Charlie Revlon for women

my aunt used to wear this circa 1979ish. it smelled so good on her. that’s when people really wore their perfumes and scents were loud and proud. i ended up wearing this later on when i got older. it was such a vibe with the commercials and adds. an independant woman who was still womenly. they ruined this too. i wish there was a perfume restoration company.

It is back! After buying what I thought was Charlie Blue, I was using this bottle everyday. So a loved one got me another as a stocking stuffer. Box wasn't the same, and what she gave me said Charlie Blue on the box and on the bottle. What I had bought for myself said only Charlie (in White) on the box and bottle. The box is a much darker blue rather than the metallic one Blue came in. It's original Charlie, back in stores. Such a lovely powdery, chypre sent. Neither the oakmoss or geranium overpowers the other components. Blue had enough Charlie DNA to see where it came from, but had a fecal note to it that I just couldn't get past. But Charlie, oh original! How I missed you. As a little girl I wanted to be Shelly Hack from the commercials. Brassy, sassy American girl with a fragrance to match. It was too adult for me to wear back then, and by the time I could really wear perfume, they had replaced it with Charlie Blue. Sure it cost more than the Blue, White and Red versions, but this is the one that started it all. So glad it is back! If you can find it ( found it at Walmart of all places), go for it. A classic is back!

THE queen of the drugstore. We are so lucky to live in a world where this wonder is available for a song. Even setting aside its importance in the history of perfumery (which we should not! But others have said more than I could on this), Charlie is a wonder! This chameleonic elixir has many faces so it’s no wonder it tends to divide opinions. Even just on myself it changes remarkably with the weather. On cold days it is a bracing, direct, vegetal needle of aldehydes, hyacinth, geranium, vetiver, and oakmoss, which I love! In milder weather it opens a bit more and soapy, waxy, spicy symphony of lily, coriander, and gardenia come into play. Lovely either way, though not for the faint of heart or aldehyde haters! And be warned — even in the modern formula you only need one or two sprays max!

My Mémé wore this in the 70s when I was a kid. I haven't smelled it for 30 years since she passed. As a French grandmother she practically showered in this perfume. I'd probably got my love of scents from her. I'm Thinking of buying a $10 bottle on Amazon to bring back those memories of me and my siblings running from the fumes. Lovely lady she was but damn we could smell her the second she stepped in the house. RIP Mémé.

Charlie came out when I was in high school. The first ad that revolutionized advertising in perfume featured Bobby Short singing the Charlie jingle. I wasn't interested in being that girl in the ad, and besides Charlie cost a few more dollars at the drugstore than other perfumes I could afford to buy at the time. If I just had to have it, I might have saved for it. Unwittingly I became that girl in Charlie but by then I had moved on and up to perceived luxury perfumes from Chanel and YSL.

I recently got my hands on a vintage Charlie and it is still good (I've had bad luck with buying vintage as a few haven't held up). This is an underrated fragrance. I became a Chypre fan long after high school and this is one but without the citrus. If I had only known what a beautiful fragrance Charlie is, without the floral or sweet bomb, I might have made it my signature in the 80s. The only problem is office workplaces in the 80s and 90s were like high school and wearing something you could buy from the drugstore would be perceived as lower than thou. What are you wearing? Charlie???!!! You don't wear Chanel No. 5 (or something along those lines)? How gauche. Then stick their nose up in the air and walk away. Ladies who have been there know what I'm talking about because it's all about the money.

I have worn Revlon makeup for all of my adult makeup-wearing life. There is always something Revlon in my makeup bag. Right now, I'm crazy about their new foundation. Revlon is a part of my life. I hope the company will always be here.

I just picked up a small vintage bottle of this, and the scent of it is bottled 70s to me. Although I was a baby when this came out, and I wasn’t old enough to wear perfume yet in the height of its popularity, my mother and aunt had this, and Być Może, which was a similar smelling perfume from Poland. Woody, mossy, floral aldehyde. It makes me think of polyester, wrap skirts, the Dorothy Hamill wedge haircut, strappy heels, short fur coats, Maybelline frosted powdered eye shadow and Moisture Whip lipstick.. fun 70s find!

I own a few vintage bottles of the "concentrated cologne spray". One being an areysol, and the others are regular non areysol sprays.

@gyps and @grapefruit352 I have had a bad experience too, while wearing this one day. I'm not sure if I sprayed too much or what, but it gave me one of those awful headaches that only goes away after taking a very long nap. I am trying to figure out what note did this to me, if any. I've had the same problem with Aromatic's Elixir.

Don't get me wrong I like this very much, so much that I own a few bottles. It projects very very well, and lasted around 8 hours on my skin.

Revolting. Literally made me ill.

I am getting sneeze from this one instantly.

Worth collecting but I don't think anyone can still wear this today, unless you're someone who still screams when listening to the Beatles.

Charlie of Revlon created in 1973 was an incredible and irrepressible success of global reach, which could only later compete with Halston Classic in 1975 also of Revlon. Charlie was designed to fill the gap in commercial perfumery for the middle class and young American women. I do not know the first formulation of the 70s, I think very little has changed, given the variegated olfactory pyramid. At the juste pulvérisé the impact is very strong, floral triumph amplified by a myriad of aldehydes, galbanum and the note of coriander are also appreciated. When dry down, the base appears welcoming, sweet and musky. Sillage is aldehyde fragrances, present and continuous.

aldehydes smell too much for me

One of my all time fragrances. I remember back in the day walking into Genovese Pharmacy and the whole store smelled of Charlie. I never wore this until I got deep into perfume like 40 years later but this scent is so powdery on me and lasts for hours and hours. Beautiful Aldehyde.

This review is for a vintage version of Charlie (1980s or *possibly* early 1990s at the latest -- labeled "cologne spray," vintage bottle from my mom's hall closet, where it was sitting for decades before finding its way to my wrists... looks identical to the photo).

Did you ever wish you could go back in time? To the 80s, or... possibly... the 70s?

Wish granted. One spray is all it takes. I'm not kidding. I'm no stranger to the art of liberal application, but ONE spray of a cologne-strength formulation is sufficient in this case. You will smell like this for the rest of the day, and possibly the next morning, no matter what you do. Buckle up and enjoy the ride. :)

Do I get the "decade of hairspray" vibe when I spray this? Yes, a little bit. (OK, I'm willing to concede that many of the power ballads of the 80s may have been written in honor of women who wore Charlie.) However, the aldehydes (which I am normally not a huge fan of in the "traditional," Chanel No. 5 sense that aldehydes are understood as a group, even though they're really more than that, but that's a discussion for another day) are tolerable here, and it dissipates quickly enough for my taste. It's a bit powdery on the drydown (also something I am wary of), but not intolerably so.

What develops next is, on me, very green... a dark, bitter, mossy, green-grey sort of green -- definitely more "soft forest floor" than "I'm chopping up fresh herbs and vegetables in my kitchen." That bitter note keeps popping up every time I sniff my wrist, but I find it compelling. It settles down to a vaguely spicy, yet still floral, concoction (it does remind me a bit of the scent of fresh carnations -- more so than anything that is listed as a note, to be honest). And it LASTS.

This stuff will cling to your skin, so if you're looking for longevity, look no more; even after a shower, you'll still smell it.

Your affinity for Charlie may well depend upon your scent memories and life experiences -- after all, you either know someone who wore this (and have memories associated with that, good or bad), or you don't. If you are approaching this fragrance without a memory to reference, keep an open mind -- it might surprise you. My mom wore this for many years... my dad loved it on her, so he kept buying it for her, and she kept wearing it. I always associated Charlie with my mom. It took decades for her to admit that the scent was a bit strong for her tastes; when she wears perfume now, she gravitates towards CK Euphoria, CK Deep Euphoria, or 4711 Acqua Colonia Lavender and Thyme, and her vintage bottles of Charlie are lovingly curated in my closet. So... win-win, I guess? :)

I haven't tried the current formulation, so I can't comment on that... but I wholeheartedly recommend trying a spray from a vintage bottle, if you come across one. You might be surprised.

My mum's favourite fragrance so I have this fond childhood memory ♥♥♥

Great juice, unisex, smells expensive but costs about $6, available at every pharmacy and discount retailer, has fun flankers that don't suck and don't get discontinued (also $6!!) There really is a version for every human, in my opinion. Red isn't for me but I'd wear all the others. Can you say that about most fragrances out there, old or new?I can't. What a great discovery.

Smells like Swedish fjords (or, the way I imagine them anyway 😄) Incredibly green, full of wind, sun, and icy water. And don't forget the wildflowers. Yum.

The description floral aldehyde threw me off (I don't love aldehyde) but thankfully the notes are more correct than the summary. White floral, green, aromatic, woody and more. Well blended and well balanced. It does have the whiff of hairspray that I associate with aldehydes, but tbh the rest of it is good enough that I'm willing to ignore it. The current "people who like this also like" list is perfumes $100 and up, and that Charlie holds its own in that company and to those noses is pretty impressive. It leaps right past the celebrity scents that are three times its price to hold a spot as a solid dailywear choice.

Love Story came out a few years too early for Ali McGraw to have worn it in the film, but it's the perfect independent, romantic, vibrant scent for her character.

I tend to forget I have this one. I haven't worn it in at least a year.

I purchased it because it reminds me of a lady I used to know. It's an old fashioned comforting smell with a coty air spun hint to it. It smells better on her than it does on me. That sweet lady has passed but I keep it in her memory.

I have a 70s bottle, and oh my goodness it is wonderful!!! It's strange because I find myself feeling like it lacks a certain level of depth and complexity as compared to something like Fredric Malle's Portrait of a Lady... and then I realize that I am comparing a luxury parfum to a drug-store cologne and it hits me how impressive it is that I even considered the possibility of them being comparable! It's a beautiful composition, but the longevity is what you should expect for this concentration and price range. If nothing else, it's a classic that any fraghead needs in their collection! :)

I've always pined for that which I can not have. So old perfumes hold a special fascination for me just on principle. Vintage versions are beyond my price range so I end up buying fragrances with vintage names still attached with mostly bad results. Charlie being the worse so far because it actually injured my olfactory system. I couldn't write it off after the initial first day trial so I tried it once more a couple of weeks later. I've got major sinusitis and am taking allergy meds and steroidal nasal spray to cope. The symptoms got progressively worse after my first trial and my tolerance for fragrances has been greatly damaged. I hope time, antihistamines, and steroids heal me in time for a cross country visit back home in February otherwise I'm in for a painful couple of flights.

I love me some aldehydes, but this is aldehydes gone terribly wrong. It’s probably the reform though. I haven’t smelled the vintage since the 80s when I was in middle school, but I soon replaced Charlie with Lady Stetson as my Christmas stocking stuffer request. (I had the best parents who catered to my early perfume cravings.). Lady Stetson is definitely my favorite aldehydic drugstore scent, and favorite all around drugstore scent, of all time.

I absolutely love Charlie, I haven’t smelled it in years. I have a vintage bottle of the original Charlie, and let me tell you it is powdery heaven. I will always wear this. It’s so pretty and its like sunshine in a bottle!! Love it❤️

It's been so many years since I have owned or smelled this it's hard to recall.I know I liked it when it came out in the early 1970's as I wore it for a few years.My Dad used to buy this for me even on holidays, so it must have smelled nice to others too. It was an inexpensive friendly cologne with a happy spring scent to me. I didn't notice that it had any sultry notes or anything even though it had plenty of jasmine and oak moss which are both have a very sensual scent on me anyway..Guess I need to find some again and smell it. I generally am only good for 1 bottle before I burn out, but this one lasted.

I can well understand why this perfume was such a boom when it was created. And I also understand why, despite being a drugstore product, it is among the great creations of perfumery.
Modernity, daring, audacity, boldness... Charlie is all that and much more. Stunning!

