Jivago 24k Men (1995)
by Jivago

I'm only giving Jivago 24K Men a neutral simply because it's not a particularly bad fragrance. It is, however, a completely unoriginal and uncreative scent. To put it in a nutshell, it smells as if Caswell-Massey's Newport were thrown in a blender with Cool Water, only ten times more powerful than either of them. Jivago is loud as hell, projecting a good ten to twenty feet for about twenty minutes after application, then diminishing to about a five to ten foot sillage radius. This isn't the kind of smell I'd want to broadcast, and I doubt it's one others would want inflicted on them either. It also has 24 hour longevity, which I think is kind of ridiculous for this kind of scent. If you like sweet, classic British style masculines, there's a chance you might like Jivago, but its oppressive sillage and intensity is not suitable for this kind of scent - the scent itself has a certain gentlemanly formality, but its brutality will clear out any ballroom or conference room you're in. The gold specks in the juice are also kind of silly.

24th October, 2009.

This is a nice, clean - but not outstanding cologne. It's fresh enough to be worn at any time, day or night. Somewhat fruity and spicy at the opening, followed by a mellow drydown of (I think) sandalwood and vetiver. Classy and clean, that's Jivago 24K. By the way, the little gold flecks (yes, they are really gold) are eventually dissolved by the cologne within a few years. Thumbs up from me.

Here's a little footnote, for trivia's sake: I own a small boutique hotel and several years ago, Ilina Jivago (founder and president of Jivago, Inc.) stayed here for several nights. She is a warm, delightful person and (dare I say...) stunningly beautiful. That's no exaggeration. She was as friendly as pie and before leaving, gave my wife a beautiful bottle of her 24K perfume for women. Pretty cool.

4th September, 2009.

Incredibly sweet at the outset - but not in an unpleasant way. Stays sweets for a long time and certainly fills the room. I had a colleague across the hall turn over make 'take it easy' gestures when I spritzed it on in the office. Reminds me Creed imperial, and not just because of the gold associations, albeit at a much lower price point. So all it good.

4th December, 2008.

An aromatic fougere that opens a little too strongly as far as I’m concerned. That very first blast is too artificial for me, but it does lose its plastic aggressiveness very quickly and settles down to a fully sniffable green fougere opening. The aromatic label is well-deserved and the airiness contributes nicely to the ambiance of the fragrance. I believe there might be a little lavender in the opening that provides just the right touch of richness to the opening freshness. The “spices” are on the herbal end of the spice scale and they accent the fougereness of 24K. It is a rich fougere scent and the name is appropriate. There is no distinct heart accord so the top / heart forms one quite long lasting accord. When the base appears it shows itself as a light skin hugging sandalwood / vetiver / sweet accord that is very nice but which should deliver a much stronger presence for a longer period of time. Jivago 24K is a pleasant, rather rich fougere that has few flaws, but it is ultimately non-challenging and it just doesn’t rise above a 6 on a scale of 10. The liquid in the bottle contains gold flecks and about the only thing they accomplish for me is the uneasy feeling that they are going to plug up the spray mechanism.

31st August, 2008.

Smells awfully like Cool Water. As for the gold flakes? It's the Goldschlagger of fragrances.

13rd June, 2008.

This is weired. It is fresh, it is clean, it can be addictive, it is unlike anything else yet it is instantaneously familiar. It has a slight dirty musky angle that is clean, really clean (oxymoron?) Worth the money for sure, and it is fairly inexpensive on eBay. Can't find the notes anywhere, reminds me a bit of Allure less all the cloying annoyances.

17th April, 2008.