The Centenary of Varón Dandy Parera
Vintages

by Sergey Borisov
12/13/22 10:06:01 ( 5 comments )

The perfume house Perfumeria Parera was founded in the Catalan town of Badalona in 1912. Its founder, Joan Parera Casanovas, had a simple and patriotic vision of the brand.

He wanted to create inexpensive Spanish fragrances that were not inferior in quality to the best French perfumes. The Spaniards deserve the best perfume in the world - just compare this vision with the ideas of Charles Revson and Estée Lauder! Perfumers of the Soviet Union, or modern niche brands from the UAE, Turkey, Thailand, Egypt etc. - they all use about the same idea of "world-class elegance at a low price made locally."

Parera created enough famous fragrances - just to name the most famous of them: Cocaina en Flor, Tentacion, Gong, Aqua Profunda, Giovanda... But the brand's most famous fragrance and its main star was, of course, Varón Dandy cologne, launched in 1923.

In addition to cologne, the brand produced lotion, hair oil, cream, toothpaste, etc. of the same name - this was the first perfume and cosmetic collection for men in Spain, united by a common scent. Varón Dandy has become a symbol of the grown man who already shaves his face, not only in Spain, but also in South and Latin America.

Varón means "a man" in Spanish. But besides, this fragrance gave the feeling that you are stepping up a notch, to become better version yourself; with this aroma, they promise, you become closer to real dandies. Look at the posters and the old labels – the black top hat, white gloves and swagger stick, symbols of high society that have become a part of the fragrance logo. On some posters, a monocle is added to them.

“No es dificil conocer el perfume que emanan estas chisteras”, - said one of the advertising posters, - “It is not difficult to recognize the aroma emanating from these top hats.” In Spain, the fragrance was so popular that for a while it was labeled "Spanish Banner".

For a hundred years, Varón Dandy survived the flight of King Alfonso the 13th, and the republic, and the civil war, and two military dictatorships, and the return of royal power - I think the aroma will survive Covid, and whatever else will come.

I would really like to try Varón Dandy from the 1920s and 30s, but I only have a rather young bottle on hand (since 1990, it was produced by Coty). And this is a surprisingly familiar scent, similar to those Soviet colognes that my father used to splash his face with after shaving.

There is a lot of lemon-bergamot freshness, which is continued by geranium and jasmine in a white and spicy environment, turning the fragrance into an old-fashioned almost chypre. Sultry hot chypre, burning oriental chypre.

The main emphasis on spices are cinnamon and carnation in abundance. They ignite the floral heart with a hot white flame that burns the rose almost to the ground, while the vibrant spicy geranium and animal-tinged jasmine get their few hours of perfect glory.

Varón Dandy lands in a warm and sun-drenched oriental forest. A woody accord of cedar and sandalwood, oak moss and patchouli, warmed by an oriental accord of amber, coumarin and benzoin, that is, on the border of chypres and oriental-spicy colognes.

Add castoreum and leather to move towards Knize Ten. Lessen spices and add labdanum and lots of rose to get closer to Chypre Coty. Take away the oriental accord and most of the spices and get a modern Eau de Cologne Chypre Jardin de France, an inexpensive and little known cologne of the same vintage feel.

According to some reports, earlier in the composition there was much more oakmoss and animalic shade, but even in its current state, Varón Dandy has enough character, stamina and fire to be called a real man.

Recently, with the rise in popularity of wet shaving and barbershops, Varón Dandy is also gaining popularity again. Despite its old-fashioned retro flair, despite the changes in the formula of the composition, despite different bottle designs, it still remains a classic "adult" fragrance (it's not for me to judge if it's seductive or not).

No wonder this brand was bought in 1990 and entered the Coty portfolio. It was very popular in its heyday (if in the 1920s Parera produced about 10 thousand litres, then at the peak of the 1970s they made about 2.5 million litres of Varón Dandy colognes and lotions!) and now it's still going strong.

On December 15 2022, the PERFUMERIA PARERA. 100 YEARS OF VARON DANDY exhibition will open in the home of the brand, in the Badalona city museum. The exhibition is based on the Nuria Casals historical research and is dedicated to the international success story of Parera, one of the best perfume brands in Spain. In addition to Varón Dandy, documents and bottles of other fragrances and cosmetics from Parera will also be presented. Part of the exhibition will be devoted to other Badalona perfume enterprises that ceased to exist during the Spanish Civil War.

The exhibition will last until May 14, 2023. An illustrated book PERFUMERIA PARERA. 100 YEARS OF VARON DANDY by Nuria Casals will be available there.

Varón Dandy Parera is still on perfume shelves, both online and offline, at a modest price of around $20 per 100 ml (or $30 per litre). For lovers of vintage mood and wet shaving, there are quite a few vintage bottles of various shapes.

Varon Dandy Parera

Top notes: Bergamot, Petitgrain, Lavender, Lemon
Middle notes: Geranium, Jasmine, Carnation, Cedarwood, Sandalwood
Base Notes: Oakmoss, Amber, Musk, Tonka Bean

Photos: © Museu de Badalona ( www.museudebadalona.cat )

Find more Varón Dandy Parera posters from 1924 to 1975