What is "water from Cologne"? Let's read this title in the French manner. Eau de Cologne sounds like "Cologne". Cologne water is thus a perfume intended mainly for men. It should contain 70% alcohol and only two to five percent aromatics. Among all perfume products, cologne ranks last in terms of odor saturation. Above is eau de toilette (4-7 percent aromatics), Eau de Parfum (7-12%) and finally perfume (12-20%). But why is the cologne named after a German city? And can any perfume labeled as eau de Cologne be called Cologne Water? We will talk about this in our article. We will also review interesting Cologne water presented by Yves Rocher.
Invention Story
Earlier, perfumes were made from oils. And only from the eighteenth century they began to be made using a universal solvent - alcohol. itthe volatile substance helps the smell to open up. In 1709, Giovanni Maria Farina, an Italian by birth, founded a perfume factory in Cologne. It still operates today, being the world's oldest perfume company.
Farina experimented a lot with citrus scents, trying to recreate the aroma of a fresh Italian morning. In the end, he invented a formula where lime, zest, bergamot, grapefruit and orange chords merged into a complex and extraordinary composition with notes of greenery and flowers. And so that the smell was light, like a morning mist, the perfumer diluted the perfume with alcohol in a ratio of seventy percent. Farina named his brainchild in honor of the city in which he settled and already began to consider his second homeland - Kölnisch Wasser. Cologne water came to the liking of the French. They translated this name and began to call all light perfume products eau de Cologne.
Cologne in Russia
In the country, water from Cologne appeared only after the war of 1812. When the Russian troops rebuffed Napoleon, they reached Paris. Therefore, Cologne water became known not in German, but in French pronunciation - "O de Colon". Russia has become the largest market for this perfume. The Imperial court of the Romanovs constantly ordered cologne, created according to Farina's recipe. But domestic perfumers did not sit idly by. They developed a new formula for Cologne water, to which they added three components. These were essential oils of neroli, lemon and bergamot. That's why they called Russian cologneTriple.
Cologne water as a souvenir
Tourists who come to this city on the Rhine, famous for its highest Gothic cathedral, bring cologne from it as a reminder, on the label of which “4711” appears in a beautiful vignette. What does this product have in common with Farina's brainchild?
In early nineteenth century Cologne lived a very enterprising Mullens family. Its head, Wilhelm, bought the right to use the Farina brand, after which he resold it to other perfumers. They began to churn out their own colognes until a court decision forbade them to do so. Then a descendant of Wilhelm, Ferdinand, founded his manufactory at Glockengasse No. 4711. It is she who still exists. Eau de cologne "No. 4711" of this manufactory is the aromatic hallmark of Cologne. Products are sold in various packages, both in large pot-bellied bottles and in tiny souvenir bottles.
Description of fragrance "No. 4711"
This Cologne water has only one thing in common with the creation of Farina - the concentration of essential substances. Cologne, however, is a unisex product. The top notes of the aromatic composition are citrus fruits: bergamot, orange, lemon. Their sharpness is softened by warm tones of peach with a spicy touch of basil. Flowers dominate the heart of this fragrance. These are lily, cyclamen, Bulgarian rose and jasmine. To make the scent completely feminine, ripe melon was added to the heart notes. But the base of the composition is male. It hints at Haitian vetiver, sandalwood, cedar and oak moss. In longsweet notes of patchouli and white musk are heard in a charming train.
Specialists believe that Farina owns the laurels of the discoverer of cologne as a perfume with a low concentration of aromatic substances. But Ferdinand Mullens invented a universal formula for the best Cologne water. This Kölnisch Wasser has become as much a symbol of the city as its famous cathedral.
"Yves Rocher", Cologne water: reviews
Despite the fact that cologne as a perfume was born in Germany, it was mainly promoted and popularized by the French. Many brands in this country offer Cologne water. And often this product is suitable for both men and women. It is not surprising that such a famous company as "Yves Rocher" also released a line of fragrances called "Vegetable Freshness". It consists of five product names published in the "Cologne water" concentration. "Yves Rocher" emphasizes that they are all unisex. However, reviews dispute this.
For example, "Honeysuckle" is too tart and suitable only for a woman with a masculine character. But "Verbena", thanks to warm musky notes, is more to the face of the ladies. "Bamboo" and "Green Tea" are truly unisex fragrances. But about the "Blue Cedar" users can not come to one point of view. On the one hand, the coniferous smell makes the fragrance masculine. But on the other hand, the sweetness of pine nuts allows us to attribute the product to colognes forwomen.
