My apologies go out to Nick, who was expecting this post to appear on Monday. Nick grew up "always wearing a fragrance as part of [his] everyday life" and "feels naked without a scent on". He is familiar with standard designer and celebrity fare, but would like to hear our suggestions on niche and/or unusual fragrances that he might not know about. He likes his fragrances abstract and strong, and he isn't afraid of a daring scent. He lives in Australia, where niche scents can be hard to find, so please stick to things that can be purchased online (and preferably that can be easily sampled). Here is what we know about Nick:
He's in his mid-20s and works in a legal adminstration office.
He says he is "confident, sociable and artistic", and he wants a fragrance to match.
Nick loves notes of bergamot, musk, amber, sandalwood and tobacco leaves. Currently he is alternating between Gucci Pour Homme II and Jean Paul Gaultier Fleur du Male; other past favorites include Narciso Rodriguez for Him, Jil Sander Pure and Mont Blanc Presence.
Nick doesn't like light fragrances, like Davidoff Cool Water or Dolce & Gabanna Light Blue, and he also avoids citrus scents. A few other fragrances he tried but did not care for: Joop Rococo ("a spicy smell that really got under my nose and made me almost nauseous"), Bvlgari Aqua ("reminded me of moth balls"), Christian Dior Eau Sauvage ("too old, smelled like something my dad would wear") and Jean Paul Gaultier Monsieur ("smelled like something I would clean the bathroom with").
What say you?
Note: image is Post Box: Old post box in San Gimignano (Italy) [cropped] by Luca Zappa at flickr; some rights reserved.
What about
Miller Harris Feuille de Tabac
Serge Lutens Chergui- I adore this, by the way, but you might have to avoid it in middle of an Australian summer, mind you!
i Profumi di Firenze Tobacco
–focusing on your tobacco love; I know TPC ships to Australia for sampling
Also, what about Montale’s Blue Amber? Lots of amber, musk, a hint of sandalwood…might be just right for your artistic personality as well.
By the way, how do you feel about incense? Some CdGs have fabulous and unusual incense scents like CdG2Man, Zagorsk, Kyoto, all of which might appeal to you.
Nick, TPC is The Perfumed Court, a store that sells samples & decants, and CdG is Comme des Garcons.
Comme de Garcons Zagorsk popped into my head too….I get a lot of nutmeg and incense out of it and it is definitely a wrist sniffer for hours and hours.
strangely, Zagorsk doesn’t even list nutmeg….so it’s entirely possible that my nose is interpreting something as that…but it’s still quite captivating.
Nick, you sound like a Bulgari Black kind of guy. Or Etro Messe de Minuit, but that might be a little churchy in its incense, esp in summer. That Miller Harris sounds good.
Hello, Suzanne, I was just thinking the same thing- Bulgari Black might just the thing! Another one to try might be Aramis 900. Both are available online. One of the ones by Hermes might be nice-Rouge, perhaps. Happy hunting!
I think of two beautiful, meditative and refined, sandalwood scents:
-tam Dao (Dyptique)
-10 corso como
I second the CdG suggestion above and add:
– Lonestar memories, incense extreme, or l’air du desert marocain (Andy Tauer)[dense ambery winter scents]
– oud wood (by Tom Ford)[forest: woods resins trees]
– Royal English leather or Cuir de Russie (creed), knize Ten, cuir pleine fleur (heeley).[clean crisp leather/tobacco/flowers]
– Anything from the eau d’italie line
I second Andy Tauer Lonestar Memories and L’Air du Desert Marocain (my favorite amber).
I would definietly recommend Fragonard’s Santal, which is much more of a rich lemony tobacco. Really gorgeous, and cheap!
Hey Nick –
Lorenzo Villoresi Musk is a bit floral, but a great scent
DKNY Fuel for Men (not Diesel)
Terre d”Hermes
Encre Noir by Lalique
Jo Malone Dark Amber and Ginger Lily
Good Luck,
Marko
I also must agree with Terres d’Hermes. My boyfriend wears it and it’s so sexy.
