Background

The effervescence of Background, redolent in bittersweet tarragon, cool lavender, and billowy heliotrope, is the flâneur of fragrances. It's blissfully detached, a dreamer, leaning into philosophy to guide itself through the world. It has autonomy within its world, having been released in 1993 but evoking another time, an anomaly that was met with its inevitable demise, but was treasured by those who were familiar with it. There are echoes of Dana Canoe, though less powdery; echoes of Blue Grass, yet less floral. It wanders in between the spaces of concrete that define fragrance. An aniseed builds up in its heart, a raspberry rose following not long after, with a phrase almost reminiscent of Nivea cream, and a warm benzoin-forward amber accord at its base. What a conundrum this Background is, confounding but so wonderful. It's a riddle that may not need to be solved, it's just there for you to ponder and wonder: absolutely brilliant.

I completed my B. S. and went to Europe after graduation. I tried so many 'new' fragrances at the duty free shop - none that were available in U.S. of course! In Hamburg, the sales representative became frustrated as it was close to flight time and coerced me to get Jil Sander since I kept telling her none are as sumptuous. The shape and color of the bottle were also so original except the name 'Background' was not labeled like the bottle displayed. I savored the bottle long after it was empty. It was so distinctive and pleasurable. I purchased it in 1980's not 1993, Was this fragrance ever marketed in the U.S.?

@caprilyic If you experienced "laughably bad performance," you don't have the real stuff. As you can see from the folks who rated this, the strength and longevity averaged out to Strong and Long-lasting. I've been wearing it for 6 hours today and it's just as strong as when I sprayed it. Beautiful, beautiful juice. And it'll likely go for another 4 or so. And I've only got 3 sprays of it on my forearm.

@alphairone I was glad to see you mention echoes of Canoe because that's what registered with me immediately when I first smelled it. It must be the heliotrope. Spectacular stuff. It was also great to discover someone on eBay a few years back unloading bottles of the vintage juice for a song.

One of the fragrances I miss the most. The best Jil Sander for men ever. A warm green/purple vibe that was very unique. Why can't the best stuff last forever? 10/10

Great scent, beautiful bottle and super longevity. It's pity, they stopped doing this great scent... I'm keeping my last bottle for special occasions.

The notes listed are pretty accurate on this one. Anise, vanilla, raspberry on a woody musky lavender base. I get sunscreen at the opening. Smells nice from a distance but up close there's a chemically, public bathroom cleaner smell. I'm reminded a lot of Mont Blanc's Individuel but with anise upfront and less sweet. It smells synthetic but it doesn't bother me so much. The anise note is really what makes this interesting to me. Background is unisex. Soft, skin scent performance from the start so it's fine for work. I think most people would find this pleasant anyway. Lasted about four hours but lingered very softly many hours after that. For cooler weather but this wouldn't be horrible in the heat. A sexy, cuddly fragrance that you'll need to be close to pick up. This is a good scent but having owned Individuel I'm not really interested. I do like the composition better than Individuel. It's also discontinued and going for high prices on ebay. Performance is okay at best. Nice but I won't be seeking it out.

Such an understated name, Background, which appeals to me a little, but maybe a little TOO understated. I mean, who would want to try and/or buy this based on such a boring name? I personally think a name can make or break a fragrance. Maybe this has something to do with it being discontinued? But anyway, as I read the notes, I now realize it has quite a bit of anise, which I didn’t recognize during my first wearing, although I love the smell of licorice. It’s nice, but not Full Bottle worthy. As others have said, it does remind me of Noxema, but also has a slight COLA vibe, maybe a raspberry cola. (I love a raspberry note, if done right.) Nice enough, but my humble opinion is Background is a bit muddled, with too many unnecessary notes. It’s alright, but I think it needs to stay in the... background.

