Men's Fragrances

[Faust]

Because when you are on the way to an RO store, your mind is so full of anticipation that you actually don't notice anything around you.

[jogu]

edit this shit , i hated the drydown to une rose . it lost all of what i liked about it after an hour or so and became a sour , green stem rose with lots of mushrooms , like LOTS of earthy mushrooms
my only gripe : it looks like fm changed the size of the black plastic caps on the 10mls and they no longer fit in the travel case , i hope this was a mistake , either that or they replace my old case cos im not ok w/ buying another one . doesnt seem like he would do somethin like that on purpose as a gimmick to force us to buy the newer metal cases

[Shifts]

Hi everyone,

I'm a first time poster, so I'll start where I feel totally comfortable: In a fragrance thread.

Over the last ten years or so, I've spent too much money on fragrances (at least when I look at the accumulated sum) really. But I honestly think the interest in fragrance somehow brought me towards fashion. At least I first became familiar with certain brands that way, but I've tend to approach my feel and sense for a fragrance, very much like touching or thinking of a fabric. And let's not forget about either matching or clashing a fragrance with what you are wearing for the day…

To begin with, the more bonkers a fragrance was, the more it appealed to me. That has mellowed down now quite considerably, but I usually need some quirks in my frags to keep me happy. The last year or so, I've tried to focus on the fragrances I have in my wardrobe, instead of seeking out that next amazing one. It is quite satisfying, but I can't say I've cut down on getting new ones.

From the top of my head, my last additions are:
Maison Francis Kurkdjian - APOM pour Homme (Absolutely in love with this one, my bottle is nearly finished after a year of use. To me that is astounding, as I have quite a few to choose from and try to circulate as much as possible between the ones I have)
Maison Francis Kurkdjian - Absolue Pour le Soir
Arquiste - Aleksandr
Guerlain - Cuir Beluga
Serge Lutens - Fleur d'Oranger
Serge Lutens - Serge Noire

Today I'm on my way out the door to revisit Comme des Garçons - 3. I had a sample ages ago, but really need to re-sniff it. I noticed I'm running out of easy-to-wear fragrances and I'm thinking CdG 3 could be a good addition.

[Shifts]

Went and tried two of the new CdG:s from the blue series today, Blue Encens and Blue Santal.

Blue Encens
Won't go into depth on this one, because it didn't leave any deeper impression. Not because it isn't well-made, because I think it is, it just seems a bit dull and not what I am looking for at the moment. It is pleasant enough though. It's coldness reminds me a lot of another older fragrance from CdG: Zagorsk.

Blue Santal
Two strong facets of this one and I could sum it up by A) A superlight version of Woonderwood B) Odeur 53. The fragrance is quite alright, but the middle-part of the development was nose-burning. I used to adore Odeur 53 and still use it from time to time, but that "ethereal" (could it be shock-full of Hedione just as Odeur 53 maybe?) feeling is very emphasized.

[jogu]

shifts i admire some a the choices u made up there , specially fleur d' oranger . orange blossom is a note that i struggle with . i dont like it but theres a few exceptions like lheure bleue . speaking of oranges i recently bought bigarade concentree which id wanted for a long while but kept putting off . id worn it a few times in the past from samples so i already knew the longevity was silly but this is some bullshet . earlier today a friend and i tested how long it mite last by sprayin alot of it on ourselves . we burned thru an entire unused 10ml bottle of it , he sprayed it like 9 times on himself , i used up the rest which was probably about 14ish sprays . i sprayed it everywhere like on the front of my shirt around my neck , on the back of my neck , my arms and legs , even on my ass . my entire room smelled awesome but after 30 mins we both noticed the sillage had pulled back so far that it was a struggle to smell it even when moving in close . at 1 hour and 20 mins i had trouble smelling it but it was kinda there on my shirt . my friend said that for him the perfume was about 95% gone at this point . 2 hours into it and i couldnt smell it at all , not on my clothes or skin . we asked other friends to see if they could still detect it but i didnt say which perfume it was cos i didnt want them to imagine they could smell it . only 1 said she barely noticed it and when i asked her what she smelled she thought it was fuckin amber sultan ? the hell ? ... no . i get ellena' s perfume style and the lack of longevity to some of his stuff is almost as legendary as the man himself but this shit is ridiculous . to burn thru 10ml in one sitting and get 2 hrs max , nahhhhh , shame too cos i like bigarade concentree alot and brin de reglisse even more but im not payin those prices for just a scent experience . i took into consideration that my nose could have gotten used to the smell which would make it harder to detect after a while of wearing but when others got nothing either i doubt that was the issue

