An enemy of “modernity” and civil rights; an admirer of the Confederate States of America (and correspondent of Jefferson Davis); a man who once proclaimed Roman Jews to be “dogs” and who said he would confine them to their “hole” — the Jewish Ghetto — if they didn’t behave according to his wishes (they didn’t, he did); one who felt, and had himself declared, infallible, Pope Pius IX (born Giovanni Mastai-Ferretti, 1792-1878) is the troublesome “image” behind The Pope’s Cologne. (I guess this is niche perfumery at its zenith…or nadir.)
Several years ago, Dr. Fred Hass of Excelsis Fine Fragrances in San Rafael, California, came across a 19th century recipe for a cologne that was supposedly worn by Pope Pius IX, and Hass decided to re-create the scent and sell it. The Pope’s Cologne contains sweet orange, orange blossom, lemon verbena, lavender, clove, violet (and a few ‘secret’ ingredients). The cologne starts off with fresh, almost minty, citrus and lemon verbena. The citrus begins to sweeten quickly — it’s as if a pinch of sugar and some vanilla beans had been tossed into the formula. The fragrance is well blended and the floral notes combine seamlessly to create a “warm,” summery accord. As clove begins to spice the flower notes, The Pope’s Cologne almost smells “incense-y.” The Pope’s Cologne is simple, delicate, and a bit ‘soapy’; it is a clean, chaste scent. The Pope’s Cologne is an excellent fragrance for children, and at the reasonable price of $25.95 for 2 ounces, it makes a refreshing room spray too.
If I had been in charge of marketing The Pope’s Cologne, I would have ‘forgotten’ its association with Pius IX and presented it as a “Vatican” concoction; its wearers could then associate the perfume not only with popes, but with art, architecture, Rome. Hass has said in a San Francisco Chronicle interview that, though he is Catholic and interested in the history of the papacy, his main interest in re-creating The Pope’s Cologne was getting involved in perfumery. As I investigated Pope Pius IX, I pondered how other perfume houses might have approached the naming of this scent and the man who wore it — État Libre d’Orange would have had the nerve to call the fragrance The Reactionary and I can imagine Parfum d’Empire, always making the horrendous sound romantic, coming up with a quaint name like Holy See or Le Pape avec les Idées Arriérées*.
For buying information, see thepopescologne.
* The Pope with Old-Fashioned Ideas
More reading: an article in Time magazine about Pius IX and the controversy surrounding his beatification and proposed canonization.
around x-mas i asked myself if they will sell something with jesus face on it: a perfume called holly water or something *lol* to bring out a scent on a pope is just as incredible. and it shows that people cannonize such persons who do not deserve it!
MBB: I know it's hard to live an “unblemished” life…but some lives are much more blemished than others!
OW Kevin…..sigh..
K. who would want to buy this? Who would truly like this scent with the history involved??
Strange marketing. I don't think any “normal” potential customer would do research on the first wearer of this cologne – and propably it's relaunch isn't meant as any statement on whatsoever (history, biography, papacy…) at all but only plays with the air of ancienty. But tell me: who wants to smell like *the* or any pope? Doesn't sound sexy to me. 🙂 But I'm not in the target group, so I'll better be quiet: for sure this isn't meant to be an unisex cologne. 😉
MW: one can just think a perfumer came up with a scent long ago and the pope (supposedly) liked it and wore it. And Pius IX is NOT getting any royalties!
Linaria: there certainly is not ANYthing sexy about this fragrance…it is super-clean, unsullied. I am not “normal” that's for sure, but the bio about Pius IX on The Pope's Cologne website was too good to be true so I HAD to investigate.
…well who IS the target group? conservative catholics? they will not wear perfume!
As someone who is Jewish, I would never buy the perfume. Which,… is too bad, because historic scents usually interest me. But, this perfume is cursed.
Ts-ts, I'm catholic and a perfume addict. Aren't protestants and puritans more in danger to be to austere to wear fragrances? 😉 Don't take me serious, I'm just kidding. This pope cologne just *can't* be taken serious!
*lol* i am also catholic! but my parents did not ask me 😉
so this scent is not historic, ist is just rubbish.
I know this, but, when you've been exposed to prejudice on a personal level, it's hard to get past it, even if you are now an adult. Some things just come back to haunt you. Can't explain it any other way. I think it's all about what one's experienced on a personal level.
Well, perhaps my secular Jewish upbringing is getting in the way, but without Kevin's review my mind would have gone straight to 'the pope's nose.' Mmmm…delicious eau de chicken rump.
I think Parfums d'Empire would have picked one of those Medici popes, Kevin. You know, the one with all the illegitimate kids?
