Colors de Benetton Man (Original)

I could choose to write on about how men's fragrances from the past recall a rosier time, "the smell of everything the world has lost," when "men were men" and "women were women' neighbors were looking out for each other, kids rode their bikes in the streets and alleys, and families could sleep with their doors unlocked and windows open without fear of being robbed in small-town America. But I am not an ignorant goon, and I know the past, though something I adore revisiting time and again, was wrought with a lot of societal ills. While culture has collapsed and groupthink has come to reign with the advent of algorithm-driven social media, western society at the time was still in denial that its most viable contributors to their culture were gay people and people of color. In comes Colors de Benetton, the original for men, and I won't even begin to pretend this is haute parfumerie, but it is the smell of hopeful youth through the lens of the era, still holding onto the gusto of manhood with its fuzzed-out coniferous, aromatic spiciness, but has one foot in the door of the sensitive and sweet. Vanillic florals, cedar, and sandalwood ease the coarse machismo. Where the likes of Antaeus and Jacomo de Jacomo began the 80s, Colors was its last hurrah with a hint of where the idea of 'masculine' in perfumery would go—deconstructed, just a bit more intimate—and maybe even more colorful.

Another one with love-hate relationship. I had the second formula first, i liked it a lot and the package reminds me the good days of the fancy f1 car, the young Michael Schumacher, Giancarlo Fisichella (who had his own fragrance by the way)...after the tragedy of Morandi bridge in Genoa i refused to buy anything from Benetton, and i sold the fragrance. Now, i came across the original formula for a good price, i have it again but not because i changed my opinion on the Benetton family, i still have bad feelings on them. I bought it only to recall the good times of my childhood and ingenuity. Original vs reformulated version: the original is deeper, even stronger than the second one. The og is more mossy, the cedar is very potent. The second has more citrus-vanilla vibe. If you want a stronger and deeper version go for the older one, if you want a more versatile, sunshiny and less dated scent buy the reformulated version. Scent:8 Versatility-7 Longevity-8 Sillage-8 Uniqueness-8 Presentation-8 Compliment factor-6 Backup bottle? Maybe My vote -8 In one word-ingenuity Alternative -the reformulated version

🤯 it's absolutely incredible that you could just buy this as just a regular generic department store frag 40 years ago. It's absolutely incredible! I have the original , not the second batch with the different bottle. Hardly anybody. And it's a select few that have experienced the magnificence of this. I remembered, I loved it 40 years ago over Fahrenheit, eternity and perry ellis the original niche one in the designer splash bottle(which is a 10 as well) and those were three bangers. What separates this one is the rich sandalwood that almost mimics cloves or cinnamon. I can't even believe how good this one is. Not quite well, one year later, I make the exact same comment, isn't that funny. I should delete this one but I won't🤣

Colors de Benetton Uomo (coriander, cypress, carnation, coconut) is a descendant of Jacomo de Jacomo (clove, cardamom, rosewood, musk) down to the packaging and opens with a loud blast of coriander, lavender, spearmint, and coconut, with lemon and bergamot then settles into a cozy combination of coriander, coconut, cypress, carnation, jasmine, vanilla, benzoin, musk, sandal, cedar, patchouli, and rose. Innovatively, it’s not a top-down structure; it’s done in a less hyper-masculine style revived in the 1980s. Colors is a quiet, friendly, compelling, and alluring oriental appropriate on any occasion.

I remember first purchasing this in the 1990s - great perfume and awesome bottle. Long since forgotten until I saw it again on here. Managed to get a bottle off eBay at a reasonable price and delighted to have it back again. Stands out from the crowd with a lovely soft spicy scent - I haven’t got anything else that smells like this - just wish they did 100mls. Good longevity and reasonable sillage - get it before it all disappears.

Just came back to say how awesome this fragrance is and what reflection of the times that you could just go buy this at the drugstore, it was just a regular old fragrance for a reasonable price, whereas nowadays this would be niche. Oh how times have changed..... the performance on this is just incredible I put four sprays on and I'm in a cloud of Woody spicy vanilla amber goodness. If they only still made them like this

One of my Roommates bought this in 1989, and we all stole sprays and rocked it. I don't remember what it smells like, but I know we all liked it. I see some on ebay , think I'm going to get it for old time sake. LOL

I received it today and it's a masterpiece,.....wow!!! Spicy!!!! cloves? cinn?.....something! first impressions,......a spicy clove Antaeus....I see the jacamo comparison as well

First cologne I ever bought. Kinda forget the smell now but I remember it was sweet. Loved it.

There are a lot of discontinued/vintage-formula fragrances out there that are sold for ridiculously overinflated prices, despite being somewhat unremarkable, aside perhaps from their scarcity...which makes the delightful original Colors a bit of a shocker, because it’s very good and can still be found in abundance for a very reasonable price as of this review. Undeniably smells like its era, but its dark richness is gentle, its complexity is well organized, and its powderiness is not oppressive. Overall it comes off as clean, smooth and nice enough, and while it doesn’t smell like the shower gel blues that currently signify “clean” in mens fragrances, it’s a nice bridge between late 80s vintage style and something that still could read as unique and, with the right fit, youthful.

In 2021 I'm not sure if I really love this fragrance or it's just the nostalgia of stealing sprays from my older brother in 1990 or 91 until I could afford my own bottle. I do have a first gen spray bottle of this and am wearing it today. It's so strange but great. It's powdery, vanilla, waxy, soapy, and woody. Really brings back some memories of being in junior high school and trying so desperately to be cool. Not something I'll wear very often, but, I'm thankful it's on my shelf as the black spray bottles are very scarce.

I'd almost forgotten about this one! I remember buying it when I was about 16 in 1996 because I'd read (probably in YM or Sassy) that wearing men's cologne was in style....(probably at the time of CK One and the unisex fragrances). Anyway, I remember smelling the female Benneton version and disliking it but actually liking this one and I still love scents that are woody and heavy on sandalwood, fir, and cedar with a warm base. I do remember, though, that after about 20 minutes, the scent I liked would veer toward this powdery green, kind of evergreen note that I couldn't stand and that was really common in colognes. It would collect at the back of my throat and make me cringe. Looking at it now, and having experienced this many times since, I've realized that the note that I hate (and that hates me equally) is cypress. Cypress, you are a beautiful tree, but I can't stand you in a fragrance. Anyway, no idea what I did with this bottle but it probably did influence my love for a lot of heavier, woodsier scents and it was fun remembering how "edgy" I was at the time 🤣

One of the first few I had when I was younger in the very early 90s. Loved it but I believe it was a splash style bottle and it would get everywhere