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Holiday fragrance gifts 2009, part 6 ~ for the men

Posted by Robin on 22 November 2009 39 Comments

Fresh Soap trio

From Fresh, a limited edition soap trio in Frankincense ("an earthy scent, full of woodsy notes and a hint of exotic incense"), Myrrh ("an uplifting, fruity scent with wild berry notes inspired by the forest") and Gold ("a warm, soft fragrance that evokes the shimmer of precious metal in sunlight"). Three 250g bars, $45.


Annick Goutal Duel coffret.

From Annick Goutal, a gift set in the Duel fragrance, with 15 and 100 ml bottles of the Eau de Toilette plus a 50 ml Shower Gel. $62.90 at Beautyencounter.


Cowshed Pocket Cow Bullocks set

From Cowshed, the Pocket Cow Bullocks set: "a smart, sample sized travel set for men contains 20ml tubes of: Bullocks Bracing Body Wash, Bullocks Refining Facial Scrub, Bullocks Smooth Shaving Cream, Bullocks Soothing Moisturiser." £18.50.


Hollister cologne coffret

For the younger gentleman on your list, a coffret from Hollister, including miniatures of their "sexy beach scents: SoCal, Hollister California and Jake", $38.


Spiderman fragrance set

And for the even younger still gentleman, 50 ml of Spiderman Eau de Toilette with a matching metal lunchbox. $30 at HSN. (If they run out, there are similar sets at some of the discounters)


Cartier Declaration

From Cartier, the iconic Declaration in the anniversary edition with leather case. 100 ml Eau de Toilette, $100 at Bloomingdales.


Philip B Boyfriend Collection

From Philip B, the Boyfriend Collection, with 355 ml each Scent of Santa Fe Balancing Shampoo and Chai Latte Soul & Body Wash. $69 at Ron Robinson.

Filed Under: fragrance shopping
Tagged With: annick goutal, bar soap, cartier, collector bottles, cowshed, cream or lotion, fresh, gifts, hair care, holiday, hollister, limited edition, philip b, scrub, shower gel

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39 Comments

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  1. CynthiaW says:
    22 November 2009 at 10:44 am

    Hmmm… the Fresh soap sounds yummy (for me – the CEO will only use Irish Spring) – but I don’t think that I want to spend $45 for three bars of soap. I buy all my fancy soap at Marshalls or TJMaxx.

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    • Minnie says:
      22 November 2009 at 10:56 am

      Yeah they always have great soaps there! Plus I havn’t loved anything by fresh that I have smelled so far. I’ve wanted to like the Fresh Sugar fragrance but the top is sooo lemony.

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    • alltheprettythings says:
      22 November 2009 at 1:25 pm

      Ditto that. I think Fresh is overpriced for what it is.

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      • Minnie says:
        22 November 2009 at 1:32 pm

        Yes, I would expect them to be priced more like a Demeter product based on smell alone.

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    • Robin says:
      22 November 2009 at 1:37 pm

      Fresh is not always my favorite brand either, but Kevin sniffed these & liked them, so here they are!

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    • Daisy says:
      22 November 2009 at 9:01 pm

      My CEO is an Irish Spring kind of guy as well…..and doesn’t always respond positively to my efforts to get him to “try something new”…..like “new” is a dirty word or something!! It was a major drain on my persuasive powers just to get him to use the Irish Spring Shower Gel instead of the bar soap. ( I hate even having to see a wet, melting bar of soap in my shower!)

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      • hongkongmom says:
        23 November 2009 at 1:58 am

        i keep drying that wet melting bar and its soap dish..

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    • RusticDove says:
      23 November 2009 at 2:24 pm

      Same here Cynthia – Marshall’s and TJ’s are the ultimate sources for pretty soaps and bath products!

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  2. miss kitty v. says:
    22 November 2009 at 1:08 pm

    I really want to know what Spider Man Eau de Toilette smells like.

