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Eau de Cologne
 
 
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Cologne or Eau de Cologne is a toiletry, a perfume
Perfume

Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces a pleasant smell....
 in a style of that originated from Cologne
Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants....
, Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
. It is nowadays a generic term for scented formulations in typical concentration of 2-5% essential oil
Essential oil

An essential oil is a concentrated, hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. They are also known as volatile or ethereal oils, or simply as the "oil of" the plant material from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove....
s. (For further detail on distinctions see Perfume
Perfume

Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces a pleasant smell....
s) Colognes may be used by men or women.

base of dilute ethanol
Ethanol

Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatility , flammable, colorless liquid....
 (70-90%), Eau de Cologne
Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants....
 contains a mixture of citrus
Citrus

Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae, originating in tropical and subtropical southeast regions of the world....
 oils including oils of lemon
Lemon

The lemon is the common name for Citrus limon. The reproductive tissue surrounds the seed of the angiosperm lemon tree. The lemon is used for culinary and nonculinary purposes throughout the world....
, orange
Orange (fruit)

An orange?specifically, the sweet orange?is the citrus Citrus sinensis and its fruit. The orange is a Hybrid of ancient cultivated origin, possibly between pomelo and tangerine ....
, tangerine
Tangerine

The tangerine is an orange - or red -coloured citrus fruit. It is a variety of the Mandarin orange . Tangerines are smaller than most orange , and the skin of some varieties will peel off more easily....
, bergamot
Bergamot orange

File:Dscf0545.jpgFile:Bergamotfruit.jpgThe bergamot is a small and roughly pear-shaped fragrant citrus fruit native to Southeast Asia. Today it is also commercially grown in Calabria, Italy....
, lime
Lime (fruit)

Lime is a term referring to a number of different fruits , both species and Hybrid , which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3?6 cm in diameter, generally containing sour pulp, and frequently associated with the lemon....
, grapefruit
Grapefruit

The grapefruit is a subtropics citrus tree grown for its bitter fruit which was originally named the "forbidden fruit" of Barbados.These evergreen trees are usually found at around 5-6 m tall, although they can reach 13-15 m ....
 and neroli
Neroli

File:Koeh-042.jpgNeroli oil is a plant oil similar in scent to Bergamot orange produced from the blossom of the bitter orange tree .The blossoms are gathered, usually by hand, in late April to early May....
.






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1811 Rosoli Flacon
Cologne or Eau de Cologne is a toiletry, a perfume
Perfume

Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces a pleasant smell....
 in a style of that originated from Cologne
Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants....
, Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
. It is nowadays a generic term for scented formulations in typical concentration of 2-5% essential oil
Essential oil

An essential oil is a concentrated, hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. They are also known as volatile or ethereal oils, or simply as the "oil of" the plant material from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove....
s. (For further detail on distinctions see Perfume
Perfume

Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces a pleasant smell....
s) Colognes may be used by men or women.

Composition

In a base of dilute ethanol
Ethanol

Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatility , flammable, colorless liquid....
 (70-90%), Eau de Cologne
Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants....
 contains a mixture of citrus
Citrus

Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae, originating in tropical and subtropical southeast regions of the world....
 oils including oils of lemon
Lemon

The lemon is the common name for Citrus limon. The reproductive tissue surrounds the seed of the angiosperm lemon tree. The lemon is used for culinary and nonculinary purposes throughout the world....
, orange
Orange (fruit)

An orange?specifically, the sweet orange?is the citrus Citrus sinensis and its fruit. The orange is a Hybrid of ancient cultivated origin, possibly between pomelo and tangerine ....
, tangerine
Tangerine

The tangerine is an orange - or red -coloured citrus fruit. It is a variety of the Mandarin orange . Tangerines are smaller than most orange , and the skin of some varieties will peel off more easily....
, bergamot
Bergamot orange

File:Dscf0545.jpgFile:Bergamotfruit.jpgThe bergamot is a small and roughly pear-shaped fragrant citrus fruit native to Southeast Asia. Today it is also commercially grown in Calabria, Italy....
, lime
Lime (fruit)

Lime is a term referring to a number of different fruits , both species and Hybrid , which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3?6 cm in diameter, generally containing sour pulp, and frequently associated with the lemon....
, grapefruit
Grapefruit

