Lover Boy
Avon (1980)

Lover Boy debuted alongside Black Suede, which isn't the first time Avon had released multiple masculines (or feminines) side by side to my knowledge, a practice they would exercise in abundance by the 2000's. Lover Boy was intended to be something young, something romantic, a fragrance literally developed with the intent of finding that special someone at the dance. I don't know how well this succeeded in it's mission statement due to how quickly it faded from view, and considering how much of it survives in the aftermarket, I'd say it didn't succeed at all. No, it's not a partnership with the 80's rock band Loverboy, but the packaging is close enough that it could have been, and it's just another quirky and sometimes enjoyable piece of Avon kitsch that you'll end up wearing to remind you of how ridiculous Avon can sometimes be. I love powdery fougeres and chypres a little more than the average guy my age, so I give this a thumbs up, but if I were more objective with my view on it, I probably would call this a weak effort to put it nicely. It's a rather piquant scent much like many of the old Victorian dandy stuff from a century before it's creation, but unlike any of those pieces of perfume history, this is quite a bit cheaper, more diluted, and nowhere near as artistically profound.

Lover Boy opens with a sharp powdery bite, not altogether different than English Leather; Lover Boy is like most Avon from the 60's, 70's and early 80's in that if smelled from the bottle without application, one will suspect a designer clone, because they loved using common top notes and making the degrees of separation more noticeable in the dry-down. Many folks who would review this without attempting to use some would never get the full character of the scent. After the Lover Boy lays on skin or fabric, a really soft and sweet powdery accord begins to ring out, proving the scent to be a classic fougere. I detect heliotrope, lavender, iris, lily, violet, coumarin, oakmoss, and some other soft, sweet, and round smells. This is barely even masculine at all. Lover Boy comes across like a man's scent trying to appeal to what was assumed then to be a woman's palette. There's odd hint of satya/nag champa here but I think it's implied by the other notes because I don't think Avon had enough forward thinking perfumers to dare mixing that into something made for a late 70's/early 80's western market. There's also lots of heliotrope here, making this feel like a men's Love's Baby Soft (1974) and I wouldn't be surprised if it was developed as a femme scent then gender-flipped in the marketing. The fragrance finishes very discreet and light on the skin, and this would not hold up past an evening of use no matter how much is applied. Lover Boy for Men is such an oddity in every way, but that's part of the fun in owning/using it I suppose. Can't really say any more about it.

If the idea was to "score" with this, then why not make it more or less a feminine fragrance with a masculine backbone? That's the thinking here and Lover Boy attempts what Liz Claiborne's "Curve for men" would achieve over a decade later: being a soft, subtle men's scent women crave, and thus an aromatic aphrodisiac. I don't think it succeeded because unlike the 90's Claiborne scent, it's just too damn obvious in intention and made from common components without any modern aromachemical boost. Any potential partner male or female would chuckle at this like they would Jovan Sex Appeal (1976) or Jaques Bogart One Man Show (1980 because of it's direct romantic attempt. It's a good, safe, and "nice" scent, so I'm not saying this with any sort of avarice whatsoever, but it's just not romantic in execution. You can't wear your heart on your sleeve so why would it look any better on the bottle of your signature fragrance? Ultimately, this is a nice light daywear scent if you love powdery sweet and sexually ambiguous scents, but that isn't it's purpose is it? Avon's Lover Boy probably spent most of it's time at the dance adjusting it's hair in the mirror before leaving for the dance just to spend it all sitting it out.