If one of your goals in life is to smell like a well-groomed man, then I got the answer to all your fragrance-related prayers. Jack Henry, famous for its hair- and body-grooming line, recently launched its first fragrance, and we gave it an IRL snift and try. Balance Eau de Parfum is exactly that…balanced. The scent is that perfect combination of fresh, musky, and sweet that screams masculine.
If you’re like me, and you’ve been searching for a gender-neutral fragrance that’s more cologne than perfume, this is it. While I can’t speak about the brand’s claims that it uses scents that are “scientifically proven” to help reduce stress and anxiety as well as boost positivity and improve sleep, it’s definitely a damn good scent. Keep on reading to see this fragrance-obsessed shopping writer’s thoughts on the newest everyday masc fragrance to get!
Jack Henry Balance, $125
Before we go into how I feel about this fragrance, here are all the need-to-know details: Its top notes are bergamot, mandarin, and aqua. Middle notes are cedarwood, jasmine, and vetiver, and the base notes are amber, patchouli, and musk. Okay…but what does that all mean? It means that Jack Henry Balance’s scent gets lighter the more you smell it.
It starts off with a lot of that mandarin (almost overwhelmingly so) until it starts to taper off to that refreshing and light bergamot and aqua. Once it dries, it gets really sharp — very minty. After a few hours, the base notes come through, and there’s more of that heavy (but relaxing) scent that comes with musk and patchouli — but still, it never gets too heavy. It’s balanced (no pun intended) with a bit of sweetness from the amber. In other words, its elegance is balanced with subtle enough notes that it works for everyday life.
This will definitely be my go-to fragrance when I want to present masculine.
Mercedes Viera
I have a very sensitive nose, yet I love fragrances. I’m always looking to smell good without feeling overwhelmed and giving myself a headache. Fresh scents are my absolute favorites, but a lot of them end up smelling more feminine than masculine. Jack Henry’s Balance is the exception. It’s musky and heavy enough to come across as masculine while maintaining that air of freshness and sweetness that I absolutely love. My favorite fragrance of all time is DedCool’s Milk, and it just so happens that a few notes from that are in Balance — bergamot and amber.
It definitely lasts the eight hours with two spritzes, but I did one and it lasted me just the right amount (meaning, it was gone by the time I got home from work). The packaging really makes it feel like a “cologne” while still maintaining that gender-neutral scent — plus, the cap is magnetic! This will definitely be my go-to fragrance when I want to present masculine.
Jack Henry shoppers agree, saying it “definitely has a clean and fresh smell that makes you feel more put together,” “‘balance’ is a great name for this projection and one pump is good for a full day,” and “this one is a winner.” Other reviews bring a more artistic and poetic view to it, saying: “Can you chop down a tree in the morning, write a beautiful poem during lunch, create a stunning artistic masterpiece in the afternoon, attend a gala in the evening, have a nightcap of scotch in your library, and then dance around a ceremonial bonfire before tomorrow’s hunt? If not, well now you can at least smell like you can.”
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