Don't get me wrong. I thought Kevin's review was great, historically informative and strong. And, I appreciate it. I am curious; I would have no problem taking off the cover and sniffing it. I just would never buy it. Like I would never buy a perfume that say, the Grand Wizard of the KKK in 1930 created or wore. : )
Well K. this scent is drenched with Catholicism and it would even make sense if the Vatican received royalties.
I know you have a passion for history Kevin, but this just goes too far 😉
Oh yeah — took a minute to look 'em up. Check out this on Pope Leo X from wikipedia:
“When he became Pope, Leo X is reported to have said to his brother Giuliano: 'Since God has given us the papacy, let us enjoy it.' The Venetian ambassador who related this of him was not unbiased, nor was he in Rome at the time, nevertheless the phrase illustrates fairly the Pope's pleasure-loving nature and the lack of seriousness that characterized him. And enjoy he did, traveling around Rome at the head of a lavish parade featuring panthers, jesters, and Hanno, a white elephant.”
You just know they'd be all over that elephant! Not really a wonder that the Protestant Reformation started during his reign, eh?
And what a charmer *he* must have been. I did enjoy your alternate names for this, although I don't feel moved to try it.
mbb: I think this IS sold in Catholic gift shops and such (I also saw some mentions of it on VERY conservative Catholic blogs).
Linaria: I'm more of a fire and brimstone/fallen man sort when it comes to perfume…I don't go for the 'clean' scents very often unless they are in soap. But if one likes CLEAN, The Pope's Cologne is that.
Jan13: it is hard to get past Pius IX's views…but then I think about good ole Coco Chanel — she had some skeletons in her closet (her WWII years) and people accept the scents that were developed for her without a problem. Perhaps I should not look TOO closely at history anymore in my reviews…especially of OLD scents. HA!
AHTX: yes, the Medici popes are ripe for fragrant interpretation.
Kevin, clean perfumes aren't my cup of tea neither.
At least does the pope's cologne add some olfactory “purity” to it's historical background. 😉
But I imagine that any scent of the 18th century was clean, back then there simply didn't exist anything else but colognes – which makes the pope's precious scent even more uninteresting.
Exist: well he DID play billiards with the Swiss Guards! HA!
In contrary, Kevin, please go on with your critical historical reviews!
Marianne, I can't see that it's any more 'unappealing', on account of its name and association, than the recent Marquis de Sade release, or most of the Etats Libres d'Orange scents. And at least the name is simply an accurate reflection of the source, rather than a marketing gambit to capitalise on shock.
Why is that it's 'OK' to be fascinated by the scent choices of some historical celebrities – Marlene Dietrich, Wallis Simpson, Cleopatra, Clark Gable, Mata Hari, Grace Kelly, Cary Grant, Eva Braun, Marilyn Munroe – but not 'OK' to be interested by that of a celebrity who happened to be a spiritual leader? That list encompasses a lot of dodgy morals and unpleasant behaviour, but that's rarely of much importance in discussing their scent preferences.
really? I'm a conservative Catholic and love love love perfume, just ordered cruel gardenia from Bergdoffs. Let's not stereotype
Linaria: there was always musk, civet, etc., to dirty up those 18th/19th c perfumes…but this scent is in the Eau de Cologne tradition: a fresh citrus splash.
neens: I'm certainly not stereotyping anyone's perfume tastes…was just responding to an earlier comment about who the target audience is and then mentioned who was “discussing” the scent online … I'm sure Excelsis wants this scent to be as widely distributed as possible and fresh citrus scents appeal to a large audience.
Vanillagirl. you are so right about the Marquis de Sade release, I had not even thought of that one. You are right.
Centuries ago my family has been chased and hunted in the name of Catholicism and although times have changed so much, somehow this remains somewhere in the subconcious mind.
Anyway I am just not that much into the fragrances that famous or notorious people once liked.
Also I feel a bit allergic to what Popes approve of and disapprove of. Still now there are such terrible taboos on hiv/aids, birth control and more in many parts of this world. I mean Popes are not just a once in a lifetime phenomena.
Kevin with clean you refer to non-sensxual of course..;)
well, a medici pope is far more interesting, taken a pope as something similar to a statesman. who was the one who slept with his daughter lucretia? how does sin and demolition of values smell like? clean! because they cleaned themselves up with an eau de cologne. also because they did not wash and used EDC instead 😉 it is a really strange thing. i did not know tha de sade a.o. have scents… strange! what is it worth if they were not created iin compliance with the person?
OT: i see in this discussion that scents or let's say the appreciation of scents need a high(er) education like the appreciation of good food or wines. it is wonderful to talk to “cultivated” people, hoewever one defines cultivated! (i am a cultural scientist and I KNOW it is hard to define “culture”).