That special moment in life where one whiff of a fragrance reminds you of a person you absolutely love. When you smell it even if you are hundreds of miles away from that person you are home. Charlie is my sweet auntie Ingrid’s (who is also my godmother) signature perfume. She wears it every day and has since I was a little girl. From day one my auntie and I have had a special bond with each other. She was a veterinarian (now retired) and as a child I was picked on a lot by my peers so I always looked to animals for comfort. My auntie was my idol and role model and still is to this day. She is originally from Belgium and is pure grace, and lovely even in her older age. She is very simple and is who she is and this is why she is so beautiful. She also is reserved, patient, and gentle unlike the rest of my family who are emotive, high strung, and have no filter (I fall in this camp as well). Just one smell of Charlie and I’m a little girl again back in the passenger side of her big green truck going to her clinic and holding kittens as she vaccinated them and then going shopping and out for a lunch just us girls followed by a stop for ice cream and everything else my mama would not let me eat.
Yes she wore her Charlie every day to work along with her perfectly pressed white lab coat and did not care if her clients or her techs didn’t like it.
We were best friends then and are now, only now she is the one I call when I feel hopeless, struggle with mental health issues, and with cases and difficult clients. We can talk for hours and never run out of things to talk about.
I graduated from veterinary school last year and am proudly following in her footsteps although they are enormous shoes to fill. I was told numerous times to count by several different people I’ll never get into vet school and could never make it as a vet. My auntie had all the faith in the world and always encouraged my dream and told me I would do it.
To this day, my 31 year old self still cuddles up on the couch with her (both with glasses of wine) and I lay my head in her lap and just breathe her in. She cuddles me back and will kiss me on top of my head or tickle me.
My auntie never had children and calls me her little KitKat and tells me I’ll always be her baby.
We have never lived close. She lives in Ohio, and I was born and raised in FL and am now in north GA. She was still always there for all the milestones.
We FaceTime several times a week and drink our wine together. Still isn’t the same as snuggling up to her warm Charlie scented wonderfulness.

I wear Coco Mademoiselle, Velvet Orchid, Miss Dior, Nomade, and Mon Paris, all very bold scents, and almost the younger versions of Charlie. I probably am perfume crazy probably because my auntie unapologetically wore her Charlie every day whether it was to go on an adventure or stay in by the fire.

Yes perfume has a way of reminding you of your special person. I have a bottle of Charlie just to be close to her when we can’t be together. She crocheted me a beautiful soft pillow and I spray it on that pillow and lay my head on it.
I’m so lucky to have such an amazing auntie, godmother, mentor, second mother, and best friend all in one. Charlie is very special to me.

I have a vintage bottle. It’s a killer. With two sprays fills a room, mossy, green aldehydes fill me with slightly bitter taste on my tongue. Gets a bit sour at first but later brings up woody sweetness. Vintage classic, that has many faces, changes on You, takes You through several places. I have no particular memories, I am too young and maybe it wasn’t that popular in my part of the globe in the late 80s and 90s.

I would put it on the same shelf as Cartier Must and Must Gold, and Chanel *19.

I just love Charlie for its beautiful vintage vibe. At the beginning of the 70's, my mother was young and though she didn't wear much perfume, Charlie reminds me of her with its mild aldehydic sillage. This perfume is less mossy and tart than fragrances from the previous era end of 60's like Miss Balmain or Y by YSL. I can easily imagine the young generation back in time raving over Charlie as the younger crowd nowadays does with La vie est belle.

What lady of my age has never worn Charlie!!

1993.. new smoker.. mid night long distance phone calls!.. morning cinema movies!.. dont attend lessons.. everyday a new love story with a new girl!.. wearing my whait Oxford shirt and my Sonneti jeans with my Aztrek Reebok.. then to complete the good looking .. I stole some sprinkles from my mom's Charlie perfume .. it was my
hi school's memories with Charles fragrance :)))

It was the whole neighborhood women's signature in the 90's including my mother and my aunts.. but I don't remember it.

Classic and personal.

Texture transitions: Dry Dusty - Creamy - Powdery - Musky
Note: Brace yourself for the aldehydes.

It starts with the sharp oakmoss which I seriously miss from most modern fragrances, soon the hyacinth and galbanum take over giving it a classic chypre quality.

The heart gets creamy with lily-of-the-valley, sandalwood, and aldehydes. The aldehydes in this scent are not as waxy as the aldehydes from Chanels.

The scent lasts for over 8hrs and the final dry-down gets more powdery sweet from ambery vanilla and sandalwood along with the prominent musk.

Wow! The original "Charlie" (now vintage version) was born in the early 70's. I was about 10 or 11 years old, and my school class had a Christmas secret gift swap. I unwrapped a bottle of Charlie scented lotion, and I was so disappointed that I didn't get the fragrance bottle. I used the lotion just the same, and I adored every drop from the bottle. THEN! Faberge's "Babe" came along, AND later... "A Touch of Class" of which I have just found online, and am going to buy now.
**I'll review A Touch of Class via Fragrantica, once received...

Soapy, musky, aldehyde.

It's like a slightly animalic yet clean beauty with that lily of the valley, friendly jasmine, geranium, soap, and musk. It has oakmoss, coriander, white lilies, and sandalwood as well.

I can classify it as a drugstore blend with happiness within. Cute.

@dannygirl, salutations and thanks for your review. I got a vintage Charlie and oh wow! it's sublime and such a soother if you recall this from the get go and have momories to match! Go there for the comfort of your spirit girl!. I ramped up my perfume collecting as I grieved my mother leaving this realm 4 years ago.I link to the good memories via the Fragrances we shared. It is my balm. I am 60 as well and keen to enjoy this Crone phase, defying supposed stereo-types. I wish you the best on your journey of recovery from Cancer.

Hugs to you too @silenceowl. So nice to have fragrant memories.

Its my first sniff of what Charlie was and I feel blessed to know it. Its uplifting at the top, so sweet in the middle and very cozy in the dry down. Its the best aspects of all things deemed vintage in fragrance. And made for everyday wear at an affordable price. Wish they could bring back the original but IFF laws have changed the game. xx

Charlie (vintage) was my mom’s signature perfume.
It was the only scent she wore before Lancome Poeme.
It was perfection , seduction , elegance and charm.
And now , I miss her so much….

I bought a vintage and a reformulated bottle of Charlie, and let me tell you, they are nothing alike.

It's a crying shame. The reformulated bottle is absolute dreck. Charlie was murdured! It's harsh, chemical, metallic, repellant. I immediately threw it away.

There should be two entries for this perfume on fragrantica, because they are entirely different perfumes.

The vintage bottle arrived today, and like many others here, I am enjoying my trip down memory lane. This was my first "signature" perfume. It is still just as i remember it, and there really isn't a perfume like it on the market today. Fresh green, a dry powdery oakmoss, and yes...as others have noted...that's hyacinth. It lasts and lasts, and is it ever a bomb.

It was a dream. All perfumes are aspirational, and this one meant freedom, independence, self-actualization, wide open opportunities, fun, being your own quirky self. Life didn't turn out that way (60 now, with cancer), but the memory of the hopeful, eager, go-getter young person i was then brings a smile to my face. Love you, Charlie.

Although I’m two whole years older than @taureanrage69 below me, my memories are much the same, as I “graduated” from Avon’s Sweet Honesty to Charlie at the age of 12, and I associate it with my little blue Panasonic™ transistor radio. About the size of a Magic 8-Ball (am I dating myself enough, here?), it smelled of warm batteries, and I’d have little marks on my face from falling asleep with it. I was a radio baby, and found music to be my greatest love from an early age, next to perfume, so I associate so many songs & bands with Charlie —from Wings’ “Silly Love Songs”, to Donna Summers’ “I Feel Love”, The Stones’ “Miss You”, Bowie’s “Win” & “TVC15” Joe Jackson’s “Stepping Out”, etc etc etc. I just couldn’t imagine living without good smells and better sounds, even for a moment.

The only problem with Charlie, was that it was incredibly strong, and of course, we all wanted to be the breathtakingly beautiful Shelley Hack (they just don’t make ‘em like that anymore, no woman has ever rocked the tux look like she did!), dousing ourselves in great big back-lit sprays every other step. We likely gassed-out every teacher and potential innocent kisses that we’d geared our Kissing-Potion/Bonnie Bell Lip Smacker’d lips for.

Next to the overtly misogynistic times we were born in (“he never has a second cup of MY coffee”, or “you’ve got ring-around-the-collar” ads that targeted the inept housewife) to going to elementary school in the not-a-little-confounding times of “

Glad to revisit this wonderful fragrance from my high school days. I mistakenly bought Charile Blue a while back and could not stand it. I just figured It wasn't what I remembered. I realized recently that Charlie and Charlie Blue are two different fragrances. Blue is missing the floral and green notes that the original Charlie has. I found a couple of bottles of vintage Charlie on Ebay and so glad I realized my mistake of confusing the two fragrances. I am really enjoying a trip down memory lane wearing this scent right now. This is the Charlie I remember.

I love the original Charlie, which I first smelled when I was gifted a bottle right around 1978. I was in the fourth grade and it was the first fragrance my parents gave me for Christmas. We also got a stereo that year and a few record albums, so I smelled like this when me and my sister listened to our new records and pretended we were Debbie Harry singing Heart of Glass. Very few perfumes evoke happy memories for me like this one, and that's the simple reason that I'll always love it. I still wear it today and probably always will, as long as I can find it in its original formulation.

THE SCENT:
Starts with oakmoss and sharp aldehydes. It's intriguing, but would suffocate you if it stayed that way.
It moves quickly to floral, with a bit of soap, and aldehydes are still present.
Finally, it's settled into something nicely balanced, with unmistakable green, soft flowers, and still a hint of aldehydes. Not at all a skin scent, but mingles nicely with your skin's scent.
It wears pretty well on me, about 4 hours before fading down to just a trace, and it's still 'there' in spirit, if that makes sense.

THE IMPRESSION:
This is the scent of a smart, vital woman who, pardon my language, doesn't give a f#ck about your opinion. It's not for girls. It's not trying to be all things to everyone. It might be one of the facets of a fascinating woman that entices and seduces you, but not the only one. It's not trying to be the perfume of a diva, an innocent girl, a Whole Foods hippy, or a nightclub queen. It's confident but not obnoxiously so. The woman wearing Charlie might be wearing jeans, a pretty dress, or nothing. She wears the fragrance, it does not wear her. Charlie invites you in, but makes itself known if you're at arm's length. It is, in short, a feminist fragrance.

I maintain that if Charlie came out today with a very sophisticated commercial campaign, and a 'house' that wasn't dear old Revlon, this would be a beloved scent. It's not yet another frooty floral or florchouli. Blind sniff it with some friends sometime and block any 1970s associations from your mind. It's nice. It might just hook you.

It's inexpensive, it's in mass market stores and eBay, and sometimes you can find accompanying products like bath powder, or lotion.

I wear this with delight and no shame. And I smell good.

I owned quite a few drugstore classics in my youth but somehow I missed this one. I'm glad to finally have a bottle and am really enjoying it! This is an aldehydic, aromatic, green chypre. I think I detect anise in the opening but it's not listed as a note. There is lots of oakmoss and very intense hyacinth. The hyacinth stays strong for quite some time but the sandalwood and other base notes mellow it out a bit. Very happy to have another 70's chypre in my collection!

The first time I met my future wife, she was 16, and she was wearing Charlie. Every day. That scent pervades my memories of those years. I was in love.

I was lucky to locate a large old bottle on eBay, dating from back then, the 70s or 80s. It arrived today. Still smells exactly like I remember it.

The current Charlie Blue, however, smells nothing at all like it, in my opinion, and I find it quite repulsive. The flankers (gold, white, silver, red) are pretty good, but again nothing similar to the old Charlie.

I loved Charlie in the 70s and 80s where it was a fresh green floral, this has nothing to do with the original Charlie, at least on my skin.Awful !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Along with Charlie Blue, this is one of those classic perfumes that hasn't aged well at all in my book (to me, it brings to mind the worst parts of the 70s and 80s). However, it definitely had its place in a certain time period, so buy it for the nostalgia if you must.

My mom used to wear this. I remember it smelling very strongly of hyacinth on her along with a light musk. I think that is why I like when i smell hyacinth in a garden because it makes me think of her perfume. She was a tiny woman (5'2") but she exuded strength and this scent on her was perfect. Not overpowering or cloying but just enough to say "I am here and I will endure".

This is my beloved Mama, who left this earth too early. We were living in Colorado in 1973 and I remember when it debuted. She loved Charlie (and other aldehydes, which is why I LOVE them so much). I think I'll get a bottle for memories.

My first of the Revlon Charlie collection when I was a teenager. Not the best scent due to its heavy musky notes but it is iconic.

Eu sempre amei este perfume, assim como amo os demais Charlies, porém uma pessoa detestável veio trabalhar comigo e usa este blue diariamente,usa poucas gotas, é discreta mas...associei este cheiro à pessoa e agora, para grande pena da minha história com perfumes, eu passei a odiá-lo. Os demais funcionários também sentem aversão a essa pessoa, portanto não é culpa minha.
Uma lástima!

