Reviews of Halston 1-12 (1976)
by Halston

I normally wear Z-14, and received 1-12 as a gift and mistakenly did not realize it until I actually sprayed it on (since the bottles are identical..and I never read the box closely). Too bad it has been discontinued. I actually like 1-12 a little more than Z-14. It's not as sweet, lasts longer and OK, its a throw back to the days of "truly masculine cologne." I found out where it was purchased and I will try to pick up a few more bottles before they disappear.

Miss this fragrance. Once of the first I owned and was happy to wear it. Can still find it but it doesn't smell the same anymore.

An old beau used to wear this. I miss him AND this scent.

It would be sad if Casa de Halston discontinued 1-12, but it would be understandable. 1-12 has always been overshadowed by its evil twin, Z-14. The identical bottles have never helped 1-12's cause either. Now it seems that Halston Inc. has gotten behind Z-14 big time, what with the NASCAR connection and the free hat with purchase (really, how tacky! I bet Halston would be aghast. Or maybe he would think it was pure genius, who knows? (he definitely had his white trashy side!) So, 1-12 has been flooding the discount bins at local low-end fashion chains probably en route to wherever Halston is now. Which is great news for lovers of 1-12, of which I am one. Actually, I thought it was all ready gone, but one day I found a big bottle of it in Ross and I wasn't even looking for it! It was kind of by accident, which is the same story as to my original circa 1983 acquisition. In truth I had asked for Z-14 for Christmas and wound up with 1-12, a mistake anyone could make, especially my mother. I ended up loving it.
Halston 1-12 is the very definition of "crisp". It's like the olfactory equivalent of a starched shirt. But it's not fussy or twee. Just clean, almost to the point of medicinal, but then after a while a kind of sexy note kicks in. It's kind of intellectual, if a fragrance can be that. Nothing like it's dirty older brother (he was born a minute earlier, and thus got all the attention). It's one of the few colognes you can use with a heavy hand and still not overpower innocent passersby. And it seems to change with the amount you use. A little or a lot, either way it's great. It even layers really well with Z-14, if you're feeling kinky. Or thoughtful. Or thoughtfully kinky.
The bottle is fabulous too. Pure 70's (oooh, that smoky brown glass!) but a classic for the ages. It has great "hand feel" too! Not much of a fan of the other Halston's though.

VERY green opening on me -- very sharp, highly assaultive at first. Then (very quickly) the drydown begins -- a warm, complex, coniferous melody. Discontinued or not, I can still find this classic at my local TJMaxx and Marshall's for $9.99 a bottle.

My other half likes it a lot, too, and, like me, he's worn it for over 20 years now. We have made a little mini-cache of the stuff in case it ever becomes utterly unavailable again. (Now, if only we'd done the same thing with Havana . . .)

It is rumoured that when the great philosopher Immanuel Kant was struggling with the finer points of his Transcendental Deduction, he developed a bad case of thinker's block. Dabbing his brow with 4711 cologne was of little help. He took to grunting neurotically and developed a nervous tic.
"It seems to me, guvnor," said his servant, "that what you need is a bottle of Halston 1-12: an oddly intellectual scent, quiet, reserved and abstract, a genteel whisper of sharpness, elusive, delicate and complex - a real Professor's perfume in my opinion."
After several applications of the said 1-12, we are told that the great man stopped grunting and twitching and soared off into the upper stratosphere of critical metaphysics once again.

A sparkling citrus / green opening—beautiful. On my skin, the citrus disappears very quickly leaving an aromatic / herbal / coniferous accord that is quite attractive with a very slight medicinal tint to it. This accord is ‘generic,’ but this might be the fragrance that introduced that particular accord. Light florals and lavender make their entrances in the middle accord, and again, the result is beautifully identifiable because the fragrance has been around for years. The dry down is appealing: A warm amber chypre with a touch of vanilla.
Although I have had a long and happy association with Halston Z-14, I am new to wearing 1-12. I bought it because it was discontinued. I have missed a beautiful fragrance all these years. Even though ‘1-12’ sounds less like a muscle car, I like it better than Z-14.

This was my first "high end" fragrance. I loved it. It was noticeable and sensuous without being obtrusive. I still occasionally buy it when I can find it. It is usually on discount shelves in mid-level retails stores. It will soon disappear. I was in my late teens when I got it as a gift. I wore a lot of leather and suede back then It was a perfect mix for the look and the smells. I'm going to get some today!