Jean Marie Farina (1806)
by Roger & Gallet

A refreshing burst of Mediterranean citrus fruits are grounded by crisp herbs. This elixir will rouse its wearer and corrode morning tiredness. At its affordable price and quality, I would wholly recommend this cologne to all.

Note: This cologne reminds me of a breakfast cereal that I ate as a child: Froot Loops. This isn't a bad thing.

28th September, 2011.

Quite nice. I find it a bit smoother and a little more aromatic than 4711. For most of it's life, I smell neroli and rosemary. I never really get rose. As nice as this smells though, it's hard to get too excited due to it's short longevity. I know this is expected, but any nice smell deserves to last more than an hour. Try this before 4711.

9th April, 2011.

Jean Marie Farina by Roger & Gallet is one of the reference Eau de Colognes. Although I have heard that the formula has begun to feature many more synthetics with each reformulation, the over all effect is quite natural and refreshing. In fact the longevity of this EDC is somewhat better than many others of it's ilk, and this could indeed be due to the inclusion of more aroma chemicals. This is the perfect after bath/shower cologne. It works very well in summer months as a refreshing splash or spray. As with all EDCs of this type, it is not meant to be long lasting; it is better to be considered an addition to one's bathing ritual, working well as a base to one's scent of the day, rather than being a full perfume in its own right.

This EDC is nice because after the initial citrus burst, it moves into a nice herbaceous rosemary, spicey carnation (which is where the clove note comes from) and neroli accord which brings some interesting effects to this otherwise fresh scent. The dry down is a light rose water scent that lasts much longer than a true rose water ever would. I have no idea how much this scent has changed over the years, but its current incarnation is quite nice. JMF will never knock my favorite Guerlain EDCs off the top of my list, but it is just about the best EDC in its price point.

4th January, 2011.

An eau de cologne that tends toward the "savory" or salty end of the spectrum. Initially it's a lot like 4711 but then the floral components go into hiding pretty quickly, leaving a relatively leafy citrus. The lime that survives this transition stays fairly close to the scent of the peel, without much of the candy-like or herbal tinges that other lime scents can have. Finally as the lime begins to fade, the florals return, again like 4711 but accompanied with a slight dusty herbal component like Wellington or Blenheim Bouquet. JMF, however, does this herbal note right, and it comes out less stale and "kitcheny" than those two. Finally, we're left with that light, dry wood aura that always reminds me of straw, hay or bamboo, as seen in the bases of the newest versions of Guerlain Vetiver and Eau Sauvage. The only drawback here is that the Perfumed Court refers to the sample I bought as the vintage formula, so even though it's pretty cheap, I hesitate to actually buy a bottle online (only large sizes available!) and then not quite get what I bargained for.

31st May, 2010.

It's sort of pushing it calling it a unisex frag, is it not?

Initially, for a short while I can see the 4711 comparison or calling it a barbershop "opening".

For me though very soon after spraying on this "perfume water" as the bottle label is titled, it was all roses from there on. I am not talking "all is coming up roses" happy-go-positive type of attitude though.

I mean it comes across to me as a matronly type of rose note. A lot, like that year when I helped plant my neighbors 40 rose bushes in his yard, in-your-face rose scent!

Sorry guys, I pass on this and at time of writing this review, am preparing the bottle for shipment to my parents back home, maybe one of them will like it, probably my mother more so than pops.

17th May, 2010.

This is somewhere between Maitre's Pour le jeune homme, and 4711, surprisingly, more towards the former.

Opens with a bright citrus cocktail that is sweet and tart, and opens into a combo of orange blossom(neroli) and orange leaf/stem (petitgrain)...This smells quite alot like the aforementioned Maitre scent.

...that then slowly mixes into an herbal/spice combo of Rosemary and Clove, which ends up smelling like Basil, as there are shared aromachemicals amongst them.

There is a slight floral Rose note to balance the Clove into the drydown, and at this point, the clove and Orange blossom smell alot like the drydown of Truefitt's West indian Limes, but with some extra masculine edge, I assume from the herbal notes.

All in all, this is a classically constructed scent with a natural appeal far above it's price point.

Both thumbs up.

25th November, 2009.