Halston by Halston (1975)

“Halston’s influence on American fashion goes beyond his designs — he took an era, reupholstered it in Ultrasuede, dabbed Halston on its pulse points and made it his own.” - Carina Chocano*

 

At once masculine and feminine, friendly and formal, and chic and sexy, Halston perfume for women embodies the mixed-crowd ethos of the Studio 54 denizens who wore it. Steve Rubell, co-owner of the legendary late 70s/early 80s discotheque, was famous for letting beautiful unknowns past the velvet ropes to hobnob with the celebrities who had debaucherous fun there: Jack, Angelica, Andy, Bianca, Liz, Liza, Calvin, Brooke (Astor and Shields), et al.

 

Like the nightclub its namesake helped make famous, Halston perfume is less interested in who comes to its party than that everyone, because they look like they’re having fun, looks beautiful.

 

Green, fruity, floral, fresh, spiced, mossy and woody (talk about a mixed crowd!), Halston for women typifies late 70s fashion when simplicity — thanks, in part, to Roy Halston — was chic. Its somewhat austere green/mossy/chypre soul has done a bump of coke and decided to put on some lipgloss, a slinky Halston column dress**, and dance the night away.

 

Top notes: Tagetes (marigold), green notes, spearmint, peach, bergamot

Heart notes: Jasmine, cedarwood, rose, carnation, orris, ylang-ylang

Base notes: Moss, patchouli, vetiver, sandalwood, olibanum (frankincense), musk, amber

The chypre category, like the ideal 70s woman, is on the verge of androgyny. Flanked by bitter, herbaceous green and mint on one side and woods and oakmoss on the other, the “feminine” fruit-floral peach-rose-jasmine heart of Halston is like a woman’s body in one of those fabulous "Le Smoking" suits YSL made for women in the 70s. Hours into Halston's dry down, I smell an artifact of the past: a whiff of the powdery DoubleMint gum wrapper, sweetly scenting Halston with its mint and refreshing its base of resins, moss, woods and warm amber.

Even the famous Halston bottle has a chic lineage. Designed by Elsa Peretti, model-turned-interior designer-turned-jewelry-designer for Tiffany’s in the 70s, the biomorphic bottle is modern in its stark simplicity and soft with its curves. (Like her famous tear-drop-heart necklace and thumb-print ring.)

There was a time when Halston was the second top-selling perfume in history, next to “le monstre” Chanel No. 5. Sniff out some vintage***, and you’ll know why. Rachel Zoe and Nicole Richie are doing everything they can to bring 70s Halston-esque clothes back, maybe I should try to bring back Halston the perfume, circa 1975. This weekend…

 

 * This Carina Chocano quote is from an interesting Salon.com book review that situates Roy Halston Frowick’s place in history and discusses his influence on Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Tom Ford, and Narciso Rodriguez.

** There are so many cool blogs that have curated images of Halston and his models and designs. Here’s one, here’s another, and here's yet another. And here are some NYTimes articles on Halston's legacy: here and here. Interesting fact: Halston was a milliner before he was a designer, and designed Jackie O’s famous pillbox hat she wore to her husband’s 1961 presidential inauguration.

 ***A while back, I bid on some Halston that had been described as vintage perfume. It was anything but, and immediately smelled cheap and weird to me. Your best bet is to get the glass bottle with the glass stopper (rather than the sprays, which are probably going to be reformulations). Or, you can do as I did and get an adorable mini with a tiny screw top from The Miniature Perfume Shoppe. That little guy is definitely a vintage perfume.

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[brigitte]

I wore vintage Halston in high school not because I loved it but because it was so popular (now I know why-No 2 right behind Chanel no.5,eh? That's saying a lot!). I am sure that if I sniffed it now my 40+ y.o. nose would have a greater appreciation for it! And as an aside, by the time I got to Studio 54 (1983) there were no more celebrities frequenting the place. I believe that establishment closed several years after.

