Reviews of Jean Nate by Revlon
The concentrated cologne spray lasts all day, and due to its sharpness, may not be a perfect analog for the after bath splash with which most are familiar. It definitely skews unisex, with the musky bergamot and lemon combo bringing the classic masculine eau de cologne couple to the party. I also get the sandalwood and jasmine. This is definitely old school so try before you buy.
Haven't tried this for ages but loved it 40 years ago so I bought after bath splash on a whim. It's nice but it doesn't last on me. When I first splash it on it evokes me on the beach 40 years ago...that's all I need!
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This is a review of vintage Charles of the Ritz Jean Nate in cologne strength.
A unique fougere - lemony, peppery, herbal. Very refreshing and very unisex. A marvel for 1935 when it premiered. I am amazed it was marketed for women and not men. Like Dana's Canoe, which premiered the year following, it is a great fougere, and although I can certainly see a woman wearing it, I feel it is too masculine to have been geared toward that market alone.
It dries down to a powdery version of the lemon/pepper/herb scent, but that is dead center and never totally disappears.
Top notes: Lemon, Lavender
Heart notes: Jasmine, Rose, Carnation, Muguet
Base notes: Cedar, Sandalwood, Tonka, Musk
A unique fougere - lemony, peppery, herbal. Very refreshing and very unisex. A marvel for 1935 when it premiered. I am amazed it was marketed for women and not men. Like Dana's Canoe, which premiered the year following, it is a great fougere, and although I can certainly see a woman wearing it, I feel it is too masculine to have been geared toward that market alone.
It dries down to a powdery version of the lemon/pepper/herb scent, but that is dead center and never totally disappears.
Top notes: Lemon, Lavender
Heart notes: Jasmine, Rose, Carnation, Muguet
Base notes: Cedar, Sandalwood, Tonka, Musk
Like a summertime long ago With well over a thousand different scents in my arsenal, why do I keep coming back to this one? As a collector of vintage, I was really curious to know what this 'drugstore classic' smelled like, so I purchased a tub of talcum powder plus a pair of partial bottles of Eau de Cologne Concentrate (all vintage, Charles of the Ritz era). I'm not sure if this scent was as popular in Australia as it was in America during the 60s/70s, but upon breaking open the paper seal on the talc tub, I was gripped by an overwhelming sense of nostalgia for that era (the time of my tweens, when summers seemed endless). When the sun is shining, and particularly when I'm going to be wearing yellow, I often reach for my Jean Nate talc and EdCC immediately after showering. In fact, it's one of very few scents I keep in the bathroom. I'm hard pressed to think of anything else in my collection which perfectly captures the retro sunniness of JN. I think JN is unique in its scent. Others have compared it to 4711, but it doesn't remind me of a traditional cologne - it's much weightier. To my nose, it's a lemony, powdery fougere with a floral heart of geranium, rose and carnation. A true retro delight.Pros: refreshing, comforting, sunnyCons:
Absolutely unisex, even more masculine than 4711. Simple, refreshing and best of all, a bargain any way you look at it. It will not set the world on fire, but it does what it supposed to do with efficiency.
Not my favorite "Acqua de Colonia" by any means, but it gets my thumbs up
Not my favorite "Acqua de Colonia" by any means, but it gets my thumbs up
I wore this so much in the '70s as a young social worker that I eventually burned out on it, but of course that isn't a diss of the fragrance itself; quite the opposite. It was simultaneously bright (the mixed citrus peels) and soft (the florals and what I take to be an uncredited note of nutmeg.) And for a splash, it lasted pretty well. BTW, when I would get down to the last quarter or so of a bottle of the splash, I'd top it up to about half with a 2:1 alcohol/water mix and drop in three or four crumpled bay leaves (I used the kind sold for cooking--the West Coast homegrown type are botanically different, and less sweet/floral) and let that sit for a couple weeks. Gives you a whole new, very nice splash. This might be a way to salvage a bottle of the disappointing new stuff, I dunno.
When I was a teenager Jean Nate was as much a part of our wardrobe as a pair of jeans. I have smelled the current Jean Nate and I would just as soon wear Lemon Pledge.
