Historical Colognes

[Guest]

I know this suggests too much time on my hands, but I was going through Basenotes and searched for the oldest fragrances in existence for men, by century. You will be pleased to know that the two oldest men's fragrances in production are both Truefitt, Freshman (the oldest) and Spanish Leather (the second oldest), and I am using Spanish Leather after an exhaustive sampling of the big English houses including Trumper, Floris, and Taylors. Recall that my favorite fragrance, and the one I compare all others to, is Habit Rouge.

That said, I noted in previous discussions of fragrance that some of us (not me) are extremely educated regading the evolution of fragrance, and somehow are aware of fragrance development as an historical process. I wonder how? Is there a source for appreciating the big events in fragrance development and style?

[rjman]

Ahem.

Bresch, are they older than the original Cologne water from Germany? I believe that's still around.

Could have pegged you as a Bel Ami man, though...

[T4phage]

rjman: You're thinking of these guys but Bresch, I can't imagine that fragrances didn't exist before this time. You're telling me the ancient Romans, Greeks, or Egyptians never used perfumes?

The ancient Egyptians used a more 'solid' perfume: various spices were ground together and then mixed with beeswax. This was then shaped into a small cone which was worn on top of their heads. As the wax slowly melted it released the scent! My wife and I found a smiliar formulation still being sold in Greece, where the small amount of beeswax/spices were inside a very small jar.

[rjman]

I think the Bresch is intimating that he is using the oldest currently extant perfumer.

Of course, I have no idea if Truefitts et al sold perfume when they first opened as a barbers... their specialty may have been closer to Bresch's own, or at least bloodletting.

I would think that a few houses like Creed would rival in age some of these perfumers.

Does anyone here use Schiaparelli's "Snuff" like Emilio Largo or Caron's "Coup de Fouet" like Nick Foulkes? The latter's name is reassuringly kinky.

[Guest]

Com'on guys, I wrote the oldest fragrances in existence for men, not the oldest fragrance house or the oldest fragrances no longer produced or marketed to women.

[T4phage]

Com'on guys, I wrote the oldest fragrances in existence for men, not the oldest fragrance house or the oldest fragrances no longer produced or marketed to women.

But David, the Pharohs wore that beeswax concotion on thier heads too...

[TVD]

I am certain that men perfumed themselves as long ago as women did. For occidental history, the Encyclopedie would be a good starting point giving details of manufacturing practices and history as it was known in the middle of the 18th century.

Alas, as I spend too much on tailors, I have not bought a copy yet. Maybe another member has one at home.

[Incroyable]

Houbigant and Coty both made men's scents.

Houbigant is considered one of the oldest firms.

[Incroyable]

I think the Bresch is intimating that he is using the oldest currently extant perfumer.

Of course, I have no idea if Truefitts et al sold perfume when they first opened as a barbers... their specialty may have been closer to Bresch's own, or at least bloodletting.

I would think that a few houses like Creed would rival in age some of these perfumers.

Does anyone here use Schiaparelli's "Snuff" like Emilio Largo or Caron's "Coup de Fouet" like Nick Foulkes? The latter's name is reassuringly kinky.

And who is not to say the former's name isn't kinky?

Sounds like something Arthur Norris would use.

[Guest]

1) The original cologne water was designed by Jean Marie Farina according to http://www.answers.com/topic/eau-de-cologne

A Basenotes search suggests no fragrances in their database by him or by Paul Feminis, another designer credited with part of the formula.

2) Royal English Leather from 1780, appears to be older than either of the fragrances by Truefitt I mentioned. I am not sure why it did not turn up in the database yesterday.

3) Snuff is no longer in production. Coup de Fouet is marketed to women. Houbigant's oldest masculine fragrance is from 1973. Coty's is from 1974.

[rjman]

Ah so. If I may.

A men's cologne called Jean-Marie Farina is put out by the irrepraoachable French toiletries house Roget et Gallet. I have some and it's quite nice, masculine, classic and restrained. Perhaps it is based on M. Farina's original recipe?

[Incroyable]

3) Snuff is no longer in production. Coup de Fouet is marketed to women. Houbigant's oldest masculine fragrance is from 1973. Coty's is from 1974.

Hmm, yes, it's odd that they list Houbigant's oldest fragrance from 1972 since I have read distinctly before that men used Coty scents in the early '20s.

[sonam]

I'm an - ahem - fragrance junkie; and I know of no one book on the evolution of fragrance, but offhand, I'd say that the evolution was quite slow until the mid-twenties when fragrance notes began to be synthesized.

A very good read is THE EMPEROR OF SCENT by Chandler Burr, which tells the story of Luca Turin, the enfant terrible of the fragrance world, and in it a great deal of the history of modern fragrance is discussed. Luca himself has a blog, and if you can stand blogs (I'm ambivilant) you can glean a great deal about the world - and development - of fragrance: http://lucaturin.typepad.com/perfume_notes/

[Vettriano man]

I suppose this could be called historical, as my favourite cologne throughout the 'seventies and early 'eighties was Worth for men, which in the UK disappeared in the mid-'eighties in the wake of all these ghastly 'designer' perfumey monstrosities that keep coming and going with prevailing fashions. Worth was a classic that had been around since the 'thirties and was citric with a hint of musk and extremely subtle and gentlemanly, but I have missed it ever since.

[Prince Barry]

In reply to the earlier post. Yes! I wear Caron's Coup de Fouet. Although some places do say that it is a woman's scent, Caron actually say that it is suitable for both sexes.

Other favourite (oldish) scents that I wear are, Mouchoir de Monsieur created by the great house of Guerlain in 1904, the eponymous Hammam Bouquet from Penhaligon's in 1872. Jicky by Guierlain is another fabulous fragrance from 1889.