Burnt hairspray. Sorry but revlon obviously like the smell of hairspray. I had to learn to do sets for mature women when I did hairdressing course and they insisted on me spraying half a can of hair spray around their hair. They would walk out with a cloud of hairspray around them. If you were to get your hair set then spray chanel 19 on this would be close to the smell i get from charlie blue. It has very good staying power and I do like the very plain bottle it is iconic you know immediately it is charlie. It smells like ralph lauren safari gone wrong.

This was one of the first perfumes that I got when I started perfume collecting in 2014. It holds special memories for me. I usually prefer sweet fragrances like Juicy Couture Gold but somehow Charlie made it's way into my heart.

Of corse I had Charlie when I was a young girl!!! Now I'm 56, and Charlie brings back good memories, all my hopes and expectations for my "bright" future to come..
Well, I have two beautiful sons, and are dreaming new dreams - and a new bottle of Charlie is very welcome to me =))

I never understood the hype about this in the the 70s. I remember a blast of nose scorching aldehydes that didnt dry down into anything more pleasant.

Aldehydes, hyacinth, spicy carnation and lilly with a strong oakmoss presence make up modern Charlie.
In the 70s there was a more white floral presence to give lift to this heavy Icon. Without it it lags -- a heavy time capsule in a bottle of yesteryear. If you like vintage chypres and classic florals this will work or layer underneath modern fragrances to fill them back in. A great selection for 70s womens lib in a bottle

This would for sure induce a headache after prolonged exposure. My God it smells cheap and stinky. Kudos for it for sure leaving a scent trail and lasting longer than your average drugstore frag, though. It's something I'd appreciate in better smelling cheap perfumes. I'm literally feeling nauseous as it's reeking on the poor patch of skin I applied this on, I'm gonna wash this off before I die or something

Charlie by Revlon is a nice scent. Strong, so I do not use a lot. The lasting power is very long.
I noticed this scent getting harder to find and pricey.
So, if you like this and find it for a good price.
Stock up. I have a fragrance collection and a store
on E-bay. So, I have a lot of different scents.
I grew up in the 80's. But, I like this scent as well.
Apparently a 70's icon.

I have to agree with Floating Ophelia, I never got it either. When we were growing up in the '70's and '80s, there were the girls who wore the old fashioned classics, and the girls who wore Charlie, even though it did seem the Charlie girls had so much more fun!

I don't get the appeal, never got it when I was a young teen, don't like it now. Is too dry, earthy ( in a bad way like dirt) and somehow synthetic and chemical. I get mostly synthetic oakmoss and...hairspray? Not my taste at all. Of course there are people who may make it work. Someone loves everyone's most hated fragrance and vice versa. I need some floral or sweetness in my perfumes so I just must avoid anything so earthy and dry.

"Santa" put a bottle of this in my stocking for Christmas one year when I was in elementary school. It was my first perfume. I can only imagine that my mom chose it because it was so popular when she was young and it was a nostalgic choice for her. I kept the bottle because it made me feel glamorous to own a bottle of grown-up perfume, but the scent of it horrified me. It still horrifies me. What an aldehyde bomb!
Overall, not a scent for a ten year old, but upon revisiting I found it's not a scent for an adult either. Probably best poured down the drain.

Charlie has the strangest turn-around I've ever experienced in a fragrance.

Initial spray is an aldehydic mess on an oakmoss bed. It is cheap hairspray. It is bug repellant. It is dandruff shampoo. It is pure stank. Wait it out. What slowly blooms is a wonderful, sweet, intriguing hyacinth. A little sandalwood warms up. There are some powdery violets there. The drydown is a spicy, somewhat soapy carnation. Kind of lemony too, come to think of it.

Overall, I am glad I finally decided to try it out. I wore it to bed last night and am wearing it tonight, and the fragrance lingering in my bedroom is comforting and familiar despite my having only just met the original! Red was one of my first "grown up" fragrances and I love the rich, syrupy Gold, but this one is growing on me FAST.

bright deep strong woody fragrance with supporting florals/hyacinth; intense, in the family of Enjoli but stronger; I have the Charlie's Bright Idea light bulb version; in the base there is some oakmoss but not overpowering and some musk

I wish I could smell this again but when i was very young and sprayed the tester on myself at K-mart, I got a huge headache. I loved Heaven's Scent though.

Extremely era specific, to A. Rose123 and eliza.gelman who posted below, you nailed it with your descriptions, thank you!

I remember loving the way I smelled wearing a quick squirt of this on my wrists with either Lemon Up or Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific in my hair.
The original formula of this is long gone, just like the 70's.

Undoubtedly the reason I graduated to bigger, badder aldehydes & chypres like Chanel Cristalle, #19 and #22.

I remember wearing this to a concert. This guy behind me kept saying he smelled oranges. He was smelling this STINKY perfume lingering in the air. It is awful. Way too strong.

A little of this goes a long way. I have a vintage bottle, so I am unsure if it's been reformulated yet. Charlie is not a perfume I reach for often, but I appreciate it's classic (and a little dated) scent. I don't wear it outside of my house because it's not elevator or car friendly. I'd have to stick my head out of the window or open all the windows in order to drive. lol This stuff surrounds you like a cloud. I get mostly oakmoss and aldehydes.

Oof. I've never smelled the original FiFi award winner from 1974, but I did get a two pack of this for my best friend a couple Christmases ago, kept one for myself, and man -it's just not for me. To me this is the quintessential cheap perfume. It smells cheap - TO ME. Bear in mind I proudly wear cheap perfume, including another iconic Revlon - Fire & Ice, and am by no means a snob, but when people talk about perfume giving them a headache, this is what they mean. This is an example of aldehydes gone wild - or is that the galbanum? My nose is not refined enough to be able to tell - and it's just not my cup of tea. I don't think this smells as green and woody as Fragrantica classifies it - this is not a safe chypre blind buy. That being said, it's only like five bucks so go for it if you must. It's very sharp, very 70s feathered hair, Farrah Fawcett, vasline-on-the-camera lens. Not my bag, but if it's yours, you're in luck, because it's everywhere online and dirt cheap!

CHARLIE

REVLON

YEAR

1974

Charlie!

I have nothing but love for Charlie. From it's masculine name - which might lead one to think is this a guy's cologne or a woman's perfume for the woman who enjoys unisex "tomboy" scents like me? What's up with the name Charlie? Is it referring to Charles Revson the founder of the Revlon company or Charlie's Angel's Charlie? This perfume was released right smack in the middle of the energy crisis oil crisis in America in the 1970's and during the success of the TV series Charlie's Angels. Charlie is also coming out of a time when Greenpeace activism was at it's strongest. I was among them, but I never tied myself up to a tree to prevent it from being cut down to make room for a shopping center. Instead I fought the unfair deforestation & greenery killing murderers by taking up law & defending the rights of the activist themselves to protest.

Whenever I smell perfumes like Charlie (or Ciara, Tea Rose, Aliage) it always transports me back to the 70's, an era I grew up in. And you grew up fast back then. Charlie brings a memory of a well known 1970's TV ad "The Crying Indian" who looks at the city filled with litter, garbage and junk and smog from cars and sheds a tear for the death of the natural earth. I also think of my high school years. I wore this perfume all through high school. It was cheap but I was making a statement. I loved this scent as a comforting soothing aroma therapy to get me through high school. I related to Janis Ian's song "I Learned The Truth At Seventeen". I knew the "pain of Valentines that never came and whose name was never called when choosing sides for basketball". It was long ago & far away, and dreams were all they gave away for free for ugly duckling girls like me.I was a short red haired ugly duckling Jewish girl in a school filled with pretty taller-than-me Aryan blondes or more elegant brunettes. I was often the butt of jokes & did not attract friends, despite my friendly & approachable demeanor. I now believe I was the target of anti-Semitism or perhaps because I was always a bit of a "lawyer" girl I could argue or talk back when I had to, which repelled some kids. For whatever reason I was quite a loner in school and I wore this perfume to keep me in positive moods. I was in the debate team & teachers were my friends. This perfume takes me back to when I was seventeen.

Charlie is a green floral with an opening of galbanum. I think of this note, the green note of galbanum, and the oak moss & vetiver as being the dominant notes. This is a very green colored fragrance, no different from the chypres of lasting fame such as Chanel's No. 19 & Aliage by Estee Lauder. Yes Charlie is floral but she is a unique kind of floral scent. She is not preoccupied with smelling too pretty or powdery. She is plain and simple, unassuming and rather natural when you think about it. Let's say Charlie is the name of the girl that is represented in this fragrance. Charlie would not wear make up at all, ever; not one bit of rouge, lipstick, eye make-up or powder. She is a fresh and natural face, even if it is a "Sarah Plain & Tall" type of face. She does not dress up to impress and is always in hand-me-downs and casual shirts & jeans. So yes she is a bit of a tomboy & although not masculine she doesn't bother to make herself look more attractive to the opposite sex. In this sense, Charlie suited me in my personality in the 70's.

Floral notes consist of soapy white flowers. I smelled jasmine, gardenia, lily of the valley. Jasmine & lily are repeating themselves as there are two notes of these white floral scents in the top and middle notes. This is not a very sweet or creamy white floral fragrance and she is instead a toned down and modest gardenia & jasmine, closer to the smell of a floral soap. It's like Charlie does not want to wear any amazing & glamorous perfume but instead only scents herself in the shower with her soap. Other than the white floral notes I did detect and always have detected a violet. So this is floral but the green notes & the galbanum notes are forever keeping this thing in the green or green-house herbal botanical garden type of floral aroma. It also reminds me of room sprays that were of green floral notes popular in the 70's. She was a cheap drugstore fragrance then and is now, but she can be beautiful if you give her a chance to reveal herself to you.

When dry, Charlie is redolent with sandalwood, oak moss & vetiver. As the florals fade, the moss emerges and it continues with it's green theme. The oak moss is to die for! Absolute class in a chypre scent and like a more approachable less "cold" Chanel No. 19. Though I love this scent and find her unique and a girl of her own independent spirit, she might have more in common with the "casual green chypres" like Aliage by Estee Lauder. If you wear that, and still have not worn Charlie, you should. There is very little difference and you get the same soothing green herbal aroma therapy out of it. Finally the whole thing is warm with a final note of musk.

This perfume came with an annoying TV ad and the fragrance appeared to be suggestive of an adventurous and modern woman who has no time for perfume, a working class lady's perfume. I can also see how it can feel like that but to me it will always be the simple and no nonsense high school fragrance of my youth. I do believe that you can wear this today because it is as floral as some of today's scents, with the exception of the less frequently used galbanum note. Please noses of the world bring back galbanum! This perfume affects me deeply. It is my beloved 1970's green peace perfume. She is a reminder of who I was and where I came from. She is an old friend in a fragrance form who never looks down on me and who embraced me for who I am.

I love you Charlie.

Fragrance Review For Charlie

By Revlon

Top Notes

Hyacinth Jasmine Gardenia Galbanum Aldehydes

Middle Notes

Lily of the Valley Jasmine Lily Geranium Violet Coriander

Base Notes

Sandalwood Musk Vanilla Oak Moss Vetiver

"There's a fragrance that's here today and they call it Charlie. A different fragrance that thinks your way and they call it Charlie. Kind of young kind of now Charlie kind of free kind of wow Charlie kind of fragrance that's gonna stay and it's here now Charlie. Charlie by Revlon A Most Original Fragrance"

- 1973 TV AD

Yeah I have the commercial jingle memorized LOL I was not a fan of Charlie because I first experienced it as a secondhand fragrance. My mother wore it a lot and when I first became old enough to start wearing perfume and did not make money of my own to buy perfumes for myself I had to inevitably wear her perfume. Charlie takes me back to when I was a teenager. The first spritz was ghastly. It was straight out cat pee. I swore to myself I'd never ever wear this even if I lived to be 60. I came across this fragrance once again in my journeys through perfume. I love it and wear it now because I'm a big girl now.

Charlie was targeting a demographic of young women of the 70's. For the longest time I associated this fragrance with CHARLIE'S ANGELS the TV series with the 3 young beautiful ladies Farrah Fawcett Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson. It is no surprise that Kate Jackson was replaced by Shelley Hack in later episodes and Miss Hack was the face of this perfume and she appeared in the TV ad so the Charlie connection is always going to be there. To me this is a feminine perfume which the kick ass Charlie Angels girls wore. It is straight out of the 70's with it's emphasis on aldehydes and florals. But it also smells very classic as if made before the 70's. It would be considered "mature" "old lady" perfume today but this came at a time when even 20 year olds took themselves seriously and wore perfume when it was real perfume.

