4711

One of the oldest fragrance houses in production, founded in 1792 and still in Köln Germany.

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Vetyver & Bergamot

Large 4711 Acqua Colonia cut crystal bottle with brown and gold label.

Lime and oak leaves.

The bottle says “Relaxing” in many languages. The eau is certainly not exciting, but it’s pleasant enough, I suppose. Lasts the usual 4711 quarter hour.

Perhaps one for unassuming gentlemen with good taste in hats?

Edit – 6/18/21

I had a good cup of Earl Grey tea this morning, and pulled this one out to compare the bergamot.
The soft green citrus was easy to recognize in both, but I was struck by how much of the vetiver comes out when sniffing them side by side–almost nutty, like filberts or walnuts.

Also, nicer in the summer than the winter–less lime notes and more herbal vibes, and not so oaky dry.

Starry teacup and saucer, and cologne bottle and box, on my back patio. Good morning!

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Love this relaxing Louis Armstrong cover of Irving Berlin and Fred Astaire’s classic.

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Melissa & Verbena

4711 cut crystal flask with simple Kelly green and gold label.

Or, lemon balm and vervain.
Bright citrus without the bite, that settles down to woody tonic water.

Greener and sharper and more linear than the original–I miss the sweetness and the quickly shifting nuances–but longer lasting.
Good for cocktails on the patio, perhaps.

Edit — 8/14/21

I usually pass fragrances that I wouldn’t wear on to someone who would appreciate them, but I’ve had Melissa & Verbena for years and still not found a home for it.
There’s an herbal musk at the bottom that sits strangely on the skin, so not one to use as a mask spritz, either.

4711 released it in 2009, but I don’t think it was in production long.
Lemon & Ginger was the hit of that run, and is still made today.

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This came out the same year. Saw it in concert–it was awesome.

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Royal Riesling

4711 cut crystal flask with plain gold and white label, and a bunch of green grapes.

Nice green grapes at first bite, effervescent and tart, but then it suddenly turns into raisins…? Sickly sweet with awkward dusty spice.
Weird and disappointing.

Edit – 9/5/21

Sometimes I find old notebooks, snippets of things on scraps of paper, my first impressions of something distasteful or not interesting enough to write about–
Reading them later, I have to laugh at my ignorance, my arrogance, or my honesty–or the fact that I take a disappointing fragrance so personally…

But really, who wants to smell like raisins?!

4711 gold bottle cap and a stem bereft of its grapes, on notepaper scrawled with the word “why??”

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Royalty.