Well I am going to preface this review with the revelation (to absolutely nobody) that I am Gay. I am a middle aged Gay man who has lived through the era of AIDS and outlived Jerry Falwell, Lou Sheldon and even Anita Bryant. I was too young to have lived the first books of “Tales of the City” (but thoroughly enjoyed them), but old enough to have been active in ActUp, Clinic Defense, and protested in the streets when Governor “no rePete” Wilson went back on his word and vetoed AB 101.
Having typed that I, as a gay man, am not going to automatically rubber-stamp something with the Gay Seal of Approval just because it’s marketed as Gay. For every “Brokeback Mountain” there are about six “Broken Hearts Club”s (which was so aggressively mediocre it could have been Gay paint by numbers.) I may give you points for effort but that doesn’t guarantee a purchase.
Or a good review.
Gay Juice just isn’t my jam. It’s a fruity floral (fruity? get it? wink, wink) which is iffy for me. It’s pineapple, ginger, and coconut, while the flowers are petitgrain, ylang ylang and orange blossom. And (on me at least) it just doesn’t work. It may be unfair to compare this to the works of people like Sarah Horowitz or houses like Patou, but I frankly had more fun with the Tree Hut than I did with this, and there at least a few gay male perfumers out there who have more eclectic wares and less targeted marketing. At $140 for 50ML you really are playing in the big leagues, and frankly I don’t think this is an “A Gay” game..
But I am old and bitter (thought I’d get that out there before anyone else thought to)
Have you tried this? Are you old and bitter too? Let us know in the comments.
The sample I purchased was from the perfumer’s website.
Photos are mine, Wikimedia Commons and Pexels.
Being bitter eats away at you. Makes you mean to those you love. I refuse to be bitter.
Really a fragrance called Gay Juice? I searched & found. The website hurt my eyes, all that swirly red & mustard yellow made me think of hot dogs!
I also found Queer Magic from Urania London. It reclaims the fig leaf from 15th Century Italy where fig leaves were used to cover penis’s in art. https://uranialondon.com/products/queer-magic-eau-de-parfum?variant=43360538624179&country=GB¤cy=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21259759579&gbraid=0AAAAAqezrJCBBK1D0x42Fvd1m9Qe2rUD9&gclid=CjwKCAjw7_DEBhAeEiwAWKiCC7Tikl-86ycJ7NmJYMnz8242Z5_38c9H1iTGS9Pdh7HOsftf3d5PYhoCrN4QAvD_BwE
That looks really good..
Several of them sound good, but they don’t deliver to the US, yet. I would get their sample set when they do.
Yeah, I saw that too. Bummer.
I don’t know why BHC annoyed me so. Maybe it was all the press here making a huge deal about how BRAVE all these hetero actors were taking a gay roll. I saw it with two gay actor friends who wondered why they couldn’t find even one actual gay actor to play a part. They were a little bitter about it.
Like a dear friend of mine says, “I’m oldER, but not old!” And not bitter. As for the LGBTQIA, I studied theatre, music and dance in school and was surrounded by great people who claimed those letters. I arrived at college sheltered and naive, but left much more open-minded. Having a Bi kid has taught me a lot, too. As for fragrance, just like fashion, wear what makes you happy. This fruit cocktail juice sounds like it was poured straight off the can and had a label slapped on it. Not very appealing!
I think I’ve been mean enough about the juice so I will just leave that one alone. I am as proud of my age as I am of anything else. I would not trade it for being twenty again. Well, maybe looking twenty..
TeamLookingTwenty
That’s why they invented face goop!
I find targeted marketing to be insulting-and especially so when the goods are mediocre… blech!
I love pineapple and ginger together… but not toooo together… more like clandestine lovers sitting at opposite ends of a table with friends than junior high googly-eyed first crushes
And I am not bitter. CrankyAF!!!!, though. Dangerously so, it seems.
But then I go to the gym and…
Oh I am with you on cranky. Also cantankerous, crotchety, and sometimes crabby.
You forgot cross, churlish, crusty, and last but not least, curmudgeonly. 😉
Yes to them all!
hehe
If the goods were good, then target away. Otherwise..
I am not bitter but maybe a little twisted. This sounds like a technicolour pina colada. No thanks. Ah, the great memories of the Church Ladies for Choice.
