Jet Homme
Avon (2009)

Avon Jet Homme (2009) was a bit of a mix and match kind of scent from past Avon releases in the 2000's, taking a bit from their citrus-forward freshies like Avon RPM (2002) and Avon Peak Zone (2002), mixing it with a bit of their wood-centric fragrances like Avon Prospect (2003) and Avon Signature (2008), then tossing in some incense and fig. I've mentioned before that with so many green-lit fragrances every year during the late 80's into the early 2010's, Avon tended to do iterative refinement of an idea through catalog releases, using the customer as a test subject (and getting paid for it too because they have to buy these things) rather than paid focus group testing or sending drafts of a formula back and forth between the creative director and the perfumer like designers used to before a final formula is agreed upon. This "get'em out by Friday" mentality led to a lot of fragrances being rushed together and smelling like each other, since later scents cannibalized tops or bases of earlier scents, or smelled like an idea presented in an early scent taken in a different direction. Jet Homme showcases such development, seemingly attempting to be the sum of Avon's best "parts" in the 2000's, and I guess it worked because the stuff sold well into the 2010's and got a flanker (in Europe). Frank Voelkl created this one, and he was a pretty frequent flier with Avon in the 2000's, plus just recently came off developing Zirh Ikon (2008), which is why both scents draw some parallels.

From the very start you get a nice juicy bergamot and mandarin orange, very reminiscent of Avon RPM, which itself was a drier more mature take on Clinique Happy for Men (1999). There's basil and a green cardamom here too, but they are very subtle. Avon lists neroli here, and there is something very whisper quiet that could be the soapy citrus floral approximation of neroli, but it is dominated by myrrh and fig leaf, the two elements that make this scent stand apart from most others from the brand. Avon has never really played with fig in a men's scent, and although the fig here is very slight, it's a unique twist to the usual Avon DNA of the period. Beyond that, the base is the usual dry Iso E Super wood notes that were popular then, thanks to the success of Terre d'Hermès, with a pinch of vetiver and the smooth Avon house amber that mixes with some trace musky notes. You'll mostly get the incense, the juicy citrus, the vetiver, and bits of cardamom and fig under it all during a wear, while the whole thing comes and goes from your awareness. Overall, Jet Homme is a clean citrus aromatic near-chypre like experience that feels engaging without being an attention-grabber, meaning I'd use this in an office setting or casual "brain off" affairs during mid-temperature times of year. Performance is about 8 hours which is standard for an eau de toilette (which this is), but projection is non-existent, further enforcing my belief that this makes the perfect unobtrusive office scent bubble for guys that buy from Avon.

The big downer is this got discontinued in all markets but Poland after a few years, so if you can navigate some Polish marketplace sites where Avon ladies traffic, you can still get it, but otherwise, it's gonna be eBay and prices are not as nice there. I still wouldn't call Jet Homme expensive even with the aftermarket premium, because it is Avon after all, and this brand has little to no scalp value to the folks who make bank flipping hyped-up discontinued scents, since any attempt to hype a brand perceived as pedestrian to the point of banal like Avon would be met with laughter by the snobs who fall for hype on discontinued designers being "lost masterpieces". Circling back, Jet Homme was just a sort of "well, that's nice dear" type of scent released at a time when all the fragrances getting attention were crazy sweet, crazy fresh, or just plain crazy, but it does have a level of refinement you'd not believe Avon capable of just a decade beforehand when they struggled to make something that didn't feel dated or downright bizarre. In that way, Jet Homme is a winner, and who doesn't like an easy-wearing citrus aromatic incense fragrance anyway? It's like a vanilla ice cream cone: you'll enjoy it plenty, and there is no lack of quality if the materials are good, but there really isn't anything really memorable about it. Typically I dock points for lack of memorability, and rate neutral, but the blending and citrus backdrop are just so lovely (and I do enjoy RPM for this reason too) that it just wins me over in the end. Thumbs up.

This is easily the most friendliest incense out there not acrid, nice softwoods even though it doesn't show any woods something like soft sandalwood along with mandarin great for day or night wear.

I got this as a gift, 2 Christmases ago. Personally I get a citrusy scent when I wear this. Good for wearing at weekends and special occasions. It seems to be discontinued, at least on the UK Avon site anyway. So I'll kind of miss it when my bottle runs out.

First off you can get Jet Homme for less than $10 a bottle. Secondly it's not as good as Zirh Icon which you can get for less than $10 a bottle. Jet Homme starts off with the mandarin orange followed by a nice incense and wood drydown. What really separates this from Zirh Icon is the fig note. If you like incense than go with Icon, but if your looking to try a fig fragrance, then this is a very inexpensive introduction.

A combination of incense and woody notes make this a fairly decent smart / casual cool weather scent. Stays fairly close to skin, and to be honest longevity isn't the best, but all in all for the price this is a fairly good buy. However as inexpensive as it is there are still better all round woodsy / incense frags to be had for more or less the same price. Zihr Ikon and in particular Celine Fever smell just as good but tend to linger on your skin for longer. That aside though if you're a fan of incense based scents then it's worth giving Jet a go.