Men's Fragrances

[Dane]

Anyone knows any Berlin stockist of L'Artisan?

This store carries pretty much everything:

http://www.ausliebezumduft.de/

Not sure if they are online-only or have an actual store though.

[Halber Mensch]

This store carries pretty much everything:

http://www.ausliebezumduft.de/

Not sure if they are online-only or have an actual store though.

They actually have a physical store, but it's located in Bruchsal, so quite some way to go from Berlin. But their service is quite remarkable. So far it has always been a pleasure to order from them. You can also order samples only, which might be interesting for you as well.

To adress the actual fragrances, I can also heavily recommend L'Artisan Parfumeur. Méchant Loup is one of my favourite fragrances (props to Jogu for giving this cool description) and Poivre Piquant smells great as well.

And by the way, did anybody smell the new CdG fragrance? A floral scent mixed with tape and glue... hell, that sounds rather interesting.

[birdytg]

Dane, any suggestions for someone who wears dior homme intense?
Something for winter/night? I got the ysl la nuit de l'homme the other day. It's ok, but a bit too "synthetic"...

Dane, I also wear dior homme intense and I really like it. However, I would like to try something new aswell. Those L' Artisan, could you try describing them? And the retail$, through the roof?

I am not with Dane about L'Artisan Parfumeur as a possible compensation to Dior Homme.
I am wearing DH perfumes for years and years, several of them:
Dior Homme, Dior Homme intense, and the so nice colognes: Ambre Nuit and over all my very favorite Eau Noire.
Unfortunately as you may know Dior changed the Colognes about one year ago for a closer approach to an "eau de parfum" concentration. They kept the previous names (except one) added about 7 new fragrances and...unfortunately Eau Noire totally changed to come with an unbearable (for me) Lavender Strong head note which chokes all the other mysteries of the composition...
So, whatever I decided it was time for me to look for other new perfumes:
I have to L'Artisan Parfumeur flagstore in Paris (close to Le Louvre) and have to say I have been very well welcome. The lady took a long time to explain the perfumes and give me time to make decisions, finally I bought two of them...and the lady gave like 6 other fragrances samples .
Several days later, my statement was definitively made: ok they smell good but there is nothing behind!
I mean the Artisan Parfumeur perfumes are all immediate, you have nothing to expect as an evolution of the scents throughout the day and for me this is fundamental for a perfume to have mysteries that you can slowly discover through the hours, this has to be like a voyage...
The problem with L'Artisan Parfumeur is that I am arrived to destination before I left... Hope you see what I mean

I don't say the quality is not there, quality is there but this not high parfumerie art for me. The construction is much evident and worst, almost none of their perfumes are long lastings even if they also provide some of them in "eau de parfum" version...
To be honest, I will keep buying some of the Artisan Parfumeur fragrances just because I like the immediate scent of Méchant Loup, Premier Figuier, Coeur de Vétiver sacré, and even Mure et musc which is normally a more feminine one but which is interesting as well on men skin...

This being said, it's true Dior Homme and Dior Homme Intense are not really multilayers perfumes (Dior Homme intense meanwhile revealing more complexity and evolution than Dior Homme...) but I think they still worth much more than l'Artisan Parfumeur scents (imo) which whatever will never look like any of the two Dior Homme.

So, if you really like Dior Homme why not to keep on those as long as they're still kept untouched by Dior!

For me, this was more complex as nothing will ever take the place of my beloved Eau Noire!
I had to meanwhile find a solution because I really can't wear the new Eau Noire (such a pity!).

I found a solution that I would recommend to anyone who doesn't know yet the brand or never tried it yet: SERGE LUTENS.
To be honest, I did not find anything in Serge Lutens which will replace in my heart Eau Noire but I found perfumes with a real complex work behind and a great knowledge of precious ingredients and layers constructions in scents.
It's so true that when you go and try Serge Lutens perfumes you're ask by the crew to try it on your skin after having made a first choice between more than 50 different perfumes (that's pretty difficult!) and then to go and walk for a quater of an hour into the Palais Royal Gardens then to come back only if you really love the evolution (Serge Lutens flagstore is a wonderful neo arabic soft place just 50m beside Rick Owens flagstore at Palais Royal).
Serge Lutens perfumes will give you a constant evolution all through your day, this is an amazing experience, quite unique and up to now I don't know any other perfumes able to lead you so far!
They are very long lasting and you don't need to overspray yourself again and again all through your day like you have to do if you want to keep the scent with L'Artisan Parfumeur perfumes...
Attention: Serge Lutens perfumes will not please everybody as they do have a pretty strong personnality!
For now, my choice of Serge Lutens perfumes is (quite eclectic):
- De Filles en Aiguilles (maybe the closest to Eau Noire even if different), mainly incense based...
- Santal de Mysore ( the rarest of all santal woods - unfortunately will be off the market in the close future and the santal woods of Mysore are going to be protected and forbidden to exploitation). I found an amazing mix: bottom of the body with Oranges Amères of Hermes with Santal de Mysore for the upper part... the mix is really amazing!
- Arabic (a scent of a bunch of oriental spices) that I wear alone when I want it soft or that I reinforced with the following one
- Cuir Mauresque (when mixed I take Arabic for the whole body and then I add a small touch of Cuir Mauresque which is a very strong oriental leather scent on the upper torso)
- Daim blond: a soft reverse leather scent
- Rahat Loukhoum which is an amazing greedy scent of Istambul loukhoums but well vivified with fresh and epic notes include fresh white almond, crushed cherry pits, hawthorn, heliotrope, Turkish rose, balsam, tonka bean, aldehydes, white honey, musk and vanilla (Serge Lutens). Almonds come first then it opens to all the evoluting complexity. The basis is sweat but, attention, this is not a sweat perfume as it appears much more invigorating that it's supposed to be if only listining to the name.