[Perfumaniac]

Hi Brigitte! It's such a grown-up perfume, sexy and sophisticated, that it's crazy you (and others) wore this in high school. Lauren has a similar, if more outdoorsy, vibe, but sophisticated, complex...Youth is always fetishized, of course, but looking at these photos of the Studio 54 people, and you get the sense that adults were determining what was cool; that being adult was cool in the 70s. I just love the mix. I can't believe you got to go, even though it was already dying. (I read that when they were dismantling the club, they found cocaine in the walls! Not a surprise.) But some of those images of Bianca!

[brigitte]

I know what you are saying...some fragrances should be off limits to high schoolers! Then again, I think I was always trying to prove something in my perfume choices, as I was barely 5 feet tall and just about 90 pounds soaking wet in high school! For me wearing sophisticated mature fragrances was my way of establishing my "womanhood" (what little of it existed at that time-although I am still about 90 pounds soaking wet-just have a lot more wrinkles on my face!). And,yes, Studio 54 was magical, even after its popularity had died. Glad I got the chance to experience it on a frequent basis.

[ILoveTheSeventies]

I remember wearing Lauren, Chloe and Halston. Very different perfume styles these days! Thanks for the post.

[Meliscents]

I know many will disagree, but I think the Halston that you can pick up at the local Walgreens is still very wearable. I have some vintage versions, and they are deeper and richer, but the new stuff is still more unusual than most stuff I find at the department stores. I'm always thankful for a woman's fragrance that doesn't smell like candy or dryer sheets!

[Perfumaniac]

I hear you, meliscents. I was definitely expecting mossier, woodier, etc. - vintage, in other words - so I was pretty put off. But I do agree that if you like it- wear it! I dont want to be a vintage fetishist. It just wasn't for me. And yes, ixnay on perfumes that smell like dryer sheets!

[jen]

Thanks for this review. My grandmother wore Halston. I have a sample for memory's sake, though I dislike the mint note enough it won't be on my skin. Great review. :)

[Perfumaniac]

I guess that mint note is prominent, Jen! Did your grandmother go to Studio 54? Pretty cool grandma! :-)

[Mals86]

I have a vague memory of Halston... okay, it's of not liking Halston... Haven't smelled it, to my knowledge, since I was a kid in the 70s, so it might be just my juvenile taste recoiling in horror.

That bottle has always seemed vaguely obscene to me. Not sure why.

Also not sure why I'm having such a strongly negative reaction to something that I can't even remember properly. Got to be something to it, though.

[Perfumaniac]

Ha! I seem to have awakened some distant nightmare memory with this, Mals! It's actually quite beautiful; just a floral chypre...with some nice woods and spice going on. And that touch of mint (but that's in Lauren, too, which I also love). The bottle is a bit phallic, I suppose, like the vintage Feminité du Bois bottle. Curious now to have your opinion based on actual sniffing!

[Perfumaniac]

ILovethe70s - I was just telling Mals that the top notes of Halston were similar to Lauren — a bit of mint, a fruit note, and tagetes (marigold). Conventional feminine notes combined with masculine woods and spice. (And I love the 70s too!)

[Mals86]

Funny, I do like Lauren.

Perhaps I'm connecting Halston to Paloma Picasso, another one I have always found skeery.

[Cristi]

looking for Halston's models, Connie C., nicknamed "Contessa" call me, 404-468-5008

[Cristi]

So it is Marigold that makes Halston perfume smell so bad? I never uderstood its massive popularity! And yes, the bottle was intended to look obsene. Halston was so handsome and charming, maybe that's what sold his overly plain and boring clothes ?

[StelmaDesigns]

Oh my gosh, great review! This was my launch into real fragrance and classic chypres. I wore it all through my last year of High School and into College...then I discovered Mitsouko. Now I am a card carrying perfumista, ha!

I have to agree, though the vintage is far richer and the dry down much lovelier, the reformulated is not half bad,considering. I scored a huge bottle of vintage at an estate sale so I am set for a while.

[Perfumaniac]

Hi StelmaDesigns,  So you must have been one of the folks that made this the second highest-selling perfume back in the day. Welcome to the obsessed with perfume club! Don't fall down the rabbit hole too fast...

