Trazarra
Avon (1978)

Something about Trazarra in its opening reminds me of a musky Canada Dry ginger ale, which quickly transforms to the dirtiest powdery heliotrope, as if the cherry-almond mauve blooms had some rough and tumble action with a playmate named Animalis. None of it is too loud or flashy, but it definitely is a sensuous number: Trazarra wouldn't have its issues of After Dark proudly displayed but rather have them stuffed under his New Yorkers.

It winds down after a few hours to a granular-talc soft, musky sandalwood and sweet Avonade amber. If Shalimar had its Habit Rouge, then Avon's Timeless had it's Trazarra. It's so peculiar, I love it.

Trazarra was Avon's late 70's jump into the world of mainstream men's orientals, which yonder was established by Shulton's Old Spice literally by accident back in 1937, but later reinforced by creations like Pierre Cardin Pour Monsieur and later drugstore disco destroyer Sex Appeal for Men by Jovan. By the 80's this type of scent was running in full force alongside musks, aromatic fougères, and the emerging powerhouses in men's circles so it kinda makes sense that Avon would want the generations worth of Avon families with guys that liked their stuff to have access as well. If 60's era "Avon for Men!" was pretty contemporary if not always original, the 70's saw Avon pulling ideas more and more from conventions set by the higher-end designers, following their lead with every other scent they released rather standing alongside them with a mix of original and traditional ideas as they had done previously. The good news is that Trazarra wasn't really a late-to-the-party "me too" spin on an older established trope like Tai Winds (1972) or Clint (1976), even if those were still very high quality, and instead was a mild-mannered, familiar yet still distinct oriental, although a bit too light-weight to really compete in the nightlife circuit. Trazarra is a finely-tuned well-studied take on the style, but just doesn't have enough bite heat up with a little sweat like the big boys, and just sits at the bar sipping happy hour well drinks. Luckily, this very same lightweight feel makes it remarkably more versatile in different weather conditions, and it allowed a bit more leeway with office use too, but it's definitely no match on the dance floor to it's designer contemporaries. That's okay, it has it's own quirks and qualities that still might make it a worthwhile addition to a vintage Avon collection.

Trazarra had an odd opening compared to the aforementioned Pierre Cardin and Sex Appeal: it is much more powdery than Pierre Cardin, and doesn't have as much of the civet like the Sex Appeal does, making it straddle between the two in that regard, but there's also something in that extra powder unlike either of them which feels like heliotrope/baby powder, adding an additional layer of sophistication, and a slight bit of sour opening. There isn't any orange in the opening here like the Pierre Cardin, and less of the lemon than Sex Appeal, making Trazarra rely more on it's florals than sweet citrus in the top layers. Sandalwood is definitely stronger in this than it's peers as well, so ultimately it's a note swap leading from florals into a bit of citrus and spice, not the other way around, with the emphasis on a crisp coolness amidst the spicy and sweet layers that brings a comparison to the aforementioned Old Spice before it all ends in sandalwood like a chypre. I'd say this scent actually ages in modern use better than most from this period because of the powdery softeness that seems to make it more palatable and acceptable to modern tastes. It doesn't hit with a pungent ton of bricks and keeps the collar buttoned. Again, this feels like the disco scent for guys who didn't really know how to dance and just went for "the atmosphere". It's the gentle and timid BeeGees from the 60's rather than the "Staying Alive" cats from the 1975 period and beyond. I won't say this is hip or trendy but numerous younger people who've smelled this on me think it's quite nice, while by comparison, anything else from this generation and family of scents causes wrinkled noses and cries of "old man's cologne" to utter from them.

I think it's a lovely accidently-niche take on the male oriental, and since it's Avon, it tends to go for prices way less than any other discontinued fragrance from this era would, due to it's lack of perceived status. There is a bit of concern with production runs with this though, as I have seen a darker fluid and a more straw-colored one. I've bought stock of each and it seems outside of a dye swap, there is little else different except maybe the top notes are a tiny bit brighter in the more yellowish liquid, while the darker amber-colored juice seems more base-heavy. Both inevitably dry down the same when worn. I don't detect either being the result decay due to improper storage as I've taken multiple samples, but what it feels like is Avon decided to tweak the formula to make it brighter for whatever reason mid-production, as later re-issues of this stuff going into the 80's and 90's had the yellow juice and brighter top. I've even decanted samples of each variant and mixed them, which yields the same dry down when worn. It's literally like they just switched colorants and boosted the top notes after a certain point going forward, with there being far more of the straw colored stuff than dark amber. I actually prefer the yellow juice because the brigher top makes the drydown more of a transition. Avon weirdness at it's finest.