Eau de Cologne

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Original Eau de Cologne

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Cologne or Eau de Cologne is a toiletry, a perfume in a style of that from Cologne, Germany. It is nowadays a generic term for scented formulations in typical concentration of 2-5% essential oils. (For further detail on distinctions see Perfumes) Colognes may be used by men or women.

Composition

In a base of dilute ethanol (70-90%), Eau de Cologne contains a mixture of citrus oils including oils of lemon, orange, tangerine, bergamot, lime, grapefruit and neroli. It can also contain oils of lavender, rosemary, thyme, petitgrain (orange leaf), and jasmine.

History

Eau de Cologne is a spirit-citrus perfume launched in Cologne in 1709 by Giovanni Maria Farina (1685-1766), an Italian perfumer from Santa Maria Maggiore Valle Vigezzo, Italy. When Farina composed the perfume, he said he wanted it to have the odor of an Italian spring morning after the rain.

The Original Eau de Cologne was used only as a perfume, and Napoleon was a particular enthusiast of the Farina Eau de Cologne.

Giovanni Maria Farina's formula has been produced in Cologne since 1709 by Farina gegenüber and to this day has remained a secret. His shop at Obenmarspforten opened in 1709 and is today the world's oldest fragrance company. Other Colognes have the name in common and smell different, so the famous Cologne 4711, named after this location at the "Glockengasse No. 4711". In 1806, Jean Marie Joseph Farina, a grand-grand-nephew of Giovanni Maria Farina (1685-1766), opened the Paris perfumery business that developed into Roger & Gallet, who owns the rights to Eau de Cologne extra vielle in contrast to the Original Eau de Cologne from Cologne.

Eau de Cologne, or just "cologne", has now become a generic term.