The opening is flowery like a flower bomb detonating so it's important to apply with a light touch but hey if you adore flowers spray liberally! There's a ton of white flowers of which jasmine is most prominent. There are 2 notes of jasmine and they're rather noticeable. There's gardenia and lilies. These white floral scents are fresh and sparkling with aldehydes. This is very much an aldehydic scent similar to white floral plus aldehyde scents in the same league as Arpege by Lanvin or Chanel No. 22, without it smelling like either of them. There's a gorgeous green herbal nocturnal galbanum that really sends me. The galbanum gives this scent a botanical touch. There's violet and geranium. It's all about the floral top and heart. So you have to be into floral scents and if so this is a treat. But you have to get passed the aldehydes when it softens into sweet flowers.

At the base we have a touch of musk, some vetiver, vanilla bean and sandalwood. The sandalwood is very pronounced and it smells resinous, woodsy and the vetiver is also coming forth. But it's all about the oak moss. It smells like burnt oak moss. I love the scent of moss. For me this is all about the galbanum and the oak moss. It gives this scent the aspect of a chypre. It's still more of an aldehyde floral than a chypre but there's enough wood/moss to be appreciated as a youthful chypre. This is absolutely gorgeous.

Charlie is a perfume for a girl in the 70's who was just turning 18 or 21 and went out to her job smelling like flowers but would not mind smelling this way at a dinner date. At one time men were turned on by the flower scent on women. Today it's a different story. But let's travel back in time and wear flowers once in a while. I do. Charlie reminds me of freedom and care-free youth, having nothing to worry about and it's a comforting relaxing scent. I wear it now mostly to get to sleep. I wear this out from time to time. I love Charlie Gold as well.

This is a must have in any true serious perfumista wardrobe. I bet all the girls who wore this at the gas station putting gas on their car during the oil crisis must have smelled so good and you won't mind waiting for them to be done gasing up their car just to stand there and bask in the aroma.

Loved it as a child and get compliments on it every time. Gave it away after reading one review stating "This smells like one of those ladies that hangs out in the casinos, smoking cigarettes." Blech. That was enough to ruin it for me.

The Charlie commercials have got me rolling and laughing.
Does that really happen to you?
Even more, does one really need two large, long, wide spritzes of this classic?? Methinks not from what I can remember of this powerhouse.

I use to be a caretaker, eons back, and the person I took care of wore this fragrance constantly. I remember it being screechy then it would mellow and become nice and musky. And just when it got bearable ~spritz-spritz~ we started the whole process over again ...like every two hours.
It's one of those frags you can instantly identify. There is no mystery to it. It's Charlie.
It is that distinctive, like Windsong or Chanel No 5.

It's not a bad scent. I don't dislike it, but I sure don't love it.
I had tried it on myself a long time ago....
Great giant sillage
Lasts a long time.

So much love for this perfume! It was my 1st as a teen... Say no more!!!

Had my hopes up due to 70s cool factor and low price tag, sprayed it on a tester and immediately felt No! Maybe it's a beginner's mistake, but when the opening is repulsive, even after settling down a minute, I'm turned off and move on. Is that foolish?
Someone here mentioned that Charlie resembles Clinique's Aromatics Elixir, which is weird, because my first impression of that scent was Yes! Go figure.
Edit: Took another sniff today, and what the hey, I liked her this time! Spicy, sour, seventies... a scent I'd like to get to know better. So I took her home with me.
Thanks to reading a review below, I realized I had the Charlie Apple (silver pendant necklace) when I was little! Probably a thrift store find, and maybe empty, but this means the scent isn't new to me. I'm a little afraid it's too strong! It's definitely the most potent scent I have. Sprayed once on skin and once on t-shirt, and it might have been one/two sprays too many! Charlie is LOUD!

I'm wearing a vintage bottle of Charlie, and sniffing it trying to figure what it reminds me of, and while I reading the reviews down here, I found a reviewer telling that it reminded them of Clinique's Aromatics Elixir ! And yes yes yes, it is a definitely its copy-cat, as we all know that Charles Revson was mimicking all the great hits of his time, so I can say it's a replica that showed its originality through staying beautiful and fresh in its bottle all those 40 ++years that my bottle hase aged!! I have a Cologne version and a Parfam version, can you imagine how a Parfam version of Charlie will smell? The answer is Clinique's Aromatics Elixir, that has been said, I will be wearing it for long period.
I can say it is best worn for night, if I will wear it through day and sunny hours, I will make sure it will not be that hot.
Love love love Charlie the vintage version, but I know nothing about the new one at all, so I can't compare now, maybe later.

I sampled this today and was surprised to find similarities with Arpege on me for the first hour followed by a unique and pleasant development over the next 4 hours giving this fragrance it's own sweet signature! The differences between the two are that Arpege has Patchouli,Vetiver and a few extra notes in it such as Violet.
Can it be that as with Ciara's mimicry of Bal a Versailles that with Arpege's resurgent popularity in the 1970's marketed with slogans such as 'Arpege. Very simply the most beautiful gift in the world' and 'If she wants the moon, give her Arpege!' that Revlon sought to do the same with Charlie but with a twist towards 'the independent Woman' of the day with 'Charlie the gorgeous, sexy-young fragrance by Revlon'
This is a fragrance that is now on my shopping list after going on a fragrance shopping binge the last couple of weeks!

This is another 70's powerhouse that I needed to take time getting to know. I'm usually a 4 sprays kinda girl with todays modern gourmands. But these older ladies are loud enough to get by with one to 2 max! So with a restrained hand I went for it again, after rescuing it from my give away box. I figured that this one has stood the test of time for a reason and I must give her a fair shake. With a lighter hand you can really begin to appreciate why this one has become a classic. Yes, there is a lot of oak moss going on here, and you better be okay with aldehydes too or this one isn't for you. But it's nice in a mysteriously sexy kind of way. And the bonus with wearing the old classics is you won't be smelling generic. It's heavy, so I may have made a mistake wearing to work today. It may get moved to my night timely shelf! Give it a shot. For a few bucks it a good learning experience at the very least.

I wore Charlie in my early twenties, and liked the smell, though I met myself coming and going at every turn. It seemed like my entire country wore Charlie. Fast forward thirty years and I recently found a bottle at the bottom of my bathroom sink in my country house. Cannot even remember buying it, but there it was; still smells the same. Today we are expecting a blizzard in New York and for some reason I feel like wearing it, so I gave myself four squirts and I am loving the walk (or smell) down memory lane. After all of these years, it still feels good to wear Charlie.

Never smelled this... was before my time. But my mom has had a bottle out for decoration forever. Tried a squirt. Very heavy. I can smell the "I am woman, hear me roar" in it. This is a perfume that a woman put on in the 70's to prove that she could do anything, or wear anything she wanted to. Is it strong, yes. That's the way it was supposed to be. Dated but has a beauty about it. Would I wear it now, probably not. But I can only hope that I am the type of woman that would have worn it back in the 70's. That woman trying to defy societal norms. Ok, so maybe I will try to wear this sometime, just so I can go against the fruity, powdery, dreamy perfume smells of today! (which I love) On second thought, this perfume is still serving the same purpose 40 years later, and you gotta admire that! Happy Smelling!! :)

You have no idea how much I wanted to love this. I went to try it on with a head full of the 1970s ads, wanting to be free spirited, fresh, feminist, clean, with a glowing smile. I imagined wearing it like a secret confidence boost. I even wore a jumpsuit. :)

No matter how much I sniff my wrist and try to love it, it still smells like the neutral smelling men's antiperspirant I wear. Not unpleasant, but not something I would ever intentionally smell like, either.

bleaaaahhhhh!

I can't believe so many negative reviews for this classic.
Charlie was my grandma's signature perfume and it only evoques some of my best memories.
When I smell it on someone I can picture her gorgeous reddish hair perfectly styled, her make-up session finished with her Marilyn Monroe's beauty spot ( granny had it natural not painted ) and Charlie saying -I am ready and wonderful-.
The aroma of flowers, peach and aldehydes is so delightful and feminine that I just can think of a beautiful woman.
This along with Chanel N5 and Fidji were incredibly trendy here during the 70's and worn by the most sophisticated and gorgeous ladies.
A woman might still wear it today and would stand out among all those fuitchuly-vanilla girls of theese days.
Perfection, seduction, elegance and charm.
This is Charlie for me and that was for granny Mary too.

I have what I think is a vintage bottle (splash), Concentrated Cologne. The drydown is quite nice, with excellent interplay between the vanillic element and the woody/mossy ones, but it doesn't last as long as I'd like. I just did a dab sampling so when i wear it normally I'll update this review. It seems a little aldehydic but not nearly as strong as the major aldehydic chypres of the 70s. The florals are not all that strong, but I could see how some would find this dated. I'm just interested in whether the scent is pleasant, and at least for a while, this one meets that criterion for me.

I tried this one today as I wanted to check out Charlie Blue but of course, nobody has it...the original Charlie is very much like Marilyn Miglin Pheremone which is rather bitter and intense. I wont say I outright disliked it but its a bit strong and definitely not something I picture most young girls or even middle age women wearing .Back to looking for Charlie Blue.

I wore this in 8th grade because I had a crush on Charles Butindaro;.....He didn't like me (in that way) he had a crush on my friend Angela....Ah, the perils of love!!!

A calm floral scent, with tiny a hint of spice, nothing special, a nice standby scent in your fragrance arsenal.

This stuff is just weird. It smells kind of like giorgio mixed with something dirty like perhaps dirt and rocks, kinda dry too.

Mmmmmmm.....it's just. so. good. This is really out of left field for me as far as comparisons to other fragrances I have bought, but I am really happy with my purchase. This counts as a "Out for a while, but new to me" scent. Smelled it a few times at Walmart, didn't care for it, and then went through kind of a perfume purchase binge recently and re-visited this one, and really liked it! It is so much better on, and plays really nicely with my skin chemistry. Outstanding performance for longevity too. Way better than most of my really expensive stuff in fact. Some people have warned about it being a sillage monster, but I do not find that at all, and I have actually increased how much I sprayed b/c I wasn't getting as much from it as I wanted initially. As with all things, don't over do it. I feel like I'm at the perfect amount. :)

It is a comforting aroma, slightly woody, and a comforting richness that is really well blended. It has depth. It reminds me a bit of a softer version of Ciara which my mother wore and I adored on her. I also really like that as it warms up and softens after a little bit, I smell a talcum powder quality. At the end of the day, I don't care if it is an older one, I like it and that's what counts. And it smells great on me.
Very satisfying to wear! I can see why this one is a classic.


Update: As I have gotten the opportunity to wear this one more, I just want to say how much I LOVE the dry down on this. It softens into something really beautiful that I keep wanting to smell up close. This perfume is awesome!

I bought this on a lark. I am old enough to remember the original Charlie ads and commercials and young enough to have never worn it. I can't recall ever testing it or smelling it back when I was a teenager in the 80s and certainly not in the early 90s when it was still heavily advertised, sometimes to comic effect. Cindy Crawford, I'm looking at you. Much better to look at you than listen to your singing voice.

Even though Charlie is 40 years old, it is a new to me scent like most of what I've been exploring. My take on this EDT, manufactured in June 2014, Charlie in a blue box without the word blue on it scent is simply this: Whizz, bang fizz. It is a St. Germain, Blue Sapphire, and extra-dry champagne cocktail on my skin.

In the past 24 hours, I have worn one delicate spritz on each wrist until it faded quietly away. I have over sprayed it to the point both arms and my neck were wet in an attempt to see if it would elicit a headache or complaints. It did neither. In fact, the over spraying just rewarded me with a longer time to enjoy the florals before the quiet dry down. I sprayed my washable wool sweater and found that unlike many of the scents I've tried, my sweater just smells clean and fresh rather than something cloying and rotting (so many perfumes smell horrible on clothes the next day.) I wore it for my workout. I sprayed it heavily before picking my daughter up from school to test the sillage. She is very opinionated about my perfumes and didn't even comment until hugging me at home and murmuring, "you smell good." I even went to bed with Charlie only sprayed on my left inside calf to see what would be left 6 1/2 hours later when I awoke. Nothing lingered.

Maybe I have some weird lot of Charlie EDT, but whatever it is, I like it and what started out as an experiment has turned into a pleasant lemony, mossy, nose-tickling green floral surprise.

