Blend 7

With a top note of anise, Blend 7 pre-dates the release of Azzaro Pour Homme by five years, making this one of the earlier uses of this licorice-sweet aromatic in a masculine. Paired with galbanum makes the opening invigorating and sharp, even in this nearly 50 year old bottle of cologne I own. This quickly yields to a floral heart of lily of the valley and jasmine flanked with herbs and conifers, underpinned with a shadowy rosiness. What is most forthright though is cedary, woody musks and oakmoss that bring it all home for much of its development, fixed with again, that ambery Avonade. This dry down is heavenly, feeling so much like a portal to the past that it almost makes me forget the turbulent present—though one would argue that the year of its release, 1973, was itself a rather turbulent time (Watergate?). It helps that the bottle is such a time capsule as well, and as Varanis Ridari on Basenotes notes, reflects the 70s modernism in vogue at the time. Yes, "Channel 7 News" vibes for sure.

Sharp, crisp, almost glassy herbaceous top notes trumpet at the start of Blend 7 before the scent settles back, tracing airy, smoky contours of mauve sandalwood darkened by plush jasmine, rose (ylang ylang? Carnation?) and oakmoss. Despite the bulky masculine bottle, there is a delicacy bordering on feminine here — the cloudy floral heart almost reminds me of revlon moon drops, though it is hemmed in by masculine greenery and woods — something melancholic at the heart of American masculinity.

Herbaceous, old school masculine soapy is what I get. It's very nice with good performance. I've got the big bottle with silver cap and 7 molded into the glass, so I'm set for a while. 👍