What is "water from Cologne"? We will read this name in the French manner. Eau de Cologne sounds like "Cologne." Cologne water, therefore, is a perfumery product intended primarily for men. It should contain 70% alcohols and only two to five percent of aromatic substances. Among all the perfumery products, cologne takes the last place in terms of odor saturation. Higher is toilet water (4-7 percent of aromatic substances), Eau de Parfum (7-12%) and, finally, perfume (12-20%). But why is the cologne named after a German city? And can all perfumes labeled as eau de Cologne be called Cologne water? We will talk about this in our article. We will also review interesting Cologne water provided by Yves Rocher.
History of invention
Perfumes used to be based on oils. And only from the eighteenth century they began to be made with the use of a universal solvent - alcohol. This volatile substance helps the smell to open. In one thousand seven hundred and nine, an Italian by birth Giovanni Maria Farina founded a perfumery factory in Cologne. It functions to this day, being the oldest perfume manufacturing enterprise in the world.
Farina experimented a lot with citrus scents, trying to recreate the scent of fresh Italian morning. In the end, he invented a formula where the chords of lime, zedrat, bergamot, grapefruit and orange with notes of greens and flowers merged into a complex and extraordinary composition. And so that the smell was as light as the morning haze, the perfumer diluted perfume with alcohol in a ratio of seventy percent. Farina named his brainchild in honor of the city in which he settled and began to consider his second homeland - Kölnisch Wasser. Cologne water was liked by the French. They translated this name and began to name eau de Cologne all light perfumery products.
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 perfumery. The Romanov imperial court constantly ordered cologne, created according to the recipe of Farina. But domestic perfumers were not idle. They developed a new formula for Cologne water, to which they added three components. These were the essential oils of neroli, lemon and bergamot. Therefore, they called the Russian cologne "Triple".
Cologne water as a souvenir
Tourists who come to this city on the Rhine, famous for its highest Gothic cathedral, bring from it as a memo cologne, on the label of which in a beautiful vignette is “4711”. What do these products have in common with Farina’s brainchild?
A very enterprising Müllens family lived in Cologne at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Its head, Wilhelm, bought the right to use the Farina brand, and then resold it to other perfumers. They began to stamp their colognes, until a judicial decision forbade them to do this. Then Wilhelm's descendant, Ferdinand, founded his manufactory at Glockengasse No. 4711. It still exists today. Cologne "No. 4711" of this manufactory is the aromatic visiting card of Cologne. The products are sold in various packaging, both in large pot-bellied bottles and in tiny souvenir bottles.
Description of the 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. In the top notes in the aromatic composition citrus fruits sound: bergamot, orange, lemon. Their sharpness is softened by warm peach tones with a spicy shade of basil. Flowers dominate the heart of this fragrance. These are lily, cyclamen, Bulgarian rose and jasmine. To make the smell completely feminine, a ripe melon was added to the notes of the heart. But the base of the composition is masculine. Tahitian vetiver, sandalwood, cedar and oak moss are guessed in it. In a long charming plume, sweet notes of patchouli and white musk are heard.
Experts believe that Farina owns the laurels of the discoverer of cologne as a perfumery with a low concentration of aromatic substances. But Ferdinand Mullens invented the universal formula of Cologne's best 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 perfumery product, was born in Germany, it was mainly the French who promoted and popularized it. 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 aromas called "Plant Freshness". It consists of five products published in a concentration of "Cologne water". Yves Rocher emphasizes that they are all unisex. However, reviews dispute this.
For example, "Honeysuckle" is too tart and is suitable only for a woman with a masculine character. But Verbena, thanks to warm musky notes, is more to the ladies' face. “Bamboo” and “Green Tea” are truly unisex flavors. As for the Blue Cedar, users cannot come to the same point of view. On the one hand, the coniferous smell makes the aroma masculine. But on the other hand, the sweetness of pine nuts makes it possible to attribute the product to colognes for women.