This was the first fragrance I bought. I was on a ferry with the school and was hell bent on buying my first "real" perfume. I must've been around 12 y.o. I was too proud to admit that it was too heavy for my age and taste at the time. I've actually liked it on others but that aldehyde has probably worn off by the time I notice it on them and ask. Even my very mature math teacher who was along on the trip was repulsed. I never wore it. It has notes in it that usually work well with me now and have since my mid-late 20s so maybe I would like it today but not on me. Aldehydes along with cypre notes, are notoriously difficult for me to pull off, especially if those notes are dominant. Coriander is another note I've had mixed success with. On the other hand, the carnation - my birthday flower- note that puts many off a fragrance, seems to work well with me.

Aromatic and yet somehow simultaneously Romantic......

I LOVE scents that were introduced before my birth. They have a flavor that feels like a vacation into the past I never got to experience.

Vicariously, I am living the airy, natural aura of the 70's when I wear Charlie, and it feels great! Incidentally, I feel both alert and happy when Charlie's pungent yet gentle fragrance lingers throughout the day. And surprisingly, I DO receive complements. Not outdated after all. ;)

Rating = Five Stars for a combination of perfect sillage, longevity, and value. The only caveat? Perhaps unsuited to temperatures above 70 or 80 degrees F.

Green grass. Spring, Happy.

I love Charlie. I will always have a bottle.

There is a lady at my work who sometimes pokes fun at me for wearing Charlie. Whatever. I know that this smell just makes me happy for some reason. It lingers on me all day. Yes, it's not a fancy, expensive scent. Who cares? It's perfect just like it is.

Layering is a cool idea to me but I'm careful to layer things that have a sameness to me. This morning I sprayed a few sprays after my shower and then followed up with Aromatics lotion on my arms. They compliment each other and I like the result.

Charlie is a perfect scent for anytime. It lifts me up. It has staying power. It doesn't break the bank. I hope they NEVER stop making this.

I put this on yesterday at 6am and by midnight, I could still smell it and it was lovely.

Charlie is like an old friend to me. I have been wearing it since it first came out (when I was 12 years old). I have always had it in my collection and always will. The original scent was much better, more earthy and stronger, but the new version isn't bad. It seems more floral/ powdery. It's a great fragrance for young and old alike. I have tried many of the different varieties of Charlie but none compare to the original.

on me smells like a dirty diaper

This is my Mom's signiture scent, she absolutely loves it and for good reason. It smells gorgeous on her. I don't think I would ever buy it for myself only because, to me, it's my Mom's.

For me, and I have no idea how old my bottle is... I suspect pretty darn old (the writing on the bottle is blue, but it is NOT Charlie Blue... and when you hold the spray down... it doesn't stop spraying. Got it in a lot that included Max Factor Hypnotique cologne and Prince Matchabelli Cachet cologne... and the version I have is a cologne)

ANYWAY... it starts off as a massive sandalwood bomb, which on my skin tends to smell like I just rolled in a catbox. If I can tolerate this for about an hour.. it is so pretty. Unique. The ONLY cologne spray that I have ever sprayed on myself that will last for about 12 hours, and change subtly during those long hours. It was clearly not made any time recently, with all the fruity florals+extrafruit that last an hour at best, if you're lucky.


It is... fun :)

stinks at first, but despite this, has been a staple of my collection since i started wearing perfume. i put it on a good hour or two before i'm due to go out, to let the oh-so-strong initial smell die down, but i'm glad i gave this a chance when i first tried it. it's heart and base notes are so warm and strong but not overpowering. suits my skin perfectly in the winter. i can't wear this is in summer. the heat makes it far too intense for me. a good classic, in the right conditions. don't let the strength of it put you off.

Big green explosion upon initial spray it then dries down to the most beautiful soft white flora that is undeniably beautiful!! So glad I took a chance on this perfume. I always wanted to try it but I was never allowed to have a bottle because it was deemed to be cheap and nasty by my mom and nan!! It's intoxicating !!

I never bought or owned this in the 70's Didn't have too, everyone was wearing it. I dislike this perfume intensely. Smelled like cat pee, just annoyingly awful to walk around high school and that smell was everywhere.l adore perfume and reading these reviews are helpful in working my collection up. I'm traumatized to this day perfume wise by Charlie.

My first perfume as a teen. It came in a little metal container shaped like an apple and was a salve like consistency. Perhaps it was on a necklace? I am sure that little apple shaped pot remained at my parents in my bedroom for twenty years the Vaseline like contents turning browner and crustier as time went on. But the scent lasted. Go Charlie!

One of my ALL TIME FAVORITES!!! Just went back to waring this again. If you buy the Vintage Cologne, it lasts FOREVER!!! If I had to explain how this smells, i really am at a loss for words. Just a slightly sweet woody perfume from the 70's. Its really a BEAUTY. Those who hate, do so, BUT I LOVE THIS PERFUME!!!!

Never understood why anyone would like this much less how it could be as popular as it once was. Smells like a weed.

Classics are classics for a reason, as Charlie proves. I will admit I'm a latecomer to Charlie, having never tried it until about six years ago when a friend and I were messing around in a drugstore. I loved it on first spritz! There is something in it that reminds me of a fizzy, just-opened bottle of ginger ale--I swear it even tickles my nose a bit! Ginger ale and white flowers speckled with a bit of green, drying down into light aromatic wood, both sillage and longevity are outstanding. Its a very youthful and playful scent, one I go to if I need a little attitude adjustment. To my mind it is the best fragrance that can be found in a drugstore, and even holds its own against many department store competitors.

I wore this for years in my early 20s (20+ years ago) Recently I tried it again and it was way too much oak moss for me.. My tastes must have really changed, but I still have good memories... It had a high sillage and was very long lasting.

I love Charlie partly for nostalgic reasons - it was my first grown up perfume. But the other reason is because it's so heavy in my favorite note - oakmoss! I can understand why this has so many dislikes - it is powerful stuff, and if you are not a fan of this type of scent, the strength of this one can seem like an olfactory assault. In the TV ad, Shelley Hack applies two large sprays of Charlie to her neck as she enters a night club. Whoa! That amount of Charlie would evacuate the whole place. I find this scent most lovely when worn with some restraint. It is dry, woody, floral, a bit aldehydic, and steeped in hyacinth and oakmoss. It dries down to a woody powder, not being totally linear, but always retaining the Charlie scent. Like most scents, it has to work with your chemistry, and I'm happy this works for me. It is one of the rare scents that surprisingly illicits compliments from my husband, who is usually a vanilla-loving male. I have vintage Charlie in concentrated cologne. The oldest versions of Charlie use dark colored lettering on the bottle. The newer bottles use white lettering, like the picture shown here. I haven't smelled the current version but the Revlon website describes it as "fresh florals and amber spice". I don't experience it that way at all. Charlie Blue is the most similar flanker but not nearly as good as the original.

This was my signature scent when I was a teenager and early 20's. Just as my later favorite, Aramis' New West for her, it was a scent that always, always elicited compliments. To me, no matter how much you like a scent, that others notice and appreciate it makes that a scent one that works on your body chemistry.

Unlike with New West, with Charlie I definitely have a "Been there done that" feeling, which keeps me from trying it again. But never say never...perhaps one of these days I will go retro.

I never thought I'd try this one again, as I had it in the '70's and 80's, and frankly tired of it. Not that it wasn't nice, it was just EVERYWHERE. But time goes by and memories fade-so-I found it a an estate sale sitting all alone a vanity. I looked at it a couple of times and took the cap off to sniff. Unmistakeable! For a half dollar it was mine to keep. It's in really good condition, too. I tried it today and it's the same old Charlie. White florals, woods and carnations all the way, a little green and bitter at the top, slightly powdery drydown.

Mine may be reformulated, as it only lasts 3-4 hours without the enormous sillage of the past. (An improvement, I think) It's a keeper, though- I like it again!

My mother wore this some in the 70s and 80s.I remember her wanting to try this so much, then she got it for a gift from one of my older brothers.
She liked it quite a bit but it was not her signature, which was Windsong.

She gave me a little spray bottle of this when I was around 12 or 13, I think she bought a gift set on sale, keeping the big bottle for herself and sharing the little one with me.

It was very nice, but so much better on her that I eventualy gave it back to her so she could use it before it went bad. When I smell it on others it brings back many childhood memories.

This is another total "blech" on me. I got it as a hand-me down from a well-meaning relative when I was a child. To this day, the smell still makes me want to gag. Try before you buy, for sure. Good silage though for a scent that I don't really want to fill a room with, lol.

I won a huge 16 oz bottle on Ebay (I am not kidding) for $15.00. I am pretty sure it is the original 'Charlie'. People here write it smells like 'Chanel No 5'. Is it because of the aldehydes added to the reformulation(s)? To me it smells more like a greener Norell. Very similar also to Ted Lapidus' 'Creation'.

I have a bottle of early 90's era Charlie that was given to me by a friend. It has been in my collection for quite a while, overlooked and unloved. I confess I have been guilty of perfume snobbery, and thought it was just another cheap drug store spray.

Out of curiosity I decided to try it the other day, wanting something other than the Lolita Lempicka and Hypnose Senses that are my current go-to's but unwilling to make a new purchase when I have what is to me a sizable stash of 'fume. I settled on Charlie, and man, oh man, I have been missing out. It reminds me a lot of a younger, more playful version of Chanel No 5, and does not smell cheap to me in the slightest.

While it's definitely in the class of 'one spray will do you' for me upon the initial application, the sillage on me is not really remarkable, and lasts perhaps 3 hours tops. So I definitely have to reapply sometime during the day, something that puzzles me since it comes across so strong on first blush.

All in all, I really like Charlie, and I think it will make it's way into my regular rotation.

That model was Shelly Hack, not Farrah Fawcett. She was in the shaving cream commercial with Joe Namath, for shaving cream if memory serves me correct. I loved Charlie back in the day! Although Shelly Hack did play one year I believe in Charlie's Angels. Farrah was only there one season. RIP Farrah.

I smelled it first time few years ago at my friends birthday.His grandma was wearing it, i noticed this scent as soon as i walked in to the house...so rich,thick,sweet and strong ,it smelled so familiar and lovely,that i ignored the thought that it is some cheap old fashion cologne.She told me - it's CHARLIE! I ordered a bottle the next day.
I don't wear it,I just look at the bottle,it's like golden honey in a bottle,thick and sweet,cheap but so good,that you can't resist it....I spray it on my hand just to enjoy the magical cascade or notes,i believe it's my early childhood memories,when i could smell and enjoyed the smell,but was too young to understand that it's a lady,that is wearing CHARLIE,one of the most popular scents of that era.

I remember my first time seeing the commercial for Charlie! Was it Farrah Fawcet? Some long legged brunette, crossing a busy street, wearing white pants! I was like... "Wh.. what?! What is that?" Car sommercial? Stop light ad? :D White pants advertisment?! Whatever it was trying to sell, I did not care, I wanted to be that woman!! And I was wonderin why a male name was printed across the tv screen?!
My mom at that time wore pants, nothing unusual for me. She wore french perfumes, I came across Charlie only years later ... When I first tried it - the surprise was tremenodous! Not only I remembered the ad so vividly, I specifically recalled this fragrance as something "modern women of my childhood wore" without knowing this was C. I guess brilliant ad went along with brilliant scent! Good job Revlon!!

Like so many in my generation I grew up with this fragrance around me. It was never one my own mother wore, not her style. But you couldn't be born in the 70s or 80s and not be aware of this iconic scent. I used to snag it from my sister and she's the one who taught me how to wear it.

I like it, I love it. EVEN though it gives me a headache. Go figure.

Once the initial aldehydic, kind of soapy smelling (headache inducing) note drys off this is a great scent. When I'm going to wear it I spray it on almost right after my bath or shower ritual of that morning. Gives time for the heart notes to begin to shine through. (Seriously, whatever is up with my body chem., perfumes don't seem to last as long on me.)

I tend to think of this more as an open space, outdoor scent. Works well into the evening. Jeans, slacks (it was the first perfume commercial to feature a woman wearing pants). Wear it when you want to be casual but noticed. And expect to not really like the scent on yourself while receiving compliments from friends and passersby. (Though I'm one who loves it on herself) I have worn it to church, one of the ladies was like "Oh my gosh! Are you wearing CHARLIE?! Where did you get it?" I wore it to the office yesterday and my boss loved it. It's an icon for a reason. And I do love my iconic scents.

It does remind me a little bit of Chanel No. 5, probably because of the aldehydes, but the differences are important and of course Charlie is the drug store, accessible to all brand. It's complex and beautiful, bold and not to be bothered with discretion.


In today's world where the trend is boring, single note perfumes, watered down... everything, with little or no character - Charlie is a stand out.

