Weekend
Avon (1978)

I just wanted to give a shout out to Varanis Ridari here for renewing my appreciation for Avon. It was a staple in my household growing up, and my Mom and her Avon lady were tight. We'd even visit her at her own house at times, and I'd marvel at her collection of novelty bottles and stock when I was six, seven years old. The brand was everywhere, from Skin So Soft to their signature Bubble Bath, to myriad cosmetics and fragrances bought for the family around holidays. One bottle that I hadn't seen since one of our fateful visits to Mom's Avon lady bestie was Weekend, which I coveted then and now I own today.

Weekend is an ode to the sacrament that is the working man's....weekend. Yes, a time for leisure, kicking back, having a cigar, throwing a few on the grill, and maybe even making a little whoopee if you were a good boy. What better way to complement one's rugged, noble masculinity than a few splashes of cologne. It begins with citrus, lavender, sage but there's a twist: a tobacco accord, supported with a clary sage and what seems to be the IFF Epicene Gamma base.

Epicene Gamma is a clovey-peppery, spicy, and warm, used in such classics as Hermes Equipage through to Roger and Gallet Open and Cacharel Pour L'Homme. Here it is muscled up with those 70s musks, but not too much, we leave that to the flashy yuppies with their bold gold jewelry and wheatgrass. Here, have a burger and take in that clean, respectable man aura. I stress "aura," because, as with many Avons, while the "colognes" are rather EDT strength (but it's for MEN so no fancy-schmancy labels, please), they do hug the skin. But what a strong, burly man hug it is...

Avon Weekend (1978) was really ahead of the curve in terms of trends in men's fragrances; but because it was Avon, nobody who was "anyone" noticed, nor did anyone with a critical voice that could have drawn light to it actually cared. I doubt Avon really cared about respect or accolades either, as they were still at the tail end of their golden era on top of the world (at least in the US), and like Sears (who was also the dominant life form in its area of the market), felt invincible. The 70's is when the downfall of the true bourgeois began in Avon's home market, when labor jobs first saw outsourcing, and the "rust belt" actually started rusting, but Avon hadn't felt the effects of that just yet, so quality and creativity within its respective market tier/price range were high, and the Avon lady was still mostly welcome into middle America homes to hock her wares. Avon Weekend was the first truly "specialty" fragrance made for men too, being a "leisure time" scent for men to remind them of the weekend or whenever they were off work. Did it work in that regard? Probably not, but its very likeable nonetheless. It's a shame that being innovative isn't rewarded in this industry unless you have haute-bourgeois vainglory to falsely back it up, and to think there are still pretentious knobs that are mad perfume was ever "democratized" in the first place by brands like Coty. Anyway...

What makes Weekend so special is it presents itself as something clean and fresh, which is a vibe working class men preferred over "big musk" or "big spicy" fragrances white collar urbanites wore to make vain statements of virility at the office or the club. Not that the 70's was anywhere near as chock full of them as the 80's would eventually be, but they were there. Instead, Avon co-ops a bit of the sporty Lacoste vibe with fresh citruses and herbs, but then adds a deep tobacco smoke twist that hits home the backyard lounging of the blue collar suburban commando (since everyone smoked then). Lemon and sage open up with bits of clove and geranium in the mid, then a thick tonka-lead tobacco bases out the fragrance, joined by vetiver, balsam fir, and oakmoss. Weekend is simple, but there would be nothing really like it until Roger & Gallet Open (1985) came along 7 years later. Wear time is typically Avon "cologne" average (think borderline EdT), with 6-7 hours tops and moderate sillage that wears close, but do you really need more? Best use outside the obvious is whenever you want a dumb-reach tobacco that doesn't feel like what passes for one today (not loaded down with sugar), which means vintage enthusiasts take note. Anyone else may see this stuff as too "dad's cologne", which it purposely is, to be quite honest. I love it for that reason, and have enough ouds or floral chypres for when I want to feel "fancy".

Jacomo de Jacomo (1980) would be the dark side Sith Lord equivalent of this, which means it has no chill and misses the point, being something else for a different kind of guy (but is still good). R&G Open would take the casual tobacco smoke vibe and run with it like a rugby ball, while Montana Parfum d'Homme (1989) would present an upscale floral take. Aramis Havana (1994) would be the first time luxury brands finally caught on to the cigars and fold-away Samsonite card table vibe Weekend had introduced 16 years prior, but only to those humble enough to consider Avon a valid fragrance option; and Avon Weekend was long gone by 1994 anyway so it didn't matter. Avon was very fond of tobacco, tonquitone, nitromusk, oakmoss, leather, or sandalwood bases in their "golden" years of the late 1940's through until about 1980 (when they started trying to be more sophisticated). Avon Weekend represents a different kind of "value" than what most people think of (and hate on) Avon being today. Most people reading this review don't need convincing anyway, but when you get past the corny gift decanters and pushy Avon reps of the era, you realize Avon was once a household name for being really wearable yet smartly designed for a target market that preferred fun (if gimmicky) themes over avant-garde weirdness or snobbery. In a nutshell, this is elegance clever hidden in tacky packaging. Thumbs up.

PS by Paul Sebastian? 1818 by Brooks Brothers? This fragrance smells like one of them -- or possibly both. According to the directory, this predates PS by one year. Not sure when 1818 came out.

Alas, if you are a fan of either of those -- you'll like Weekend. But as usual with Avon fragrances, expect a few hours at best of decent projection and then BAM, close to the skin it goes.