Canoe

Epic Journey Into the Bottled Yonder, 010 ------------------------------------------------------- Purchased January 2016 (blue label with cursive signature Dana logo on front label) ||| || | Second review || ||| | Beginning of 2016 I saw a Woody Allen film, his character says he's going to douse himself in Canoe. I had to look up what Canoe was, it was a scent that was available on eBay and still in manufacture. Got my own, in love, damn genius decision. Unfortunately it didn't last that long the 60 mL, and the next bottle I got (December 2016) was like a knock off version of Wild Country (I only learnt this years afterwards obtaining Wild Country on a whim for some more nostalgia in a bottle). Wild Country is the proper frag, current Canoe is trying to be Wild Country and FAILING. So I finished off the new Canoe bottle, innocently not knowing what reformulations were, hating the difference between the original I had obtained, but tried to enjoy the citrus updated version. It was sometimes pretty alright, but obviously not as good as the original. May 2017 I obtained the 8oz aftershave splash (batch 14342C, cursive signature Dana logo with Dana Classic Fragrances, Inc. on the rear of the label seen through the glass), blue labelling; smells like Wild Country again . . . I have a 95% used Dana Canoe aftershave in 60mL volume, forgot about that. Must have been part of the last cursive logo blue label pack I bought. Smells quite good and I can tell the quality is still there but folks that's what raw juice smells like - all splashes are quite hardcore no matter the quality. Eventually in January 2018 I found the original with the aftershave in a pack (batch C1F - no Dana logo, just says New Dana Perfumes Corp. on the rear of the label seen through the glass), not as strong as the original bottle made before 2016. This pack has the silver/gray labelling, but was good enough to relive my discovery of this sweet sandalwooded vanilla creature. It's still not as great as I want it to be, haven't finished the bottles because I have moved forward in this hobby since then. The silver labelled aftershave has a pull cap, does not screw at all. It also now has some off looking white and thick spot of sediment at the bottom, shaking the bottle mostly clears it up though doesn't look so safe to use anymore as it lives in my fan ventilated shower/bathroom. But between Canoe and Polo is what launched me into the world of frags. Thanks Woody.

Ahhh...The scent of memories. This was my first cologne...stole it from my cousin while visiting my aunts house back in the 80's. It was under his bed, covered in dog hair, buried under clothes...saw a glimmer of something under there...reached under and grabbed it...a bottle! Wiped off all the dog hair with the clothes under his bed and went to open it...VIOLA!! It was the same smell I had smelled countless times on my uncle and on my cousins countless times before!! Into the pocket it went! Canoe just brings back good memories of easy times in NYC, weekends of playing "Dungeons & Dragons" with my cousins at their house, "Kareteka" and "Spy Hunter" competitions on the Commodore-64, summertime driveway/backyard barbecues, playing with their pet dog...and getting dog hair everywhere, flying those styrofoam hobby planes with the plastic propellers, wandering around the neighborhood playing without our yo-yos and seeing who could "Walk the dog" the longest, Flying "Paper Airplanes" and blowing bubbles from your apartment window, having "trash-racer" competitions in the gutter when the fire hydrant was on at the end of the block/top of the street...we would go to the top of the block with something that would float on water and then place our "Racers" in the gutter-stream and see which would make it to the other end of the block first before they all got sucked into the sewer grate at the corner... (Oh man, didn't mean to ramble on that much... =o ) Canoe just has that laid back chill vibe that relaxes you when you smell it. Takes you back to when you didn't have to worry...and life was easy.

Even though this was created in the 1930's, it doesn't smell as outdated as one would imagine. Granted there are many fragrances out there today that were crafted 20-50+ years after Canoe that have a very outdated feel to them but somehow Canoe maintains a very modern appeal about it. I admit that I'm a sucker for barbershop scents and Canoe is right in that realm. It's a combination of light florals (mainly consisting of a soft lavender and carnation), a dash of vanilla, and velvety woods. There's nothing overwhelming about it and just smells light, fresh, and clean. If you've ever been to the barbershop, the last thing the barber does before he's done is lightly brush you with talcum powder. That's exactly what this smells like. The "fresh out of the barbershop" feel. One downside is that it doesn't seem to last too long (about 4 hours) but what can you expect from an EDC. Besides, a 3.4 oz bottle runs you around $10-$12 at most, which is a great bargain. It's great for any age and believe it or not, even young women take notice to it. There is also an EDT version, which I also own, that is much more potent than the edc and can easily get cloying. It's a bit too thick of a scent at times and seems to work better in cooler weather, as oppose to the edc which can be worn year round. The florals in the edt are amped up and overall the edt just seems a bit rougher around the edges. Sure longevity is great but it's not as beautifully crafted as the edc, but regardless, both are two great fragrances! I do recommend the EDC over the EDT however. It's good stuff!