I love Terre d’Hermes, too!
The only original fragrances I have to suggest are Frederick Malle Musc Ravageur (I don’t know how easy it is for you to get your hands on, but it is a must sniff) and Les Nereides Musc de Samarkande.
ooh, I love Les Nereides Musc de Samarkand….it is a nice soft white musk….great for layering! Try adding it to anything floral that seems a little light or transparent and POW yum yum yum yum!
My other fave for layering is Serge Lutens Clair du Musc, but that’s twice as expensive.
Hello,
Dolce & Gabbana The One for men.
Notes:
Grapefruit, Coriander, Basil, Cardamom, Ginger, Orange Blossom, Cedar, Tobacco, Ambergris.
Can be found at Sephora and most dept. stores.
~D
How about trying some Sonoma Scent Studio fragrances? Great scents, beautifully blended at reasonable prices. Tabac Aurea sounds right up your alley, Nick. From the SSS site…”Tabac Aurea is a golden amber, tobacco, and woods fragrance for men and women with notes of sandalwood, cedar, tobacco, vetiver, labdanum absolute, leather, amber, patchouli, clove, tonka bean, vanilla, and musk. ”
If that doesn’t work, I suggest trying Montale Black Aoud. From Luckyscent…”Red rose, aoud, labdanum, sandalwood” are the notes for Black Aoud.
Samples are available from Luckyscent and Aedes. Aedes has a great sample program and I recommend trying a few Montales (maybe try Black Aoud, Sandalsliver and Oud Ambre), a couple of Serge Lutens (Chergui is a good rec, maybe also try Ambre Sultan) and Amouage Jubilation XXV and Lyric for Men.
Check out Basenotes.com for their fragrance reviews in the “fragrance directory’. Many men on Basenotes to give you their opinions on niche and mainstream scents. Here is the review of Black Aoud…
http://www.basenotes.net/ID26125633/reviews.html
Good luck and enjoy!
Oops, I guess that would be Basenotes.net, rather than Basenotes. com.
Hi Nick, have you tried Story by Paul Smith? Bergamot and grapefruit on top, some smoky leather in the middle, amber & wood in the dry down. It’s my go-to office scent.
The Dreamer by Versace: a love or hate-scent. Complex, abstract. If it agrees with you, there should be a rich tobacco scent during the dry down.
Patchouli 24 by Le Labo: Not much patchouli here, but a cool and smoky scent for night time. A little rubber, a touch of dry vanilla. It’s the Bulgari Black “version 2.0”.
The Dreamer. Amazing scent.
I’ll also second the recommendation for Sonoma Scent Studio fragrances. Laurie Erickson has a number of woody, smokey, incense fragrances that are dark, rich, and dramatic. I recommend her Tabac Aurea which is a rich pipe tobacco fragrance that is just gorgeous, also her Ambre Noir which is a woody dark amber scent, the Encense Tranquille, which is a wonderfully dark incense fragrance, and Winter Woods, which is a sweet musk and woods fragrance. You won’t go wrong sampling her line. I can’t say enough about how gorgeous her fragrances are.
My other recommendation is the Donna Karan Essence Labdanum which is a smooth, dark, rich wood fragrance, with that raspy woody smell that labdanum has. It would be amazing on a man.
Good luck!
Great Sonoma Scent Studio recommendations, AnnS!
Nick is entering the winter months Down Under, so it’s the perfect time for him to explore ambers, musks, and woods. I second the suggestions of Montale Blue Amber, Diptyque Tam Dao, Bulgari Black, and Terre d’Hermes. I also suggest that he also consider exploring the following (all wonderful fragrances, IMO): Maître Parfumeur et Gantier Ambre Precieux, L’Artisan Ambre Extreme, Timbuktu, and Dzongkha, Hermes Vetiver Tonka, and Etro Sandalo. Also, Perfumerie Generale has several very good and interesting musk, amber and woods combos. All of these can be found online, but I’m not sure about shipping to Australia. Best of luck to you, Nick!
