Extra Vieille Cologne

A fresh, lavender ish and minty cologne that serves its purpose. Good for warm weather!

So, ...this is Oriza L. legrand's version of the original "extra-vieille" eau de cologne. Their own literature states their formula dates from 1937, but of course, the Roger & Gallet version goes back to 1806, with Farina's original formula almost a century older still at 1709, ...extra-vieille indeed. Other notable dates include: 4711's original formula from 1792, and Guerlain's Eau de Cologne Imperiale introduced in 1853 (...though Fragrantica says 1860.) Alright, enough history, ...but what does this Oriza juice smell like? Firstly, it is much more heavily dosed with lavender than any of the others mentioned here, all of which incorporate little or none of the lavender note, ... and by lavender, I do mean sweet lavender (i.e. English lavender, lavande fine, Lavandula angustifolia). This is actually a major change, which significantly separates this fragrance from the older, historical, eaux de cologne. In that case, the name 'extra-vieille' seems to be an inappropriate choice.... I'm also wondering if Oriza L. legrand has added unlisted modern sweeteners to appeal to the sugary gourmand trend. Not only is this cologne remarkably sweet, but so is the opening of their Eau de Corse. It doesn't necessarily bother me if this is the case, since both sweet and green citric-aromatic 'cologne' fragrances hold appeal for me, ...but again such a modern development takes this scent from 'extra-vieille' to 'extra-nouveau'. In summary, I am enjoying this scent fairly well, but its sweetness mostly evokes the flavour of gourmet, lavender-lemon sugar-pastilles, rather than any venerably historical version of eau de Cologne.

Already, anything that carries the mention "extra vieille" wins me over, a promise of matured aromas, of refined scent development. So let me tell you, this cologne is my holy grail. What quality! It’s the cologne of high society: luxury, calm, and sensual pleasure. It smells wonderfully of citrus and cleanliness. After a shower on damp skin, it’s superb. Very aromatic but with roundness and softness, it has a slight powdery touch. A little bergamot candy note blooms gradually as it dries. Pure beauty.

Syrupy sweet orange flavour hard candy/boiled sweet