Eau de Cologne 4711

There's only one perfume I associate with my mama ... and it's not actually perfume, but Eau de Cologne 4711. It's the only fragrance she ever buys ... and likely can name. A bottle of it is always on her dresser.

Perfumes and fragrances aren't really my thing. I prefer clean botanical scents, and it's perhaps why I, too, like her cologne. As it turns out, the eau de toilette is German and very old! How old you may ask?

Eau de Cologne was first mixed in 1709 by an Italian perfume maker, Giovanni Maria Farina, who was living in Cologne Germany. Its citrus notes reminded him of "daffodils and orange blossoms in the mountains of Italy on a spring morning after a rain." His recipe was real perfume and, reportedly, became popular throughout the royal houses of Europe. Royalty could afford to buy it. 

Due to legal troubles {Was selling and thus buying the formula valid?}, the Farina name was dropped in the 18th century, and the "perfume" or more accurately the scented toilet water was renamed Eau de Cologne 4711, after the Cologne factory street address at Glockengasse N. 4711 which is still open and also has become a museum. In fact, the original Farina formula was tweaked by Wilhem Mülhens, a later 18th-century Cologne perfumer, and it is he who was responsible for exporting Eau de Cologne 4711 to Paris, France, and Stralsund, Germany eventually creating its worldwide and centuries of commercial success. By this time, non-royals could buy some!

Some of the ways you can wear 4711.

So why do my mother, I, and countless others like it? A splash is clean, refreshing, and invigorating. My Oma (grandma) rubbed it on her temples to ease her headaches. 

Eau de Cologne 4711 is more than 5% pure essential oils. It has top notes of orange oil, peach, basil, bergamot, melon, lemon, and lime. Middle notes include cyclamen, lily, Jasmin, and Bulgarian rose. There's also patchouli, Tahitian vetiver, musk, sandalwood, oakmoss, and cedar in the mix. 

More like a skin freshener, the cologne is distinctive, pleasant, and strong but never, ever overpowering. Also, the scent plays nice after mixing with your own body chemistry, unlike many other famous perfumes. Additionally, the aroma is unisex, worn by men and women.

Wow, both blends of the fragrance, the earlier Farina and later 4711, have endured for over 300 years! Touring the world's oldest still-operating cologne factory (makers of Farina) is the touristy thing to do if ever you are in Cologne, Germany. Here's a blog about the tour.

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