EPAS by Revlon c1975

In 1975, Experimental Project Apollo-Soyuz (EPAS) - created to commemorate the first cooperative manned space flight. The fragrance, named EPAS, was suggested by Gehrman S. Titov, one of the Soviet Union's first cosmonauts. 

A total of 20,000 bottles would be sold in leading department stores in the United States, the Soviet Union and half a dozen key international markets (Western capitals of Europe) starting on July 15, 1975. This was also the say that the space project was slated to be launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida and from Baikonur in the desert of Kazakhstan. 

The space mission was also commemorated, as usual, with a stamp issue, but also cigarettes, and a new song, but the Russians decided that an event of such importance deserved a fragrant tribute as well. Henry Kissinger said that the Apollo-Soyuz flight was a good sign of the progress between the two countries. The Russian cosmonauts actually handed the Americans the EPAS perfume in space as the world watched the exchange on TV worldwide. 

Voldemar P. Lein, the Russian State Minister of the Food Industry, chose Revlon, Inc. for a partner after a visit to New York, and Revlon happily accepted the challenge. "We do not look at this with base profit motivation," said chairman of Revlon's international division, Robert W. Armstrong.  Revlon met with Soyuzchimexport and Raznoexport to produce and market the EPAS perfume. 

Voldemar P. Lein, the Russian State Minister of the Food Industry, chose Revlon, Inc. for a partner after a visit to New York, and Revlon happily accepted the challenge. "We do not look at this with base profit motivation," said chairman of Revlon's international division, Robert W. Armstrong. 

Revlon design and produced the packaging and promotion in New York. The fragrance was housed in a pearl gray box and was embossed with a gold and silver flight medallion and adorned with red, white and blue stripes. The lettering is in English on the American and Western European versions and in Russian using the Cyrillic alphabet on the ones for sale in the Soviet Union. Each package contained a bilingual message that has a Soviet slant, "The dream and the triumph of 20th century man in space...inspired this beautiful contemporary fragrance issued to honor the first joint flight of the spacecraft Soyuz and Apollo..."

Revlon had the essential oils shipped from the Novaya Zarya (New Dawn) factory in Moscow and then had them manufactured in the United States into a finished fragrance with the addition of domestic alcohol and water., this is done mainly to lower or divert the cost of import duties. Revlon then sent to the frosted glass bottles, gilded screwcaps, labels, fancy boxes and other packaging supplies to Moscow to be filled and distributed in the USSR.

The bilingual press kit from Revlon described the "heavy floral bouquet" scent as "a delicate mixture of oriental-floral blends with an unusual balance of lavender, citrus and spice. There are touches also of sandalwood and musk," and made from "imported Russian oils blended in America." A spokesman for Revlon said it "smells vey clean...rather like a unisex scent." It was be described further as a heavy floral of almost cloying character blended with oriental and spicy notes.

• Top notes: citrus, lavender, aldehydes
• Middle notes: spices, rose, jasmine, myrrh
• Base notes: sandalwood, musk, vanilla, ambergris, patchouli, oakmoss, benzoin

EPAS is a limited edition concentrated cologne. It retailed in US department stores at $10 for 2.25 oz.  A bottle of parfum was available in a 50ml size. The Russians were offering it for 45 rubles or about $51 at the time, the same price for the few French perfumes sold in Moscow. The price difference was explained by a Soviet source who said, "Here we call it perfume, in the United States it will be called cologne."