Review No 9: Bogart (Signature) by Jacques Bogart
It has been a long few weeks since I did a review, so I thought I ought to do a series on what is slowly becoming one of my favorite fragrance houses, one that's been around a long while with lots of "hit or miss" fragrances. This house has helped me realize my style and taste of fragrances, which appears that I have a nose for cheaper men's classics (called "Drug Store Classics" due to their affordability and being easily found in drug stores) and I have especially noticed I have a taste for french fragrances with a general disdain for Italian fragrances. Ironic given my German roots (that was a joke). So, this one I discovered AFTER a fragrance channel I watch mentioned his love for One Man Show (the original one) and liking Jacques Bogart in general. In fact, this one isn't my first Bogart fragrance, but is among my favorites!
So, this came out in 1975 and was made for the House of Bogart by Maurice Martin. Fun fact, Jacques Bogart isn't a real person but a brand name. The supposed founders are Marcel and Robert Bensoussan, brothers and businessmen. One thing to keep in mind is that Jacques Bogart is a brand exclusively made for men, I mean, it's their whole identity. They set out to make a line of fragrances that are maculine, strong, long lasting, and affordable which is still held to this day, but the "strong" tagline is muddled, as now the brand was sold to an arabian marketing firm in the 2010s or so and have had their ingredients altered. ANYWAY, Bogart by JB was their very, very first fragrance, complete with the EDT, aftershave, and an incredibly rare "After Sport" Splash that doesn't exist, in fact, it no longer exists period! This was actually discontinued! A real shame, because I love this. It's a total powerhouse, and is among the rare few fragrances that didn't have a strong lavender lead or any musk!
So, lets discuss the scent and notes. I won't just write them down, but show you the photo!
Compared to later fragrances from them, the amount of notes are pretty reasonable!
So the top is a simple combination of rosemary and citruses and boy, it starts strong. The top is very heavy and sharp on the rosemary, and then the overal green-citrus follows. I don't get much of the orange but it does have a sweetness that heightens the semi-floral lemon blossom. Then the middle is a spicy fresh combination. The nutmeg really isn't there but you get a healthy dose of clove spice, juniper, and gernaium. (Take note of this! Bogart LOVES including Geranium in almost all their fragrances. It might just be their... Signature. Heh...) Now, if there is lavender, it's hardly there, but the cedar appears as it leads to a base of oakmoss, birch, and leather. This ends beautifully with a woody, spicy, and somewhat "burnt" smell, and if you are all familiar with oakmoss, you know the smell I'm talking about. The leather is there but is a strangely... "Fresh" take on leather. It smells like walking into a Boot Barn or a local leather shop that's been around forever. It smells like freshly made off the shelf boots. It almost has a pine like scent throughout with it's fresh and woody blend at the end. Everything smells realistic and high quality despite it's intended sales for cheap drugstore marketing.
Notably, this lasts a very long time. 5-6 hours outdoors, maybe 6-8 indoors if you work in a cool office. Projects well too. It might fill a room if you spray it on and linger, but after it projects in about a 4 foot aura with a light trail meaning you will be noticed. Outside, it really performs about double because of the heat and sweat.
Now, this scent is incredible. The best way I can describe it is that it smells like Irish Springs, but someone really, really loved the soap and wanted to make love to a bar. The Rosemary is the main reason for this, but everything else is an absolute love letter. Now, I don't know which batch or version, but I DO know this is recent enough to still smell incredible, yet an old enough formulation that it still included naturally sourced fragrance oils. I know this as I am allergic to birch, and as I wear this, the combination of oakmoss and birch makes my throat a little itchy. A curse, but one I can tolerate as it isn't restrictiing my ability to breathe. You may say "read the box" but that won't work. I bought my bottle without a box, and the box I got is a replacement that a seller included in one of my orders because I asked, and was spending a bit.
Anyway, this is perfect for any age period. Old or young, this is fresh as a field, fresh as an Irish Spring. Yes, it's old, but timeless in my eyes and to my nose. This is excellent for Spring and cooler Summer days. This could be worn just about anywhere but it does lean sporty, so going out or playing a sport, or going to the country club works perfectly, but is totally safe for work if no one is allergic. This just evokes maturity and being clean and could easily be a signature scent if someone wanted it to be, and would also please fans of Polo Green. It smells like this is what a Polo Green sport flanker would smell like, if Polo Sport hadn't been made. I would love for this to make a comeback in the market with synthetic oils, which might cheapen the scent but also remove the issue of allergens. I would get the aftershave, but the aftershave was discontinued years before the EDT, meaning they're all vintage with those more natural fragrance oils. I would prefer not to splash that on my face or neck and put the oakmoss and birch point blank under my nostrils and on top of my most sensitive skin areas, but the EDT would be just fine for now.
If anyone did want it, you can still find it on Ebay and such but is way overpriced now. A shame for a classic cheapie, but it will be missed with the high hope of a return for the next generation.
