Floral Collection Magnolia Eau de Cologne 100ml

Cheap floral fragrance is usually sweet, which is why 4711 Floral Collection Magnolia Eau de Cologne 100ml stands out from the row of bottles around it.

The composition is built around magnolia and the flower is allowed to behave as it actually smells, cool and smooth with a bright, peel like edge to it rather than a sugary heart. Mandarin orange and orange give it a juicy opening, pink pepper keeps that opening dry and crackling, and freesia adds a green, slightly peppery lift beside the main flower. Jasmine does the warming, filling out the middle with something heavier and more indolic than the rest of the composition allows itself.

Underneath, two materials finish the job. Sandalwood is smooth and dry, and cashmeran is the quiet surprise: warm, velvety and slightly resinous, it gives the base a softness that holds the florals together past the first hour. Eight materials and a cologne concentration make this a straightforward daily fragrance rather than an occasion one. Expect a couple of hours of clear wear, use it generously, and judge it on how pleasant the first half hour is rather than on how long the fragrance survives. Nothing at this concentration is built to last a working day, and pretending otherwise only leads to disappointment.

It suits spring, summer and daytime, reads as feminine, and makes a sensible everyday bottle for anyone who does not want to spend designer money on a floral. The house dates its origins to October 1792, when the merchant Wilhelm Muelhens is said to have been given an aqua mirabilis recipe at his wedding, and the number comes from his address: the French occupation numbered the building 4711 in 1794.