4F Hepcat wrote:

ajs wrote:

Anyway, for all their fake-aging of the brand, I do quite like Penhaligon’s since they have a shortish-range of mostly good-quality fragrances which means it’s possible to go an browse without be confronted with mountains of designer tie-ins, as occurs in the department stores. Also, their shaving cream is quite good, too. I wish there were some other options. Trumpers is one but I haven’t been in in years which I suppose I should remedy.

Creed is the most guilty for creating heritage where there was none, at best they've only been producing cologne since the 1960's. And yet, they would have us believe they were supplying Errol Flynn with cuir de russie in 1938 and will charge us a premium on a bottle for this provenance.

They make excellent scents, but the marketing spin, hype and down right lies is not doing them any favours with a discerning clientelle.
.

As if that ever matters . . . .

eg wrote:

g- wrote:

Big Tony wrote:

I'm sure it's valuable information, but I'm a bit confused by the depth of interest in this topic. I don't know any men who wear scents and have never met any in a business situation or socially. Odd stuff.

Wow.  I missed a lot today.  Gilgamesh is a great resource.  I find his nerdiness on any topic to be one of the great reasons to tune in to FNB.  As to the above, I work in the most conservative area of the world (U.S. midwest) in one of the most conservatuve fields and people are freaked out by anything that has a smell to it of any kind--except for maybe day old Scotch.  (Nothing to special mind you we are corn fed here--WETF that means.) I wear different scents everyday.  I wear them in small enough quantities that only myself and those women I let get close enough know about them.  People are very homophobic.

Your environment is very much like mine -- I have never tried wearing cologne, and really never even encounter the idea outside of seeing the occasional Axe commercial (which I suppose isn't really the same thing and certainly aimed a men far, far younger than myself) or on this forum. I have an old aftershave gel that somebody gave me years ago that I may have used 5 or 6 times at the most.

I began wearing it and now have a very small collection--4 different scents--some of which I like and some of which I wear because, I admittedly paid more than I should have for them.  Anyway, I am very interested in learning more and Gilgamesh's references will no doubt be useful.  I like the concepts of scents in the same way I like wine.  This is definitely an area where one needs to understand the balance between confidence and your effect on others.

I think it might be Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue - it opens with this delightful, fresh citrus zinger and then after a few minutes you find yourself smelling old milk and vomit.

Here's a semi-related thread from Basenotes that shows the denizens of that forum at the height of their expressive powers:
http://www.basenotes.net/threads/169729 … aunchy-sex

When you are a sexual repressed virgin fantasising about sex in the backroom on top of the laundry machine, then yes, it is!

Thoughts on Knize?

Gilgamesh2003 wrote:

I have no idea if the brand history for Knize is real or an invention, but Knize Ten is awfully good, and unlike almost anything else out today (maybe Habanita by Molinard is close, or at least in the same neighborhood). Twelve is not bad either, kind of a kitschy floral thing, far from the booze-and-cigarettes of Ten. Actually Jacomo de Jacomo Black, which is a stunningly cheap minor fragrance, is almost as smoky as Knize Ten, though not nearly as good.

Alexandre is probably mad because so many perfumers exploit the beautiful and noble civet, an ancient ally of the Meerkat kingdoms.

Gil, I think you are almost better in this thread than the inane post or others.  Very funny stuff.  Can you give us top five picks and pans?  Thanks.

g- wrote:

Gil, I think you are almost better in this thread than the inane post or others.  Very funny stuff.  Can you give us top five picks and pans?  Thanks.

Who could refuse a request like that?

PICKS

Grigio Perla (La Perla) - this is synthetic, inexpensive, and supposedly discontinued, but it's a very nice, oddly unambitious cologne. It's one of the many, many Cool Water knockoffs of the 90s, and like most of them it's much better than the current Cool Water, which is headache-inducing. Kind of a toothpaste and shower gel mood, with some Italian herbal suggestions. It aims for studious blandness and misses.

Eau du Coq (Guerlain) - This would obviously be worth it for the name alone but it's also a spectacular traditional eau de cologne. Du Coq carries a faint undertone of perverted evil that makes the happy, brainless citrus of the top all the more enjoyable (it's civet, apparently). Lasts about fifteen minutes.

Le 3eme Homme (Caron) - In the big perfume book Tania Sanchez loses her mind over this sour jasmine floral thing, which is masculine in the David Bowie mold. Like Chanel pour Monsieur but with an aura of brooding, saturnine weirdness. Does not evoke the sewers of Vienna, or Trevor Howard's awesome duffel coat.

Bowling Green (Geoffrey Beene) - This is a slightly piney take on the Chanel pour Monsieur formula, and has been discontinued in favor of its near-toxic cousin Gray Flannel. If you want it, be prepared to scour the grimy demimonde of gray-market perfumery. In March it was going for $20 and now it's well over $100.

Homme (Alfred Sung) - A big purple bottle that will set you back as much as $15, this smells like an artistically perfect bar of Irish Spring soap and lasts 48 hours without slowing down. Totally 80s, actually rather refined and pleasant though high-volume. Sung also makes Hei, which is supposed to smell like Aqua Velva but absolutely does not.

