Halston 1-12 (1976)
by Halston

This was my "go-to" scent when I was in High School and during my first years of College. I still like it, but I wonder if my nose is more sensitive now; the harshness and synthetic chemical notes are much more likely to offend me now than they used to. Who knows; maybe it's been reformulated. I don't remember it being so cheap when I was younger, so maybe some of the ingredients have changed. In any event, it's extreme inexpensiveness (less than many mini sample bottles of other brands) means that it's a great buy for most guys.

17th July, 2011.

Want to smell galbanum? 1-12 is a foundation built to galbanum. Somewhat overshadowed by Z-14 but just as good. Dirty green, kind of like the garden writ large. There's some citrus and oak moss in here but galbanum is the star of the show. Cheap as dishwater so get it while you can. No better scent for dirty, earthy green without a trace of patchouli in sight.

8th July, 2011.

1-12 is proof of two truisms in perfumery: 1) fragrance doesn’t need to be expensive to be good, 2) men’s fragrance = (women’s fragrance – the more interesting parts) x 0.75. Forget the fact that Halton’s 1-12 preceded Balmain’s Ivoire by 4 or so years. As a notion, an exercise, take Ivoire. Walk it back, strip it down, and you’ll have 1-12. Ivoire is a definitive soapy white/green floral with an oddly edgy creaminess and a drydown arc of days. 1-12 isn’t as dense as Ivoire, but it is green and musky with a pinch of sharpness as well.

Their shared characteristic is green soapiness with a bite. Well, actually, for you dog people, where Ivoire has a bit of a terrier’s bite, 1-12, more a bird dog, has a soft mouth. Ivoire’s bite is an extremely peppery carnation that fits perfectly with its dense white/green floral sensibility. 1-12’s sharpness is a mild dose of moss and gives 1-12 its light green chypre quality.

1-12 comes only in edc concentration and after a strong opening, doesn’t have great endurance or projection, but because of its chypre drydown remains comfortable and coherent.

27th June, 2011. (Last Edited: 29th September, 2011.)

This is a story of two brothers. One of them is very charming, rugged, mainstream and acceptable. The other guy is artistic, misunderstood, rebel and understated. You know this story of I-12 and Z-14 reminds me of one of the most famous siblings in the world. Vincent Van Gogh And Theo. My father is a fanatic of painting, so in my childhood, he would read the book Letters to Theo to me instead of fairytales! And as I began to wear Z 14 and I 12 on regular basis, I naturally associated them to the famous Dutch brothers.
I happen to love both of them. My only complain is that glory of Z-14 has over shadowed his elegant brother. Now being in my late 20s, I understand that this would take beating by current generation who cares to smell "fresh" rather than masculine. Can there be any cologne more fresh smelling than Halston I-12? Well atleast not to me. To describe this fragrance, I would just say imagine a fragrance that has essence of Halston Z-14 and Geoffrey Beene Grey Flannel. Yeah I know many are frowning now! But thats okay. I will take pleasure in knowing that since this scent is so misunderstood, I wont easily run into a guy wearing this.

6th March, 2011.

Halston 1-12 has recently been put back on the market. This one was one my favorites in the 70s and 80s. Still smells great today - a super-fresh blast of bergamot, cedar, and lavender layered over incense and vanilla. Plus, you can get the 3 oz. bottle at TJ Maxx or on-line for less than $10 - proving once again that cheap can smell great.

17th January, 2011.

Starts off kind of deep and bold, similar to Grey Flannel but without the violet note, but within minutes it transforms into something pretty disgusting. Harsh, toxic, chemical, ewww, pass. Get a sample of this from fragrancenet and see for yourself, it isn't very wearable.

13rd August, 2010.