JF (1993)
by Floris

What a fool I was to think that I'd be done with this bunch after Cool Water, Green Irish Tweed, Truefitt Freshman, and Caswell-Massey Greenbriar! This one opens with smoother, gentler (more Gendarme-like) sweet watery florals, compared to the sometimes surprising sharpness of Cool Water. It very quickly develops the same golden Burberry Original-type herbs that are in Freshman, and in fact I almost get to the point of not distinguishing JF from Freshman. I think, however, that this one has more clear, sweet florals in it, presenting an almost unisex rendition of this popular scent family; any woman who likes Cool Water on men might like this on men or on herself. I think that this aspect makes for a fascinating twist, and at the same time makes for a phase of the scent that I'd rather skip. Whatever is in that set of herbs that they're using, makes me think of wintergreen a little bit, and not fondly...an all-too-common occurrence. Fortunately that note backs off a bit by the end, reverting back to something very close to Cool Water, and Freshman doesn't do this as much. I still think that Greenbriar is the most balanced of these, but JF comes out pretty well in the end also, though very Cool Water-like.

15th December, 2011.

Floris JF = Cool Water lite.

I was expecting more from the venerable House of Floris, but I suppose everybody wants a piece of the cash cow that is Cool Water. Not as overpowering and grape Kool Aid-like as CW, JF is still the olfactory equivalent of a bugle wake-up call to your sinuses. Couldn't wait to wash this one off.

8th September, 2010.

This opens with a powerful gin-like note like juniper and herbs. It develops a synthetic, fresh and slightly sweet note. There is some sweet mossy musk, and at times coriander spice. There are grassy and sweet hay notes. I don’t detect any coniferous or resinous cypress notes – that’s a shame. Still, I like everything here except for the synthetic-fresh note; and for me this dominates at the expense of the more interesting elements. The freshness burns off in the dry-down, and there are salty and mossy notes which improve my opinion of this, but only slightly. Not a bad scent, but for me not a compelling one either.

9th August, 2010.

I, for one, do not share the hate.

"Bathroom cleaner" is indeed a description I'll toss with abandon at the meaningless horde of scents smoke'd and mirror'd onto us innocent fragrance consumers.

But no so, JF.

It does have some similarities to the Creed and Davidoff, sure. But Floris just does what they do so damned well, I find it hard to make comparisons when one of the choices is so clearly superior.

Where JF really gets me hooked is about 30 minutes in to its evolution. The citrus opening lingers, like the vibrations from a tuning fork, but that Floris undercoat really nails it. Wood and moss heaven. There's a strange waft of clean garden dirt to me. The image drifts to the Devonshire Mitford, smart tweed with soil clinging to her elbows after a morning in the garden.

Thus, I think that JF would work very well on the fairer sex, also. Perhaps the upper class male really is just effete.

Longevity? well... what do you think? It's a citrus fragrance, but I do get a full morning or afternoon of British civility from it.

Overall, another winner from Floris.

7th September, 2009.

This is my idea of the perfect "office fragrance"--an English office at that. With its lemon top notes and descreet woody/amber drydown, this is not going to offend anyone. Perfect for the summer months, this is one of the few fragrances that I think warrants layering--I use the aftershave as well as eau de toilette. Good linen and Panama hat fragrance. While I am a traditionalist and wish that Floris would return old classics like Tantivy and New Mown Hay, I think that this is a great effort for an old house to launch a new classiic. Yes, fleeting similarities between this and Green Irish Tweed, but the ambergris in the Creed offering really sets that one apart.

14th August, 2009.

I'm afraid degustibus is right: JF really has elements of a bathroom (I would not say toilet) cleaner.
But that's not the problem. A bathroom cleaner could smell really good and fresh. I think the problem is, that
JF smells extraordinary synthetic. I smell lemon, not the scent of a real lemon, but of some
synthetic aldehyds or acetals. A further problem for me is the poor longevity. I know that this is a
problem for most of the fresh citrus scents, but there are by far better ones (try e.g. Iskander or Eau de Rochas PH).
And last but not least there is no (nearly no) development in the scent. Citral as a top note, citral
as a heart note and citral as a base. Sorry not for me.

1st July, 2009.