Eau de Cologne — quite literally for me the fragrance of my childhood. Back 1970’s and 1980’s before the economy in India opened up I remember my father going away on month long business trips. Trunk calls were few and far in between. He would always return with goodies — chocolates, clothes that smelt new and foreign, and a bottle or two of 4711. The Eau de Cologne that not only kept my grandmother smelling fresh and sprig-like but strangely was used in an ice bath whenever one of the family had a raging fever. It came to be associated as the fragrance of comfort, recovery and healing.
As survival goes 4711 has passed from history to legend. At a time when perfumes and fragrances are created by marketing agencies and less frequently by trained perfumers it’s persistent existence is truly remarkable. In the annals of fine perfumery the creation of Eau de cologne is attributed to Johann Marie Farina, an Italian migrant to the town of Cologne. It was created as a tribute to his adopted hometown to which he gave the name “Water of Cologne”, in the 18th century. The product became so popular that it soon inspired copies that flooded the market — never the less the product still remains in production and is one of the oldest running manufacturing houses in the world!
4711 however is attributed to a Carthusian monk Wilhelm Muelhens, who in 1792 created “aqua mirabillis,” miraculous water for internal and external use: Cologne Water (Kolnisch Wasser). Following the success of the product, he opened a small factory in Glockengasse and began producing his version of the fragrance, issuing it under the same name as Farina — Eau de Cologne. Many years later, in 1875 the grandson of Ferdinand Muelhens, under court pressure, changed the name of the scent to 4711. It was the number on the building which the city Cologne assigned to Wilhelm Muelhens during the French occupation. In that year the brand 4711 was established. After several generations of family ownership, the company was sold in 1994 to Wella Inc. Today the brand is owned by Maurer & Wirtz. It is this fragrance that we know and have come to love so well.
So, what ingredients cause a fragrance to adhere to us ? How does a single product survive 8 generations with no change in formulation?
A cologne is literally meant to instantly refresh and add zing with volatile topnotes : bergamot, lemon and bitter orange, lavender, rosemary and my favourite Neroli or Orange blossom Oil. What differentiates this cologne from several others is a special fragrance term : gras. In this case a light fattiness in its after fragrance aquired from using some small ingredient of floral element — a quality imparted from using natural ingredients. It’s almost not there but you can catch it just as the fragrance departs.
The packaging and branding seal the relationship of 4711 with it’s most loyal fans, generation after generation — a cool turquoise blue that gives you the impression of the promises the perfume makes. It evolved from a non-descript functional bottle to one that become iconic, surpassing even the introduction of pumps or sprays. The original 4711, is still splashed on!
The success of a perfume lies in defying the inability of our spoken languages to fully communicate the nuance of a feeling. A frustration that is easily overcome when you begin to use the language of fragrance to recapture a memory, a stolen moment or a fleeting impression of something special. It’s magic!
