There was this post that circulated over facebook and twitter sometime ago.
Grade School: Baby Cologne
High School: Daily Scent
College: Bench/Penshoppe
Working: Vicks/Efficascent/Katinko/Omega
It's a generalization of what scent an age group usually wears. Except in high school, our generation were into colognes formulated/made in Spain (Nenuco, Denenes and Angel's Breath) and those colognes in bottles you can squeeze. The one who originally posted this may have overlooked the fact that Daily Scent is a cologne line from Bench and Bench has baby colognes, Baby Bench Colonia. But we know what they are getting at.
Anyway, I don't go to school anymore and yet I have all of the above in my dresser. One of them being Baby Bench Cologne, well Baby Bench Colonia, in Bubblegum.
Baby Bench Cologne in Bubblegum does not straight up smell like bubblegum. Some names of the colognes in the Baby Bench Colonia line are a misnomer since they don't smell as such. Ice Mint is not minty and Jelly Bean is not jelly bean-ish.
Because their website only carries a general description of the line and not of the individual scents, this is kinda frustrating. Also the caps are sealed. I'm actually for sealed bottle caps because this prevents crazy consumers from testing the product in stores where there are no testers. Not at Bench stores but yes I've seen people using beauty products for sale and not testers on themselves. Like lipsticks, eyeshadows, lotions and scents. It's unhygienic and unfair for the actual customer who will buy the product not knowing it has already been tampered with. I've called out some or reported them to sales people. Reporting had gotten mixed reactions, often the sales personnel would just stare at me blankly.
Anyways, the sealed caps prevent the scent from spreading out that it's hard to tell what the colognes smell like. Yes, I know scents change depending on one's chemistry and that sniffing a bottle is not the best way to get to know a scent but at least you have an idea what the product smells like. If it helps, according to Millet Mananquil's article in the Philippines Star, these are the Baby Bench Colognes and how they generally smell: Bubble Gum (citrus floral - I agree with this), Ice Mint (floral powdery - agree), Lemon Drop (citrus - agree), Gummy Bear (fruity floral), Jelly Bean (floral), Popsicle (citrus fougere) and Cotton Candy (green fruity).
Of the scents I have tried in the past, the no longer available Carnival Scents from Daiso when it was still Saizen were the two of those most true to their names. I have not encountered actual vanilla bean before, but the Vanilla Sundae was vanilla flavoring my mom would use in the kitchen. There's not much creaminess, nor sweetness. It's a bit bitter. Carnival Scents Bubblegum was bubblegum I would get from sari-sari stores when I was a kid. Their smell were stronger when I sweat or I'm not in an air-conditioned room. Otherwise, their sillage, like their longevity, were poor.
First time I tried Baby Bench Cologne in Bubblegum, I doused myself aplenty thinking I couldn't smell it on me. The airy and a-bit-sweet fragrance just sits there and takes a minute before it pops. Compared to Bench Daily Scents, the scent does not last long so I tend to consume a bottle pretty fast. Still, these and not smelling exactly like bubblegum do not stop Baby Bench Cologne in Bubblegum from appearing as of writing, on Watson's Philippines' website as a best selling cologne. I think this is because Baby Bench Cologne in Bubblegum smells fresh much like those Spanish colognes I've mentioned above. It's citrus note is similar to Angel's Breath Gold (so you have lemon there). I guess, if you are of the younger set (Johnson's was the baby cologne of my time), it reminds you of babies or being babied, maybe home.
Because their website only carries a general description of the line and not of the individual scents, this is kinda frustrating. Also the caps are sealed. I'm actually for sealed bottle caps because this prevents crazy consumers from testing the product in stores where there are no testers. Not at Bench stores but yes I've seen people using beauty products for sale and not testers on themselves. Like lipsticks, eyeshadows, lotions and scents. It's unhygienic and unfair for the actual customer who will buy the product not knowing it has already been tampered with. I've called out some or reported them to sales people. Reporting had gotten mixed reactions, often the sales personnel would just stare at me blankly.
Anyways, the sealed caps prevent the scent from spreading out that it's hard to tell what the colognes smell like. Yes, I know scents change depending on one's chemistry and that sniffing a bottle is not the best way to get to know a scent but at least you have an idea what the product smells like. If it helps, according to Millet Mananquil's article in the Philippines Star, these are the Baby Bench Colognes and how they generally smell: Bubble Gum (citrus floral - I agree with this), Ice Mint (floral powdery - agree), Lemon Drop (citrus - agree), Gummy Bear (fruity floral), Jelly Bean (floral), Popsicle (citrus fougere) and Cotton Candy (green fruity).
Of the scents I have tried in the past, the no longer available Carnival Scents from Daiso when it was still Saizen were the two of those most true to their names. I have not encountered actual vanilla bean before, but the Vanilla Sundae was vanilla flavoring my mom would use in the kitchen. There's not much creaminess, nor sweetness. It's a bit bitter. Carnival Scents Bubblegum was bubblegum I would get from sari-sari stores when I was a kid. Their smell were stronger when I sweat or I'm not in an air-conditioned room. Otherwise, their sillage, like their longevity, were poor.
First time I tried Baby Bench Cologne in Bubblegum, I doused myself aplenty thinking I couldn't smell it on me. The airy and a-bit-sweet fragrance just sits there and takes a minute before it pops. Compared to Bench Daily Scents, the scent does not last long so I tend to consume a bottle pretty fast. Still, these and not smelling exactly like bubblegum do not stop Baby Bench Cologne in Bubblegum from appearing as of writing, on Watson's Philippines' website as a best selling cologne. I think this is because Baby Bench Cologne in Bubblegum smells fresh much like those Spanish colognes I've mentioned above. It's citrus note is similar to Angel's Breath Gold (so you have lemon there). I guess, if you are of the younger set (Johnson's was the baby cologne of my time), it reminds you of babies or being babied, maybe home.
Lovely article. I just got into Baby Bench colognes and bought my first (Jelly bean) a few days ago. The smell was so good and baby-like my sister even asked what it was. Will try Bubblegum and Ice Mint as well. Thank you and kudos!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the kind words. I might either update this or come up with a new post as I went crazy lazy year and got a lot of drugstore colognes. It's just I'm sometimes busy, sometimes lazy, sometimes not feeling I could produce an output post-worthy.
DeleteI could see why Jelly Bean is a fan-favorite. Still thinking if I have smelled it before but so far nothing comes to mind.