Colors Uomo by Benetton ( Vintage )

Bergamot, Coriander, Green Leaves, Lavender, Lemon.
Carnation, Cyclamen, Cypress, Fir, Jasmine, Rose.
Vanilla, Sandalwood, Amber, Benzoin, Castoreum, Cedar, Patchouli.

I'm reviewing the vintage release of Colors Uomo, not because of snobbery or a disdain for the newer renditions. Truth is, I have never smelled any of them that I can recall. If I have, I surely don't remember and I recently scored a vintage 100ml. with box on the bay. I submitted a low ball bid and as luck would have it, no one else bid on it. What I can initially say is that I am pleasantly surprised at how nice this is. There's also a very calm complexity churning in this fragrance that I didn't expect to exist. I wrongly assumed it was a superficial and linear scent due to some reviews I read after winning the bottle and waiting for it to arrive.

The opening of Colors Uomo is classic, bright, lucid and extremely enjoyable. It smells like a well executed 1980's citric fougiental from the onset. The rendition of lemon is stout and candied. It accelerates out of the bottle for the first 5 minutes or so before permitting some light green and herbal tones to assimilate.

The intro and subsequent transitions were giving me a deja vu experience. Colors Uomo resembles more than one blast from the past, but the one I found it to be kissing cousins with is Ricci Club Haute. Colors is smoother and more transparent than Ricci, but the similarities are too obvious to ignore. I have always liked Ricci Club Haute and have extolled its virtues, but smelling them side by side, Colors is the easier wear and less mesomorphic than Ricci. I'm not insinuating that Ricci Club Haute is brutish. Heavier is a more accurate term and in these summer months, less is definitely more.

Colors Uomo morphs into a very comfortable woody oriental after 20 minutes. The citrus is still viable, but is now a residual accent for the slowly emerging vanilla, woods and a touch of leather. It's here where Colors and Ricci go on slightly different paths. I am surprised to experience a superior wear with Colors and if I get an opportunity to snag another bottle of original formula for a good price, I will most certainly pull the trigger.

Sillage is good and longevity is approximately 5 hours on my skin. Thumbs up from Aromi for Colors Uomo by Benetton.

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Chanel copying Guerlain. Why?

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I tried Comete by Chanel today and wanted to write about how Chanel is going by the way of Roger Dove - copying old masterpieces. I did not know where to post that and then I realized I have been neglecting this blog. When I logged in I saw an unfinished post I wrote a year ago about Teatro Alla Scala by Krizia. Teatro is the best full bodied floral - better than any Chanel or Patou. Even better than Gucci L'Arte. A brief background: Teatro Alla Scala is an Opera theatre in Milan. The bottle's design is an homage to the theatre and the perfume an homage to its sophisticated patrons. I wanted to write a symphony for it. Maybe some day. For now here are few notes I wrote comparing EDT vs EDP. And if you don't have Teatro, your wardrobe is incomplete Rose, Jasmine, Tuberose. Jammy berries (more in EDP) . Honey note listed is probably the jammy part Vetiver & moss - more in EDT Rose and carnation is more than jasmine and that is what separates it from other florals like J...

UnknownJuly 22, 2012 at 3:36 AM
This is the first perfume I bought when I was a teen. And it is so not what one would expect from Benetton nowadays. I also remember the feminine version which was a floral bomb. What really gets on my nerves is that the current version is like they took out 80% of the notes of the vintage and marketed it with the same name.
AromiEroticiJuly 22, 2012 at 7:06 AM
Thanks MemoryOfScent. I wasn't able to compare them, but I'll certainly take your word for the newer formulations. This is really a nice wear !

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