I third or fourth the Sonoma Scent Studio recommendations–I have Encens Tranquille, Winter Woods, Ambre Noir and Champagne de Bois. I got a reprimand yesterday for wearing a heavy dose of CdB into the office (I don’t work there–I just come in to pick up equipment). My sup said several people complained. Wimps.
*rolling eyes* Oh brother, crowflower! Obviously they do not beautiful scent when they smell it! All great recs from you also.
Complaining about CdB? Philistines! Lummoxes! I am officially complaining about their complaints!
CdB is gorgeous…one of my “Desert Island” fragrances.
Thank you, divinemama and Daisy for your kind words of support!
**dabs on some testers in the sanctity of her own truck, plotting revenge on the unbelievers**
A good, affordable line worth exploring is Dawn Spencer Hurwitz, which can be found here:
http://www.dshperfumes.com
Some that I can recommend are:
-Halloween (found in the Essence Oils section), which smells sophisticated and insanely sexy on my boyfriend
-Vetyver, Minuit, Cimabue, Poivre (all of these are found in the Parfum des Beaux Arts section)
She does have samples, and she also has a section for men on the left partway down the PdBA page. Hope that helps!
A very rich, yet not heavy, scent of Dawn’s that I like: The Silk Road. It’s on the Essense Oils side of her website, and the notes include citrus, tea, tobacco, and leather, as well as a few light florals (it is definitely not a floral scent).
I love bergamot, musk, amber, sandalwood and tobacco leaves too! I have recently fallen in love with Fantastic Man from ByRedo, which isn’t daring but very sophisticated, with notes of bergamot, star aniseed, cardamom, geranium, incense, lavander, vetyver, moss and patchouli.
I also think he’d like vetivers like Paul Smith Story and Armani Prive Vetiver Babylone. If he like perfumes strong, he should check out the Tom Fords Oud Wood, Amber Absolute, Tobacco Vanille, Moss Breeches…most of them are really interesting actually!
I second the Fantastic Man suggestion, regardless of Nick’s stated preferences!
For sandalwood, I have heard good things about Creed Santal Imperial. Black is worth a shot too, and maybe Kenzo Power which has amber and unspecified “woodsy” notes.
Excellent recs so far.
I’m wondering if you might be wanting to branch out into some other woods such as cedar, and perhaps some incense notes, or some judicially-used vetiver? Some of the following include those notes, but very well-integrated with your own favourites.
I second (third/fourth/fifth) the Tauer line (adding incense Extreme; it’s not “extreme” except for being extremely good), Serge Lutens (esp. Chene, Chergui, La Myrrh, Fumerie Turque, Cuir Mauresque and Muscs Koublai Khan) and Sonoma Scent Studio’s Tabac Aurea, Winter Woods, Ambre Noir and Fireside.
Nick, I’d also strongly suggest trying a bunch of samples of Parfumerie Generale, especially Bois Blond, Cedre Sandaraque, Coze, l’Eau Rare Matale, Harmatan Noir. L’Ombre Fauve
Also, you might very much enjoy Eau d’Italie’s Cuir Ottoman and Montale Greyland.
Happy hunting!
I love those Parfumerie Generale scents too! (Except I haven’t tried the Harmatan Noir)
And me… Sorry F, to be your echo!
Cuir Ottoman is by Parfum d’Empire (French house) — it’s a great leather scent — recommended. Ambre Russe from Parfum d’Empire is also great — rich boozy amber.
Ach, of course! Me sleepy when posting. . .
And now that I think of Eau d’Italie, a strong recommendation would be their Bois D’Ombrie, with whisky, cognac, myrrh, leather, tobacco and opoponax.
Hey Nick, lot of great suggestions have been made. I strongly concur with votes to at least try Terre d’Hermes. The incense suggestions here have also been great (my fave of the CdG line is still Zagorsk).
For something easy to find, I will suggest Lancôme Hypnôse Homme to anyone who enjoys amber. Also, when I was on a quest for the perfect sandalwood, I found that Lorenzo Villoresi Sandalo was the one that smelled best (available inexpensively online here in the US, but not sure in AUS). I’d also recommend trying some of the Burberry men’s line: notably London and Brit. Good luck!