As you see I love perfumes and have quite a lot of different ones (here is a short list ) as I like to change according to what I wear and what I have to do.
Of course, I have my favorites which are the ones I wear the most often but I enjoy having the possibility of flexibility and so to change as much as my mood needs

Hope this can help and can give the tempt to discover Serge Lutens extraordinary world...

[Dane]

^ wow, that's a long post.

Anyway, I don't believe I was asked for a DH replacement, but a suggestion for something to add to one's wardrobe who has a liking for DH.

I will say though, that L'Artisan has probably 50 or so fragrances, and obviously not all of them are terrific...I listed my two personal favourites. Obviously it's all a personal preference, but you can't say that none of the scents in their huge collection have evolution or complexity...you just happened to have chosen the wrong ones in that regard perhaps.

I totally agree that Serge Lutens makes several excellent scents...my favorites are La Myrrhe and Iris Silver Mist, but these are tricky to find if you're not located in Europe, so I hesitate to suggest them.

ps - longevity, to me, is not an indicator of a good scent. Would you dislike a song if it was 2 minutes instead of 6? Sometimes it's nice to have a scent that doesn't last 12 hours...that allows you to use a different scent in the morning than in the evening.

[jogu]

Several days later, my statement was definitively made: ok they smell good but there is nothing behind!
I mean the Artisan Parfumeur perfumes are all immediate, you have nothing to expect as an evolution of the scents throughout the day

idk bout that , theres nothin behind them ? nahhh theres so much depth to many of the artisan frags but like dane says they cant all be terrific . as far as evolution of the frag thruout the day i 100% get that on many of them which is partly why i like them so much . the way it smells durin initial application isnt the way it smells 8 hrs later . even the wispy natural ones like , fuck i cant member the name dane help me out here , the one thats made with all natural ingredients and smells salty and beachy , even that one evolves durin the course of the nite . but stuff often smells diff on everyone based on ur bodys chemistry . i LOOOOOOOOOOVE heart of sacred vetiver and others have told me it works so good on me but then on my good pal when he tried it @ barneys ... idk it just kinda stunk

i also love the inspiration behind alot of artisan frags . theres weird stories behind some of them and the accords match perfectly to that . dzing is a great example even tho i dont like it , i still smell it and think how odd it is yet how perfectly executed it is also

[jogu]

ps - longevity, to me, is not an indicator of a good scent. Would you dislike a song if it was 2 minutes instead of 6? Sometimes it's nice to have a scent that doesn't last 12 hours...that allows you to use a different scent in the morning than in the evening.

this is a great point

[Dane]

idk bout that , theres nothin behind them ? nahhh theres so much depth to many of the artisan frags but like dane says they cant all be terrific . as far as evolution of the frag thruout the day i 100% get that on many of them which is partly why i like them so much . the way it smells durin initial application isnt the way it smells 8 hrs later . even the wispy natural ones like , fuck i cant member the name dane help me out here , the one thats made with all natural ingredients and smells salty and beachy , even that one evolves durin the course of the nite . but stuff often smells diff on everyone based on ur bodys chemistry . i LOOOOOOOOOOVE heart of sacred vetiver and others have told me it works so good on me but then on my good pal when he tried it @ barneys ... idk it just kinda stunk

i also love the inspiration behind alot of artisan frags . theres weird stories behind some of them and the accords match perfectly to that . dzing is a great example even tho i dont like it , i still smell it and think how odd it is yet how perfectly executed it is also

Cote d'Amour I believe (Jatamansi is the natural-citrus).

Anyway, the fact is, there are a lot of people on this planet (at least 100 that I've counted)....and there's a perfume house for everyone's taste. Some like the dense confections of Lutens, some like the aquatic nightmare that is Hugo Boss, and some like sheer, transparent scents from the likes of L'Artisan. Point being, L'Artisan make some great scents in a particular style, if you don't like, doesn't mean me-no-like.

[ErnstLudwig]

ps - longevity, to me, is not an indicator of a good scent.

Always depends on the occasion, for work I prefer something that stays longer or gradually changes over time (in fact those are my favorite scents).

And I totally agree about Lutens. I adore Ambre Sultan / Borneo and Muscs Koublai Khan is one of those major headache scents for me.