I definatly want to try this! and at that price what do I have to lose? And I'm not of Catholic faith, good old Protestant here, but as a history major I find this super cool. *cough*
Kevin, the disappointing behaviour of spiritual leaders is doubtless a rich topic but I think there are better places to set the discussion going than a perfume blog.
You may not have intended the first paragraph to be provocative, but I, for one, felt irritated by it. You're not poking light fun at some celebrity's lack of undergarments, or something equally trivial – you're criticising a Pope's attitude to the Jewish people, which is a huuuuuuge, heavy deal.
Bringing in anti-semitism and anti-papism – big topics – seems a little over the top for a $26 cologne.
@vanillagirl: yes, you are right, but thats how they sell it, they do not sell scent but history. if you take scents as a “person” not only the layers of fruit, wood or blossom, but a complete character, then you can judge about a few more thins then only the smell imho.
still, back to business, talk about “smells” instead about history&politics.
i love to see they belong all togehther though:-)
i should bring a perfume out called bloggers freedom! what would it smell like?
Chiming in to defend Kevin — you are very right, VG, it is a huge deal, but I don't think Kevin was “poking light fun,” I see him as pointing to history that's getting smoothed over to sell a $26 cologne which in itself is a depressingly common, but huge and heavy deal.
I think sometimes a scent that identifies a person, especially a historical figure can add to the total picture of that someone, much like reading pages from his person diary.
Personally, I think that it's nice to get a history lesson out of an entry, not just the roses and the sandalwood, so to speak. This was a very interesting entry and, judging from the plethora of responses to it, enticing too.
My first instinct was, “oh I would never buy that!” Then I remembered when National Geographic had scent strips of reproductions of what Napoleon and Cleopatra's personal scents might have smelled like. I would have gladly purchased the Napoleon scent by the gallon, it smelled so good, and he was not exactly the nicest, sanest person ever.
Alysia: tell me how you like it…K
VG: when the disappointing behavior of a spiritual leader meets a new perfume that's for sale, I feel I can write about both (though I grant you the topic is 'heavy'). For the record, I'm not “anti-pope”…just wanted to comment on the particular one who is associated with The Pope's Cologne.
Jan13: thanks…perfume IS a big topic and closely related to personalities, history, the environment, animal rights — not just glamor and style.
eshellmoyer: I agree, I can't resist recreations of old scents…I may not like them always, but I love to sample them.
What did you know about Pope Pius IX before reading this review? (Pretty much nothing, I'm guessing.) What did you know about him after reading the review? Pretty much the facts that Kevin wrote in his first paragraph – rabid anti-semite, politically dubious, 'infallible'. Kevin uses the word 'troublesome', and deliberately presents Pius IX as an unattractive character.
But that's only Kevin's OPINION. We are being asked to accept it on the basis of a fewfacts gleaned from Wikipedia and presented to us in isolation of the context. Even a cursory reading of the Wikipedia entry shows that Pius IX started out liberal and hardened under the pressure of complex political wars. His loathing of Jews was, sadly, in keeping with the intellectual attitude of the time – which we would know if we has read widely about European political history. He seems to have been a good songwriter.
Now, those are not words I want to write on Robin's PERFUME blog. I don't want to deliver a treatise on European history, but without a lot of further information, no-one is in a position to dismiss this man as a bad subject for a perfume release.
We are not being asked to buy into an image of saintliness – whether you are impressed by the idea of a Pope's perfume is very much a matter of taste. So there's no evidence of smoothing-over of history here.
I can see nothing more exploitative about this perfume than those of i Profumi di Firenze or Santa Maria Novella, each of whom offer 'ancient' juices based on 'recovered' formulae. It's certainly no more repugnant than the Chanels, where we must distance ourselves from the knowledge that Coco herself was a thoroughly selfish, nasty woman.
Perhaps they should print her war history on the boxes, so we can decide whether we want to buy into the Chanel dream after all?
VanillaGirl: I think everyone reading this blog realizes that EVERYTHING I write on it, without exception, is my OPINION…period. (And I mentioned the Chanel Problem before your last comment posted.) Also, my reading about Pius IX was not limited to a perusal of Wikipedia; he was a controversial person: loved by many, despised by others (including his countrymen).