Canoe seems to be the Rodney Dangerfield of iconic men's fragrances. It gets no respect, no respect at all—though it deserves so much. It's about as hip as antacid tablets to even the vintage freaks who worship at the altar of Evernia Prunastri. It isn't bold or brazen, it's rather mild and genteel. In fact, Canoe was originally released for women, much like another drugstore icon, Old Spice (Dana would eventually release a practical dupe of Canoe, Ambush, also marketed to ladies). It's really been taken for granted as that sweet, vaguely fougere-ish number that Dad or Gramps kept in the medicine cabinet and splash on now and then. On the contrary, there is so much for me to love about it, besides the fact that my own father always had some at hand when I was a kid. It has a little of everything I love: a fluffy lavender, a carnation punctuated with clove, geranium, clary sage, and cherry-pie doughy heliotrope. There is a somewhat pungent vanilla underlining it all, that softens and grows muskier over time. This bottle I have is around three decades old, so YMMV depending on what version you access. My friend John Biebel does a terrific write up on Canoe here on Fragrantica that is definitely worth a read. I personally find Canoe a comfy wear, as soft and cozy as flannel pajama, during bedtime.

Do not buy the "new" Canoe with the typeface Times New Roman-ish font that says Dana on it, that's probably the latest reform. It's quite terrible compared to the proper one with Dana written in the original signature style logo. I love this so I'm going for my third bottle soon, not the typeface knock-off looking one, the REAL signature logo Dana. If you still cannot find a good Canoe, just get any version/formulation of Avon Wild Country and call it a day. I say that because today's Canoe reform (Times-ish font as stated above) is Wild Country but a bit worse. I believe that's what they use; alter it, then bottle it as their own new Canoe without announcement. As many people have been saying this website truly needs pages for discontinued/reformulated fragrances, because as I said above my favourite Canoe is the previous formulation with the signature/script style Dana logo with silver/gray cap. This website is an encyclopedia for fragrances and it must be revamped accordingly.

Now I don't know what the guy who made this was thinking but holy cow he should be given an all time greatness award. I've got a pretty good beard these days but I remember this stuff many years back when I still had a really good spring in my step and a shaving razor in my hand. I used to spalsh this sucker all over my face after a good shave and feel like I was going to float away. I remember always pouring more then i needed into my hand knowing that I would have to rub the extra on the rest of my body. I was quite the looker back in the day and the ladies would hug me extra long when I wore this magical elixir. It was like taking the vanilla my mom used for baking and adding fifteen Emiril dashes of fresh. BAM!!! BAM!!! BAM!!! to the lemon cookie recipe. "easy on cinnamon Mom!" I always used to say. Now I wonder why she ever put cinnamon in the lemon cookies to begin with! Ah, what can you do? We were a strange bunch.

Although Dana is a Spanish company, Canoe has always struck me as a quintessentially French fragrance. (Every bottle I've owned or seen says "Made in France"). It's subtle, yet immediately recognizable, and murmurs rather than shouts. It reminds me of the piano music of Erik Satie --- unpretentious, compact, and introspective. I tend to wear Canoe on overcast or foggy days, or when there is a light rain, and something about the muted colors in that type of light seems to go very well with the understated fragrance notes in Canoe. It's been part of my collection for decades, and while my tastes have evolved over the years, I never seem to get tired of it. Unlike many other scents, Canoe adapts itself to a wide range of moods and occasions, and works equally well for all ages. A classic that has stood the test of time, for all the right reasons.

Cisco, yes you are right, Canoe has been around for a long time - my grandfather wore it. I know it's been re-configured a few times over the years, but I'm always surprised at what a pleasant fougere this is. Canoe has a freshness to it that's not super-sophisticated, but has a nice barber-shop vibe. It's a greener version of Old Spice. The only note that I'm not terribly fond of is the vanilla, which becomes apparent around the heart/dry-down. Canoe is a nice warm-weather scent if you plan to be outdoors - it wears well and fades to a pleasant echo within a few hours. I've noticed that women really do like the scent a lot, even if it is rather old school and inexpensive. I recommend it for those who like vintage scents. If you can get a bottle of an earlier formulation, it will probably smell particularly nice.

