Valcan (1976)
by Kanebo

I've owned three versions of this, and I find it equally difficult to describe either in much detail. My first Valcan (in a transparent square 120ml splash bottle with yellow liquid) was, to my nose, mostly jasmine and leather. The other Valcan (which looked exactly the same except that the bottle was taller and square in cross-section) is a rather typical Japanese take on the citrus theme, and Valcan Fresh (which comes in a smaller bottle and is green) is just er… a light fresh scent. I also heard there's one more version called "Valcan Variant". All three are generally nice unobtrusive scents that would be more at home in the aftershave category, and share mediocre lasting power. I ended up giving them away to clear space for more adventurous choices.

12nd August, 2006.