There’s a fragrance that’s here to stay and they call it... Charlie. Kinda fresh, kinda now, Charlie. Kinda new, kinda wow, Charlie.
I’ve been sweet and I’ve been good / I’ve had a whole full day of motherhood / But I’m gonna have an Aviance night !
All of my men wear English Leather. Or they wear nothing at all.
I can bring home the bacon / Fry it up in a pan / And never never never never let you forget you’re a maaaaan... cuz I’m a wooooman — Enjoli !
If you’re a younger baby boomer or older Generation X-er, there’s a good chance you still remember these commercial jingles — even sing them on occasion as you recall slapping on some Brut or spritzing on some Charlie or some Wind Song in preparation for that first teenage date.
You may even find yourself wondering what became of those fragrances... you, who now dismiss them as having stunk to high heaven.
The era in which these scents ruled “was really prior to when the designers started taking over the fragrance industry,” says Little Rock fine-fragrance retailer Mindy Stewart. “That was when fragrance was more of a drugstore item than a designer item.”
Halston, Stewart recalls, led the pack in designer fragrances. After the debut of Halston in 1975, “all the designers started jumping on that bandwagon. And then [fragrance ] became more of a departmentstore item.” Nowadays, the designers have taken a back seat to celebrity fragrances, introduced by everyone from J-Lo and Antonio Banderas to Diddy.
So has Prince Matchabelli, maker of the womanly Enjoli, indeed given up his claim to the throne ? Has Hai Karate lost its kung-fu grip ? Or do these scents still quietly linger, as some fragrances are prone to do ? Surprise, surprise. Although some of the manufacturers have changed, most such fragrances are still around.
Um, why ?
“It definitely is the memory connection that people have with these fragrances,” says Mary Ellen Lapsansky, executive director of The Fragrance Foundation. “The fragrance takes them back to a certain place and time in their lives. Many people, at some point in their lives, go back to using these fragrances to recapture that time or feeling.”
In addition, Lapsansky says, the fragrances are actually garnering some younger fans. Which is “very similar to fashion trends today — the recycling of styles from the ’ 60 s, ’ 70 s and ’ 80 s. Many young people today are discovering Chanel No. 5 for the first time.”
But the 85-year-old Chanel No. 5 is also quite chichi at $ 50 to $ 90 a bottle depending on strength. Here’s a look at some of the $ 25-and-less fragrances that are neither gone, nor forgotten. (Although various online sources are mentioned, these scents can usually be found at food, drug and mass-merchandising outlets. )
CHARLIE “There’s a fragrance that’s here to stay and they call it... Charlie.” Revlon wasn’t kidding. Charlie, the women’s fragrance that made its debut in 1973 and became a best-seller, was here to stay. Named after Revlon founder Charles Revson, Charlie boasts notes of geranium, jasmine, rose, sandalwood, oak moss, musk, fresh-cut grass and leaves. At the time of its debut, “the trouser-wearing woman who wore it was portrayed as a woman at ease with herself at work and play,” according to an article on the Web site fashionera. com.
“I was 12 years old when Charlie came out,” reminisces an epinions. com reviewer. “The junior high school crowd jumped all over this, but it was not just the Donny Osmond groupies that went Charlie crazy. Our older sisters in high school and college loved Charlie, and a few moms in town even broke down and spent a couple of dollars to smell like the new kid on the block.” Apparently so. Charlie was followed by variations Charlie Red, Charlie White and others. Plain Charlie and all her colorful sisters can be found on sale, $ 19 for a 3. 4-ounce eau de toilette spray, at perfumemart. com.
BRUT Brut, the men’s cologne in the little green bottle with the silver medallion, has been around since its 1964 introduction by Faberge. (Brut 33, a cheaper version in a plastic bottle, came out in 1968. ) “Brut is classified as a refined, spicy, lavender, amber fragrance,” reads its history at fragrancex. com. “This masculine scent possesses a blend of citrus top notes with hints of spicy woods. It is recommended for evening wear.” If that didn’t make it sound classy enough, consider the description by a reviewer at basenotes. net, an online fragrance guide: “A fine fragrance, which in 1964 was well ahead of its time.... It is still selling — for a reason !” Says another reviewer: “As I matured I began to disdain it. As I grew up I longed for it. It reminds me of locker rooms and my grandfather.” One of the many online sites that carry Brut is fragrancex. com, which sells it starting at $ 8. 95 for an unboxed bottle of after-shave to $ 44. 44 for a 25. 6-ounce cologne.
