Charlie Gold by Revlon (1995)

by: Dr. Marlen Elliot Harrison

This is another in a series of bargain fragrance reviews, scents that may be found online or at discount stores for US $25 or less. Leave a comment below for your chance to receive a sample, shipped anywhere in the world, free!

Summary: Celebrating its 20th birthday this year, the popular Charlie Gold attempts to capitalize on the gourmand trend of the late 20th century with notes of caramel, plum and apricot, offering a longlasting and surprisingly rich aroma for less than $10 US.

Perfumer: N/A; leave a comment below if you know.

Try this if you like: Sweet aromas; aromas that highlight orchard fruits such as peach and plum (vs berries); ambers and vanillas; a touch of smoky incense.

Pros & Cons: First of all, the ubiquity of Charlie Gold might be a con for some, but I can honestly say that I don’t think I’ve ever come across this scent before, either in conversations about what other people were wearing or even catching wafts of its sillage in crowds. The longevity of Charlie Gold is outstanding; a couple of sprays is enough to last well into a second day; it just keeps on going! That being said, and like many of the later Revlon scents, Charlie Gold might also seem like a hodge-podge of other designer fragrances (see reminds me of, below). The bottle and packaging offer nothing special and I definitely get that typical ashy note that I find in many other Revlon scents such as Ciara and Fire & Ice.

Notes: Orange, apricot, sandalwood, plum, amber, cinnamon, musk, violet, freesia, peach, jasmine, caramel, cloves, cedar and rose.

Reminds me of: Charlie Gold is intriguing in that I catch hints of fragrances such as Shiseido’s Feminite du Bois and Biagiotti Venezia (plummy woods); Chopard Wish and Sonia Rykiel’s t-shirt bottle (caramel and fruit); and mostly Kenzo Kashaya (woody-floral). Designer’s Description: “Glamorous, Seductive, Provocative & Daring Charlie Gold™ is a classic fragrance which creates a feeling that something exciting will happen when you wear it. It's a notion in a potion! Go PARTY girl!”—Revlon.co.za Number of times tested: 10 times over the last 2 months. Number of sprays applied for this review: 1 spray to the back of my hand from a 100ml bottle I purchased online (ca. 2015). Fragrance strength: EDT

Development: (Linear / Average / Complex): Though Gold doesn’t develop much, it definitely seems like a complex scent offering various facets of fruits, woods and flowers with a smoky incense vibe wafting throughout.

Longevity: (Short / Average / Long-lasting) I get 12+ hours with two sprays and the scent is still there after a shower.

Sillage: (A Little / Average / A Lot) Beware the glimmer of Charlie Gold, lol—this one announces your presence.

Note about the packaging: Bargain bottles abound in the older packaging from the early 2000’s: the typical transparent glass atomizer and gold cap in a simple paper box. Currently, and perhaps only in specific markets, Charlie Gold has a rounded bottle and translucent, frosted plastic cap housed in a patterned gold box.

Where can I buy it? A 100 ml EDT tester can be found for less than $10 USD at online discount and auction sites.

The Bottom Line: For years I resisted sampling anything from Revlon, thumbing my nose at anything I remembered from supermarkets or drug stores during my childhood. I know my mom once wore the original Charlie when it was the fresh floral rage of the 70’s, but despite a few samples and well-meaning holidays gifts in my teens, I steered clear of anything I couldn’t find at a department store counter (early on I was snobbishly hooked on Guerlain). As an adult, I now know better and thanks to Fragranticans’ enthusiasm for all things Charlie, including Miguel’s excellent bargain fragrance article highlighting the magic of Charlie Blue, I decided to take the plunge and bought no less than seven different versions of Charlie for around $35 total! Since Miguel has already discussed Blue and because Red, White and Silver just haven’t grabbed me yet, my focus is on Gold … and I just can’t get enough of it.

In reading reviews of Charlie Gold, I expected a smoky, sweet, caramel-heavy aroma. And Charlie Gold almost meets my expectations here. Having also loved and worn Kenzo’s Kashaya, and this was the comparison on the Fragrantica page for Gold, I also expected sharp fruit and florals over a woody base. Again, my expectations were nearly met. In truth, Gold is all of these things, somewhat gourmand, somewhat fruity, somewhat incense-laden, and somewhat woody. As I previously noted, it is like a combo of various fragrance genres, all in one affordable package.

Gold opens with a strong blast of sweetness that takes a few minutes to settle. As it does, the woods start to make their presence known as the florals relax and the plum and apricot take center stage. The hint of caramel is there but not in the buttery, sweet way I’ve come to expect from fragrances such as Rykiel. More than anything, the cedar and plum accord bring to mind Shiseido’s infamous Feminite du Bois, a fragrance I could never wear as something about it just never worked for me. Strangely, Charlie Gold is like Feminite de Bois and Rykiel and Kashaya all rolled into one and I’m thrilled to find how much I finally enjoy a plum and cedar accord. I guess I just needed a little sweetness and a bit more fruit. And the musky clove finish is an interesting aspect of Gold that was wholly unexpected.

I can’t see why this wouldn’t intrigue a few gender bending gentlemen who appreciate a sweet woody scents; heck for the price, Charlie Gold would make an excellent room spray if one preferred not to wear it but still enjoyed the aroma!