Colors de Benetton (Original)

AMBER HARMONY. Crunchy green florals, fruits, herbs & animals all come together enriching the mossy forest floor, from which the cedar tree processes its golden amber. Essentially an amber scent (and is categorized as such despite the absence of amber in the notes or main accords), this opens with a cacophony of greens, fruits and flowers that within a few minutes to half-an-hour, all coalesce into a beautiful soft amber harmony. As it's metamorphosing, some reminders for me of Aura Mugler EDT and Ulysse Vicky Tiel. When it's at the amber stage, I get balsam shampoo and Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo. Hearkens to memory, the vintage Benetton ads, from around the time of release, that featured models of several different ethnicities grouped harmoniously together - something that wasn't widely done in the 1980s. This is long discontinued, but vintage bottles are still available on Etsy. I spent my allowance on this when I was 12 in Disneyworld at the Italian Pavilion Epcot Centre. As a kid I always loved this, but wondered why the distinctive notes disappeared so fast... Update 07/27/24: Sprayed this on the back of my hand this morning and was pleasantly surprised at how much the performance has improved. The notes are all more clear now, with the exception of pineapple which is very soft (probably due to how citruses age, getting less bright). It's so much stronger than I remember and the Madagascar Vanilla has come a lot more forward, in the base. Mind = blown.

This scent was the scent of sex and adventures to me, it was intoxicating, addictive, relentless and I wanted it all of the time, every day and night it was my whole being. I became its loyal slave. I am not surprised it's by B Ellena, the man is a genius at capturing feelings and Colours really is about that coming of age and everything thats attached to that memory. Bottles... I'VE HAD A FEW... ! I had to giggle at Monaleesa's story, oh yeah, the big bottle had to be bought!! Do not touch any reformulation of this, you will wonder what we're all talking about... and you'll miss the intoxicating ride of this fantastic, completely UNIQUE vintage formulation.

I bought this at the mall back in high school, 1992. My bff bought something...I forget what. She was a fragrance lover though and was wearing Dali, Dune, and Joop in 11th grade. We went out one Friday night and bought perfume. A lot of girls wore this back in the 80s and early 90s. My high school smelled like this, Calyx, Beautiful, and Obsession. Going back in my memory this smelled quite unique and I've yet to stumble upon a dupe. Maybe, just maybe Kat Von D Sinner?? Herbal. Almost like a good herbal, spicy 80s shampoo like Flex. Look at all those notes! Sounds weird, huh? They worked together though. It was a deep, youthful scent and I miss it terribly.

If you went in a Benetton in the late 80's, this scent would overwhelm you. I remember it being fruity, loud and spicy; a perfect representation of the colorful clothing at Benetton at the time. When I remember being a teen of the 80's, this is what I smell. It's one of those scents you will never forget. Edit: I bought a vintage bottle of this and it's just as I remember. It still smells great and the performance is still crazy even for a vintage EDT. What a wonderful and unique fragrance this is!

Oh, what I wouldn't give to have this fragrance in my life again . . . I loved this stuff. It reminds me of big perms, Aussie Sprunch Spray, orthodontist appointments, Wet and Wild frosted pink lip gloss, Guess and Esprit sweatshirts, and teen angst. It was different from the other scents I was wearing at the time (Exclamation, Malibu Musk, Tribe), and seemed deeper and more mature to my teenage nose. It just smelled so good . . . sigh. At least I have those memories . . .

oh God this was my childhood love scentwise. I miss the fealing this one gave me . I fealt so mature and grown up .This scent so fresh ,clean not to fruity not to citrusy . This somehow was just right . I would realy love to smel it again . I have just memorys about it so i realy cant tell how it smells like today . This im sure i have been thrue 5 bottles of that was how much i loved it . If someone knows of scents similar to this please let me know

This in 1 of the first fragrances I owned and still do. Quite a few years back I was lucky enough to be able to buy 2 bottles from Canada, although I live in The Netherlands. It's a friendly perfume, not offending. I used to wear it almost every day and have used about 20 bottles of it (bigger clear bottles and smaller painted bottles). Now I still wear it but want to make sure I don't run out of it :-) I love, love this scent.

