Blue Perfume

The most surprising thing about the trend toward blue-hued fragrances for men is that it’s so recent, reports David Colman in the New York Times (7/29/10). "We do color association studies all the time, and the idea of blue being steadfast and dependable — that never changes," says Leatrice Eiseman of the Pantone Color Institute. "But it also brings up all these ideas of sky and water … So there’s this dichotomy between associations of both safety and freedom, but they’re both good."

The twist is that blue’s popularity may be attributed to something other than the color itself. Some 20 blue-hued fragrances are on the market today, and at least some of them were inspired by Davidoff Cool Water, "a blue-bottled men’s fragrance that came out in 1988 and remained in the top 10 sellers for more than a decade." But it was the aroma, and not just the color, that perhaps best explains its success. "What they did was use some aromachemicals used in more functional perfumery," says Paul Austin, a consultant.

Specifically Cool Water’s formula included dihydromyrcenol, a fragrance that’s "used in soap and detergents to evoke a sense of freshness and cleanliness when you open the package." That gave Cool Water a brightness and pop that was very different from the traditional European ingredients like citrus and lavender. It also incorporated a synthetic compound, calone, with a whiff of saltwater." This not only inspired more blue fragrances, but also more "fresh" and "watery" aromas, which the color blue happens to convey nicely.