A Technicolor Pina Colada would have been interesting.
And I think I am trying to take back “bitter.” Bitter is good. I like bitter. Angostura Sweets just wouldn’t work.
It’s my turn to say, “thank you for taking one for the team.”
I’ll go with the old but not the bitter. At UCONN I had a professor who said, (paraphrasing), “never become bitter – be anything else but not that.” So I took his advice – no bitter – but found out that there are a lot of anything and everything else’s! lol.
UCONN? We were neighbors!
I think we need to take back “bitter.”
We were neighbors. 🙂
If your “bitter” doesn’t lead to mean (Alityke is right) which can lead to cruel, I’ll consider it.
Well I don’t think I am mean. And I try never to be cruel, no matter how much it may seem to be deserved. I think that is something you get back. Karma and all.
Maybe, for starters, we can smooth out the hard edges of bitter and mellow and soften it a bit.
Fine with me..
Ya, I can go with this bitter. Never become bitter, just be bitter for a short while, then let go and walk away.
I am old but not terribly bitter. Maybe a bit tart at times…no, not that kind of tart. Maybe just a bit grumpy?
It does seem to me that if we’re questioning the whole idea of gendered perfumes, we should also look seriously askance at those purporting to cater to sexual orientation. What’s next – perfume targeted to left handed book lovers who like cats?
And putting both pineapple and coconut in a scent is simply insulting! ( see? I told you I was grumpy…)
Maggiecat, what a wonderful idea!!!! A perfume just for ME – a “perfume targeted to left handed book lovers who like cats”. That is too funny!
Well I think you should make one up! I’d like to smell it. Even though I’m right-handed..
Mmmmm a very interesting idea!
It would be! There used to be a place in Fred Segal Santa Monica where you could concoct your own bath and perfume oils. I loved playing there..
Omg… I do miss FS so…! I have an incredibly beautiful pair of indicolite tourmaline earrings from there – heavy AF but it adore them. I just take Aleve and pray my earlobes can hold up ( they’re cabochon – heaVY!!)
I miss them too. I don’t know why they moved from Melrose. Dumbest idea evah!
It would have sandalwood in it…
Yes!
Targeted doesn’t bug me. ELdO TF was targeted. But it was good.
Why, yes, I am old and bitter! I have not tried this, nor do I want to. I liked the … ELdO Tom of Finland? Although the juice was a bit tame for that concept. Have you tried the one that smells like poppers? Boy Smells? (googles…) Citrush. That sounds fun, although I don’t have a clue what poppers smell like. Hmmm… Coco Cream sounds nice, I don’t know that I’ve tried any of the line.
I liked the ToF, but thought that Alan Cumming’s fragrance did it better. I looked up Citrush. Not sore I need to look further. I have smelled poppers (back in the day) and don’t think I need a simulacrum. Which makes me proudly old and bitter.
Cumming!!!!!! What a fabulous fragrance, I think Carolyn has a bottle.
I’ve got one. He later came out with a lite version because the full on Cumming scared the horses.
I loved it.
I’m totally bitter, love AndyTauer and Bruno Fazzolari among other LGBQT perfumer/noses (Lutens anyone?), and think this is so gratuitous, so patronizing, so unctuous. There’s a word I’m searching for, and I can’t find it: this reminds me of Tom Ford’s Fucking Fabulous (which is pretty darned good, but not fuckingly), his Rose Prick, Lost Cherry etc., double entendres, and all the others. The “juice” is obvious–but misses camp or anything else fun or creative about gay. I have to say it would have to be Really Fucking Fabulous for me to even try it. Sad that it was merely…nice.
This exactly. Word for word.
Never tried Gay Juice and it doesn’t sound appealing. My favorite Gay perfumers are Andy Tauer and Bruno Fazzolari. ??
That was supposed to be a heart emoji that showed up as two question marks…
And most all of them didn’t trade on it and target market, either.
There are so many I couldn’t name all of them. Living and dead.
Who is Gay Juice by Tom? It sounds like a chance missed for something fabulous.
There are definitely things I’m bitter about but pretty sure it’s not a defining character trait. Others might disagree.
Also, while Broken Hearts Club was mediocre, I also LOVE IT!
Portia xx