I'm editing this to say that after a week of using the perfume again regularly - no headache at all. I guess I established a good relationship with her and Charlie is now my best friend. Also, I can hardly stop sniffing myself. On my skin, where most perfumes go to die or fade into nothingness, she is NOT giving up the ghost. Worn to the park this past weekend I found myself standing up-wind of a man who was there walking his dog. He waved and said I must be wearing some kind of lovely perfume because there weren't enough flowers in bloom for it to be anything else! He laughed when I told him it was Charlie. Then he said he guessed good taste never really went out of style. Why do people laugh or act surprised about Charlie? I think I'm going to make it my mission to educate people about this perfume.

my mom use to wear this.

I happened upon a half oz. perfume oil with the glass dabber. Its dark amber color promised a richness that I wasnt expecting for around $10. This is a thowback to the 1970s. I was unaware of how Revlon was such an important player in the perfume world. Charlie is legendary.

I was used to the familiar aldehydic spray the my aunt used so liberally. Ah, those Christmases that my Uncle Charlie faithfully produced a bottle for her through the 1970s. The bottles seemed to get weaker over the years. There are no aldehydes here. This is the original "magnum opus" from Revlon. This defies most catagories and has nuances of all. This pure perfume works real well on my skin, strangely enough.

This was the signature of a generation. I guess the baby boomers appreciated this the most. The "feminist" movement was just catching on and more and more women were entering the workforce. They could pick up a bottle of Charlie and get the attention they wanted. Its codename was "Cosmo". Womens lib anyone?

Oddly enough, as women are very important in the workforce today, the feminist spirit has faded. I feel that the battle is half won. Men still get paid more and the women do all of the work.

The perfume world was a lot different in 1973. You could get a bottle of Chanel no 5 for under $20. Charlie went for around $2.50. The composition is priceless today with peach, oakmoss, a heady floral bouquet that is tightly distilled and vanilla/sandalwood base that last for hours. It ranks right up there with its contemporaries Norell, Fidji and Rive Gauche as far as quality was concerned.

Its hard to imagine how flawless this was compared to its current exploitated nonsense with every color of the spectrum to follow it through the decades.

Celebrity=Gloria Steinem

who doesn't know this smell? everyone wore or know someone who wore Charlie in the 70's and 80's. People either hate it or love it. Those that love perfumes that pervade every corner of the room will gravitate toward this scent. Those that are migraine prone will run as fast as they can leaving their shoes and purses behind. It's so nostalgic bringing back fondest memories for many older women. Some people will say it's Granny perfume but I think when used sparingly, it can be a beautiful fragrant. When used to cover up body odor, this scent can knock you off your socks due to it's cloying heaviness, flowery overdose. Even plants and insects down the street won't be spared. I think the scent smells so much better after it dissipates in an hour. Instead of spraying directly onto the skin, you can mist it into the air and walk through it so the aldehyde scent won't kill your nose. I find it smells a lot better after I rinse my skin with a little bit of water after I spray it on. I never owned this perfumed but I have tested it because it was part my aunt's left over perfume collection that she has outgrown. It's definitely an interesting fragrant very different than all the fruity florals of today.

I just got "A Touch of Charlie" as part of a lot I got off ebay. It is definitely a flanker to this and seems to have some of the same notes, but isn't listed in any of my go-to fragrance databases. It is not the same as "Charlie Touch." I think it is slightly turned, but it still smells pretty good. Can anyone tell me more about it.

This perfume has a very special place in my heart - my mom's signature fragrance. Need I say more? Growing up this perfume meant comfort to me. I often stole it from her vanity table and hide it in my bed to sleep with it. (such as her creams and hairpins and lipstics, I would hide all that in my bed!). Growing up behind the iron curtain women of the 80's had not much choice when it came to perfumes. I was lucky my mom had the privilige to use Charlie and I was there to sniff on her soft and beautifully smelling skin day after day!
Until this day, it is her signature perfume, and I appreciate this beauty more and more every day. Every Mother's Day she gets her new supply from no other then her daughter - me!

You will never get as many complements on how good you smell wearing anything else! Every person who does not like “Charlie”, will always like it on someone else, always! Every time I wear this, I hear the same thing...“Oh my, you smell so good, what are you wearing?”. And then I hear the same answer after telling them it’s “Charlie”...”Really? It never smells that good on me”! The reason People don’t like “Charlie” at first is because we’re so use to people walking around in todays world wearing their “J-lo’s” and their “Britney Spears” or their “Pure Vanilla spray” from “The body shop” that we’re bombarded with the same smelling perfumes everyday and they all smell the same ..that when you wear something like "Charlie”, EVERYONE smells what you’re wearing and it always makes a person become strangely attracted to the scent, that they HAVE to know what you’re wearing because it’s such a different smell that stands out, and has an immediate attack on the senses because it’s so rare! The best thing is that it has not changed from day one...even big names like “Estee Lauder’s Beautiful” has changed and “CK’s Obsession”! All of the big names have changed their signature scents over the years to adapt to the times of todays scents, but “Charlie” has always stayed the same. It fills the room as you enter and people love it!
BIG TIP-When you try the sample perfume of Charlie at the store...DON’T! Hide the tester and tell a staff member you can not find the tester...they usually open a new box to be the new tester! That way, you can smell the real scent! Testers have been sitting out for years and have gone funky, so when you smell them, it’s always a toxic mix of floor cleaners and poisons ha ha ha! So please open a new box to smell any perfume, so that you really get to smell the true scent of a perfume like “Charlie”!
Even though "Charlie" is a toilette...it's a strong toilette, which is a good thing!
So for those with dry skin types, this can last up to 6 hours and for those with moist skin types, this can last up to 3 hours, maybe 4!

I confess that I did not wear Charlie back in the day, although I remember well its promotion and popularity. Instead I wore Estivalia by Puig, the Spanish equivalent of Charlie and now sadly discontinued. Last summer I tried a 3.4 oz. bottle of EDT with a dented cap and a $6.99 sticker price, just for fun - what a pleasant surprise! While it doesn't smell at all like my old favorite, it provides that same blast of woody/floral freshness mixed with sophisticated aldehydes. My new signature scent and a worthy replacement for the old one. I think Charlie has appeal for women of all ages.

There are several negative reviews on here about Charlie. I think this is one of the more mis-understood fragrances that are out there. Charlie was and still is one of those perfumes that never tried to win hearts, and that was the whole point.

It was introduced during a time when women were really beginning to make the effort to come into their own as hardworking and perfectly capable. The women who wear Charlie do not need the approval of others the concern superficiality, in order to feel good about themselves. Charlie is loaded with alhehydes, masculine and feminine florals, woods, powder, metallic elements, and all those nasties that give high marks to self-assurance.

It doesn't try to win you over by smelling like the dessert line at the local country kitchen. It doesn't seek your approval by smelling like some niche concoction with a bazillion, perfectly blended notes. It does not attempt to seduce you with a romantic, victorian garden of tuberose, gardenia, and the like. It doesn't have to. For Charlie, it's the fragrance that is being worn by a woman who doesn't give a hoot what you think about her...or her perfume. This woman wears it for herself, because she likes it, and that's all you need to know. If you suggest to a Charlie wearing woman at the office that her perfume is not your favorite, she will respond with, "Good for you. Now, where is that report I asked you for?" Something that women were not able to do prior to its' introduction. This fragrance was a milestone.

This fragrance is (to my nose) a powerful, slightly masculine, bright, edgy, green, aldehydic floral with a mineral and soft wood drydown. In my opinion, it smells like a green field of timothy hay, with one's nose to the ground, near the claybed. It is confidant and unique. It is a signature scent. It is not cheaply made. Every accord and note is included with purpose. I love it! And, for a fragrance that has such a bad reputation for stinkery...I certainly, as the sky is blue, recieve my fair share of compliments.

I don't know a woman who did not own a bottle of this by 1980. That has got to say something.

No, it's not accessible for the tender nosed. It does not smell like candy, pink flowers, babies, or sweet spices. It's an acquired taste, with a personality of its own. It is a challenging fragrance for many. But, if you ever liked it once, chances are you will like it forever. I know I do, and will continue to.

I can barely remember it, Was a gift from my mom when I turned 10, I was so excited that I brought it to school to show it to my friends, but one of the bully girls had one just like it. She lost it and whenever she saw mine she saw her chance to replace hers too. She accused me of steeling it, I denied it of course, but she was so mean that I ended up giving mine to her. I said to my mom I lost it and she got mad. Didn't buy a perfume again until my dad gave me my Red Door at 12; the greatest part of it is that any other girl of school dared to try it :)

I to remeber Charlie from my youth. It wasn't until the 1990s when I received a gift from a friend and it was Charlie. I wore the fragrance until the bottle was empty. Did I love it?? I have not own another. Since reading these post, I think I will purchase a small bottle to add to my collection. Chandler Burr is doing an interesting experiment that he discussed at a Sniffapalooza fling last year? Each month you may buy an untitled perfume and and test the scent. It is unbias, without the marketing and hyper. It is fun and not too expensive.
I love finding unique and older fragrances and love perfume. For me it is a learning experience and I am learning to appreciate a fragrance as the fragrance it is. Fragrance is an art. How I am able to combine my subjective and objective impression on fragrances is challenging and is something I am having fun learning .

Charlie is a cheap perfume, but that has its own history and quality.
I had to buy to try it because I knew his story and needed to know the smell of the 70s, the feminist revolution.
For me charlie opens with a punch in the nose of aldehydic notes, moss and a little peach, shortly after Jacinto who shines is with its nuances combined with the green moss that is present from beginning to end. Disappear when the aldehydes, the fragrance becomes charming, for those who like the style and floral chipres Anais Anais, which shares some characteristics with charlie (Green, floral, moss, civet).
In charlie I can feel Animalic also a nuance that I acrdito that comes from the catheter.
It is a scent that is worth trying, expect the first 15 minutes of its evolution, for you to give your final verdict on the scent.
I liked it a lot. If you did not like charlie, try it co conbina other fragrances low setting, after charlie sticks to the skin and is almost impossible to remove it. I tried with Chanel No5 edt charlie was great and it goes well and also Anais Anais and Cabochard.
Aroma: 8/10
Sillage: 7/10
Fixation: 10/10

I bought this recently and i would like to first of all say that I am no perfume snob and adore drugstore classics.

However, after one spray I knew I would never wear this and rushed to wash it off. It's overwhelmingly strong, and sorry, I have to say it, it smelled cheap and nasty.

perfume has really evolved since the seventies and what people loved then, they might not like now. This was astringent, overly floral- (WAAYY too many flowers jostling for space) and then was very woody AND mossy AND musky on top of all that and, as always when you don't like a scent, was very long lasting! About as subtle as a smack in the face with a bottle of pound store Cologne.

Don't get me wrong, as I said, I love a perfume bargain and I am a firm believer that perfume needn't be expensive to smell good, but this was a howler on me!

This is my first proper introduction to perfume. In the mid nineties i was a little girl and at a fair Revlon was doing a marketing push as they handed out carded vials of some version of this eau. I am not sure which edition maybe the red. I just know the jus is a rich golden yellow

I remember timidly dabbing it only once on the inside of my wrist. I was fond of the scent it was heady, sweetish, feminine most grown up thing. I was more happy in sniffing the vial and surrounding card, it was that strong to me.

I also remember on that day i had these sample lipstick minis my teenaged cousins gave me. With Charlie on hand i had no need or desire to paint my lips red. I instead drew with the lippies instead like they were crayons on oversized white paper :-)

I would love to smell Charlie again but i personally have not seen it for the longest time in stores. Oh well

"Can I smell your Charlie" was an infamous "chat up" line used by boys in the 1970's and I have to say that I don't know anyone in their 50's now who didn't own a bottle of this iconic perfume back in the 1970's. I loved the ad with Shelley Hack and the "androgynous" name and wore this a lot together with my other 70's gems - "Chique", "Just Musk" and "Tramp"! I still have a small bottle in my perfume cabinet which I've had for about 15 years - I don't wear it much nowadays as I think I'm too old for this particular scent, but I still like to sniff it occasionally to whisk me back in time.

This fragrance has morphed into a hyacinth soliflore, through which aldehydes amplify the freshness of cut grass. Very beautiful and, yes expensive smelling casual scent. Great if you like a fresh, clean smelling scent that lasts. I give it a 5 star rating.