[Account Deleted]

Great review, what a classic throwback fragrance! I had almost forgotten about Halston. Thanks!

[Rita P]

Halston was not one of my favorite in high school. Though popular it back then, many of my friends did not wear it either.

[Juraj]

Unfortunately never tried Halston by Halston...I always missed it..but Z 14...whoa, what a Chypre! It is classic formula, small olfactory journey ;)

http://bleauog.blogspot.com/

[Perfume Obsessed]

please tell me you will continue to blog! your writing on perfume has made my winter break...I am slowly making my way through the whole blog and enjoying every minute of it. thank you for writing and keep up the great work.

[Anna in Edinburgh]

I too hope that the blog carries on ... please come back, Perfumaniac!

[Perfumaniac]

Very sweet of you, Anna. I will be back. I promise!

[Perfumaniac]

Hi Perfume Obsessed: I will definitely be back. Thank you so much for spending time reading my words and enjoying them. It's folks like you who keep me coming back!

[Katy Perry Perfume Review]

I remember my mom using this and I still can remember how it smells. Lovely.

[Perfumeaddicted]

Perfumemaniac, if you're looking for a new scent to review, I'd be interested in your take on White Shoulders. I became interested in it due to reading about it in a novel...the Internet reviews of the scent further intrigued, so I just scored a big bottle for $10. I can't believe I used to turn my nose up at this "cheap" scent, as I find it lovely and very wearable. Checked here for a review but found it's one of the few you haven't written about!

[Perfumaniac]

PerfumeAddcited: I'm having trouble publishing comments the usual way, so I'll do this here without my little blindfolded avatar!

I may have White Shoulders somewhere...I need to tally up my stash. Do you have the new stuff or vintage?

[Bethany Mcleod]

I can guarantee that Halston smells good. My mother bought two of this for me. It was like two years before me buying a new one.

[Erica@NoGlo]

Most of the huge brand names in the fragrance industry have a strong business history dating back decades or else they were made famous thanks to the founder’s reputation and popularity in another field, such as music or fashion. Then it is all about attracting the right kind of customers and retaining them with a good quality product which keeps them coming back for more items, ensuring the sustainability of the perfume business and its profitability. This was a very interesting article about Halston.

[Alice White]

When I was a sophomore in college in 1974, a sophisticated friend took me to Saks Fifth Avenue to select a signature fragrance for me. After much consultation and fragrance testing, we selected Halston for me, and I have worn it to this day. If you are someone for whom floral scents turn sickeningly sweet with your chemistry, you may find that Halston's woodsy and subtle tones of musk, spices and florals is your answer. Even today, almost 40 years later, I still get compliments on my cologne.

[phillip marcum]

What a gorgeous floral/chypre! Halston had an intriguing hit on his hands with this fragrance! I wear it to this day! Your blog is my absolute favorite to read, as I am also perfume obsessed! Keep up the good work!

[Perfumaniac]

Phillip, Im glad vintage Halston is still available, because sadly the reformulation isnt good. So glad you enjoy the blog!

Sent from my iPhone

[Nancy]

I wore the Halston as my signature cologne back around the 80's. My niece said she remembered wearing my sweater and how it smelled like Auntie Nancy.
I'd still wear it if it smelled like the original. The ones now literally stink to me! I find the vintage perfumes and colognes but wonder if it has "spoiled " after this many years? Does it retain the original fragrance?

[Perfumaniac]

If you get one that was stored properly it should be fine! Boxed on eBay even better.

Sent from my iPhone

[The Halston Lady]

I was known as "The Halston Lady" in the eighties! I so adored that fragrance....and so did all my guy friends...in fact, they gave me the name! The other day, I was taking a trip down memory lane and went online and bought a bottle of Halston from a reputable online business. When it arrived, I was a bit unsure and tepid in applying the precious cologne.

It is still an amazing fragrance. Why did it go out of style....so much better than most of the brands on the market today.

The "Halston Lady" lives!!!!

[Dolores Jelles]

I loved Halston! I still have a bottle. Unopened, and in it's origanL box. Afraid to open it! Will never find another one! Dolores Jelles!