06/30/2021
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In the Colognist Café: Wellbeing
Bien-Etre Eau de Cologne Naturelle 70* has as ingredients here at Parfumo almost the same five-note note as the classic 4711, except that - perhaps the most common note shift in traditional colognes - neroli has been substituted by the more pleasing, cheerful petitgrain. In another fragrance note I found on Bien-Etre Naturelle 70, lavender is missing and musk is still indicated, which seems plausible.
Since everyone knows what 4711 Echt Kölnisch Wasser smells like, let's use it as a reference here: Bien Etre is similar, quite clearly- but also a good bit independent: It is much less abrupt and metallic; milder, gentler, definitely sweeter, and not only because of the certainly by Fabrstoffe caused green coloration of the liquid also a little greener; I mean to perceive a hint of eucalyptus, if that is not a deception.
Unlike the traditional 4711 and many other similar products of its kind, I would not recommend this little water to be dumped on your face as an olfactory double espresso after three hours of sleep with bad dreams, nor as a freshness shot in extreme heat. Bien-Etre is, in fact, slightly softer and thermally warmer than most "white" and "yellow" colognes.
This would say everything about the fragrance impression, but not about the (in France iconic) product. The book "Cologne" edited by Jean-Claude Ellena (I reviewed it on the blog) dedicates a separate chapter to this cologne. It was published in 1962 - the company was set up by a resourceful pharmacist - and was so successful off the bat that it became France's best-selling perfume, with 2.5 million bottles a year (and litre and half-litre bottles to pour it in!).
Elsewhere I have often written that Colognes used to be used not only as a perfume, but also as a hygiene product, namely when there was no running water to hand. For example, on long train journeys in sleeping cars, for washing in the morning, or during breaks on the motorway in summer, before air conditioning became common in cars. Or even when there was no running water in the homes, to rub the children down with cloths soaked in cologne. And that was still quite largely the case in France in the 60s.
Thus, and here I quote again from the book, Bien-Etre was and is a product eminently linked to the idea of French family life; it is even described as an "icon of French pop culture". The question of whether to use Bien-Etre or the rival brand Mont St Michel for the family toilet was equivalent to asking whether you went on a trip with your parents in a Peugeot or a Renault.
Whether the formula was changed, and whether the company is still the old or only the brand was revived, I can not say, in any case, the Naturelle 70 * (the formerly existing sister product 85 *, with a correspondingly higher alcohol content, has disappeared) is still available in many Internet shops, along with all sorts of probably newer flankers, if the word fits with such a "non-perfume".
Whereby... "non-perfume"... One might get the impression that such waters were also used to introduce the little ones to the world of colognes.... or maybe even perfumes altogether!
In the several times quoted Cologne book also a historical advertising poster is shown, similar to the one shown here on Parfumo, but according to the style maybe stuck 5 years later, end of the 60-ies, beginning of the 70-ies perhaps. On it you can see a young French mother, very moderately sexy with a towel tied around her chest, already with short hair in the style of the time, looking modern, (but certainly voting for Georges Pompidou and not the dubious socialists), as she pours Bien-Etre from the liter bottle into the hands of her little blond son, maybe 6 years old. The whoops, and underneath it says:
The freshness moment of the morning toilet - That's Bien-Etre!
So are we, like the big boys!
We like the fresh moment of the morning toilet! Because it's Bien-Etre [or: Because it's well-being]! And that a good rub with Bien-Entre after the morning wash (and also during the day!) gives a pleasant and wonderful feeling of freshness, mummy doesn't have to tell us again.
And don't look for the reason why the Cologne Bien-Etre appeals to the whole family: it is the freshest and most natural cologne ever. Your sense of well-being is priceless. Especially when it costs only a few pennies a day.
(First visit to the Colognist Cafe)
Since everyone knows what 4711 Echt Kölnisch Wasser smells like, let's use it as a reference here: Bien Etre is similar, quite clearly- but also a good bit independent: It is much less abrupt and metallic; milder, gentler, definitely sweeter, and not only because of the certainly by Fabrstoffe caused green coloration of the liquid also a little greener; I mean to perceive a hint of eucalyptus, if that is not a deception.
Unlike the traditional 4711 and many other similar products of its kind, I would not recommend this little water to be dumped on your face as an olfactory double espresso after three hours of sleep with bad dreams, nor as a freshness shot in extreme heat. Bien-Etre is, in fact, slightly softer and thermally warmer than most "white" and "yellow" colognes.
This would say everything about the fragrance impression, but not about the (in France iconic) product. The book "Cologne" edited by Jean-Claude Ellena (I reviewed it on the blog) dedicates a separate chapter to this cologne. It was published in 1962 - the company was set up by a resourceful pharmacist - and was so successful off the bat that it became France's best-selling perfume, with 2.5 million bottles a year (and litre and half-litre bottles to pour it in!).
Elsewhere I have often written that Colognes used to be used not only as a perfume, but also as a hygiene product, namely when there was no running water to hand. For example, on long train journeys in sleeping cars, for washing in the morning, or during breaks on the motorway in summer, before air conditioning became common in cars. Or even when there was no running water in the homes, to rub the children down with cloths soaked in cologne. And that was still quite largely the case in France in the 60s.
Thus, and here I quote again from the book, Bien-Etre was and is a product eminently linked to the idea of French family life; it is even described as an "icon of French pop culture". The question of whether to use Bien-Etre or the rival brand Mont St Michel for the family toilet was equivalent to asking whether you went on a trip with your parents in a Peugeot or a Renault.
Whether the formula was changed, and whether the company is still the old or only the brand was revived, I can not say, in any case, the Naturelle 70 * (the formerly existing sister product 85 *, with a correspondingly higher alcohol content, has disappeared) is still available in many Internet shops, along with all sorts of probably newer flankers, if the word fits with such a "non-perfume".
Whereby... "non-perfume"... One might get the impression that such waters were also used to introduce the little ones to the world of colognes.... or maybe even perfumes altogether!
In the several times quoted Cologne book also a historical advertising poster is shown, similar to the one shown here on Parfumo, but according to the style maybe stuck 5 years later, end of the 60-ies, beginning of the 70-ies perhaps. On it you can see a young French mother, very moderately sexy with a towel tied around her chest, already with short hair in the style of the time, looking modern, (but certainly voting for Georges Pompidou and not the dubious socialists), as she pours Bien-Etre from the liter bottle into the hands of her little blond son, maybe 6 years old. The whoops, and underneath it says:
The freshness moment of the morning toilet - That's Bien-Etre!
So are we, like the big boys!
We like the fresh moment of the morning toilet! Because it's Bien-Etre [or: Because it's well-being]! And that a good rub with Bien-Entre after the morning wash (and also during the day!) gives a pleasant and wonderful feeling of freshness, mummy doesn't have to tell us again.
And don't look for the reason why the Cologne Bien-Etre appeals to the whole family: it is the freshest and most natural cologne ever. Your sense of well-being is priceless. Especially when it costs only a few pennies a day.
(First visit to the Colognist Cafe)
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