[ErnstLudwig]

ps - longevity, to me, is not an indicator of a good scent. Would you dislike a song if it was 2 minutes instead of 6? Sometimes it's nice to have a scent that doesn't last 12 hours...that allows you to use a different scent in the morning than in the evening.

Always depends on the occasion, for work I prefer something that stays longer or gradually changes over time (in fact those are my favorite scents).

And I totally agree about Lutens. I adore Ambre Sultan / Borneo and Muscs Koublai Khan is one of those major headache scents for me.

[MetroBulotDodo]

I've been really getting into unisex fragrances, and leaning toward really "dirty, animalic" fragrances. If you're lucky enough to have someone else to test the fragrances on, aside from yourself, you'll see the appeal immediately. The best scents are just sex - irresistible.

Here is my current list:

the best oud? Mona di Oro Oud EDP. Christ, it's $520 for 100 ml, though. I bought a decant for a decent price because it's a great, smooth mix to wear by itself or occasionally layer with other scents. This fragrance uses a Laotian Oud, which is heads and shoulders above all other varieties, in my opinion, and has great sillage and lasting power.. L'A's is horrible - astringent with accord of burned band-aids, imo, as is Le Labo.

The ingredient list itself sounds incredible: Elimi Phillipines, Green Mandarin from Calabre, Petitgrain Paraguay, Patchouli Indonesia, Absolu Osmanthus China, Nagarmotha India, Cedarwood from Atlas, Essential Oil Oudh Laos, Musc, Amber Gris

For an oud that doesn't use oud but is intoxicating: By Kilian Incense Oud. I bought the refill so that it was affordable. $175 for 50 ML. The BK Rose Oud is something that really surprises when smelled on a man - surprises in a good way. Any man that wears somehow just seems advanced...

Amouage Opus V Library Collection: Ohmigod is this d-i-r-t-y. It smells like the sickly, sweet smell of death - what you'd smell if you were going to heaven (or if it existed.) It is gorgeous and I am utterly addicted. It's the first thing I think of in the morning..get more, put it on. (I'm so goth.) The addictive ozonic note is achieved through the use of orris (iris) paste/orris absolute. When I smell this on a man, it makes me stumble over my words, lose my train of thought, and want to eat him. May not be for most and is awfully expensive ($320 for 100 ml).

Profumum Olibanum (Frankincense) - this is a single note citrus/incense wonder. It doesn't do much developing, but it's fantastic for layering. It's full bottle worthy for that reason alone - you can smell that the ingredients used are wonderful. If you care for fig, their Ichnusa is one of the best out there. $240 for 100 ML

I like the deBachmakov, too. It's a great, nuanced fragrance with green notes, like crushed grass. Cuir Pleine Fleur is another great one, and the Serge Lutens *are* evolvers, agreed. The CDG scents are starting to smell simple to me. Yikes.

I'm now interested in trying some of AbdesSalaam Attar - perhaps Mecca Balsam.

Anyone have recommendations based on what I seem to like?

MBD

[jogu]

mbd try duro from nasomatto , im not big on ouds but that one i liked , shit is mad potent tho one drop is all u need and the sillage from that is large and ull still smell it on ur collar a week later . i didnt like it enough to buy a bottle tho lol . koublai khan from luten also its a good skin scent , stays close and i think it smells kinda like undies and lil bit of crotch and lil bit powdery . all of that sounds gross as hale but since it stays close to the skin it works well . oh ya and mechant loup from artisan . of the 3 khan and loup are equally tied as the winner for me . sometimes i dont feel like wearin the wet furriness of loup and other times im not in tha mood for koub khan , both still real good . barneys has all of those i think , cant remember if they have nasomatto but im pret sure they did

[t-bone]

I was loving the sample of Byredos' Oud Imortel I had and was going to buy a bottle but Ochre did first.

You can try that or their other Oud at Barney's.

I've been reading a lot about the Montale line of ouds and will probably sample some of them soon. Maybe check out the Olivier Durbano Black Tourmaline mentioned as well, it's more cedar+smoke but pretty dark and dirty.

[MetroBulotDodo]

OK - since I'm on vacay and didn't go anywhere for Thanksgiving, I'm gonna go up to Barneys tomorrow and smell the Byredo. (OH NO, but it's that horrible weekend, right?)

Jogu - the scents you mentioned are on my try list. I want to try Dzing, too. Do you want to go fragrance sniffing this week? Maybe tomorrow? We should consider going in on fragrances together in the future, too. I've got all the decanting supplies and everything here. (If you can't tell, I have an obsessive personality, heh.)

MBD

[Ochre]

I was loving the sample of Byredos' Oud Imortel I had and was going to buy a bottle but Ochre did first.

I smell so good.

[jogu]

lol ima have to check out this oud imortel now , mbd ya lets go to barneys they have some good frags down there , am up for splittin frags also . i dont usually finish whole bottles w / a few exceptions so thats a good idea , i cant 2mr tho bears game lol but im free everyday next week we should eat at freds also i like their pizzas