Eau de Cologne, the little black dress of perfumery, from 7 months to 77 years

Is it because it has long been a daily hygiene product that cologne has become, over time, so popular and universal, anchored in our imaginations as a source of energetic freshness? Until the 1960s, Roger & Gallet advertisements still proclaimed "Good friction, good day!" Sold by the liter in drugstores, supermarkets and by pharmacies which offered their own recipes, a few drops were added to bath water when it did not completely replace it during dry toilets. "Cologne is to perfume what the little black dress is to a woman's wardrobe: a classic, a must-have that we use and abuse without tiring. Fresh, transparent, light, beneficial or even invigorating are some of the qualifiers we use to describe it. This product, the most authentic of alcoholic perfumery, is a true antidote to the wear and tear of time," wrote Élisabeth de Feydeau...