Now produced by Parfums Bleu in the UK. This popular fragrance was launched in 1975 by Shulton Inc., The creators of Old Spice.
More information: Parfums Bleu Limited, 11 Castle Hill, Maidenhead, Berks SL6 4AA, England.
Fax: +44 (0) 1628 777288
Tel: +44 (0) 1628 777188
Blue Stratos fragrance notes
Head
- Lime, Lemon, Petitgrain, Bergamot
Heart
- Geranium, Rose, Patchoili, Lavender
Base
- Cedarwood, Vanilla, Amber, Musk
Where to buy
Latest Reviews of Blue Stratos


What makes Blue Stratos most interesting is it tries to be an abstract fresh fragrance for men with the materials commonly found in the day. There is no ambroxan here, no overdoses of ionones and acetates, no "aquatic" or "ozonic" parts, just aldehydes, florals, musks, and some fixative things like oakmoss and vanilla. Much like Everest,. Blue Stratos relies mostly on white florals blended in a way that masks what they are, so men wouldn't wrinkle their nose and go "eww this smells perfumey" at it. The opening is some sort of light aldehyde whisper with petitgrain and bergamot, while the heart quickly follows with lavender, musky ylang-ylang, heliotrope, and geranium. The indolic elements of ylang are held back by cedar and vanilla, which dry and round it off respectively. A fluffy white musk then completes things with a bit of oakmoss, and that's all she wrote on Blue Stratos. Really, this ends up smelling pretty much like most fresh white musk things that would come out twenty years later, just with a different development leading to that destination. This is simple stuff people, very simple, with the only real point of difference between the weird science in here and in Avon Everest is the Avon scent has a leafy tobacco coumarin dose and some sort of dry leather to feel more chypre than fougère. Blue Stratos wears smooth, and ultimately is much quieter than the usual 1970's fare, which made it a sever outlier in an age where everyone wanted big spice bombs and musk bombs dipped in Ricardo Montalbon's voice whispering "rich Corinthian leather" in their ears. Wear time is about 7 hours, and projection is on the medium-low side. Best use in spring and fall casual wear. Also, the after shave is pretty smooth with little burn too, if you go that route.
Blue Stratos was evidently a much bigger hit in the UK than it was anywhere else, to the point that when Proctor & Gamble bought Shulton and offered up the formulas and IP it wasn't planning to continue carrying to being bid on by other brands, a little operation called Parfums Bleu purchased it, keeping Bleu Stratos on shelves in Great Britain. A similar thing happened to a lot of Shulton products, including Rapport (1989) and Mandate (1976) released the same year as Blue Stratos, which both went over to Dana then were continued in the UK only by Eden Classics. Seems the kingdom is the place where old Shultons go to live on after dying everywhere else, and unfortunately export laws make it stupid expensive to sell outside the country, so few sellers bother with offering what are essentially drugstore cheapies to the world at large. This means if you live in the UK, this is not a unicorn nor particularly rare, but if you are literally anywhere else in the world, only surviving Shulton stock is what you generally can find, which sells for too much money when you can find it. Like with old retired Jovans, these were bought up and consumed, so in some ways, old Shultons are rarer and thus can be more expensive than discontinued designers most vintage nuts tend to drool over, which is a shame. Ultimately, this becomes mostly a white musk fragrance on me, and I have plenty of those with stuff like Calvin Klein cK One (1994) and Jovan White Musk for Men (1993), so I'm not in the hunt for Blue Stratos vintage or otherwise, Modern designers likely weren't directly inspired by this when they devised current blue freshness, but the presage to their work was definitely in place here. Thumbs up
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The citrus top is spot on: Lemon, lime and bergamot, quickly caught up by lavender, geranium and a light patchouli. Initially it smells very unisex, powdery; like 'posh soap' and bath cubes. It broadens out, however, and becomes somewhat richer and deeper, with a slightly creamy edge to it. It's a very clean smell, but softer and with less punch than e.g. Tabac, even though it sometimes mimics parts of that fragrance's aroma.
The base notes settle into woody vanilla, with faint citrus and florals still discernible. The scent is well-rounded and becomes mellow, quite refined and more masculine during the transition between middle and basenotes. Many children of the 70s and 80s will have an olfactory memory of Blue Stratos; either aftershave or talcum powder and if the scent has been reformulated at all, it hasn't changed all that much.
It's probably a daytime scent, though this is a matter of taste and what works for a person's skin. Someone's review referred to it as 'inoffensive' and it is. It's cheap (in price), but it certainly isn't nasty. And so I give it a thumbs up.
Sillage - probably weaker than it should be. For you and people close to you to enjoy. Spray more if you want to project more.
Longevity - quite decent, but close to the skin for the final stretch.

It is light and cool and sweet and bracing, definitely of its day (1976) and definitely of the Old Spice school, having originally been made by the same company, Shulton.
The citrus top notes are beautifully blended with the geranium, rose and lavender heart. The base of dark patchouli and cedarwood is equally well balanced with the softer vanilla, amber and musk.
Very old fashioned and very comforting as well. Great as a summer after shower splash. It is very close to the classic Pinot's Clubman in the sweetness and coolness of its overall scent.
Simple and gentle little marvel. Recommended.
First Edit: Upon getting to know this, I find my initial Clubman impression was wrong. It is really more akin to Coty's L'Aimant with its combination of jasmine and a certain old-fashioned and pleasing nuttiness. Most unusual for a men's cologne.
