Sunday, June 04, 2006

REVIEW: Benetton Colors for Her (1986)

Notes: Moroccan orange blossom, French hyacinth, Egyptian marigold, Isreali basil, Comoros Island tuberose, French jasmine, Hawaiian pineapple, Caribbean passion fruit, Georgia peach, Bulgarian rose, Madagascar vanilla.

Pros: A large, brash, 80's fruity-floral with warm vanilla undertones; this fragrance has an overall effect and drydown that is both unusual and addictive; the price.

Cons: Might be nostalgia-overload for some; the quality of the actual fragrance varies from bottle to bottle as this scent is literally everywhere - the Starbucks of fragrances - and its hard to know the age and quality of the product.

Reminds me of: Dali Laguna; Cacharel Amor Amor.

Development: The first 5 minutes are definitely not good - an odd misch-masch of notes and alcohol; the next 5 minutes are acceptable as the scent struggles to pull itself together. After about 10 minutes, the magic begins to appear as the entire fragrance relaxes, blends and becomes an incomparable aromatic floral.

Longevity: Lasted about 4-5 hours; lingered from then on close to the skin and throughout the day.

Sillage: Slightly louder than most, but only for about an hour or so.

Where can I buy it? Everywhere! $8.89 for a 100ml edt spray at ImaginationPerfumery.com.

Bottleworthy? Oh come on...it's not even $9!

The Bottom Line: I was 12 when I first smelled this on April Balser. We were in 7th grade and she had loved it so much she took to pouring the fragrance into her hairpsray so that she could get even more of a good thing. A few months later when on vacation in St Thomas, an eager saleswoman explained that Colors was a unisex scent and I of course talked mom into buying me a bottle. The following Xmas, Colors for Men (read the review here) started its advertising campaign and I knew I had to get that as well - less floral, more vanilla. Perfect.

There's a certain quality that I've always found Colors to posess that has intrigued me. If I wait long enough, I can still manage to find the creamy edge of white petals and vanilla, but let's face it - there are too many other scents that don't need the warm-up time out of the gate. Still, this is a great, inexpensive starter scent for those looking for gifts or, as I might just use it, an unusual room spray!

Rating (out of 10): 5

What's your Benetton Colors experience?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Wow, this is nostalgia for me too! When I recall how it smells, I get flashbacks of myself crossing the railway outside our house in the mornings, on the way to school, and a little anxiety about whether I had overapplied or not. This is the first "real" fragrance I bought, and I had to buy it in Stockholm because you couldn´t get it in the small town I was from. I thought that was pretty cool. Actually....before owning the EdT (?), I remember cheating by wearing the deodorant on my neck, hehe.