[Shifts]

jogu Thanks! Orange blossom is something I can't get enough of, same thing with neroli. Fleur d'Oranger by Lutens is often referenced as one of the most fecal orange blossoms out there, but I almost wish it was even more dirty. A masterpiece in the genre though. As for neroli I get my treat from various cologne-style fragrances. When I finally run out, I will look in the direction of Tom Ford's Neroli Portofino. It is simple, but has lasting-power, which is rare when it comes to neroli.

Frederic Malle - Bigarade Concentrée
Funny you mention this one. Hypothetically, if I were to use only one fragrance, Bigarade Concentrée would definitely be one to consider for me. I hold it as the citrus fragrance above all. It is true that it does stay extremely close to the skin, but compared to you guys, I think I get more hours of wear out of it. Bigarade though is a totally different story: 5–10 minutes and *poof* *gone*. But it is the nature of citrus fragrances I guess.

Frederic Malle - l'Eau d'Hiver Lait Frais Parfume
After yesterday's fragrance store visit, I came home with the body lotion of this Malle fragrance. I love many different styles of fragrances, but some that impresses me the most are the extremely sheer and barely-just-there. Jean-Claude Ellena is supposedly the master of this, but too often I'm left with the feeling of "Emperor's New Clothes". It almost feel sacrilegious to say… But with Eau d'Hiver he nailed it (and Bigarade Concentrée obviously)!

l'Eau d'Hiver don't really give me the impression of winter, but one of tranquility, sheerness, lightness, coolness. I guess they all could be words to describe winter, heh. Upon first application the heliotrope is the note my nose focus on right away, which together with the iris, create an accord I'd describe as chalk or limestone. The honey is there which gives it an ever so slight fecal impression – a touch I love (it doesn't last though). With time it turns more soft flowery (ok, heliotrope is a flower too).

If I'm to associate with other fragrances, the first one that came to mind was l'Homme de Cœur by Yann Vasnier for Divine. They are not really similar, but they share the iris and the cold, chalky greyness in their openings. Into l'Eau d'Hiver's drydown, another more powerful creation comes to mind: Absolue pour le Matin from Maison Françis Kurkdjian. That one is a strong, lasting fragrance, but if it was toned down considerably it would come close to the Malle to me. Could there be violet hiding in l'Eau d'Hiver that give this resemblance?

[Dane]

Bigarade C. is just a tweaked version of Declaration by Cartier...which is cheaper, and arguably better. Now that Cartier has released a dozen flankers, I'm sure you can even find your exact match, as the original isn't as heavy on the citrus.

Oh, if you hand't caught the cumin note in the Bigarade, Declaration probably wouldn't be for you though.

[jogu]

shifts i also like the pseudo nastiness from cumin so i see why u like fleur d'oranger and bigarade con. , like dane mentioned have u tried declaration ?

also got this today

[Shifts]

Dane, jogu Declaration is a great suggestion from you both, since it is one I've simply ignored before. Several times I've thought I should give it a go, but it has always slipped my mind when visiting the stores. Thanks both of you for the heads up on this one. I'll let you know what I make of it when I've tried it.

Haha, "pseudo nastiness", I liked that description!

