Men's Fragrances

[Faust]

/\ Can't wait to pillage it tomorrow!!!

[Patroklus]

I'm wondering if it's just the skunk smell that carries over to the oil.

cus I don't want to smell like a skunk. I want to smell like a blueberry skunk.

it probably would ruin the weed but honestly sometimes I enjoy smelling it more than I like smoking it.

Wrap an ounce in tin foil and stick it in your bag.

[birdytg]

Last purchases:
- Oud by "Mona di Orio": just divine!
- Back to Black by "by Killian": an unusual mix of tobacco and honey, not so sweet, very refined, long lasting.

[Czx]

Thanks for the head ups birdytg :) Went ahead and bought the discovery package and a candle. Can't wait to try my first artisan fragrances.

[kuugaia]

It does make me wonder how large people's cologne collections are? For me, I stick with one cologne for a whole year as I like to get accustomed to a single smell (as smell is quite personal in my pov). Yes, I am boring. I wouldn't like to smell a different smell from my girlfriend every time I'm around her, I think it'd be confusing.

[Dane]

It does make me wonder how large people's cologne collections are? For me, I stick with one cologne for a whole year as I like to get accustomed to a single smell (as smell is quite personal in my pov). Yes, I am boring. I wouldn't like to smell a different smell from my girlfriend every time I'm around her, I think it'd be confusing.

I've pared down to approx. 100.

[kuugaia]

^ Holy shit man...how do you even remember what smells like what! It's like you're trying to collect and bottle all the smells you possibly can..

[Czx]

I love testing new fragrances as I'm am addict when it comes to nice smells but I usually round up at around 4 bottles. One for every season of the year. I don't like switching them up as I just like to smell familiar. It is true what you said about gf smell. I love when the girl I'm with doesn't switch them up as I love carring her smell on myself, it don't know why exactly, when girl uses one fragrance frequently it just makes me kinda feel... at home I guess? Something like that. Its one of the things I miss the most to be honest :<

[Dane]

^ Holy shit man...how do you even remember what smells like what! It's like you're trying to collect and bottle all the smells you possibly can..

I have a fairly detailed memory for thousands of scents...don't ask me to perform simple math though...I'm basically rain man for perfume.

[several_girls]

Don't be ashamed Dane, your passion is infectious! I've just ordered a slew of more samples from luckyscent.

[beardown]

I received some of my samples (though I'm still waiting for a few) and the suggestions were pretty much spot on for me.

First off was L'EAU D'HIVER (Frederic Malle)...flowery but still kind of dark and mysterious. Definitely has some feminine traits to it but not at all girly, if that makes sense. There are some warm notes to it...honey, musk, maybe jasmine...but ultimately after it's been on the skin for a while, settles into exactly what it suggests...hints of winter, brisk, clean air....I prefer the scent that's present after it has worn off after a few hours. Subtle, unique...very hard to put your finger on it but for me, it does drum up feelings of winter, ice and snow. Will definitely be investing in a full sized bottle of this scent.

The second sample I wore today was another Frederic Malle suggested by MDB...DANS TES BRAS. I can see why this is considered more specifically feminine, though some would disagree. Again, this one smells like it sounds and MDB did a much better job describing it than I ever could (a few pages back). Reminded me of a scent my mom used to wear when I was very young. The best way to describe it is a very powdery base combined with a type of peppery smell. Some have mentioned hints of sweat in there and a few other more masculine hints but through the entire day, it smelled rather clean on me. Not in a soapy way but in a more sterile environment scattered with a few floral tones.

I would love this scent on the right woman...and I think it would complement the right kind of guy perfectly; I just don't think I'm that kind of guy. Nonetheless, it's a beautiful scent and I probably will wear it for special occasions.

And as disappointed as people will be, I really love the 'Snow' scent from Demeter. It definitely fades quickly (water based, I believe) but the initial scent to me is perfect. And at $18 for 4 oz, it's not even a real investment. 'Frozen Pond' was really similar and I liked that too but it's a little less 'dirty' and a bit more floral.

I imagine my connection to these wintery scents that are supposed to conjure up images of snow are the result of a lifetime of fairly heavy winters. Regardless, L'eau D'hiver will definitely suit me for more specific occasions. And to be honest, I can see myself wearing it in the summer as well, if just to confuse people.

I know...I know...I'm like the guy who gets taken to the best bar in town and orders a Bass. Or worse. I've always been that guy. When I'm in Paris, I always go to the McDonald's and get shit from everyone else on the trip. I like familiarity...what can I say.

I guess I'm left with one question...how do other cosmetics/detergents blend in with what you wear as a main scent? Do you find that soaps and deodorants mess with what you're putting on top of it? Is it even a consideration in terms of scent conflicts?

