Collection Heritage Colony

The opening of the modern Colony is perfect for spring and hot summer days. The pineapple, bergamot is refreshing with a bit of citrus.Vetiver rises from the base to give this a slight bitter green edge to counter the fruits. The rose, jasmine and spicy nutmeg enter to combine with the pineapple and a vintage tinge, ever so slight of powder/suede leather to soften things in a comfortable way. The patchouli is well behaved. It kills me to write patchouli for chypre because of the oakmoss regulation but this rendition is well done and produced in France. This is not a deep faithful rendition of the vintage colony. However, it is lighter, vintage in tone without feeling "old" It has medium depth. I cant really say there is a modern comparison to this. So in that respect, it is different and well done for an "inspired or updated" piece. I feel this fills the niche where you want to wear a vintage fragrance but perhaps it wears heavy, this is a perfect place for this one, as this does not. Sillage is arms length, but not huge. Lasting is 4-6 hours. I got a good buy on this one and if you do get a deal, a vintage Patou enthusiast, its a good pick up. The nose on this has also made Joy Forever, reformulated the house of Le Galion, Lubin's Korrigan and Epidor so he has some solid experience translating modern vintages. 100ml EDP reviewed

those coloured bars make this sound a lot heavier than it is. It is still a french eau de toilette...light and refreshing...you can find the pineapple if you look for it...backed by a soft(!) suede (and not a cuir de russie or a tuscan leather...more the softest shalimar flanker you can find) and the intersting spicy nutmeggy vetiver (I don't really get any noticable clove)... it's impossible to overspray. Not a beast but wafts around you nicely...give this range time to warm up on your skin and you will be rewarded...neck area rather than forearm scents... Pretty much unisex

This is an interesting bird. I was nervous about buying this one because of the leather note combined w/ the sweet fruity notes but this one (unlike Tyger Tyger by Fran Bianchi) works and works well. The pineapple is not overripe, and that is probably due to the bergamot, which probably balances out the natural sweetness of that fruit. The spices and leather blend w/ the florals and create an interesting spicy, sweet, leather floral fragrance that is unlike anything else I own. I think this can be worn most times of the year because it is a blend of summers fruity notes, spring florals, and deeper leather, vetiver, spices and patchouli that one typically wears during the fall/winter months. Unisex, a man could rock this perfume. There is a slight powdery element as well w/ this fragrance, but it is very subtle. The leather is very dominate in this perfume and I didn't own a leather perfume because they do read masculine to my nose but this one is very wearable for a woman. This is a going to a bonfire or horseback riding date fragrance in my mind. There is a snobbishness to this perfume as well that I kind of like. It smells of prosperity, wealth. Maybe even of entitlement. I know that sounds terrible and horrific to postmodern ears, but Jean Patou created the original at the dawn of the second world war to remember France's more prosperous times as a powerful empire. It is a perfume that speaks of another era and many Patou fragrances do just that. As I get older, I find I like visiting the past, a past that I didn't even live in, and I can go there through perfume. Jean Patou has allowed me to do just that, and I am grateful for the fragrance memories, and images this fragrance house have created in my mind and continue to create in my mind. Edit:12/22/22 I blind bought all of the Heritage Collection, but I did decide to break it up. I gave the Deux Amour to my neighbor. It was a quality perfume for sure, but it was too much like Chanel #5 for me. And I gave away Vacances to a lovely person I met here. Another quality release from this gone but not forgotten glorious Design House. I know breaking up a whole collection seems crazy to a collector, but I would rather these perfumes be worn and Deux Amour and Vacances though not my style are beautiful creations. If you are a person who loves class, elegance and true perfume art you should try to snap up some of these beauties before they are gone forever. Colony: For those who love leather but leather that is elegant, not brash, like many leather perfumes can be. Vacances: For those who love bracing fresh green spring florals w/ a bit of zippy fresh spiciness. Deux Amour: For those who love Chanel #5. Not a dupe just same type. L'Heure Attendue: For those who love well blended fragrances that are timeless and create mood and ambiance, a contemplative beauty. Que Sais Je? A thick and heady honey-soaked bouquet of white flowers combined w/ carnation. Adieu Sagesse: Bright, fun, a bit girly but w/ a sophisticated aura. A posh garden party awaits you. Chaldee: My favorite. An ultra-feminine perfume done in old world style. Travel back in time to a period of men holding doors open for ladies. We all dressed for dinner, romance was an art form and the stars in the evening held secret wishes just for you. I haven't smelled anything that compares to the romance, elegance, and sophistication that Patou created. Nothing that Niche puts out or any other designer for that matter does it better than Jean Patou did. Elegance, style, class, romance and beauty. True Art.

