I haven't paid all that much attention to female Avons beyond the occasional quick sniff. Lately I've read a few reviews that noted something interesting. Because of style changes and fragrance shifts over the decades, some of them could easily be worn today by men.

One such is Sonnet, which I'm wearing now post-shave. It's different but very nice. Floral but not solely. Notes include iris, carnation, pepper, powder, spices and wood, all of which can be found in recent and current masculine frags. Sonnet may go well layered with Shulton but I'll wait until next time, I want to see how this plays out by itself.

I think a Sonnet is a 14-line poem. I wonder what THAT has to do with femalle-male shave items.

Because of style changes and social shifts over the decades, apparently men can not only wear what were formerly women's fragrances, but also what were formerly women's clothing and makeup, too!
The bottom line is to do what makes you happy, I guess. I'll stick with bay rum and sandalwood, and maybe a dab of Hoppe's #9 behind each ear.

- Bax

I draw the line at some florals and will go no further.

I like lavender and rose soaps.
I've used and liked Thayer's Rose Witch Hazel.
But colognes, nothing floral for me.

The florals burn off as they're not basenotes, leaving what are now typical male notes in unexpected places.

Charisma had a huge, biting floral blast that, in about an hour, fades and settles down to a very pleasant sandalwood/oakmoss blend overlaid with hints of neutral florals.

IOW, the basenotes end up similar to what you can buy in any number of now solidly masculine frags, including something like Royal Copenhagen.

I like my Royal Copenhagen.

I like the idea of it but I recall it being very very powdery.

I've heard various things about it, but have never tried it. Regarding the present formulation, is there another popular after shave that you can compare the scent to? I'm not good at imaging what something smells like from top note, base note, etc. descriptions. And by popular I mean drugstore staples in the U.S. like AV, Brut, SB, or Clubman. And perhaps other popular vintage Avon scents -- I have a few.

For example, I have no idea what Bergamot or Orris Root smells like, and if I did, I wouldn't admit it.


Thanks

Bergamot is a citrus fruit. Smell an Earl Grey teabag and a plain black tea bag. The difference is bergamot.

'Orris Root sounds like cockney slang.

I don't drink tea or coffee.


'Orris Root sounds like something out of ROSEMARY'S BABY!

Moonwind absolutely works as a men's fragrance. Wearing it now...it's simple, fresh, green, and clean. What more to ask?

• Head
  • aldehydes, green notes, bergamot, marjoram, violet, lemon
• Heart
  • rose, jasmine, lily of the valley, ylang ylang, carnation, hyacinth
• Base
  • amber, sandalwood, liatrix, musk, benzoin

Yep.

If they marketed this with those same notes under another name (I dunno, Sunwood maybe...nah, sounds like a travel trailer), it would sell.

Here is a good starter on this phenomena:

If you want more, I can guide you to it.

Didn't Old Spice start out as a women's scent?? I believe I have a bottle of two of it stashed away somewhere. From what I remember, it is the same.

Yes, sold for women but didn't catch on. So the marketing people reimagined it as somehow nautical for men and it was a hit.

https://www.townandcountrymag.com/style/beauty-products/a37460256/old-spice-review/

The article also mentions that at the time, Bay Rum and Listerine were the only available aftershaves for men.