A classic of classics and unisex for centuries, Cologne is characterized by its citrus freshness. Long admired, it was born in Italy before assuming, in a generic and popular way, its current Rhenish name. Used therapeutically, it is no longer in purgatory in pharmacies, but is embodied as a pillar of perfumery. An invigorating and joyful freshness to rediscover.
From Italy to Cologne
A land of citrus fruits, the peninsula has developed volatile perfumes, notably at the convent of Santa Maria Novella in Florence where the monks prepared "waters". A famous Water of Regina owed its name to Catherine de Medici in 1533. The Officina Profumo of Santa Maria Novella was created and opened to the public in 1612. The recipes multiplied and the Latin names were proclaimed, like Aqua Mirabilis. Supposed to cure many ailments, these waters had many virtues. "It is a wonderful antidote against all kinds of venoms, and an excellent preservative against bad air and the plague. It opens with equal success obstructions of the liver, spleen, and cures diseases which follow from them, such as jaundice, stench of breath, and the like..."
Originally, these compositions could also be drunk, for the good of seriously ill bodies. Apothecary, Giovanni Paolo Feminis allegedly succeeded in obtaining the secret of their manufacture from nuns in Italy, and introduced it to the Rhineland in the 18th century.e century. In Cologne, its water became admirable (aqua mirabilis). The business was then developed by a Jean Marie Farina, perhaps nephew of Feminis. Heir to the formula, this family associated water with the name of the city of Cologne, which saw the fame of its perfume surpass that of its cathedral or its carnival. In 1727 these waters were recognized for their virtues by the Academy of Medicine of Cologne.
The story continues in Germany with the Mühlens bank and a recipe given as a wedding gift. The family began to market it under a number: “4711, the real Eau de Cologne”, a name due to the numbering of dwellings imposed by the French occupants under Napoleon.
Eau de Cologne, bottle from 1811. | Farina family archives via Wikimedia
Lover of this water, the Emperor wore it in a long, vertical bottle, roll placed upright in its boots. Farina duck (soaked sugar) is also appreciated at the time.But, when Napoleon imposed by decree in 1810 that the formulas of these "remedies" were disclosed, the manufacturers decided to forget the medicinal aspect and favored external use so as not to reveal their secrets.
In the 19th centurye century, there were many shops selling these perfumed waters in Cologne. In 1865, there were thirty-nine shops bearing the name Farina.
The story takes place in parallel in France. A member of the Farina family – the one who created the vertical bottle for Napoleon – opened a shop on rue Saint-Honoré in 1806. Balzac said of this perfumer: "His fame is such that he can do without publicity." He was succeeded by the Collas couple who sold the house to two cousins, who were behind the creation in 1862 of the Roger & Gallet house, which has since fallen into the hands of L'Oréal. The new owner continues the production of these classic colognes, including Jean Marie Farina, which has continued to be composed since 1806.
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At Guerlain, several magnificent waters have stood the test of time, including Rooster Water from 1894. In its remarkable bottle decorated with bees, Imperial Eau de Cologne (1853) was composed by Pierre François Pascal Guerlain in honor of Empress Eugénie.
Created in 1916, the Acqua di Parma house reconnects with the Italianness of Colognes and designs a yellow universe in homage to the Italian sun, then blue for the Mediterranean. Always in the spotlight, citrus fruits are rediscovered. Thus from a Chinotto of Liguria, a bitter citrus fruit that is little known, except to people who love Italian sodas.
Despite its qualities and its reputation at Roger & Gallet or Guerlain, eau de Cologne is often perceived as an inferior product or as a rubbing potion bought in a pharmacy. Offered in larger containers and without an atomizer, its concentration, often played in minor, is used generously in splashes.
Over time, it became a minor genre of perfumery. When Jean Claude Ellena described it in his What do I know? he wrote: “This product is now linked to a gesture of comfort and hygiene often attached to the practice of sport.”
Freshness
Eau de Cologne is characterized by its fresh head dosed with citrus fruits. These so-called hesperidic notes are associated to the mythical garden of the same name (Sicily, for the Romans). Hercules had to, for one of his twelve labors, steal apples from the said garden. These mythical fruits, a wedding gift to Hera, would rather be oranges. Bergamot, neroli, petitgrain (distillate of the branches, leaves of the trees, often the bitter orange tree or bitter orange) and orange blossom perfume the Colognes. With time and the discovery of new citrus fruits, their palette has expanded, being able to become orientalized with yuzu, kumquat… without forgetting that the mandarin is Chinese.
In theEncyclopedia By Diderot, Cologne is defined as a “alcohol flavored with a large number of plants, and distilled on these aromatics.” Ingredients include rosemary, lemon balm water, bergamot, neroli, cedar and lemon.
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The scent of Cologne is characterized by its signature citrus top note, which dominates a fragrance enriched with the aromatic notes of lavender and rosemary. Their concentration is, in principle, the lowest percentage (between 2 and 5%). Next come eau de toilette, then eau de parfum and extracts (over 20%). But, in the United States, the term Cologne is more generic and can simply describe a perfume or eau de toilette.
Renewal
Until the 1980s, eau de Cologne was less noble than perfume. Often sold in pharmacies, it was used in friction with a generous gesture.
