The Mainstream Monday: Sniffing A Popular Fragrance
Created in 1792. This is the cologne I think of when I think of the word “cologne. This is the classic.
4711 is a very light-wearing fragrance. It is a cologne. It’s an herbaceous citrus water. At first, 4711 is citrus water, lemon and orange water. It reminds me of orange juice, not breakfast orange juice, but the juice of an orange: tart and sweet. I continue to pick up citrus but I do get more of a neroli or orange blossom fragrance. This is bitter and refreshing. The neroli smells like culinary neroli water. It is orange but floral. The fragrance does have an herbaceous quality but this isn’t overwhelming on me. I do pick up some cool rosemary underneath the citrus. I can barely detect a dry-down since this is such a brief fragrance. When I do pick it up, it reminds me of a clean musk, tart neroli, and green rosemary.
4711 isn’t mind-blowing. It’s a very basic cologne. It has a high alcohol content and bitter ingredients. This being said, I still like it. It is a classic and it deserves to be in my fragrance library for this reason alone. I only wear 4711 in the summer when temps exceed 80°. When I wear it, I wear it very liberally. I think I use like 15-20 sprays until my body is damp. This feels refreshing and I like to smell like orange blossom water. It lasts just as long as spraying a floral water on my body,but hey, this stuff isn’t that expensive. See, 4711 Cologne is not about making yourself smell good. It is therapeutic. It’s about making you feel good. I also use 4711 as a linen spray. It makes everything smell fresh.
I can understand how someone could dislike this fragrance. It is a unisex fragrance but I actually find it more on the feminine end of the spectrum because of the orange juice sweetness and floral neroli. There are many wonderful, refreshing citrus colognes out there. I can see how someone would prefer one of these other colognes over the Original 4711.
Notes listed include bergamot, orange, lemon, petitgrain, neroli, rosemary, rose, and musk.
Give 4711 a try if you are looking for a classic cologne or if you like refreshing colognes such as Guerlain Eau de Cologne Imperiale, Guerlain Eau de Coq Cologne, Bvlgari Parfumee Au The Blanc, Comme des Garcons Cologne Series 4 Citrico, Roger & Gallet Extra Vieille Eau de Cologne, and/or Maison Francis Kurkdijan Aqua Universalis Cologne. You get it. There are lots of fragrances out there with the 4711 citrus-herb-musk combo.
Many sizes are available. A 3 oz cologne retails for under $10 at FragranceX.
*Product purchased by me. Product pic from Fragrantica. Post contains an affiliate link. Thanks!
It would be great to write the whole cost for Olive Ann Alcorn Makeup Look… or write different prices for different variations… it gives all of us a wider picture
The cool thing about these vintage looks is that most of us have most of the products already in our makeup bag! It’s really the eye products or the lipsticks that make the look. I just give suggestions 🙂
This is the fragrance that my grandmother always wore. There was always a huge bottle of this in her bathroom.
This is a staple of mine in the summer, very light and refreshing.
This fragrance is perfect for summer.
A classic!
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