Colors de Benetton Benetton 1987 Eau de Toilette

Who knew that browsing online perfume discounters could be so great? Probably a lot of folks, but not me until I stumbled upon one. Idly I filled my basket with five inexpensive perfumes from houses I'd heard of. When they arrived, only one was a stinker. Not this. Colors is a beautiful perfume I would have paid a lot more for. It's a lovely oriental, more wearable in daytime than its sultry and hypnotic grand cousins. Here, classic oriental notes are given a freshness provided, no doubt, by the fruit, especially pineapple, yet I wouldn't think "fruit" when smelling this if I didn't know it was there. This accomplished perfume may become my "when in doubt, go to" scent. Its low price makes its a doubly welcome addition. Civet is more noticeable in the drydown, but for me it works.

I wore this fragrance a lot when I was younger, and while it's smells alright, the civet note annoys me. (I suppose it's another example of my changing tastes.) Overall, the fragrance isn't particularly strong, but the civet note sticks out like a protruding nail to my nose. If I could remove that one note, I'd likely love this spicy floral fruity fragrance.

Colors was composed by Bernard Ellena, who is the son of Peter - a perfumer at Chiris.
Bernard is the uncle of Céline, who's done some twenty two perfumes in fifteen years, and he's the younger brother of Jean-Claude, you may have heard of him...

Whether Bernard's talent is derived from his genes alone (unlikely) or a perfumely privileged upbringing (more likely) he did a decent job on this tart fruity floral.

With perfume, she had never really connected before. Nevertheless, she was captivated by beautiful scents. Fleeting memories. Dreams. She was still too much of a child to truly grasp and understand a perfume. But when she started going out in the evenings at the age of 16, she wanted one for herself. Of course, not the same one her mother wore. It had to be a modern scent.

Her schoolmate smelled nice to her nose. She revealed her perfume: Colors by Benetton. Since she also liked to wear one or two sweaters from that brand, she wanted to try the fragrance from this rebellious fashion house and wished for the matching scent for her birthday.

In fact, she hardly wore it. The small dab bottle was rarely used, and when it was, it was just 1-2 drops. Because this colorful bottle contained a powerful punch. She could never really identify with this feminine, floral, and spicy perfume, even though it had a few fruity notes. There was a full-toned tuberose that didn’t quite match her personal taste. The rose was dominant, which made the scent feel a bit too opulent for her. And there was an animalic note, which she has struggled with to this day - except for musk, which can be a little dirty sometimes. It was particularly civet, and not in small amounts.

Only with the warm, softly vanillic, and resinous base note could she make peace with it. When she wore the perfume longer, a soft vanilla dominated, enveloping her. Everything previously scratchy and punchy gradually receded, leaving a gentle, warm veil. Then it worked for her and Colors, but it took a while for the two to arrive at the base notes. And going out for that long was usually not allowed yet.

The comparison with Obsession fits quite well for me, as it was released exactly one year before Colors. And the fact that a brand like Benetton also wants to provoke fits like a glove. Yes, I like such perfumes, but, as is often the case today, not necessarily on myself. It simply smelled better on her classmate, it suited her better. Back then, I quickly found another. Colors had to go. Even though it brought a beautiful jasmine note along with its vanilla, which I only learned to love a few years ago. The base of Henry Jacques Blue Vanille is very similar. And Carners Volcano also reminded me of Colors with its warm rose. Yes, that one had something. But it just wasn’t a Polly scent.

I have been loyal to Colors by Benetton for many years.
I also loved the Benetton clothing - so I was very happy when my dad brought me the fragrance to go with it.
It fits perfectly with the original Benetton clothing style.
Just as varied.
It starts beautifully herbal with sage and basil, then becomes pronounced with tuberose and again softer with rose and jasmine.
The cedar makes it noble-woody and there is a lovely smoky note added.
The fragrance is indeed multifaceted, but I don’t find it colorful.
Thank goodness, because I really like its dark smoky tones.
A beautiful day and evening scent that goes well with my casual wardrobe.