AVIANCE Aviance was originally a gift to women from Prince Matchabelli in 1975 (in 1983, the richer Aviance Night Musk was introduced ). Bearing notes of jasmine, rose, cinnamon, spices, lavender and citrus, it is described as “a refined, flowery fragrance.” But there was nothing refined about that sexy TV spot in which the woman belts out that “I’m gonna have an Aviance night !” She’s still having one, judging from its availability. Pricescan. com offers a 2. 6-ounce spray of Aviance Night Musk for $ 17. 89 and at Amazon. com, it’s $ 16. 03. ENGLISH LEATHER English Leather’s “All... or nothing...” commercial was one of the more memorable TV ads of the ’ 70 s. But it was actually in 1949 when the fragrance was presented by the design house of Dana, bearing notes of citrus, woods, moss and yes, leather. Are all “her” men still wearing the stuff ? Well, somebody is. We found English Leather at fragrancenet. com, where prices range from $ 1. 89 for an After-Shower Talc to $ 16. 79 for an 8-ounce bottle of cologne.
WIND SONG Prince Matchabelli’s Wind Song came about in 1953, with a floral / fruity / green scent anchored with amber and musk. Its memorable 1970 s TV ad was more romantic than sex-soaked, bearing the wistful voice of a man who sang “I can’t seem to forget you.... Your Wind Song stays on my mind.” Your Wind Song also stayed in the market. Wind Song can be had at Walgreens. com for $ 3. 49, the price of a 2. 5-ounce body spray; $ 11. 99 for a 1. 35-ounce Extraordinary Cologne Natural Spray; and $ 14. 99 for the 2. 6-ounce version.
BRITISH STERLING Sixteen years after birthing English Leather, Dana brought forth British Sterling, the important-looking cologne whose container bore the imperial-crown logo. “When introduced in 1965, British Sterling was immediately embraced by men everywhere for its refined spicy notes,” according to the sales pitch at Vermont Country Store’s Web site (vermontcountrystore. com ). “Forty years later this masculine scent comprising of warm woods, citrus and moss remains true to form and is as popular as ever.” A 3. 8-ounce splash bottle is $ 28 at Vermont Country Store, but you can go to fragrancenet. com to pay $ 3. 29 for an unboxed after-shave or $ 13. 19 for a fragrance duo of 2. 25-ounce cologne and after-shave.
ENJOLI Reportedly dubbed the first feminist fragrance, Enjoli was introduced by Revlon in 1978 and bore notes of green scent, citrus, flowers, amber and musk. Revlon hit pay dirt with its commercial jingle that showed women that they could be homemaking, career-pursuing vixens... in short, do it all. Although women nowadays may be more tired from doing it all than excited over their ability to do it all, Enjoli remains in existence. At 1 stperfume. com, a 2. 5-ounce eau de cologne spray is $ 12. 99.
CANOE Way before English Leather or British Sterling, Dana introduced Canoe. The fragrance has been around since 1932, identified most closely with a sailor theme. One of its ’ 80 s ads tickles the memory of a reader at inthe 80 s. com, a site that encourages recollections of favorite TV commercials. “C — Come on over. A — Alone. N — Now. Oh. Eeee. Can you canoe ?” According to the presence of it in the museum made of his home, Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong favored the stuff. At scentmonkey. com, Canoe is described as “a refined spicy lavender amber fragrance [containing ] a blend of brisk citrus with accents of lemon and oak moss.” Here, a 4-ounce splash is available for $ 6. 99 and an 8-ounce is $ 12. 99. JOVAN MUSK (OIL ) Er, who could forget Jovan Musk... not just the smell but the parade of racy print ads ? “Jovan Musk Oil Perfume. The only Musk oil dedicated to the proposition.” “ Sex appeal for sale. Come in and get yours. ” And the 1990 s “What is sexy” campaign. Come-hither slogans were printed right on the boxes.
The original scent, bearing notes of spices, lavender and citrus, was established in 1972 by Jovan founders Bernard Mitchell and Berry Shipp. Now with its own Web site, jovansexy. com, Jovan Musk is out in full force. Prices include $ 11. 89 for a 4-ounce Jovan Musk for Men after-shave cologne and $ 11. 49 for a 3. 25-ounce Jovan Musk for Women (perfume. com ). There’s also Jovan White Musk, Jovan Sex Appeal, Jovan Island Gardenia, Jovan Fresh Patchouli, and on and on....
HAI KARATE Seen by some as a wannabe Jade East, Hai Karate was marketed, via its hokey commercials, to young guys as a chick magnet. In one such commercial, a lucky fellow had to use his karate on all the women attracted to him because of his cologne. Hai Karate after-shave reportedly came with instructions on how to fight off the babes. Developed in 1966 by Leeming, whose parent company is Pfizer (yes, the company that brought us Viagra ), the fragrance is no longer in production... a fact of which some reminiscing bloggers and message-boarders claim to be quite glad. But the cologne lives on at such sources as the good-for-just-about-everything eBay. com.
SCENTS-ORY PERCEPTION Many fragrance-makers don’t even intend for their new products to be on the market for more than two to three years, Lapsansky says, so it’s amazing that Brut and its ilk are making like the Energizer Bunny. In fact, The Fragrance Foundation recognizes each of these scents as a classic. That’s a term it applies to any fragrance on the market for 15 years or more, cheap or expensive, Lapsansky says. “They reflect a certain era, but have still managed to stay on the market.”
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