An exceptional Musk perfume. Yes, it starts with a fruity note (I find it hard to pinpoint exactly) and then there's spices and flowers, but it dries down to a deep seductive musk, and this phase is far longer than the opening bit. The Heritage line is overall a great achievement by Fontaine (which he created under Kerleo's approval). I think the problem lies with marketing: linking these new creations with the past even though there's clearly not a strong link, and also creating false expectations by using wrong categories: this is not a 'green' perfume in any way. Imagine if it was rightly identified as fruity-spicy-musk and given a new name.

Colony reminds me of Femme, but it is weaker, definitely more floral, and softer than Femme. It does vaguely remind me of an ashtray, as someone mentioned, but I do not dislike it, as I grew up among smokers, and that is a familiar scent for me. It is not as leathery as I expected. Also it doesn't seem as "old" as Femme. I cannot decide yet what weather is this suitable for. Maybe summer, as the bergamot note is strong on my skin.

Colony is waxy, cosmetic, citrusy, floral leather shoe-polish. I agree with Jacobean Lily below about the ylang - it is here and I find it quite prominent. It’s all beautifully blended and elegant like the rest of the Heritage I own. I got it in the cold months, and was not particularly impressed, but it seems to shine in the warm. I see myself wearing this leather a lot in the upcoming summer. Hopefully outside. ****(*)

I call it Retro - fragrance. For deep, intense , brutal , mature wearer. Very dark and intense. Adult. Old fashioned. But with a lot of personality.

Oh Colony, what have they done to you? You were once a beautiful, elegant pineappley, spicy aldehyde: now you're a could-be-anything fruity, white musk fragrance. I wish this new fragrance had been called a new name, as it is NOT Colony. It has far more in common with Hermes' many white musk dominated perfumes, than with it does with its namesake. Not worthy of the Patou name.

This one certainly confuses me! On my skin it smelled overwhelmingly like cigarette smoke. I thought "That can't be right" and after 20 minutes or so, I sprayed on a few more sprays. More cigarette smoke! I waited 10-15 minutes and went to see what my son and his girlfriend thought. His girlfriend said adamantly "casino!" (meaning cigarette smells mixed with perfume). I waited a bit, and sprayed on some more but was still getting mostly cigarette smoke, or "casino" as she so aptly described. Now more than a few hours later, I still smell cigarettes, but it's died down quite a bit and in the crook of my elbow only, I'm getting a general fruity smell. I can't smell any fruit decisively, like pineapple or anything, but it's warm, a bit fruity and smells good. BUT...under the fan where I sat, (and not putting my nose directly on my skin), I get what smells like an older classic smelling perfume would smell like and it's beautiful. It reminds me of a classic chypre I have, even though this isn't one. Obviously, this one is a total anomaly on my skin! And thank you to my friend here who generously gave me a sample from her bottle.

Another beauty from Jean Patou. This is a perfume house which never lets me down. Colony is unique amongst all the Patou fragrances in having a pineapple top note which didn't appeal to me in theory but which is delicious on my skin. It's crisp, slightly green and made utterly beautiful with high quality Jasmine absolute and a hint of nutmeg and clove. Ylang-ylang isn't in the notes (was in the original 1938 version), but I smell it here. Patchouli appears with time and gives a beautiful depth. There is very little perfume of this quality in today's perfume market, unless you buy vintage. Jean Patou can still be found, but as they've discontinued all fragrance, not for very long. Haiku of the day exotic places invitation to travel in ultra-french style

Here is the intriguing Colony story from the Jean Patou Collection Heritage booklet that came with the perfume: "1938. DESIRE TO ESCAPE... Europe dreams of exoticism and France wish to honour its distant territories, Josephine Baker became a star and a French national... Jean Patou creates COLONY, an evocative scent of sun-drenched fruits and delicate spicy aromas. COLONY, a bouquet of Floral Fruity Green, the gourmandise of Bergamot, Orange and Pineapple top notes all combined with a surge of Jasmine, Rose, Nutmeg and Clove exalting themselves on a warm sensual base of Leather, Amber, Vetiver and Patchouli. A unique perfume for women and men, a true invitation to travel."

Colony has pretty top melding in the mid but it also has a skanky side that comes and goes on my skin. Its smoother and prettier on fabric. If you don't like it on skin, spray it lower on the body, and hit the fabric higher near the nose. It's not a dense perfume, doesn't project much, but it does smell like a chic perfume and not EDT or cologne.

I cannot recognize those notes. I smell mostly peach and cinnamon. Find it sort of half way between Rochas Femme and Organza. Quite pleasant although relatively weak.