Wow, this is a tough one. Good review, Kevin. I'm aware of this Pope's history – it IS complex and mutli-faceted, the result of a difficult time. And my beloved Chanel was not a perfect person either….I'd like to try this scent as I like fresh citrus perfumes, and if I liked it enough I might even buy it. After all, I'm a former labor union officer – and I love all things Chanel (she was a tyrant and would not tolerate any talk of worker's rights!) A rose by any other name, as Will Shakespeare would say…
C, Just wanted to say that I'm sorry you've ended up irritated. I can see Kevin's point (and in his defense, I know he didn't just skim a Wikipedia article and leave it at that), but I can see yours as well. I hope there aren't any more controversial religious figures about to have perfumes released in their names…
I'm always interested in learning about the personal scents of disastrous leaders; isn't it terrifying how humans can compartmentalize pieces of their lives—that Adolph Hitler could still shave (or be shaven) and maintain that awful mustache everyday? That Stalin could still put on some orange-water splash before sending out orders to murder masses? It's such a manifestation of that rare form of supreme narcissism. Although also a disturbing view of humanity, it's necessary to the full interpretation of who we are. We need to continue learning about why some people can do that—preen in the face of their own evils.
That being said, this potion sounds dull. I'd opt for a simple Borsari Splash in place of it, or Fendi's citrusy/incensey “Palazzo”. It's already bad enough that some animals are scraped for their essences to produce historical reproductions–do we have to add supporting the legacy of a tyrant to the sniff-guilt pile?
…to add, doesn't it just royally suck when a product you love is found to be in conflict with personal values? While I'm not a vegan and sometimes even a pescatarian, I've been a form of vegetarian for over 16 years. I try to avoid animal content in products whenever possible. Luckily, I haven't developed any fierce attachments to animal based notes (and in contacting many houses, find them to be particularily rare ingredients, anyhow–most are now synthetic replacements of the authentic stuffs). However, I rue the day when I'll find my true, out of this world, transcendental-experience-provoking “Holy grail” scent; it will be composed of authentic musk, civet, ambergris and leather. That's how the spermaceti crumbles–the moments I find myself strongly spiritual seem to be in the face of challenges…those that couldn't be anything other than pieces of a grande, cosmic joke.
*applauding*
Maggiecat: Thanks MC, I also think it might make people happy to know Mme Chanel signed a contract that kept her from receiving the lion's share of her perfumes' profits? I'll have to look up that bit for my next Chanel review….
nlb: I will rejoice with you re: the sensational synthetics available these days that replace civet, musk, etc. Choosing perfume! It's a minefield out there.
Joins applause. The right to one's opinion — and the right to courteously respond to that opinion without attempting to pick a fight — is a hallmark of civil discourse, whether on or off a perfume blog. K, xoxo
Bela & Mireille: applause is always accepted!
Q: Does Kevin like writing about controversial perfume?
A: Does the pope wear a funny hat?!
LOL! Sorry, could help myself! 🙂
Rose: you must be having a tequila too!
I bought The Pope's Cologne a couple of months ago and I quite like it; I just wish it had a bit more longevity. Maybe we could see a series of reviews of scents with religious connotations like from http://www.HisWitnessScents.com or http://www.jerusalemdepot.com or http://www.krishna.com
Vance: off to look at the krishna site immediately. On me, The Pope's Cologne was “mid strength”…it lasted a good 4 hours but stayed really close to the body.
And don't forget about Alexander VI…the Borgia pope!
The murders, the nepotism, the orgies…and illigitimate kids!
I don't see anything wrong with your having brought that pope's uglier qualities to the review, Kevin. They're selling us an image; we have every right to look at that image more closely. Thank you.
I think if the scent was drop-dead wonderful that it would be absolutely great if lovely young Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, atheist etc. buyers bought it and attracted fabulous partners who made their lives fantasticallly happy, helped them fight the stench of bigotry, and maybe even made lots of babies with them. (If you do know anything about Euro history you'll well understand how Pius IX laid incredible groundwork for future Nazi sympathizers in the church as well as for future supporters of the pig-ignorant casting of Jews as a “race”…)
But if the perfume is so-so, who cares? And if you are Catholic and devout you can make your life so exemplary that people will want to spend their future smelling like you–in your fantastic Ouarzazate or Gris Clair or Whatever Pleases, because it's a new world now.
Kevin, I may be skeptical but it has definitely not been boring reading your article and all the responses that followed.
Please keep doning what you do! xxx
Mick: thanks…and it all does come down to the perfume after all as you noted (is it good, bad, middling?)
Horrid Cologne:
I am very sensitive with fragrances and have a nose for the unique. When I first learned about the Pope’s Cologne, I was intensely interested for its historical significance. Olfactory connections are deep and lasting and this is especially significant when a scent can connect you to a distant and long gone past.
Sadly, in the case of the Pope’s Cologne, the past stinks! For one, there is nothing fresh about the verbena and citrus notes. In fact, there is a strong fromaldahyde nose that is only made more nauseating by its persistent lemon-grass and sugary sweetness. Although the lemon grass, verbena and citrus subsides…the fromaldahyde and floral sweetness does not. My best association with the smell is the smell of a funeral home. Strong fromaldahyde mixed with wafty sweet floral scents conjure images of decay.