German Classic Class Perfume

4711 Echt Kölnisch Wasser by 4711 Echt Kölnisch Wasser No. 4711

 has all the historical gravitas of a famous monument in the perfume community, even if it's olfactory gravitas is pithy compared to even the weakest modern commercial sprays. Perfumes existed before it, and indeed so did "eau de Cologne" as made by Johann Maria Farina gegenüber dem Jülichs-Platz since the beginning of the 18th century, but in the case of perfumes, were mostly bespoke creations for the ruling class, while Farina'a cologne ordered word-of-mouth mostly by nobiles and successful merchant families. 4711 often contests itself as the first eau de cologne, but while nobody argues against it being an "original eau de Cologne" from Köln Germany, it isn't the first. Farina's product would be kept small-batch and within higher society circles until the popularity of cologne exploded in the 19th century, but 4711 would be the first example of a mass-produced scent sold with that purpose widely available from the onset. The Carthusian Monk "legend" of how Wilhelm Mülhens came up with his recipe is pure bunko so far as I'm concerned, and is proof that perfumes high and low have been inventing their own pedigrees for centuries if it means impressing the would-be-customer. Mülhens even tried to use the Farina name when a distant relative not affiliated with the Johann Maria Farina gegenüber dem Jülichs-Platz fraudulently sold it to him, if that's any indication of manufactured provenance. Bottom line here is people caught wind of the Farina stuff, but when they went to buy, it was 4711 they took home, which is how history determined the victor, and who to copy when everyone else in the perfume industry started making their own colognes. 4711 is the reference "Eau de Cologne", plain and simple. Regardless of how Wilhelm Mülhens actually concocted his formula, be it reconstructing the original Farina stuff by nose or actually getting a visit from a recipe-bearing monk on his wedding day, the results are strikingly similar to the erstwhile Farina cologne: a top and middle-heavy citrus splash with zero base notes. The directory shows them, but they're just impressions because for all intents, this has no fixative and thus a skin life of 30 minutes by itself. Bergamot, lemon, lime, neroli, petitgrain, and a spread of herbs all greet the nose. 4711 was first and foremost meant to refresh and brace, but not sustain, and it's citrus floral profile does that well. The overall feel is unisex and always has been, but I feel more women prefer this than anyone, which goes in contrast to modern interpretations with mossy/musky fixatives and soapy base notes like Eau de Guerlain (1974) or Mugler Cologne (2001). Even Caswell-Massey Number Six (1789) solved the lifespan issue of cologne with a deer musk base (now synthetic) an entire decade before 4711 came to be, but it was a little-known niche product by comparison, coming from the nascent United States. Rosemary, some rose oil, and dry aromatics like cedar and light vetiver finish out 4711's brief existence on skin, and that's it! Notorious French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was claimed to constantly soak himself in Eau de cologne, but he never used 4711, as his court perfumer was the former house of Chardin, but for the German people themselves around this time, 4711 was an indispensable toiletry, even later on in the 20th century to German soldiers in WWII. Obviously running water and soap in the modern era preclude notions of 4711 sponge baths, even if it is possible with the huge 28oz "Molanus" bottles they sell. As with any modern eau de cologne-style fragrance, liking 4711 comes down to liking bergamot and neroli together, and since this is literally the reference recipe for all them, there is little else but that bergamot and neroli on display throughout it's tiny drydown time. I've known people who use 4711 as a springboard to make custom fragrances, since it literally has no base, adding sandalwood, musk, and/or oakmoss absolutes to decanted quantities of 4711 which results in what basically smells like a homebrew modern EdC. I myself like to layer this over Clubman Pinaud, as I find the lavender, tonka, oakmoss, and vanilla of that mass-market relic to give 4711 some synergy and sustain without having to mix things like a mad scientist. Overall, 4711 is just a product of it's age, with a fascinating story, but little functional appeal as we've come so much farther since then with fragrance. It's almost mandatory perfumista academia to try it, but unless you're using it like they did in Victorian times, it makes a better thing to spray on pillows or curtains than yourself, even if the various soap and shower products are nice. Thumbs up for historical importance and universal appeal, as you really can't go wrong with this as a freshen-up, but if you're looking for something that smells like this and lasts all day long, you'll need to skip out on Mülhens and go pay somebody like Chanel, Mugler, Guerlain, Roger & Gallet, or Parfums Nicolai a visit, as they've all succeeded in taking "Echt Kölnisch Wasser" to the next level of performance as an actual wearable fragrance while retaining the bracing spirit of 4711.