2nd the Hypnose Homme!
Hi Nick!
These may be a little mainstream, but Juicy Couture Dirty English, and Vera Wang for Men are both faves with my husband.
Both have nice drydowns. Good luck!
Big, big 2nd on Vera Wang. Very mainstream, but it’s such a classy scent.
hmmm – I immediately thought of Muscs Koublsi Kahn and Fumerie Turque, both from Serge Lutens exclusive range.
Tom Ford’s Tobacco Vanille is a lovely winter scent. Tuscan Leather is also a pretty cool wintery scent.
Then I thought of Bandit by Robert Piguet. The EdT version is usually recommended for men, but comes in EdP and Parfum too. Read Robin’s review of it on this website. It’s great. I was buying a bottle in Harrods, and a very gorgeous scotsman appeared next to me to buy himself a bottle too. He loves it apparently. I reckon it could be very sexy on a man. Not sure it’s right for the office though…….
Heh Blimunda! I wonder if you were the woman standing next to my friend and I in Harrods at the Serge Lutens/Piguet stand – it was Easter weekend and we had quite the convo with said Scotsman. If it is you, I can tell you I met him after……..
You’re kidding me! That’s insane! Yes, it was me!
I don’t suppose you’d want to tell me what happened on a public forum would you?!?!
ps: I don’t expect that you would want to broadcast your personal on a public forum, it was a rhetorical question! Anyway, I hope your meeting went well. That sales assistant was determined to matchmake for you, I remember her striding over to him after he walked away to act as an old-fashioned go-between!
How about Emporio Armani Lui?
How about:
Rose 31 by Le Labo
Habit Rouge by Guerlain or
Cannabis Santal by Fresh
i think any of the Serge Lutens would be wonderful, but you really should try M7 by Yves St. Laurent. it’s real kicker, but S-E-X-Y as all get-out!
I second Habit Rouge. Also Contradiction for man has a great bergamot/lime note and a nice drydown’
For amber I suggest Ambre Sultan by Serge Lutens. Other perfumes that are easy to find and “forgotten”
-Z by Zegna
-M7 Fresh YSL
-Lacoste, the original one
-Terre d’Hermes
-Declaration by Cartier
I thought of a few more as I was reading everyone else’s excellent recommendations. Joe above mentions LV Sandalo, but LV Alamut and Uomo are also very good and rich with woods and spices.
All these suggestions made me also think about Chanel Les Exclusifs Bois des Iles – it is gorgeous sandalwood, and I think it is totally unisex. The Cuir Russie is also very rich and distinctive.
Also, Annick Goutal’s Sables is a very unusual and could be strong, woody, herbal fragrance, as is the Duel.
Miller Harris Cuir d’Oranger has that distinctive “tack shop” smell that is very appealing for leather lovers.
And now, for a truly strange one- check out Aliage by Estee Lauder. It might go very well for you!
Cheers!
Try Ajne Roshambo or Ajne Scorpio. I have had people stop me on the street (and not beat me up) when I wear Parfume Generale’s L’Eau de Rare Matale. Another one that doesnt fit exactly but fits your personality is Parfum Generale’s L’Eau Guerriere. My editor almost cried when I wear it. She wishes her model boyfriend smelled as good.
Ooh! This is easy. Comme des Garcons 2 Man. This should be sure-fire, especially if he’s enjoying Gucci Pour Homme II, as 2Man could easily fit in the GPH line, although it does have more in common with the original than the second.
Thank you all so much for your suggestions! I have some homework to do!!! To those of you who suggested Versace The Dreamer and Bulgari Black, I have those in my collection and absolutely adore them so well done!
Thanks again everyone!
How about the new cologne from Thierry Mugler? A*Men Pure Malt, sounds unique and has a few notes Nick might like. Or Fendi Uomo, it’s got leather, musk, pepper and woods. Very difficult to find, but so nice!