I just received a bottle if this and sprayed on card. I can smell the comparison to Pinaud Clubman, but what first came to my mind was a comparison somewhere between Yardley's English lavender and Brut. There is a slightly dirty indolic facet. Where is that coming from? There is no jasmine note listed. But that indolic facet steers Canoe away from comparisons to Avon Wild Country and certainly even Brut. And it's too vintage for a close comparison to Fred Hayman's Touch. And to my nose Paul Sebastian Fine Cologne is closer to classic Old Spice than Canoe. I'm now wearing Canoe and the slightly sweet, powdery, spicy drydown with lavender draws a very slight comparison to the brilliant Tiffany for Men to my nose. This is primarily attributable to the powderiness I believe.

I recently gave my fiancé a set of "Dana classic" minis, including Canoe, and I occasionally "borrow" this scent as well. Canoe is indeed a classic, slightly powdery barbershop fougere, with a barely sweet vanilla accord that adds an interesting note, and makes it more of a unisex cologne. Longevity and sillage are both moderate, and seem to be better on warmer, more humid days. If you want an old-school fragrance that is good for everyday wear, you can't go wrong choosing Canoe! It's not a sexy cologne in the traditional sense, but is attractive and approachable.

Years ago, when I was in High School, some of us decided to wear our boyfriends' cologne for one of those "Sadie Hawkins Day" things. My boyfriend happened to wear Canoe quite often so that is the one I chose and I loved the way it smelled on me! My friends liked it too and pretty soon, all the girls were using Canoe as our own! Although I haven't worn it for years, I love this cologne - it is light and clean smelling and the moment I catch it's scent, I am transported back to my carefree, happy youth!

I actually was just wearing Dior Savauge edp and on the dry down i noticed a familar smell, and that smell was canoe by dana. maybe its just me but they almost smelled identical once the sauvage edp dried down. But i love canoe...my mother reccommeded it and said it was her favorite scent to smell on a man when she was grown up. definitly a classic worth having.

I actually was just wearing Dior Savauge edp and on the dry down i noticed a familar smell, and that smell was canoe by dana. maybe its just me but they almost smelled identical once the sauvage edp dried down. But i love canoe...my mother reccommeded it and said it was her favorite scent to smell on a man when she was grown up. definitly a classic worth having.

Another Canoe lover here. I love it's opening and the warm base. It smells vintage in a good way, warm, soft, and stunning and never cheap if not overapplied. The EDT, not surprisingly, has much greater longevity than the cologne and is closer to how I remember this smelling when I was a kid. (42 now).

I have vintage. It is lots of lemon in the top then lemon, lavender, carnation, tonka, heliotrope. It reminds me of unsweeetened Shalimar in a way that is a little spicier. That weirdness and lemon/vanilla combo. This is a bit more herbal as well. Very pretty. Final drydown is a lovely dry tonka.

I do love this one. I grew up with my dad wearing pinaud clubman aftershave anytime he shaved and put on some nice clothes, like a suit for example. Canoe reminds me of that feeling. I have many fragrances that leave me wanting more, unsatisfied. This one feels perfect every time.

I agree with the comment likening it to Pinaud Clubman aftershave. It's a soft, clean, pleasant, well groomed scent. Great for the office and everyday wear. Nothing in your face or offensive about it. I like it very much. I don't think you'll regret putting it in your line up.

Canoe was barely a "like" before I bought a set of inexpensive atomizer bottles and filled one with this old girl. Now, it still does not last long, maybe 3-4 hours, but spraying it on made a 100 percent difference in my opinion of the overall smell. I love this now...

Funny, it was originally released as a female perfume, and now is a men's cologne. I say unisex for sure. It is a vintage smelling lavender & vanilla barbershop scent. The heliotrope, oak moss and patch are great. Soapy and very friendly.

I don't normally like herby scents but this one stole my heart. Soft flower notes with a touch of spice and lemon dry down to a cool and bracing "earthy" scent. Wonderful for hot days or casual events.