[MetroBulotDodo]

Beardown:

I've been told that slathering oneself with the (expensive) lotion that matches your fragrance is the best way to wear the fragrance. (To me, it sounds suspiciously like shill material.) That said, given that you prefer nuance, I would suggest wearing an odorless lotion (Neutrogena?) and cleaning your face with Cetaphil. Neither project strong odors and therefore wouldn't clash with your fragrance.

I also thought of yet another fragrance that may interest you: Bois Farine from L'Artisan (translated as "wood flour," an enigmatic name to be sure.) I just looked it up and was delighted to see that it is *also* made by Jean-Claude Ellena of L'eau d'Hiver. Perhaps you've found your nose!

I love the idea of olfactory memory and how smell is so directly tied to certain times and events in life. And certainly that will help define why I prefer one scent over another and why others may not care for one that I love...

I was speaking with someone about the link between scent and memory recently. We were both remarking on how fascinating it is that scents can evoke such strong feelings in us, and he mentioned his interest in the vomeronasal organ, otherwise known as Jacobson's Organ. The vomeronasal organ exists in the roof of the mouth of reptiles and some mammals and serves to sense chemicals such as phermones. Its existence in humans has been hypothesized but from what little I know, not proven. (To give an example: a snake uses its tongue to collect these sorts of chemicals in the air. These chemicals are left on its Vemeronasal organ when it retracts its tongue so that it can get a "reading" of what prey or potential mates (or both) are nearby.

It seems to me that humans must have, or have had in the distant past, a fully functioning Jacobson's organ to sense things like danger or attraction. The fact that we can convey danger and attraction through the use of, say, language would have allowed the organ to disappear, or if it does exist, only as a vestige.

I don't generally go straight for evolutionary, functional explanations when I'm trying to figure out phenomena I'm don't fully understand, but in this instance I can't think of another reason why smell would provoke such a strong reaction in humans outside of once having a role, or continuing to maintain a role, in (evolutionary) selection.

I've only had a mild interest in fragrances until fairly recently when I discovered there were (well-done) scents in one class of fragrances that I have really strong, happy associations with: incense/oud.

The associations I have are all linked to memories: of playing in the temple facing my maternal grandparent's house as a child in Taiwan, of seeing my paternal grandfather do his daily offerings by burning incense on our porch in Tennessee, of the peaceful summers I've spent doing research amidst piles of 15th century documents in Spain and of the way light diffused and the cold stone smelled in hidden nooks of the high Gothic cathedrals I saw on holidays visiting a boyfriend's family in France.

I was wandering around a department store in Taiwan a few years ago when I was stopped in my tracks by a very particular scent coming from one vendor's display. The note I smelled was something I hadn't smelled since I was a child but was linked to that temple and especially to grandparents, who I am very fond of but rarely have the chance to see. I was shocked when the associate told me the price, but I forked it over anyhow, just because of those fond associations. (I'd been burning it slowly for a year before I did some research and discovered that it was Japanese temple incense called Kyara, which is a favored, and ridiculously expensive variety of oud. It is, it would seem, the incense analogy, to the $300 cantaloupe you can find in Japanese department stores.

It's really exciting to me that so many are getting involved in this thread - I love hearing suggestions. In fact, I just ordered another batch of samples.

Something to know, if you intend to buy something at Barneys, I can call ahead for you to make sure that they load your parcel up with fragrance samples. It's no trouble at all. Just let me know...

Cheers, MBD

[JetLag]

"L'Eau d'Hiver" and "Dans tes Bras" are very nice indeed but a little bit too... nice for me. At Frederic Malle, I just took "French Lover" which is more physical, sensual, adult maybe. And the name is stupid enough to please me. A new basic.

[Dane]

I guess I'm left with one question...how do other cosmetics/detergents blend in with what you wear as a main scent? Do you find that soaps and deodorants mess with what you're putting on top of it? Is it even a consideration in terms of scent conflicts?

People are often embarrassed when they ask if I like the scent they're wearing, and I say they smell like ivory soap (or whatever)...I'm not often wrong. Issue being, so many "functional" products (ie - those that have any actual function, like cleansing) fill up on the cheap and the strong - musks. I'm neurotic about the cleansing products I use - unscented all around.

Make sure you read the ingredient list though, even on the unscented. I just got in a fight with Dove over a bodywash they declare as unscented, which clearly listed "parfum" in the ingredient list. Their excuse was that it was only a "masking agent". BS. Deodorants that are listed as unscented often have perfumes in them as well, but they get by using technical names like ethylene brassilate.

I'm okay with things have a smell, but I don't want my $3.99 deodorant to overpower my $200 perfume.

[endersgame]

I'm okay with things have a smell, but I don't want my $3.99 deodorant to overpower my $200 perfume.

i was thinking of switching to unscented laundry detergent after i took my coat off today. i smell like the toxic detergent aisle of a store. it completely overpowers any scent i put on this morning..