Jean Nate (1935)
by Revlon (orig. by Jean Nate)

So I was at the drugstore on this 99 degree day and saw a gigantic bottle of this for $7 and thought what the hey. Of course, growing up in the '70's we had a bottle of this in our bathroom and I used to splash it on with reckless abandon, aping the commercials. The smell of it is so deeply engrained I don't think I can be objective about it, but to me it still smells nice. If this has been reformulated, like nearly everything has, it's possible it was once more powdery, but I really can't discern much difference in the product I bought today and that of 30 years ago. This has aloe vera and is nicely cool to splash on, and nicely moisturizing but not oily. The drydown is sort of generic soapy, totally inoffensive. Personally I prefer the smell of this to the more beautifully packaged European version, 4711.

Jean Nate isn't a 'serious' scent, of course, but for what it is it is wonderful! A bright cheery cooling lemon verbena cologne, perfect for hot weather. It has been a lifetime favorite, but I would never wear it outside my home; does that make me a snob, I wonder? No, if I was a snob I would not even buy it! But I love Jean Nate.

Wow I am suprised no one mentioned the dry down on this. I don't really understand how something so lemony and bright and charging full of energy can dry down to such a warm and musky scent on me. Very strange, and also it brings with it memories of childhood. Combined together and I just can't bring myself to walk away from this fragrance or say anything bad about it no matter how cheap it is! Its that sort of cheap thing you want to bring yourself to hate because it makes you feel tasteless and yet you keep coming back to it. It is simple and fresh and to me will always remind me of the change between between innocence and childhood and changing to a woman.

I'm surprised to see this listed as a woman's fragrance. My father would always splash this on after shaving. It smells great and I love it, it will always remind me of daddy and the buzzing sound of his electric shaver.

A spicy, bitter lemon scent. Too sour smelling for me with a sharp zing that hits your nose. Not nice and pleasant to splash on after a bath at all. I'd rather have something soft, clean, powdery. But hey, different strokes for different folks.

This will always be a powerful lemon scent in my memory. There may have been other notes in there, but the overwhelming lemon silmoultaneously reminds of sunlight and little girls playing dress up. I'm not sure if that's what I want to smell like anymore. I don't detect the 'french' element that flathorn speaks of, but it's possible my nose shut down after the first blast of lemon. Ah, well. It's undoubtedly a happy fragrance.