It's a '70s classic, but remains timeless in my opinion. After all, perfume is not dependent on age and personality ... yes I love the notes of aldehydes, reminds me at times to Anais Anais by Cacharel ... Very intense, fixed so spectacular ... In its launch year won the FIFI Awards, the "Oscar" of the fragrance ... Try before you buy ...

I have worn vintage Charlie for nearly my entire life and I wear it well. It's very femme and always the right fragrance to wear whether I'm dressing up or down. Appropriate for work and hits the right notes for evening as well. When I was much younger, Charlie made me feel older and more sophisticated. Now that I'm a little older, it makes me feel free, confident, and sophisticated. I love the packaging and a little goes a long way. I get my fix on eBay and it never disappoints. I must assert that the current formulation is not bad -just less intense. The new formula is a little lighter on the base notes. Brighter. But the 'feeling' is all there. I always receive compliments when I wear Charlie. Men, women (often surprised at what it is I am wearing), children, etc. "A most original fragrance." Indeed.

I really like Charlie.

It's so easy to wear and I think it lifts my spirit. The smell is a bit dry and spicy (carnation?), sweet, but it doesn't feel heavy.

With such an affordable price, Charlie beats quite a few perfumes anytime.

I was upset to find on a perfume site, for that matter that Charlie, an iconic fragrance any way you look at it, is being described as cheap, drugstore grade fragrance. So I went in the opposite direction, but still came up short of writing about the juice itself.
I am pretty sure Charlie hasn't changed at all since it's release, yet over time my interpretation of this fragrance has, significantly. I used to experience a very dry burst of aldehydes at the opening. Next I would recognize an equally dry and powerful grass, very much like the sharp green scent of a freshly mowed lawn. An equally dry spiky carnation continues the sensation of a Southern California August kind of green.
I wonder if my sense of smell has continued to develop, because aldehydes aside, Charlie has gotten sweeter to my nose over the years and presently I'm experiencing it as one of the most beautiful delicate florals. I'm smelling a variety of flowers, but non I can name yet in particular. I'm still getting those grassy notes, but now it's as if I'm in a meadow on a warm spring day. Instead of the aldehydes cooling the mix like in Chanel #5, it's effect is warm, like a warm breeze, like the sun. I have been wearing this for the last couple of days, and it stays sweet, green and fresh. I mixed it with Chanel#5, which was pretty, but dare I say that if I had to choose, I like this better!!!

I just have to say I HATE THE SNOBBERY behind the idea some have that a perfume isn't to be bothered with if is sold at K-Mart and other bargain stores. All perfume has it's personal history of its relationship with it's admirers and then the very different tale of business decisions and outcomes controlled by money and fate. Charlie is a prime example. Charlie was my very first adult perfume when I was 11 back in 1974. It's release was one of the biggest media blitzes of 1974. This fragrance was heavily promoted in the cosmetic floor in first rate department stores. I was so estatic when my mother bought me a great big bottle during a fun outing to Boston. It was a reassuring condolence for my recent and difficult move over the threshold into puberty. Although I dutifully wore my Charlie off and on, I never understood what the heck I was wearing. My tastes ran with Love's Babysoft Lemon Cologne, easy for a 'tween to relate to.
Fastforward to today. Revlon, although a quality brand will probably continue to be found at CVS and Rite Aid, and the biggest bottle of Charlie today can often be had for ten dollars, Charlie is a beautiful aldehydic floral, a classic example of a very trend-on fragrance of the time.

This was my first ever 'grown up' perfume, which I bought for myself in my late teens.
Everybody in those days was wearing either Charlie or Tweed, when we went out there must have been an impenetrable zone of those perfumes around us!
I moved on to L'Air du Temps then Rive Gauche as I grew up... Which many of you have suggested as comparisons.
I think I might create myself a history of my life in perfumes!

Charlie used to make me sad as my former brother in law had a girlfriend who wore it back in 74. He broke up with her in most cowardly way. Tears.

I found a bottle in the closet today I'd forgotten and about and I agree with jennifer60656 as to the emotive qualities when women were exploring all they could and there was a certain cachet to it all.

It is a perfect scent summer or winter. Fresh, green, slightly spiced, "jazzy" is the word that comes to mind.

My new/old find again. On to conquer the world!

CHARLIE. Ok perfume but who could forget the commercial. Snappy little song ending with Shelley Hack, in her pre "Charlie"s Angels" days tossing her hat. No wonder we all flocked to by it!

In the early 70s when women was into feminist movement and the workforce . Revlon introduced Charlie .The very famous commercial with the beautiful model dressed in a tuxedo ,sent a message to the modern women .Back then,my mother was crazy about the deep musky fragrance with woodsy undertones and strong carnation scent.I still remember that scent !But my last trip to the Pharmacy store for a whiff of Charlie, brought me much displeasure to my nose.I don't know , but it smelled very much like fake synthetic air fresher!

my daughter had a bunch of these charlie fragrances small ones this one and charlie white and red I think idk but they were all stinky they are probably still somewhere around in one of her old purses or something I just don't like these kmart/walmart fragrances some I have never tried but these charlies ughh no thanks!

I saw a 100 ml. bottle on special yesterday and though I own one already, I had to get a backup. Intemporelle beauté et féminité... ( timeless beauty and femininity) is what it is all about to me. I wore this 10 years ago but no matter how often i smell it, it still ravishes me in this lovely old-school way. It is ever so surprising how many compliments this perfume gets when I wear it: longevity is awesome, composition is classic and brilliant, the sillage is quite impressive too... Charlie,(like s.o. said) goes with my L'air Du Temps, Fidgi and other classic collection that never go out of style. Loves it!

OMG, I remember growing up with girls wearing this in the seventies - eighties! LOL.

Just a quick question first: How is this an aldehyde when no aldehydes are listed? Inquiring minds want to know.

I didn't think I would like Charlie. I got a bottle as a gift probably 15 years ago and it's been kicking around in a closet. I decided to give it a try. I really, really like this stuff a lot! I think the reason I do like it so much better than before is that now I can appreciate different notes and fragrance concepts better.

When I first tried it on I got such a fabulous green fizzy scent - oh how cool! I love the carnation green-ness of it.

The first impression I got of Charlie was of women in the 70s who wore long dresses, made fondues and spinach dip,dabbled in tarot cards, and grew houseplants and did macrame. The sort of suburban housewife and mom who also had adult friends with whom they talked about adult things, like they read the Joy of Sex and Fear of Flying. Women who questioned what it meant to be a woman. I think of the old film, Season of the Witch - the woman in that movie would definitely wear Charlie.

Having said that, is the fragrance dated? You betcha! Is that a bad thing? Not a chance and I think that is the beauty of fragrance - like capturing time and space in a bottle; being able to put yourself wherever and whenever you'd like to be while still being able to author your own here and now.

OMG we had a client come in our office this morning and I went sniffing her out! Absolutely smelled wonderful on her. CRAZY I wanted to stay up front and smell her all day.

This was my first ever perfume, my dad gave it to me when I was about 12 or 13. I loved it then. But this bottle doesn't smell anything like what I remember. Faulty memory? very possibly. But I dont hate it.

My mom gave me her half enpty bottle when I about 11, I really loved it at the time and I think I made everyone around me sick because how much I spashed it on myself. I wouldn't use it now but I do have a small and very old bottle just because of the memories attached to it.

My mothers favorite Perfume.
I will always cherish this scent because of my mom

My mother used to wear this perfume in the 80s and it always smelled so good on her. It smelled very expensive and she got compliments all the time. These days the perfume is very watered down and does not last more than 30 mins. Such a shame... because it had become my mom's signature fragrance!

I received the original Charlie perfume in a beautiful crystal bottle with a crystal stopper, not like is pictured above, sometime in the 70's. It was a gift from a young boy that had a crush on me. I was so impressed with the gift. I felt very grown up and chic.

In the bottle it smelled powdery and delicious. On my skin, in no short-order, it became "uh, who let one?" or lingering cat pee. And, it had tenacious staying power. Either way, as much as I tried, and I did try, it never worked out for me. I don't really understand why, because some of the fragrances I love today, have those very same notes. I guess the combination is just lethal for me.

By the way, the love with the young boy never blossomed either.

É um clássico dos anos 70, porém continua atemporal em minha opinião. Afinal, perfume não depende de idade e sim de personalidade... Eu adoro as notas de aldeídos, me remete em alguns momentos muito Anais Anais da Cacharel ... Muito intenso, fixa de forma espetácular... No seu ano de lançamento ganhou o FIFI Awards, o "Oscar" da perfumaria...Experimente antes de comprar...

I gave away my Charlie Blue but kept my Charlie Red. Blue was such a blast of fragrance and it refused to calm down as the day wore on. Maybe some young lady has adopted it. I can still hear Bobby Short singing the song introducing..."there's a new girl in town, and her name is Charlie..." IMO it should be worn by someone with youthful energy unless they immediately label it as "old l..y'

To my nose, it has much similarities with Mackie- Bob Mackie.

That sharp and shampooing/ balm smell, maybe cus a excess of aldehydes, that makes it leaves a burnt and cristalline trace in the air.

My mother use to wear Charlie and Byzance, and when she is out of home, I love to spray it in the hall to disperse "her" smell throughout the house.

Sometimes, Charlie resembles to Giórgio. Give me the same sensation, tho Giórgio hasn't the animalic smell, that note that makes Charlie seems old.

However, this similarities is not enough to put it in "This perfume reminds me of..." cus I know, as always, nobody will agree.

"Charlie"?
My English language professor used to wear this perfume.
I entered the building and I could almost smell it from the stairs below!

Of course it is a fantastic perfume, of course the other Charlies don't share a fraction of its magic and of course it was/is shockingly cheap!
If you can find it, you may as well buy it in abundance, wear it day in/day out, and don't bother reading perfume reviews here or anywhere else for the rest of your lifetime. :-)

Charlie was a turning point of the perfume industry. In 1973, when it was introduced for about $3. a bottle, all women had to try it! It was a floral aldehyde obviously inspired by Chanel No 5. Sassy, full of quality ingredients and commercially appealing. It was a "women lib" signature.

The flankers to endlessly follow it never really matched its original beauty. I sampled some last year and yes, its still Charlie-stretched out as far as it can go on a chemical frame.

A trademark of the 70's.I still remember my mum wearing it.Charlie was a modern perfume(and extremely cheap)

Back in 1975 my best friend wore "Charlie" at school, growing up in New Jersey, and it smelled wonderful on her. I got a bottle too for my graduation. "Charlie" (strange unisex name for a feminine fragrance) was a modern bright and confident young woman's fragrance, much ahead of its time, and I think it would be still lovely to wear today. I dont get the rich woody notes, just a wonderful accord of lovely flowers balanced by ... cedar ? and something else undefinable. I cant pick out the lily-of-the valley note but it must be there! Strangely, I dont find "Charlie" dated at all, but I have some great memories of it; whenever I smell it, I think back to travelling to the high school parties in New York, wearing flared white jeans, cropped waistcoats and flicking back my long blonde curled hair LOL and hanging about the diners sucking on a thick chocolate shake, feeling so grown-up and ultra cool! Charlie is simply a classic! The sillage - needless to say - lasts for ages! In those days you could smell "Charlie" a mile away. Wearing it made me feel confident, happy and energetic!
I feel this was the 1970's young version of "Eternity"; I realise that they are not really comparable but both fragrances are bold and energetic but to me, "Charlie" is warm, sexy, "loud" and appealing in a way that "Eternity" is not. But probably "Charlie" is like "Eternity's" kid sister!

I wore this scent a lot in the 80's. Havent tried it since then.

A family friend had given this perfume to me as a christmas gift. I never knew at the time that Revlon made perfumes, so I was excited to try it. I was 14-15 years old and I thought it smelled ok. It isn't expensive and you can tell by the scent that it isn't. It's one of "those" perfumes you have just in case you run out of what you really like and you haven't done your laundry and you need to spritz something on fast. blah.

I agree with F_A. Great classic, never forgotten. My dad gave this perfume and lotion set for my birthday many years ago. Ive never opened it to keep it as a keepsake in memory of my dearly departed father who shares the perfumes name.

I have the Charlie perfumes but this one I just cannot use it more than one day at a time. It smells like harsh hairspray and a little dusty at the same time. I have Charlie White which I know some people think smells like dusty flowers but Charlie Blue I think smells that way. I have the lotion and perfume. My husband got it for me in a set when were in the Chemist Warehouse. I find sometimes if you wear the lotion it softens an otherwise harsh perfume but with this one it just stays very sharp. It smells like a pine forest to me. I will continue to use it because I do like sharp perfumes and it is a classic but it is not a safe one to buy without sniffing. A lot of people who are only used to todays perfumes will think it is very dated and too harsh. If you are like me and have worn all the older perfumes you may warm to it easier. I don't know I am very undecided with it. It does last a long time.

