Halston (1975)
by Halston

This is for the current, drugstore version. After all the bad press, I was wary of this one, but really liked it on the tester card and had to give it a whirl. I wish the notes were here to give me a jumping off point. I'll have to rely on my own novice smeller...

At the top I mainly got powdery flowers with a strong mossy, woody undertone. The moss kept it from being too "girly" which I liked. Then the spices came out! I got cinnamon, clove and dare I say, curry? A note of sweetness has crept in, smoothing everything to an overall "warm" scent, without real distinctive notes.

Don't anybody throw anything, but it reminds me a little of Coco, which I adore.

Unfortunatelly, there's the sillage issue. I really enjoy a moderate amount of sillage, and this isn't load per se, but I find it "skreetchy". The skin scent is lovely, but the sillage is uncomfortable harsh.

26th October, 2011. (Last Edited: 27th October, 2011.)

I just want to say that I disagree with the guy who said this fragrance is "butch." On me, it actually comes out smelling soapy and soft. It also reminds me a lot of Chantilly which was my signature fragrance for years. Both fragrances smell very similar on me. I would recommend this one for anyone who likes a nice Chypre fragrance. :)

17th August, 2011.

I along with many women of my generation flocked to buy this fragrance when it first came out on the market. It was lovely.
Oh, my poor Halston, what have they done to you!

28th May, 2011.

If you've read Foetidus's review below you'll know something's up: compare the current Halston back-to-back with a sample of the original (and I mean one of any quality) and you'll find yourself a classic case of osteoporosis. Gender aside, all the original Halstons used to be dense, almost swarthy chypres or very close to. This one just waited a few minutes before the dress came off and the hair showed. Quality of ingredients is the issue here: if not for the EU flip-out on oakmoss (and everything else that makes a cologne last) this poor creature would never have had to pretend to be a fruity floral. If you were to smell the formulations a decade or more apart the difference would seem noticeable yet minimal. But testing them side-by-side is what I would guess is the feeling of being smacked by the ghost of Mediocrity.
4 for the 'real thing'
2 for the sad replicant

31st March, 2011.

I am completely obsessed with Halston alcohol-free cologne spray. I wore Halston back in the day, and I don't remember what it spelled like. However, this new version is outstanding. It wears like a perfume oil and I spray it liberally after a shower. It's mostly all base notes on me, and it's quite animalistic and dirty. I'm alway up for a good skank fest and this is it!

Try it if you can ... a major online retailer has been clearancing out 100ml bottles for under10 bucks shipped. I have enough backup bottles to last my lifetime. LOL.

PS - Longing for a good ole chypre. Try Halston Couture - It's so oakmossy that it set off my allergies big time, so I reluctantly parted with it. Available online for about 20 bucks for 100ml.

23rd March, 2011. (Last Edited: 17th June, 2011.)

I don't know if what I'm smelling is the original or the reformulated but whichever it is, it's quite nice. A heavy, velvety, rich but just on the edge of too much without going over. Once it moves through its phases and settles into the basenote I think it reaches what it should be, as opposed to most fragrances which reach their zenith in the heartnotes. It goes on girly and ends up masculine, which is sort of the way Halston's dresses from the 70's came across. The 70's too seemed much taken with the androgynous, and Halston seems to very much reflect that. It's a decidedly butch floral, which is why, as a decidedly butch man, I feel comfortable wearing it.
You get the sense that Halston was very much involved in the creation of this scent...dare we say a classic? Halston, we miss you!

8th February, 2011.