This was my first real perfume that i got as a gift from my mom when i was in high school. She bought one bottle each for me and my sister on a trip to Rome. I still ADORE it and i am so sad it is discontinued or reformulated :( I think it has one of the highest ratings also that ive seen here on Fragrantica (though not the most votes) and very few dislikes. I wish they would bring it back!! 🙏🏻

This was the first perfume that I was aware of that wasn't from the Body Shop - everyone wanted it and we used to go to Boots on the High Street at lunchtime from High School to spray it (pour it) on ourselves before we could afford to buy it. I recall that it was a fresh fruity smell unisex (that was novel then!) young and fun.

got this as a gift from my aunt long long time ago, really love the scent. it's smelled heavenly for me really wanted to buy more bottles , sadly for me no more available in my country . later i found benetton united dreams stay positive and I think the smell remind me of this Colors the benetton

I have 2 vintage miniatures. This feminine fruity-floral fresh is good. Semi-chypre, semi-sports water with all the sophistication and quality of perfumes from the 80-90s. A very rich and harmonious bouquet, not a single note itches or blows your mind. This is a very correct perfume.

this is the first ever fragrance I got myself. I think I was around 10. it was adorable then. now I can hardly remember the scent but I remember the feeling everytime I wear it. time is so fast...

This was one of my favorite scents! Every summer they would come out with a large lotion and I would always get so many compliments on the scent. I miss this fragrance so much!

This perfume is seriously sweet and fruity! I get a lot of compliments when I wear it. It's definitely a playful scent, perfect for daytime.

Good lord, I miss this stuff so much. The reformulation doesn't come close.

Is unique, i want this again..... So good.

Testing a vintage mini, likely from the late 80s or very early 90s: This is a really fun one, because out of my slow exploration of vintage samples, this is one of the first that feels like I can triangulate between some other, more well-known fragrances. Namely, Mugler's Angel and Cacharel's LouLou. I was pretty surprised when I first applied Colors de Benetton by how much the opening on my skin smelled like a variation on Angel - that same dry patchouli note overlaid with sugar, but instead of candied sugar, it's the syrup from a tin of fruit salad, heavy on the pineapple. That doesn't last too long, and then it starts to feel like a more restrained LouLou: juicy, tropical dusk, warm. Again, the pineapple and peach give the tropical impression instead of LouLou's tiare flower and plum. In the drydown, the patchouli returns, the pineapple sparkles on top, and the flowers support the whole composition. I find this incredibly wearable in 2026 if you want a daytime perfume with that Memphis 80s vibe without worrying it's going to overpower every enclosed space you happen to be in.

This is a strange fragrance I can't quite make up my mind about. It's been decades since I've been in a Benetton store in the search for that perfect light grey cardigan - don't scoff, I rocked it! At some point I came across the fragrance, and then promptly forgot it. I don't wear cardigans anymore either. At this point in my life I'm probably too old for vintage C. but that's OK. Pineapple doesn't wear well on my skin, and come to think of it back in the Benetton era I used to wear Armani and KL. Anyway, C. starts out with a soft pineapple note and goes on to become an oakmossy floral. Soft is the keynote concerning sillage and lasting power, too. C. is a cheery, youthful fragrance, and a lot better than what's being marketed to younger consumers these days. According to other reviewers the remake isn't very good, and I'm not interested in testing it. Vintage C. by B. is a nice fragrance but to me it's mainly a memory aide.

Recently acquired a vintage bottle of this, after a newer scent reminded me of it. It's a bit more unisex than I remember it being. I remembered it being slightly sweeter but the drydown heads to powdery citrus, with a touch of sweetness on me now. Although it smells close to my memory on first application, the sage seems to take center stage after a while. I still like it - this scent always reminds me of the fashion and beauty magazines I devoured as a kid in the 80s and 90s.

As a kid, I loved this perfume. I discovered this scent hidden in my parents wardrobe gifted by my aunt who worked in Spain before. The pentagonal bottle and the colorful box is very memorable. Fresh and fruity, and longevity is also a killer. Of course, I am describing the pre-Reformulation Era bottle here. original 80's-90's release: 8/10 olfactorx.blogspot.com