My mom wore this when I was young and it always seemed like a chemical odor to me, gave me a headache. I received it once as a gift and gave it to mom. I have not smelled this in years, I would like to try it now. Isn't it odd how our tastes change and how we may detect different fragrance notes as we age?

I got a bottle of Charlie some months ago, i wanted to remember past times... i am amazed.

Nowadays most perfumes smell generic fruity candy ...soft inoffensive florals...eau de cologne citrics...we struggle to find good sillage and good lasting power. Of course there are exceptions!!

Charlie, even being such a cheap drugstore fragrance has a great sillage and lasting power. It is a pleasant floral aldehyd with a strong hyacinth and carnation notes, with a very nice musky drydown. Call it old lady if you want. But to be honest i wish most perfumes i have (that are a lot more expensive) had this great quality.

Anyway...i enjoy it..i will dab on a little bit before going to bed :)

One whiff of this and i was transported back to my Auntie's house in the 70s with the red shagpile carpet, thirsty orange curtains, and a matching painting of orange horses.

Plus. Bay City Rollers. Tartan 3/4 flared pants. Just no.

Who knew, my cousins must have worn it. How strong is scent memory, I'd forgotten that carpet!
I seriously never want to go to that place again - I put the bottle down and ran away whimpering.

Which was a pity cause I'd probably have bought it, I really like sourcing and owning drugstore classics. I ended up with Charlie Red instead.

The original vintage 1970's hip Charlie is a wonderfully complex oriental floral. The original formulation does not contain aldehydes in it's composition which leaves me wondering why the 'floral aldehydes' olfactory group classification?? It's also very difficult to blame a 'blast of offensive aldehydes' for disliking a perfume when none exists in the composition, LOL.
Now Charlie Blue, the reformulated cheapened sister of the classic 70's hip original is a linear mess. So possibly there is an assumption that both are one and the same perfume which could not be farther from the truth, and such a shame. The original formulation is a bold and beautifully complex jus with an oakmoss, cedar, musk finish that is wrist or neck sniffing wonderfulness. The challenge is in finding a bottle of the original vintage formulation of Charlie especially when both are in a blue box that looks almost identical except for the word "Blue" on the reformulated version.

Edit: Osmoz.com has this fragrance in the Oriental Floral Olfactory Group. This makes more sense to me than the Floral Aldehyde classification on Fragrantica. Below are Osmoz's descriptions of both groups.

Floral Aldehyde: Animal, powdery or slightly woody notes often enhance the floral bouquet. The top note is a marriage of aldehydes and hesperidia. This sub-family came into existence with the creation of Chanel n°5, the first floral-aldehydic perfume with an unusually high amount of aldehydes.

Oriental Floral: Traditional oriental base composed of sweet, powdery elements, accompanied by an exotic floral note such as tiare flower or 'spicy' flowers such as carnation.

Fragrantica's loose interpretation of olfactory groups and habit of bouncing fragrances around from one group to another without explanation has been very frustrating.

Floral aldehydes just really work with my skin chemistry and this one is no different. I have loved Charlie since I was a child first opening up to the world of scent and how fascinating it can be. Charlie has seemed to follow me throughout my adult life--whether it is a relative or a colleague, someone always seems to have it on and of course, I always notice it...and tell them how much I love what they are wearing, never surprised when they say, "It's Charlie." So, why am I so surprised that EVERY time I where this one, someone...at least one person tells me I smell great and asks me what it is I'm wearing? Clean, woody, powdery floral. Sparkling. Will always be part of my collection, but have to be in the mood for it. Enjoyed during the colder seasons, for sure.

my Nonna (grandmother), loves this fragance, its her signature scent :D brings back memories of the good old days ;)

I was looking through what I do not wear and spotted a vintage splash of Charlie that came with a vintage box lot. Well, it smells good and I suspect it will last. It strikes me more as being an oriental than anything else. I am trying to make room for everything but cannot give up this vintage Charlie.

What is the difference between this Charlie and the Charlie bleu? Does anyone know?

Well everyone, I being a Gentleman wear this Charlie Esu de Cologne an a daily basis, and you know it's FABULOUS on me ! It's very much a " Unisex " Fragrance...to me at least and I see NO problem with a Man wearing Charlie, why not, not only is it CALLED " Charlie " but it's aroma is rather Masculine and smokey, warm and inviting....Give it a try, I think it's great, and SO WHAT if it's cheap, God dammit, it's a Fragrance, not a " Car " so spending less don't mean it's a bad thing, and trust me, I wear some of the very, very BEST in Fragrances and I know good stuff, this Charlie, it is, just not as expensive as Guerlain ( Whom I LOVE ) so, stop bitching and buy it and enjoy, that's all....

I really love Charlie, is so strong, nice, powdery and at the same time, unique... never smell a perfume like this,,, love you

I've developed a love-hate relationship with this fragrance over the years. There are some days where I can't stand it; the aldehydes stand out & I get a very synthetic smell. Then there are days when the florals shine through. I've learn to like this when I layer it with a lighter scent like my violet splash or my Egyptian musk oil. It is definitely a classic and still very popular since I've noticed women still wearing it. Its an affordable fragrance with great sillage.

I had this when i was a teenager, actually , my mother had it, and we used to use it also...
Hmmm...nice, strong, feminine.
I used to like it back then, now not anymore , too dated.
I don't find it similar to Chanel n 5 ...actually Charlie remindes me a bit of Rive Gauche YSL...less the metalic note that Rive has...
I know this might sounds crazy but as soon as i tried Rive Gauche , remembered Charlie blu...;)....
A classic...i still find it here in the perfumery shops !!!:)

I'll submit a review for Chaz here, which is a men's fragrance, because there is no listing for it:

I have the vintage Revlon formulation. The opening is crude and "synthetic," which I've now learned to ignore with these older fragrances. Give it time, and it settles very nicely. Some have compared it to Zino, but I find Zino to be more complex and cruder. Zino also has a tobacco note that is missing here. Chaz seems to be a "woody/amber," but it's smoother than others with this kind of base. I'd describe it as a creamy woody/amber. Other than that, I'd guess there is some leather or suede, patchouli, spice, and perhaps an herbal element. It is not musky, and the wood note is much less powerful and wearable than the modern cedar notes so common in recent "men's" fragrances. I was surprised at how mellow this is, in fact, though I would advise against smelling it up close on the skin. It's one of those fragrances that needs to mix with air before it gets to you nose. Longevity is at least very good and projection/"sillage" is good. I don't spray much so it might have much stronger sillage is you spray 4 or 5 times per wearing. I don't find this too "old school" for those not used to such fragrances, but only spray once on your first wearing!

My sister liked Charlie when it first came out in the 70s. My father would tell her she smelled like cat pee. I have never much cared for it myself, it had a sharpness to it.

I didn't like it as a child, as it seemed too brash and harsh. Trying it now as an adult, it doesn't seem as loud, but it still isnt' something I like. It goes on like soap and Arpege. After a few minutes I can identify the soap as Camay, which I do like, and the tarry-sticky aldehydes of Arpege which I am undecided on. I think it's the carnation, peach and aldehydes together that suggest that dark, black edge, and in Arpege, it's part of the mystery. Here, with the soapy notes, it's just sort of a jumble. It doesn't offend me in small doses, but it doesn't wear well on me either, and I had to scrub it off in the end. Dated and strong, and the modern formulation dries down dusty and cheap smelling.

i really like this fragrance,i also wore it when i was a young girl in the 70s,as we all did.now i am older an a friend bought me it foe christmas,i still like it,but as oppose to wearing it when young for a night out.now it would be worn as a casual fragrance around the house,many other better perfumes to wear,for my nights out.

Actually very pleasant perfume, I got it after Christmas, just a small bottle on clearance and am enjoying it for the price, its basenotes are pleasant. I almost wish it took a little longer for the fragrance to develop all the way from beginning to end,perhaps today is too warm for this fragrance,it bloomed so quickly for me. I can't say I understand the difference between "cheap" and expensive perfumes, I must be too new to this.

For me, this is a naughty relative of Anais Anais. Equally strong in projection, but less bothered with elegance, this scent picks up from where Anais Anais leaves: in a whiff of powdered incense over hyacinths and carnations.
From there the scent amplifies with citric fruit peel and peach skin.
Very zesty. For the young and invincible.
The fragrance melts down to a synthetic resin note, quintessentially my
memory of Charlie.

Thank you Tala.

Your mention of Carnation prompts me to try this again after many years. I love carnation notes.

I use Caron Bellodgia and Floris Malmaison even though both have to be bought online from international sites, and are expensive and not always available.
I can pick up Charlie at the local pharmacy.
As a sidelight, given the restrictions of fluid one can take on aircraft, the Revlon pocket size perfumes are very handy.

I9ve got it when i was sixteen and it was with me when I was in love at first time, at my first relationships and at many other situations :) Nice memories...

The spirit of my childhood...My mother used this perfume for long years. Then I found this perfume in Germany!I surprised beacuse I haven't seen this bottle for 15-20 years. I bought one bottle in the memory of old nice days. The message of this perfume is clear for me "I'm a mature woman also have motherly soul"

I had this perfume when I was a teenager.I was sixteen and thought wow I must have this and loved it very much.It smelled very nice on me and I received a lot of compliments. But from what I can remember the only drawback was too much gave me a headache, it was a strong perfume. Eventually I got tired of it and gave it away.This is looking back in 1980.

I remember this perfume from my childhood days - my mother used it. I thought it was a perfume only for an adult lady not for teens, it smells classic, strong with some sweet and bitter notes in the same time. I don't remember any disturbance caused by this fragrance, but quite opposite - I was very curious about it, but always hesitated to try it, because it's smell was very obvious and you just can't hide it. So my mother would guessed that I borrowed her bottle.))

I never liked this scent. I had an Aunt that would wear this scent sometimes. Sadly I think this scent smells cheap and very strong.

I never liked "Charlie". I was in my early 20s when it came out and it was clearly being marketed to women around my age. I tested it but never bought it. I like some inexpensive perfumes, but Charlie always smelled bad and chemically and, well, cheap to me on anyone wearing it.

My mother use to wear this scent because my father's name was Charlie. I saw it in a drug store a few year's back and bought a bottle on a lark. I get GREAT complements every time I wear it. Something about it mixes well with my body chemistry. I usually wear Halston, Chanel 5, Fidgi, and L'Air du Temps and I never hear anything. Put on Charlie and everybody loves me.

An evil little perfume if ever there was....words cannot describe it! & to market it for teens - what were they thinking...Chanel No5 for teens??! This has put me off aldehyde-rich scents for a long time. Totally fake. YUK!

I just could not picture a teen age girl in this day and age wearing this fragrance. Good gosh if you make your teen/pre teen wear this they will have no social life.

The scent is very dated to the early 1070's with it aldehyde and powdery floral woods.

This scent reminds me of the dinosaurs who's time has come and gone - Sorry Charlie!

I don't know why but to me it is really similar to L'air de temps by Nina Ricci.
Sweet floral, not for every body but if someone can carry carnations it would be a dream scent. Carnation is that spicy powdery note which some people seem to complain about in perfumes.
Charlie is confident and bold. There is no lightness about it. It exudes confidence but there is something innocent about it as well.

The original, and best "Charlie". Charlie "Blue", which is what is supposed to be the new version of the original is a bit paler version of this lively, seamless scent. An underrated classic.

Great for a teenager.
I had it !
It is a great scent for a young girl.

UGH - bought for me as a teen. Hate it hate it hate it. Cheap and disgusting!

Ich habe diesen Duft geliebt. Blumig - aber doch irgendwie speziell.
Leider gibt es das EdT in Deutschland nicht mehr zu kaufen.

I have loved this smell. Florid - but anyhow especially.
Unfortunately, there is not the EdT in Germany any more to shop.

I got this as a Christmas gift when I was pre-teen and used it as a weapon of stink against my brothers. I think if I tried it again I might enjoy it because of the memories attached to it. I only remember how strong it was.

Strong, heavy, rich, woody and dusty fragrance with nice flowery top notes.

Growing up my mom used to wear this. To me (at that time) it smelled like dime store drool, one step up from Jean Nate.
Now that I am older I would give it another sniff.

Che bei ricordi questo profumo... una cascata di fiori.. dopo tanti anni è ancora uno dei miei preferiti.