[Dane]

so the malle travel sleeve is just skinnier now? it looks exactly the same otherwise.

I've always been fine with the look of the refills on their own. years ago when you bought the sleeve, they'd let you mix-n-match the set of 4 scents that came with it.

[jogu]

they changed the width of the 10mls so its wider at the top and wont drop into the case , idk if its a permanent change or maybe a production mistake but some of them dont fit in the case anymore . i sent mine in to the nyc store and they sent me a newer case so i dont have my old one to compare . im still not sure what happened and ive only seen one other person mention it anywhere else . the barneys rep was surprised when i showed it to her and was just gonna swap mine but none of their cases fit the newer 10mls either . actually im not certain theyre newer but im guessin they are cos older 10mls fit normally but more recent shipments of the same perfume dont . i never bothered to buy one until i had a lil bottle of ufdcassie somehow crack , like just a sliver , and half the liquid slowly leaked into my bag

[Dane]

strange. didn't someone (Pierre Hardy?) make a rendition of the case too?

honestly, I just buy 50ml bottles now...the travel sprays are great if you can manage to trade, but I usually end up giving away 2 or 3 of the set. I'd like a bottle of L'Eau d'Hiver...hmmm.

[Castor]

Dane, jogu Declaration is a great suggestion from you both, since it is one I've simply ignored before. Several times I've thought I should give it a go, but it has always slipped my mind when visiting the stores. Thanks both of you for the heads up on this one. I'll let you know what I make of it when I've tried it.

Haha, "pseudo nastiness", I liked that description!

I loved Declaration at its debut and then tired of it and then loved it and then hated the cumin. However, I dusted off my bottle and decently doused myself with it and I am in love again. Cumin is one of those notes that just makes me crazy from time to time and I am not a huge fan of Cologne Bigarade, but Declaration is going to make it through the summer for me this year.

[Castor]

If you want a photoreal grapefruit scent--with all the bitter pith get a bottle of Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune. Impressive.

[jogu]

welp finally had a chance to sample and wear all 3 of the cdg blue series . blue cedrat is my least fav , the 1st mins smelled like any ol sporty citrusy bullshit but it quickly lost that aspect and became very woody and somewhat dry . im talkin in like 4 mins , it was like a cesspool of polo / nautica / whatever else homme sport and then bam , a giant tree appeared outta nowhere . its earthy , lil dry , almost chypre like .
blue santal is nice , it smells like sandalwood, it smells like pine and juniper , and it does feel both cold and lukewarm at the same time . theres a sorta sharp metallic quality that made me think of cold iron but the creamy sandalwood doesnt get lost in the mix . neither the cold nor warm emulsify together , they both exist seperately so i got the whole cold and warmth all at once but i wonder if thats becos my brain conjured up images of metallic = cold and sandalwood = warm . i asked my friend whos not into perfumes what he thought of it and if he smelled cold/ warm and he said nope . when i explained what sandalwood can be like and how i got somethin metallic when i smelled it he was then like ohhhhh ya it does smell cold and warm , so i think my brains just choosing to perceive it that way when other ppl who arent already biased wont .
blue encens is nice also , started w / a heavy blast of peppery incense , quickly followed by cardamom . not rly gettin any cold / warm . its definately spicy , peppery , cardamom , bit of cinnammon . the incense is not too raspy either . i think it feels more neutral in terms of warm / cool . its not a warm spicy fragrance but its not a cold , lonely incense either . it stays that way w/ out resorting to a generic old spice kinda perfume .
of the 3 im not sure which i like best , for me its between santal and encens . a slight edge goin to the blue santal cos i like the milky sandalwood and the pine together . i feel like blue encens kinda pushes into a nice but regular spicy incense perfume . there isnt anythin about that one that makes it special or unique tho it does smell pleasant . my gripe with santal is the sandalwood starts to get synthetic and im afraid it would get cloying after a few wearings . i am interested in buying one tho , just not sure which yet