NEITHER PICK NOR PAN

Secretions Magnifiques (Etat Libre D'Orange) - The bottle is decorated with an ejaculating penis and the fragrance smells like the inside of another person's mouth. It is also almost impossible to eradicate, even with soap and water. It makes me happy that we live in a world where people can buy this, although I'm sure I wouldn't.

Zagorsk and Avignon (Comme des Garcons) - part of the "incense series," Avignon smells exactly like a block of sealing wax that I bought at a Renaissance Faire when I was a little kid, and Zagorsk smells like a fire-damaged castle. Satanists and Battle of Hastings re-enactors take note!

PAN

Black (Bulgari AKA BVLGARI) This is supposed to be some kind of weirdly protean rubber-and-flowers mindfuck suitable for men or women. It smells like a He-Man action figure does when you press your nose to it (as all decent people do frequently).

Fleur du Male (Jean Paul Gaultier) I really want to like this whole line - Gaultier's Le Male has become something of a joke, but it's not really a bad fragrance - it's a kind of ultra-cute lavender and vanilla, like if Caron pour un Homme had a baby and the baby grew up and wore eyeliner and girl jeans and worked at the Gap. Fleur du Male goes for a dandyish, gender-bending weirdness but ends up smelling cheap and a little diapery, and it's also weak and transient, which is shocking.

Encre Noir (Lalique) Basenotes loves this dour, boring failure of a scent. Encre Noir is an earthy vetiver (as opposed to a fresh vetiver, as in Guerlain's transcendent Vetiver) and it comes with some aromatic, synthetic topnotes that make it smell a little bit like India ink. Then it subsides into a headachey, astringent, bitter mess, as if you fell into a marsh while duck hunting and didn't have time to change clothes. Beautiful bottle though.

Terre D'Hermes (Hermes) The ultimate iGent scent, Terre D'Hermes promises to evoke sweeping vistas, mysterious fires, and the particolored beauty of a raging sunset, while still being snappy enough to wear with a suit to your job in finance. It smells like watered-down Fruit Stripe Gum, with a little generic mouthwash. Terrible and embarrassing, also very expensive. Like a gray gingham shirt.

Breath of God (Lush) Turin and Sanchez love this weirdo scent from organic cosmetic company Lush, a firm that employs many young women who Shoeey and Tony would find intriguing. It's pretty awful, like burning crayons, and it's EXTREMELY strong. Avant-garde yes, good no.

Rive Gauche pour Homme (Yves Saint Laurent) Another Basenotes favorite, this is supposed to smell like minty shaving cream, but all I get is a huge blast of cheap, tarry patchouli. Not great, not awful.

I'm currently wearing Frederick Malle's Geranium pour Monsieur. Totally bonkers mint and geranium concoction. Smells like toothpaste on first application but dries down quite nicely.

Malle's Vetiver Extraordinare is highly recommended for any Vetiver fans out there.

4F Hepcat wrote:

^I might give that a go. Vetivers are just pure class, the plebs don't get it and you won't find any in the duty free.

Vetivers are fabulous, utterly masculine scents.

Geurlain's Vetiver is very nice, even though it was reformulated a few years ago. It's a sophisticated vetiver.

Both Creeds Vetivers are also nice. Original Vetiver, which strangely isn't the original and the older one.

4F Hepcat wrote:

The Original Vetiver from Creed has had a lot of bad reviews, the main criticism being that its a much weaker scent compared to Creed's other older and 'original' Vetiver. The older Vetiver is superb, its an ideal everyday fragrance and a 75ml bottle isn't going to last long.

It takes me a long time, generally several years to finish a bottle of cologne, the exceptions are: Blenheim Bouquet, the original Polo Green and Vetivers which I go through extremely rapidly as they are ideal scents for all occasions: work and leisure. Splash it on all over mate!

Oh, I liked the Original Vetiver, has a nice 'astringent' quality to it.

There was another one I like Route du Vetiver by Gantier, that's nice too. Not seen it for a while.

Les Senteurs in Belgravia is a perfume lovers paradise.

http://shop.lessenteurs.com/

Last edited by formby (2011-09-15 12:12:46)

Alexandre Orlov wrote:

Gilgamesh2003 wrote:

Alexandre is probably mad because so many perfumers exploit the beautiful and noble civet, an ancient ally of the Meerkat kingdoms.

I even hear of mongoose using civet to pretend attraction. Natural scent only thank you.

What a scandal! The trade in civet essence should be strictly controlled.

I discovered a minor gem today: Boucheron Fraicheur, which is a supposedly limited summer edition. This is a "summery" modern fragrance done right - it's floral, light, masculine, but as it dries it reveals little smoky touches of cedar and a suggestion of Kouros-esque dirt. Extremely surprising, since these things are usually just the original mixed 50:50 with calone. The original Boucheron pour homme was sadly outdated even when it premiered in the 90s, and it had a weirdly offensive buttery note that evoked wet-naps or baby bottles or something. The fresh edition dispenses with this, for which I am grateful.

I'd love to try Geranium pour Monsieur, it sounds like it's making all the right moves.