Since a first wave of Colognes imagined by and for fashion designers, they have (re)become trendy at the beginning of the 2000s. In the prime of its success, Helmut Lang set his nose on an original perfumery and chose to reinvent a Cologne in the year 2000 (relaunched in 2014). Maurice Roucel worked with the designer on the project of two perfumes without a gender mentioned, a rather masculine Cologne and a feminine eau de parfum; both having 80% of their components in common. Maurice Roucel remembers that the designer wanted for the Cologne the evocation of the smell of a companion after an embrace. Its composition is rather aromatic: lavender, rosemary, floral heart and powdery woody base.
After the success of Angel, Thierry Mugler arrived in 2001 where it was not expected with its Cologne, playing on the ambiguity of a perfume without sex. An incredible Janus-like being served as its communication medium, while its Cologne, of an almost pop acid green, dared to mix with the classic scents of bergamot, neroli, petitgrain and orange blossom, a new accord called "S" (for sex?), in order to arouse a touch of sensuality on a background of white musks.
“Every great house must have a Cologne.”
A very beautiful creation by Alberto Morillas who remembers: "I wanted to make a very fresh Cologne with an overdose of musk. The famous "S" molecule was a wink to bring back a note that some recognize immediately but others do not. With this Cologne, I wanted to prove that with an overdose it was as powerful as a perfume."
Cologne regained its prestige and a new aura. Many launches followed. In 2002, Like boys imagines a Cologne series with Vettiveru, Citrico and Anbar. In 2003, Jean-Claude Ellena's Cologne bigarade at Frederic Malle is very bitter orange, spiced with pink pepper and cardamom.In 2004 Dior launched a magnificent collection of Colognes (the beginnings of Christian Dior House), with three opuses including an incredible Eau noire with aromas of fern and liquorice composed by Francis Kurkdjian, as well as a white Cologne and a Bois d'argent fromAnnick Menardo. Appointed house perfumer, Francois Demachy added in 2010 to the collection a very citrusy Royal Cologne with bergamot, lemon, neroli and mint. According to the perfumer, "Every great house must have a Cologne."
At the house of Chanel featured in the exclusive collection, a Cologne composed in 2007 by Jacques Polge: mandarin, bergamot, on a neroli heart and floral base.
In 2009, Francis Kurkdjian composed for his eponymous house a Cologne to wear in the morning and one to wear in the evening. The morning one is all about freshness: bergamot, lemon on a heart of white thyme, lavender and a slightly powdery neroli base. The evening wear is more opulent, voluptuous with its notes of roses and honey and incense on benzoin. Thierry Wasser added a new chapter to the historic flagships with the perfumer's Cologne in 2010. While paying homage to a Calabrian orange blossom, it surrounds it with green notes without forgetting a zest of lemon and bergamot. Dominique Ropion for Frédéric Malle imagined an indelible Cologne, the opposite of the evanescent idea of a fresh fragrance that takes three little turns and then goes away. For the perfumer, the idea was to last over time around an absolute accord of orange blossom, bergamot, lemon, rosemary and narcissus, to which he added a lot of musk to play extra time.
Cologne Workshop tells stories on this theme and goes around citrus fruits: Blood Orange, Grapefruit Paradise, Sun Bergamot, Intoxicating Cedrat. The waters flirt with the concept of Cologne at Hermes, to the iconic Eau d'orange verte, Jean Claude Ellena added Colognes around pink grapefruit and a white gentian (exquisite). According to the perfumer: "By putting colognes back in the saddle as I did at Hermès and at Frédéric Malle, I wanted to reconnect with the aristocratic image of cologne; which seems right to me in our era where a form of new aristocracy is in place. The man of the left that I am is aware that there is a new aristocracy not based on the possession of land or on republican merit; but on sometimes immediate fortune, that of appearances." He defines it as follows: “Simplicity, immediacy, freshness, non-genre of the subject. It should not be tenacious.”
Today
This year 2019 promises to be all about Cologne. Mugler is relaunching its icon with a colorful collection and five heritage Colognes to mix: Love You All, Run Free, Come Together, Take Me Out, Fly Away.The brand always brings a pop dimension to the Cologne while reinventing a story around the creation of Alberto Morillas.
For Louis Vuitton perfumes, Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud has imagined Colognes to wear in summer. Sun Song, around orange blossom and lemon. Cactus Garden, around mate, bergamot and lemongrass (which is not exactly lemongrass). Afternoon Swim, a citrus festival. The brand Convent of the Minims launches new collections including botanical Colognes continuing the story of a 17th century botaniste century, Louis Feuillée. The Latin names feature the term water: Aqua Mysteri, Aqua Solis, Aqua Paradisi, Aqua Sacrae, Aque Nymphar. Appointed to the direction of the olfactory creation of the brand, Jean Claude Ellena will put his paw and his nose there.
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For his personal brand, Mizensir, Alberto Morillas has imagined Colognes, a White Neroli at the beginning, and the addition of three new products. Cœur de Cologne combines neroli, orange blossom, bergamot, lemon, liatris, musks, incense. Fig Cologne blends a citrus spirit with the green crunch of a crumpled fig leaf. Mate Cologne fuses mandarin and tea mixed with mate.
Aurelien Guichard, which is launching its brand this fall Raw material, composed a cologne with citron and spicy notes of black pepper and pink pepper.
A classic of classics, Cologne has now regained its zest and nobility. Freshly in tune with the times, it also has the immense advantage of not needing to be defined by its genre. In memory of its past, we can still spray ourselves generously in a big splash.
