Jean Patou • Colony • Fragrances

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*TOP REVIEWER* babsvs on 1/13/2011 9:35:00 PM more reviews by babsvs

Age: 56 & Over   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Hazel    

After wearing Colony more, I wanted to update my review.

I have been seeing comments about chypres being hard to wear, so if you are looking for one that is easy to wear and original, Colony is a good place to sample. I am a bit of a cheerleader for it, as I waited a long time to get a bottle, and now that it is available again, I don't want it discontinued!

Like Mitsuko, Colony is a fruity chypre, but it does not have the complexity, character or depth of Mitsuko. Mitsuko is like the Mariano Rivera of fragrance, so I don't want to hold this against Colony.

Mitsuko has a peach note, while Colony has an unusual note - pineapple. The pineapple is fresh, happy and smells great. It follows a nice path, and then dries down into a very pretty, still tropical mixture that apparently contains myrrh. This is not tropical in the manner of Beyond Paradise, which on me is very cloying. It is rich and resinous.

Colony is easy to wear, and is not a fragrance that I have had negative reactions to in tight spaces, like the theatre.

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*TOP REVIEWER* ellizam on 1/21/2010 8:48:00 PM more reviews by ellizam

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

Colony is beautiful, a classic Ma in the vein of classic Ma's, which is to say it's exquisitely constructed, quirky, and unique. The closest match I've found is the middle of Jean Scherrer. There's some foldover with Bandit, as mentioned by another reviewer, also with Diorling.


I do have one quarrel with Colony. It has Costus (or Kostus, have seen both), an ingrediant that gives rise to what I'll call the Dirty Hair note. It's also in Tabu, Royal Secret, Bandit, Diorling, and Jean Scherrer, and is not my favorite. In the case of Colony, the Dirty Hair note is most prominent in the opening and be warned, if you try to lightly dab Colony, you'll get a surfeit (to me anyway) of DH. One must spray Colony with great verve and abandon to avoid DH.


Sprayed, it opens with a slightly sweet, delicately fruity, green top -- an aromatic mixture of bergamot, pineapple, and leaves. This isn't the syrupy pineapple of modern scents. It's almost sour, certainly tangy, and very very very light. This is NOT a fruity floral scent. The middle begins to pull out DH note and green, with an oakmossy/dry chypre base. As Colony dries down, the dry base and DH note meld into a lightly leather-inflected, dry, classic wood base and green heart. It's quite beautiful and complex, and as with all the Ma's, the packaging is exquisite.


I am, however, taking off a lippie, though I'd rather take off just 1/2 of one, for the Dirty Hair. I do wonder what happens in the parfum form -- does it get worse or better?

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PrettyDollyFace on 12/28/2007 10:58:00 PM more reviews by PrettyDollyFace

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Hazel    

Colony is a rare gem. It is a green pineapple based perfume that is darker rather than fizzy or light like L'Artisan's pinapple scent or hyper sweet like some others. It has a slight cocktail/tonic tone and faint leather hints that give it some edginess.. I appreciate that it never becomes ambery or oriental; however it does become floral and spicey as it dries down, wearing light and close but with distinct elegant presence. I wonder how this will be in warmer weather. I find
seasonal changes with many perfumes (or my response to them?) Anyway I appreciate it now but I think I might love it then. I wish it had more sillage and I think it needs to be sprayed to really bloom properly.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Gingerbreadgirl on 12/6/2007 7:46:00 PM more reviews by Gingerbreadgirl

Age: 30-35   Skin: Normal, Fair   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Green    

The sweeter side of imperialism. This is fresh, fresh pineapple still oozing with sap and the sharp green of spiky leaves, tropical nectar, and just a little marine salt - I can taste it on my tongue when I sniff the arm bearing the scent. This is delicious - a vacation in a bottle.

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jane2 on 12/1/2006 12:28:00 PM more reviews by jane2

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

This is a magnificent fragrance - warm but light, not too sweet, but not at all sharp. I don't smell any pineapple - just a slightly floral, slightly spicy scent.

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*TOP REVIEWER* freegracer on 7/26/2006 1:55:00 PM more reviews by freegracer

Age: 36-43   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

Another reintroduction included in JP's Ma Collection and still available at a few etailers online. Colony debuts with a luscious warmth as bergamot and sun ripened pineapple reveal the opening layer of notes. If pineapple isn't your favorite food or fragrance note, don't stop reading here. Colony's pineapple is more of a sunny warmth instead of a heavy sweetness; it's quite wonderful. The second stage is where Bandit meets Pineapple. Personal chemistry is the thing here, and quite frankly, the more I smell this stage, the more enamoured I am. At first I was unsure of these middle notes, but no more. This second stage is leathery, green, dark, yet with the sunny pineapple still evident. It's an interesting study in chiaroscuro. But the velvety, elegant and exotic drydown is what clinches it for me. I am editing these notes from my previous review to say that the drydown reminds me of Mitsouko in the tropics. Just fabulous. The sillage of Colony is spectacular; it's warm and seductive, it's exotically sensual, it's different from the typical scents women douse themselves with today. Wear this to a party or social gathering and stand out from all the water babies and air fresheners in the crowd. You won't be sorry.

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chamade on 2/19/2004 11:36:00 AM more reviews by chamade

Age: 36-43   Skin: Very Dry   Hair: Red   Eyes: Blue    

Yummy! This is a wonderful fruity-chypre with a pineapple top note. If you like Deci Dela and Talisman, you will love this one!

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*TOP REVIEWER* estesmcc on 6/3/2003 1:53:00 PM more reviews by estesmcc

Age: 25-29   Skin: Other   Hair: Red   Eyes: Blue    

This is easily one of my favorite Ma Collection scents. The notes are listed below, so I won't repeat here.

The pineapple note is not overwhelmingly sweet/fruity as in modern perfumes. Instead it lends a touch of lightness and a hint of the exotic to the warm chypre heart and base of this fragrance.

Colony is a grand old chypre and can be a sophisticated day scent when worn moderately. It's amazing by night in the summer - almost make me feel like a heroine in one of those old movies set in some exotic tropical locale.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Ruby on 4/23/2003 4:27:00 PM more reviews by Ruby

Age: Unknown   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

I found this to be a very smoky scent, and I didn't like it at all. Smelled like tobacco.

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Anokhi on 4/23/2003 2:35:00 PM more reviews by Anokhi

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

I have bought this as part of the Ma collection mini series. It is a fruity chypre with notes of pineapple, Ylang-Ylang, oakmoss, carnation and Vetiver.
On me, it starts out warm and with fruity,liquorous notes. I can't exactly say it smells of pineapple, but the top note is very pleasant-it is a delicious, sophisticated smell, not like one of these "fruit salads" you can find in today's modern perfumes. It drys down to a warm and woody base. The whole smell reminds me of bathing in early autumn sun, warm and golden, ripe fruit, but without the heaviness of a true oriental.

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