John Varvatos (2004)
by John Varvatos

I'm sorry. I have nothing good at all to say about this. From the ultra pungent & spicy notes that last 16 hours, to the corny/pretentious 'pyramid', this shit makes me literally wretch (Black leather; Vanilla CO2....come on-really?!?). AND YES, I DO realize this is just my minority opinion (just look a the feedback it gets). BAD

Look out! Here comes the John Varvatos party pooper!

John Varvatos opens on a fruity accord with a hint of something dusky and animalic deep in the background. Unfortunately, the intriguing animalic note is quickly overwhelmed by what I've come to think of as the "Jolly Rancher" accord: cheap, artificial, fruit-flavored hard candy. Like the candy, the fragrances that use this flavor all taste the same to me, no matter what their color, and so for all its exotic medjool date, tamarind, and ajowan notes, John Varvatos winds up smelling crass and commonplace. Part of the problem may be that even true, fresh tamarind can have a steely, artificial edge to it. On top of that, the date, which is a very flat note under any circumstances, comes across as particularly synthetic and two-dimensional here. The very sweet, powdery synthetic amber in the foundation does nothing to improve matters.

The fruit accord rests on a bed of very smooth woods and sweet vanilla, softened by the powdery amber, and the result is oddly redolent of high-end tanning lotion. The projection and sillage are both exceptional, but John Varvatos enters its drydown very quickly, perhaps even within an hour. The listed leather note only appears very deep into the drydown, and even then it's almost too anemic to matter. The sendoff is the same vanilla, soft woods, and sweet powdery amber accord that supports the scent's heart. The John Varvatos fragrance pyramid lists eaglewood (a.k.a. agarwood, oudh), but the folks at Quest International must have just waved the closed vial of oudh over the mixing vat, because its presence is entirely undetectable. A couple of hours into the drydown, and the interesting animalic note from the opening finally reappears, but it's too late and too little to get me excited.

Though my evaluation may seem harsh, John Varvatos is by no means a "bad" scent. It's just disappointingly ordinary for something that's been so highly praised.

Smells almost exactly like Le Male without the toothpaste, and sells for half as much.
The ladies love Le Male so they love this, and I'm happy about the toothpaste's absence.
Thumbs up.

In spite of a musty and strong plum scent, or maybe too many tamarind leaves, I really like this fragrance. It has a unusual, yet sophisticated hue. It is a very complex spice and fruit melange. This is a cool weather fragrance that would go well with wool clothing. I see it heavily discounted on the internet and in stores, so I assume it didn't sell well at full price. Perhaps it is too distinct for mass-market taste.

The opening of John Varvatos is somewhat reserved and a touch exotic. The mellowing presence of the dark and dried fruit is quite prominent along with a spiciness somewhat reminiscent of the odors of the souks and medinas of the Middle East. The fruits add both a sweetness and smoothness to the fragrance – smoothing out the spices too much in my opinion. The spices would have been better presented had they more clarity and definition; as it is, the opening / middle ends up somewhat amorphously spicy, nano exotic, and overloaded with sweet. What leather there is, is barely there hiding under the spice and sugar. The use of wood is quite good: it provides a mellow, somewhat dark, underlying foundation to the fragrance, but even so, this would not be called a wood fragrance. As far as the “sweet” goes, well, that’s what this fragrance is all about. First there is the fruit already discussed. Later there is the vanilla and the amber. I get more vanilla than amber and there ends up being much more sweet than I like. A younger person might be more favorably attuned to the amount of sweet in this fragrance. The dry down continues the same themes as the beginnings except that everything becomes more subdued. I don’t get a lot of sillage off of JV, nor does it have very good longevity. It is a warm fragrance, too warm for a hot summer day but well suited for fall and winter. Compared to much of its modern competition, John Varvatos is a pretty good fragrance, especially for a younger person who would like to take a step or three up from many of the current designer offerings… (Edit of 25 October 2005 review.)

This perfume begins with a blast of aquatic, "fresh" notes, which are the same sort of artificial chemicals that most of the department store perfumers, as well as the drugstore shampoos and deodorant makers, use all the time.

Fresh, clean, aquatic, blah blah blah, I am tired of these artificial chemical smells and find them vaguely offensive. They certainly are pungent and intrusive, and when you think about it they don't actually smell fresh or clean. What exactly does "fresh" smell like? Or "clean"? Maybe to some people it smells like Maritima or Muguet Aldehyde 50 BB, but to me those chemicals smell just like ... chemicals. So right away I don't like this one.

Later some fruit and herb smells develop, like the perfume is really trying to make a statement, but I am not engaged or interested at all. Plus the aquatic notes are still pervasive. So the rest are lost on me, and I don't care if my wrist still smells like West Indian Tamarind Leaves or not. They should have let the fruits and herbs stand on their own, without wrapping it around the plastic fresh wrapper that everyone else uses.

This perfume lasts well, so you can smell like fake chemicals the entire day if you like. I would prefer not.