edition amplifies every facet. Whether that amplification produces a proportionally better fragrance or simply a louder one is a matter of individual taste, but the craftsmanship and ingredient quality are beyond question.

What It Smells Like

The opening is a lavish cascade of fruits and spices that immediately signals luxury. Plum, pineapple, apricot, and peach create a rich, juicy fruitiness, while pimento, cardamom, and bergamot add warm spice and citrus lift. Lemon provides a bright counterpoint that prevents the fruit from becoming heavy. This is an opening of considerable complexity, with multiple notes competing for attention in a way that rewards close attention.

The floral heart is where the composition reaches its most expansive state. Ylang-ylang, jasmine, iris, orchid, rose, and carnation create a multi-layered bouquet of remarkable depth. No single flower dominates; instead, they weave together into a rich tapestry that shifts and evolves as different notes emerge and recede. The iris adds powdery elegance, the jasmine brings indolic richness, and the rose provides classic beauty.

The base settles into a warm, enveloping foundation of vanilla, sandalwood, cedar, benzoin, tonka bean, amber, and musk. This is a base built for longevity and comfort, with the vanilla and benzoin providing sweetness, the sandalwood and cedar offering woody structure, and the amber and musk creating a warm, skin-like aura. The overall effect in the drydown is of being wrapped in a luxurious cashmere blanket scented with precious woods and vanilla.

When to Wear It

This is an evening fragrance designed for formal and celebratory occasions. Galas, luxury dinners, opera performances, and milestone celebrations provide the appropriate stage for its opulence. Fall and winter are the natural seasons, when the warm base notes can develop fully without competing against heat.

This is not a daytime or casual fragrance. Its richness and complexity demand settings where its full character can be appreciated and where its projection will not overwhelm.

Longevity & Projection

Community ratings place longevity at 3.73 out of 5 and sillage at 2.87 out of 4, indicating respectable but not exceptional performance for a luxury fragrance of this caliber. The concentrated formula ensures the scent evolves slowly over several hours, with the base notes persisting well into the evening. The moderate sillage means it creates an intimate aura rather than filling a room, which some will view as appropriate elegance and others as underwhelming for the price.

The Community Says

Community discussion around the 15th Anniversary edition tends to focus on its relationship to the original No. 1 and on the value proposition at $1,500. Some fragrance enthusiasts view it as a worthy intensification of an already beautiful composition, while others have noted that the original No. 1, while pretty, does not necessarily smell like the world's most expensive perfume or even all that interesting. The limited edition status and the higher concentration create collector appeal that goes beyond the scent itself, placing this firmly in the intersection of perfumery and luxury goods collecting.

Who Should Buy This

No. 1 15th Year Anniversary Women is designed for devoted Clive Christian fans and luxury fragrance collectors who view perfume as both an olfactory and collecting experience. If you already love the original No. 1 and want its richest possible expression, this limited edition delivers that promise. For newcomers to the house, the standard No. 1 provides a more accessible and still impressive entry point.

The Bottom Line

Clive Christian No. 1 15th Year Anniversary Women is a lavish, intensified take on a legendary fragrance, offering a multi-faceted oriental floral experience of genuine luxury. Its limited availability and premium price make it a collector's piece first and a fragrance second, but the quality of its composition earns respect regardless of the context in which it is evaluated.