Talk about a classic! My maternal grandmother wore Jean Nate for years - the spray, splash, dusting powder, and body lotion. I always thought of it as a pleasant, powdery lemon scent. Personally, I'd never wear it, but at least it's still around and you certainly get your money's worth!
As a male ive all ways love jean nate. It just smells divine it makes me feel so good. And an ah feeling.
I love the 30oz lotion and splash as well.
I love the 30oz lotion and splash as well.
One of those scents forever etched in olfactory memory, like original Coppertone and Noxcema. Too drying for my skin but love the scent.
This was my mother's everyday scent for years and years. I loved it on her-- fresh, breezy, citrusy, as decidedly pastel as Easter morning. I associate it so strongly with her that I wouldn't dream of wearing it myself. But I fear that in changing hands from Charles of the Ritz to Revlon, it's also changed formulas. How do I know? Even Mom has abandoned it-- and she's not the kind of lady who gives up on old friends
This is sort of a unisex scent in its own way. My mom loved it in the summer way back in the 60's. I could still smell it to this day. She had the after bath splash, spray cologne, talc, and soap. It was easy buying a gift for her. Even though she had many costly frags, she LOVED Jean Nate'. Actually, I think it still smells great, too!
Generally I do not like citrus scents, but have worn Jean Nate on and off for years and grew up with it. I still like it, and still use it occasionally during the summer months. It's really an after bath splash.
Jean Nate is a sugar-sweet and powdery citrus fragrance. Very strong, stinging and overpowering.
Been using this scent and after bath splash for decades -- always loved it. About two-three years ago, confiremed by Revlon, they reforumulated the scent and now it smells fusty, moldy and just plain bad. Why did they have to ruin a good thing?
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.
Ditto, Flathorn. Although I've only ever used the EDT - a real classic for the beaches of SC, USA!!
Note: The new 'Original' formulation by Revlon is simply awful, and I'm depressed they changed such a fun, fresh splash and disenfranchised so many loyal fans. I've tried two bottles of the new formulation, thinking it might have been a mistake, and while mistake this new one is (yoda-speak), it wasn't because of my mis-perception. The over-riding impression I get with the new formulation is they added a cinnamony note, which destroys the freshness and piquancy. Actually the combination is a little nauseating. I kept trying it from time to time, and always ended up scrubbing it off, so I've given up. Alas, what a state of affairs to come to with this venerable splash. The low point - I couldn't finish my bottles, so began using them in the kitchen sink as drain freshener. How bad is that? If you can find a vintage bottle on ebay, that is the only choice I can recommend now
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Review for vintage: This fragrance has been around forever, and is described as: "Bright and brilliant. Put it on to awaken your body and refresh your senses throughout the day." It started with the splash, and a concentrated cologne came later.
This is a longtime standard of mine - good year-round, inexpensive and can be purchased almost anywhere, in most drug-stores. It's refreshing but feminine and the splash is almost better than the cologne (in hot weather I use the splash). The bath powder has all the good qualities of this fragrance, so gift sets are welcome. Oh yes, it smells great - lemon verbena, bright, fresh, with a subtle sophistication that doesn't hang a lemon around your neck. It seems *French*, as the name implies, possessing a certain charm and joie de vivre. The cologne has a bit of powder, for all it's piquancy, so I only use it in cool weather. The splash is my favorite and I always receive compliments on it, as in "You smell really good".
.
Review for vintage: This fragrance has been around forever, and is described as: "Bright and brilliant. Put it on to awaken your body and refresh your senses throughout the day." It started with the splash, and a concentrated cologne came later.
This is a longtime standard of mine - good year-round, inexpensive and can be purchased almost anywhere, in most drug-stores. It's refreshing but feminine and the splash is almost better than the cologne (in hot weather I use the splash). The bath powder has all the good qualities of this fragrance, so gift sets are welcome. Oh yes, it smells great - lemon verbena, bright, fresh, with a subtle sophistication that doesn't hang a lemon around your neck. It seems *French*, as the name implies, possessing a certain charm and joie de vivre. The cologne has a bit of powder, for all it's piquancy, so I only use it in cool weather. The splash is my favorite and I always receive compliments on it, as in "You smell really good".