If Canoe and Halston 1-12 had a baby, and that baby grew up to become a refined and sophisticated mature adult, it would no doubt bear a strong resemblance to Jil Sander's Background. The citrus/lavender/heliotrope signature of Canoe is quite recognizable, as is the warm amber/green accord of 1-12; yet Background has its own distinct identity as well. Smooth, elegant and invigorating, Background is a ideal late-summer scent that conjures up sunlight filtering through the trees and reflecting on the water of a lake or slow-moving stream. The air is warm, with a fragrant breeze hinting at the approach of fall. Another great fragrance that has been sadly discontinued.

great scent but the performance is laughably bad

I have a true passion for fragrance. and especially this one. the dry down is what I like the most about this fragrance. it takes you back on a journey to forgotten places. a fantasy hunters house who lives in the forest and high above the mountains. I can also honestly say that this is a true fragrance in the making. an iconic contemporary timeless masterpiece witch was launched back in (1993) by cosmetics giant Unilever although I didn't start working within the fragrance sector until (1998). but I discovered this fragrance in (1994) when I lived in Frankfurt Germany. I was very much into fragrance back then as much as I am more today and also my appearance. I used to and still do whenever I go abroad to Germany I go into a chain of stores witch they have over there called Douglas. witch is the equivalent to our Boots store in the UK or the French company called Sephora. but getting back to Background at the time it was the packaging witch drew my attention. it wasn't just the Avant Garde curves of the bottle but also what we in the fragrance industry call the Juice within the bottle itself. I hadn't smelt anything like it before so I thought that this fragrance was quite unique. it was in a class of its own. so I had to try some onto my skin and after a few seconds I new instantly that this was for me. it didn't take know persuasion in order for me to have to purchase a bottle. I found it very warm powdery spicy not to over powering but just with the right balance and also green. it is and was a very sophisticated scent and I am glad to say that I still have almost a full bottle as I did purchase quite a few bottles of this fragrance long before it got discontinued maybe in the middle to late (90ts). I think I had my last bottle of this fragrance witch I still have in (2001)as I usually went over to Germany. I cant remember ever seeing it in the UK but their were at the time other Jill Sander fragrances but I don't remember background ever being hear. but as well as being a fan of the Jill Sander fashion that was my thirst fragrance from her fragrance lines. I use my fragrance very sparingly as I know that it is very very rare to find. as it is no longer in production. I did however in recent years go to a few independent perfume stores witch stocks some discontinued fragrances within the London area just to enquire about it and one or two of them did say that they used to stock Background sometime ago but again the fragrance is in short supply and they did not get as much as they used to and that it is very rare. but maybe one day the company who owns the licensee for the Jill Sander perfume brand decides to re-launch this fragrance that would be fantastic. also from my experience working within the fragrance sector due to the demand and the overwhelming responses from customers feedback gets back to the perfume distributors and in some cases they may or may not re-launch. so if we all wrote a letter or even an email to Coty Prestige who are owned by Unilever we all might just get lucky. as in the cases of some of my favourite fragrances from the early (90ts)like (Yohji Yamamoto)witch was re-launched last year. and about five or six years before Estee Lauder witch owns a lot of brands under its umbrella re-launched the iconic (Donna Karen) fragrances like (Fuel) for men and (Chaos) and also (Signature) and soon to be (Helmut Lang) if they haven't yet been re-launched. these fragrances were the Cult fragrances of my time and they should be the Cult classics of to day. its so funny how fragrance triggers memories at a time and place in your life and what you were doing back then. so please please (Coty Prestige) re-launch Jill Sander Background without changing the formula it is well well overdue.

I used this perfume in the 90s, it's fantastic, more unisex imo, incredibly sensual and sharp at the same time, a little spicy,quite longlasting... excellent artwork, Jil Sander! I liked the name, that was the reason why it caught my attention.

I agree this is one of the best fragrances I have ever tried. I wish they would bring it back. Today I am using Jill Sanders Man. It's good but not Backgrounder! [email protected]

Dear Friends. Let's write a joint letter to Jil Sander with the request to restore Background production. I miss it so much. 10/10

Is there any clone of this? A German colleague is looking for it because he used to wear it two decades ago! Thanks.

@chattho Have you looked at ÉCLAT 726 yet?