Cobra by Carlo Dini c1988

Cobra by Carlo Dini: launched in 1988. Created by the perfumers at Givaudan. This was the second fragrance introduced by the talented operatic tenor, Carlo Dini, real name Joseph Saul Dwek.

"Wear it with caution"

Dini's first foray into the world of fragrance was a perfume company that he initially started as an investment. He named the first perfume, Purdey, after a character Joanna Lumley played in the British TV series The New Avengers. Joanna Lumley posed for the first advertisement and promoted Purdey Perfume in 1976. The perfume was advertised in magazines such as Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, which helped it become well known enough to have done very well sales wise. The scent was on sale in Harrod's for £22 (at the time, $94.00 USD) an ounce.

However, Avengers Productions made an attempt to wield power of the product, and took out court proceedings to have all the then-current Purdey packaging featuring Joanna Lumley. Dini had other plans and said in response to the lawsuits, "They don't own Joanna Lumley. I'll fight this right through." Looking ahead to the future in case he was barred from using Joanna Lumley, he planned to use French model Kathi as a replacement in future ads.

Dini began touring around the world and made a television appearances. After seeing one of these televised appearances, an American entrepreneur, Harold Halpern offered to buy his contract and bring him to the United States. In order to embark on the new opportunity, Dini had to sell off his perfumery business. 

Dini most likely was still wanting to be involved in fragrance, and decided to try his hand at it once again. With the recent development of actors, actresses, athletes and musicians pushing perfumes at that time, Carlo Dini didn't want the public to think that just because he was a celebrity, his product would just fly off the shelves. He wanted to prove that the fragrance itself was the star and not the name behind it. He explained that "the stars think it's easy. You fill up a bottle and put their picture on it." 

Many celebrity backed perfumes either flopped or did lackluster sales, some examples from the time period were Cher's Uninhibited, Cie by Candice Bergen/Shulton, Crystal promoted by Linda Evans and Zendic by Brigitte Bardot.

 

Cobra:

In 1988, Carlo Dini and the perfumers at Givaudan in France worked on the development of a new perfume. 

Dini explained that during the initial process, "you design the bottle. You get a prototype and, you play around with it, you keep playing around with it." The bottle's shape prompted his son Alex Dini to name the perfume Cobra.

As for the development of the fragrance itself, Dini had stated that it was almost by accident. He relayed a story in which he and his wife were at a dinner party and her perfume seemed to be "drawing a number of compliments". Dini said that he "had no idea of what she was wearing. I was jealous. I said" to her "What are you wearing?" and she replied with "One of the samples you gave me".

He got the fragrance number off the sample from Givaudan and gave another sample to his sister, who also reported good feedback. "We knew that was the fragrance we were going with," Dini said, adding that "you can't have a pretty bottle and then substantiate it with a disastrous fragrance. People will keep the bottle. The fragrance - who cares? Drink it."

Cobra was sold in the USA and abroad starting in 1988. Cobra was introduced to customers in the Middle East around the first of July of 1990 and seven months later, it was already the third best selling fragrance there. Dini predicted that "unlike so many fragrances which come and go, Cobra is a perfume which will be regarded as a classic for years to come."

The product was prominently featured in the Miss America Beauty Pageant, Miss World Pageant, and most of the major magazines, such as Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar, and Elle. Promoted as a prestige fragrance, Cobra was sold only in upscale department stores such as Saks, Bloomingdale's, Macy's and Henri Bendel. At some of these department stores, a lovely gift with purchase was offered, a high-fashioned genuine black snakeskin belt.

Dini's Cobra racked up almost $2.5 million worth of sales in its first year at Bloomingdales alone. It generated $187,000 in sales the first three months after its debut in a Bloomie's catalog. Cobra was later expanded to other retailers such as Macy's, Abraham & Straus, Dillard's and others. 

The ounce bottle of parfum retailed for $210, while the quarter ounce sold at $95. "We're one of the most expensive lines," Dini said with pride in his voice. He described his perfume as pure "class" and went on to say that he likes "the classic fragrances (worn by) the women in fur going out, because that's what lasts."

Dini Products, Inc, the parent company for Cobra in Eatontown, NJ, expected to include a line of body lotion, hand cream and several other cosmetic items to the Cobra line in addition to a Carlo Dini collection of clothing within the next year, but I am unsure if these plans were ever realized. 

Dini Products Inc. went public in December of 1989 by merging with a shell corporation called BCF Energy, Inc located in Nevada. A shell corporation is a company that has no business operations, hence the term "shell". Dini owned 2 million of the 3 million outstanding shares, which were trading on the Over-the-Counter market at about $1.50 a share. Dini had expected Cobra sales to climb four-fold to $10 million by the end of 1990. Regarding the amount of sales he hopes the perfume would generate, he claimed "there's no limit."

Cobra became the number one perfume between 1991/1993. 

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? It is classified as an oriental fragrance for women. It features heavy ambery base notes, a heart full of opulent florals and other ingredients such as a touch of citrus at the top.

• Top notes: citrus, aldehydes
• Middle notes: orange blossom, rose, jasmine
• Base notes: sandalwood, amber, vanilla, oakmoss, musk, spices, patchouli

Bottles:

When fragrances are being developed, one of the most important creations in addition to the scent itself, is the packaging. A lot of the success of a perfume depends on how great the packaging is, the bottles, the boxes, and the attention to detail, materials used and overall concept.  

Carlo Dini designed the Cobra perfume entirely and as a result won an award for best packaging. The bottle for Cobra parfum was housed inside of a black leatherette box, lined in black satin. It has a spring loaded insert which held the bottle in place and and would spring upwards when the box was opened, as if to "strike" the user just like a cobra rearing up to strike.

Cobra's lead crystal bottle is sinuously L shaped, reminiscent of a cobra rearing up and ready to strike. It's bottle is molded with squared edges rather than cylindrical like an actual snake's body. This modern touch keeps it from looking too kitschy. The parfum bottle is fitted with a flat, square crystal stopper. The black plastic cap for the Eau de Toilette is an open loop, representing the head of a snake and the glass body is partially frosted. The unusual bottle was like nothing else on the market. Dini said that "when I design something, I like to design something not so much pretty because pretty is in the eye of the beholder, so I design something unique."

The original box had a matte black finish, but this was soon replaced by a new box design embossed with a sexy glossy snakeskin pattern.

Cobra was available in several sizes:

• 1 oz Parfum (retailed for $210)
• 0.25 oz Parfum (retailed for $95)
• 1 oz Eau de Toilette Spray (retailed for $45)
• 2 oz Eau de Toilette (retailed for $65)

Fate of the Fragrance:

Discontinued, very hard to find.