OK, first off, I just got a new cologne yesterday. I was at the mall (Stamford, CT, if anyone is nearby,) and wandered into Perfumania, where the manager turned out to be the most helpful, friendliest fragrance salesperson I've met. She asked me what I like, and told me that, "If you leave with anything that isn't 100% perfect for you, I'm not doing my job." I specified tha tI was looking for something for summer nights, as I already have a bottle of
Himalaya coming in today. She spent close to an hour helping me. I smelled quite a few fragrances that I either haven't smelled in a while, or not at all.
Onyx by Azzaro and
Perry for Him by Perry Ellis pleasantly surprised me, and I came close to buying
Onyx.. I also tried
Realm for Men, which smelled great on the sample card, and dried down to a very soft, clean scent on my skin. It smells like something that would almost seem like a unisex fragrance, and maybe it's the male pheromones, or maybe it's a subtle base note I didn't really isolate as I smelled it, but it managed to smell very masculine. Unfortunately, even with moisturizer, I have very dry skin and I had to literally touch my nose to my skin to smell the Realm. I'd definitely reccommend all three.
The one I ended up buying was
Salvatore Ferragamo pour Homme. I literally could not stop smelling the sample card, and after testing a bit on the back of my hand (I was wearing
L'Anarchiste on my wrists[/i] so I couldn't spray it there,) I couldn't stop smelling it. Although it's fairly inexpensive, I feel comfortable equating the complexity of the drydown and artful blending of ingredients to those of Creed's fragrances, which I consider to be the best in the world. The notes I notice most on myself are the top not of fig leaves, a subtle middle note of clove, and a smooth, subdued base of vetiver. You can read more about it here:
http://www.basenotes.net/ID26121419.html I still can't believe how good it smells, and when I tried it today I got about 10-11 hours out of it.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Sultana
OK, just got my Creed perfume/cologne samples! I put GIT on one side of the Hub, and Himayala on the other, and the winner is Himalaya, *all the way*! Dayam. Still have to test-drive the Bois du Portugal, we'll wait till tomorrow.
And I LOVE my Creed Love in White. I'm certain I will be quite the original standout with this.
Edited to add: I described it to a friend on IM thusly: "It smells like flowers having sex." 
Thanks Cologne Snob!  |
You cant' go wrong wtih Creed, there's a reason they've been around for 240 years. Like I said, Himalaya is my daily for summer. I'm really happy to hear that the
Love in White worked out for you, seeing as I reccommended it based on research rather than actually smelling it. Saks Fifth Ave was closed yesterday, killing my plans to check if the local one has a Creed counter, otherwise I would have smelled it.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Wingless
Thanks for the advice! That bottle of Tommy is gonna be thrown out, time to pull out the bottle that has been sitting in a box on my shelf for the past year or two. As long as my name is Tommy I'll never run out of cologne, I swear...
|
Just hope you never get tired of it. If you have extras sitting around (sounds like you have a lot?) consider decanting them and selling them on ebay. You can get 1/3oz glass atomizers for a buck or two each, and you can make a 150-200% profit, depending on what you're selling.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by frogza
I've never liked cologne, or perfume for that matter. When I was younger I could never understand why anyone would want to wear the stuff. I realized once I was older that I use my sense of smell a lot more than most people. I know people based on their appearance and scent almost equally. (Insert frogza the dog jokes here) For me wearing cologne was like wearing sunglasses indoors, everything gets muddied and obscured. It's harder to tell when people are happy, scared, sad etc. because there is a permanant scent that obscures all the others.
|
I understand why you wouldn't like it, but on the other hand, this is a perfect example of why I make my argument about scent linking to memory. If someone has a signature scent, you would probably think of them if you smell it. You probably hate people who douse themselves in perfume more than I do.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Gabbyness
This thread rocks.
GIT, [Dolce & Gabbana pour Homme[/i], and L'Eau d'Issey are worth trying.
Do you happen to know the prices of these scents?
|
My first stop for low price (I also order testers rather than New in Box) is
www.scentedmonkey.com. You can also try:
www.parfum1.com
www.perfumebay.com
www.scentiments.com
www.beautycafe.com
www.beautyhabit.com
For authentic fragrances
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Leto
I dont wear cologne too often (too many products have fragrances that clash) but when I do, my favourite is by:
Dunhill
simple, citrus like. it's a classic that isn't overpowering.
|
If your products are clashing, unscented soap (I use dove unscented moisturizing soap and rinse my hair very well while showering, then Ban original roll-on deodorant) is the best way to go. The classic
Dunhill is clean and slightly woody, and smell pretty good overall.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by BigBen
Just got the Green Irish Tweed from the mail off EBay.
It smells fucking amazing. I am not a cologne expert, and hence I have no other words to describe it.
|
If you want to consider me an expert, I'd say it smells fucking amazing. Everything by Creed that I've smelled is great. Once again, there's a reason they've been around for 240 years and are still going strong.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by FoolThemAll
Here's a potentially annoying/cringe-inducing question (or maybe not, you be the judge):
Can aftershave be used as a substitute for cologne? What, exactly, is the difference?
The aftershaves in question, by the way, are Stetson and Stetson Black. What do you think of them?
|
The levels of fragrance oil concentration, from lowest to highest are: Aftershave, Cologne, EDT(Eau de Toilette,) EDP (Eau de Parfuum.) You can use aftershave, but it's not going to project as far as a cologne or EDT and it's nto going to last as long. I use the term Cologne as a catch-all because it simplifies things, but most that I reccommend are EDT. EDP is usually for women's fragrances, and occasionally for men's niche scents.
edit: Creed's Millèsimes are EDP, for both men and women.
http://www.creedfragrances.co.uk/sit...ime_fragrances
http://www.creedfragrances.co.uk/sit...ime_fragrances