The grapefruit is a subtropics citrus tree grown for its bitter fruit which was originally named the "forbidden fruit" of Barbados.These evergreen trees are usually found at around 5-6 m tall, although they can reach 13-15 m ....
 and neroli
Neroli

File:Koeh-042.jpgNeroli oil is a plant oil similar in scent to Bergamot orange produced from the blossom of the bitter orange tree .The blossoms are gathered, usually by hand, in late April to early May....
. It can also contain oils of lavender
Lavender

The Lavenders Lavandula are a genus of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean region south to tropical Africa and to the southeast regions of India....
, rosemary
Rosemary

Rosemary is a woody, perennial plant herb with fragrant evergreen needle-like leaf. It is native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which also includes many other herbs....
, thyme
Thyme

Thyme is a well known herb; in common usage the name may refer to* any or all members of the plant genus Thymus ,* common thyme, Thymus vulgaris, and some other species that are used as culinary herbs or for medicinal purposes....
, petitgrain
Petitgrain

Petitgrain is an essential oil that is extracted from the leaves and twigs of the bitter orange plant via steam distillation. Its main regions of production are Paraguay and France, with the former's product being of higher odour tenacity....
 (orange leaf), and jasmine
Jasmine

Jasmine is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family ,with about 200 species, native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the Old World....
.

History

Eau de Cologne is a spirit-citrus perfume launched in Cologne
Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants....
 in 1709 by Giovanni Maria Farina (1685-1766), an Italian perfumer from Santa Maria Maggiore Valle Vigezzo, Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
. In 1708, Farina wrote to his brother Jean Baptiste: "I have found a fragrance that reminds me of an Italian spring morning, of mountain daffodils and orange blossoms after the rain" (Eckstein p.8). He named his fragrance Eau de Cologne, in honour of his new hometown.

The Original Eau de Cologne composed by Farina was used only as a perfume and delivered to "nearly all royal houses in Europe" (Farina Fragrance Museum
Fragrance museum

The Farina fragrance museum is situated across from the town-hall, and near the famous Wallraf-Richartz-Museum in the Obenmarspforten street in Cologne....
 information leaflet). His ability to produce a constantly homogenous fragrance consisting of dozens of monoessences was seen as a sensation at the time. When free trade was established in Cologne by the French in 1797, the success of Eau de Cologne prompted countless other businessmen to sell their own fragrances under the name of Eau de Cologne and even Farina.

Giovanni Maria Farina's formula has been produced in Cologne
Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants....
 since 1709 by Farina opposite the Jülichplatz
Farina gegenüber

"John Maria Farina opposite the J?lichs place" is the world's oldest Eau de Cologne and perfume factory.It was founded at the beginning of the 18th century by John Maria Farina an Italian perfume maker who started his business in 1709....
 and to this day remains a secret. His shop at Obenmarspforten opened in 1709 and is today the world's oldest fragrance factory. Other Colognes, such as the famous Cologne 4711, named after its location at "Glockengasse No. 4711", have the name in common but smell different. In 1806, Jean Marie Joseph Farina, a grand-grand-nephew of Giovanni Maria Farina (1685-1766), opened a perfumery business at Paris
Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
 that developed into Roger & Gallet, that owns the rights to Eau de Cologne extra vielle in contrast to the Original Eau de Cologne from Cologne
Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants....
.

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

Bibliography

  • Giovanni Fenaroli, L. Maggesi: [Acqua di Colonia]. In: Rivista italiana essenze, profumi, piante offizinali, olii vegetali, saponi, Jg. 42 (1960)
  • Francesco La Face: Le materie prime per l'acqua di colonia. In: Relazione al Congresso di Sta. Maria Maggiore 1960.
  • Sébastien Sabetay: Les Eaux de Cologne Parfumée. Sta. Maria Maggiore Symposium 1960.
  • Frederick V. Wells: Variations on the Eau de Cologne Theme. Sta. Maria Maggiore Symposium 1960.
  • Frederick V. Wells, Marcel Billot: Perfumery Technology. Art, science, industry. Horwood Books, Chichester 1981, ISBN 085312-301-2, S. 25, S. 278
  • Jürgen Wilhelm (Hrsg.): Das große Köln-Lexikon. Greven Verlag, Köln 2005, ISBN 3-7743-0355-X
  • Markus Eckstein, Eau de Cologne, J.P. Bachem Verlag 2006, Cologne
  • Information leaflet of the Farina Fragrance Museum at Cologne