Guerlain Cologne du 68

Sophia Labbe created Guerlain Cologne du 68 in 2006. Cologne du 68 was initially exclusive to Guerlain’s flagship shop in Paris but has since made it to the states and other parts of the world.

I’ve come to think of Cd68 as being so practical, that it’s the perfume equivalent of baking soda. Baking soda is my favorite grocery item because it can do virtually anything. Baking soda cleans teeth, deodorizes the refrigerator, trash can, cat litter box, helps laundry liquid work better, bakes, cleans jewelry, gently scrubs the sink, serves as a facial exfoliator, softens hands and the list goes on.

Cologne du 68 is a fresh and sweet fragrance that works for every occasion, every mood and seems incapable of being overdone, overbearing or disagreeable to anyone. I’m serious, I can imagine wearing Cologne du 68 for a wedding, to a funeral, for a job interview and on a sexy date night. Normally, this is exactly the sort of practical skin scent that I would never have in my collection. As Brian and I agree, we can’t have too few practical fragrances.

Along comes Cologne du 68 and it grabs my attention. It’s practical, like baking soda, yes, but it’s so multifaceted and long lasting that I actually love it. Cologne is not the best perfume term to describe it; it starts off with citrus top notes but that’s about as close to a true cologne as it comes. Cdu68 is very much a full fledged perfume with a sweet gourmand-ish base, similar to the base of many Guerlain fragrances. The aspect I enjoy most is that Cdu68 smells slightly different to me every time I wear it. Some days it seems mostly citrus and refreshing, other days it’s vanillic and comfy, other times it’s got a nice anisic-citrus-spice accord wafting up to my nose and still other times I smell a fruity heliotrope quality. Cdu68 truly has it all – if the list of notes is true (probably not I would guess) then it contains about every note plus the kitchen sink. But it doesn’t smell haphazard – it smells simple, fresh, sensuous, cozy and delightful.

Cologne du 68 stays close to the skin but it lasts all day.

The notes for Cologne du 68 are bergamot, green mandarin, citron, clementine, cedrat, blood orange, limette, grapefruit, basil, fennel, star anise, lavender, bay leaf, cypress, elemi, thyme, myrtle, bigarade, mandarin petitgrain, lemon petitgrain, pear, violet leaves, ivy leaves, gentiana, sap, blackcurrant, freesia, lily of the valley, hazelnut leaf, cyclamen, cardamom, coriander, black pepper, pink pepper, nutmeg, ginger, jasmine, frangipani, magnolia, orange blossom, peony, rose, carnation, ylang ylang, lychee, fig, blackberry, immortelle, lentisque, opoponax, amber, benzoin, vanilla, cistus, heliotrope, iris, tonka bean, sage, musk, patchouli, agarwood, cedar, sandalwood, vetiver, vegetable musk, praline, myrrh and moss.