Cologne du 68 does not deserve to be relegated to the ‘afterthought’ territory where most colognes reside (in my mind, at least). Considering its massive list of notes (68!), it smells simple, plush, and elegant; not at all the Frankenstein monster I had mentally prepared myself for.
It opens, like many traditional colognes, with a bracing blast of citrus, but this phase disappears so quickly that I had to douse myself again to catch it. Almost immediately, du 68 segues into a masterful étude on tenderness that brings to mind the soft-focus paintings of Mary Cassat. So smoothly blended, like the greenery in Cassat’s painting, I cannot tell where one note ends and another begins. It is simply, perfectly, beautiful.
Cologne du 68 is also astonishingly affordable: for some inexplicable reason, it’s at all the discounters (you know the usual suspects) for well under $100. Full-bottle worthy!
beauty on the outside 
It has been too long since I have last worn it, such a lovely scent. Thanks for the reminder!
It’s so beautiful! 🙂
B gave me a whopping decant on spec and it turns out I love it! More in the summer, I think. The blurry painting analogy is very apt.
I’ll bet it’s even better in the summer than it is when it’s cold… And it’s so good even now!
It’s funny, I recently resolved to test this after being initially put off by the idea that it’s quite spicy (a facet I’m not good with outside of food). A long-lasting cologne however is a very good thing and now it’s reasonably priced there’s even more reeason to give it a try the next chance I get. Thanks for the added incentive with this great review, dee!
Tara, I don’t find it particularly spicy— you should definitely give it s try 🙂
I’ve added this and deleted this from my Perfumed Court wishlist so many times it’s giving me whiplash. Time to be decisive, and this review helps!
Oh, it’s worth a try! I don’t particularly love colognes, but this really transcends the genre 🙂
Hmmm … I’m still keen on getting hold of some of Chanel’s Eau de Cologne, ever since you sent me a sample, dee. The Guerlain would be more affordable, clearly. But the Chanel is very, very good. Now I have a dilemma …
Oh, I like this one about a thousand times better! But the Chanel reads very much like a classic cologne, whereas this one is much… Rounder? Plusher? It’s not so linear– sample it before you buy the Chanel, for sure! 🙂
Thanks, I will. It sounds like the differences in the two colognes reflect the larger differences in the styles of the two houses.
I love colognes! I’ll have to put this on my sample list.