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    • BlackRaspberry says:
      22 November 2009 at 1:32 pm

      Seconded! 😀

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    • Robin says:
      22 November 2009 at 1:37 pm

      I don’t know! I always heard good things about the Spongebob cologne though.

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      • hongkongmom says:
        23 November 2009 at 1:58 am

        good old spongebob! though I never saw his fragrance here

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    • Minnie says:
      22 November 2009 at 1:38 pm

      I’m a little weirded-out by fragrances created specifically for little kids. Although a friend of mine had the Babar fragrances when I was little and I remember being enviouse of her for having them.

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      • Bunny says:
        22 November 2009 at 4:40 pm

        I had Strawberry Shortcake perfume as a kid and as I look at my Big Box of Perfume(TM) I can see that it clearly ruined me. 😉

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    • prism says:
      22 November 2009 at 4:12 pm

      i know right? how do you create a fragrance based on a comic character who
      -lives in constant danger,
      -can sense danger,
      -leads a double life,
      -is genetically altered,
      -able to shoot spiderwebs,
      -wears spandex,
      -loved the same girl all his life,
      -burdened by permanent guilt cause he’s the reason his beloved grandfather died, etc.

      while still marketed towards children?

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    • krokodilgena says:
      22 November 2009 at 5:57 pm

      I tried it and the Pirates of the Carribean, Batman, Hulk, etc ones last year.
      I don’t remember what they smelled like but I’m pretty sure they put no thought into relating the scent to the bottle.

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  3. Queen_Cupcake says:
    22 November 2009 at 2:55 pm

    And for men like my DH, how about a vintage Avon cologne?
    http://tinyurl.com/yz4v32h
    🙂

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    • Robin says:
      22 November 2009 at 6:34 pm

      Cute!

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  4. Joe says:
    22 November 2009 at 3:13 pm

    Love the packaging on those Fresh soaps, but my idea of myrrh doesn’t include fruity/berry anything.

    For a quick second, I thought that Cowshed product was a novelty calle Cow Bollocks.

    Note to Annick Goutal: a gift set like that in Mandragore would sell like hotcakes, IMHO.

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    • boojum says:
      22 November 2009 at 5:30 pm

      I’d buy it!

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    • Robin says:
      22 November 2009 at 6:35 pm

      I’d be surprised if such a thing doesn’t exist.

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    • tsetse says:
      23 November 2009 at 12:05 pm

      I was looking at just such a gift set this morning — 1.7oz each Mandragore EdT, body cream and shower gel. (Found it at fragrancenet.com for a little under $65 — haven’t looked anywhere else for it.)

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      • Robin says:
        24 November 2009 at 9:03 am

        Thanks!

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  5. Jill says:
    22 November 2009 at 3:42 pm

    I’d like to get those Fresh soaps for myself (it’s so much easier to find “gifts” for myself than for anyone else, ha). I used to love Fresh’s milk soaps, the ones that had the cow on the packaging. I don’t know if they make them anymore. But I do think Fresh is overpriced in general.

    Great ideas, thanks! I only buy gifts for a handful of guys, but they are always tricky to find gifts for.

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    • Robin says:
      22 November 2009 at 6:36 pm

      My husband is impossible to buy for…and he would not be interested in anything scented.

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      • boojum says:
        22 November 2009 at 11:36 pm

        I think I may just possibly have married the one guy on earth who is EASY to buy for. I run out of money long before I run out of ideas. Fortunately, he’s really good at picking things, so he manages to find stuff for the difficult guys, like my dad and brother.

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  6. Absolute Scentualist says:
    22 November 2009 at 4:17 pm

    I agree the Fresh products are overpriced, but the soaps sound really nice. If my DH knew I dropped $45 on three bars of soap, he’d be incredulous and probably never use them out of a desire to get our money’s worth. That wouldn’t happen if they were collecting dust on a shelf somewhere. Too bad. I’d happily buy them for myself, and if I told him the price, he’d just shrug and shake his head. 😉

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    • Robin says:
      22 November 2009 at 6:37 pm

      My dh likes Safeguard, possibly one of my least favorite smells in the world.

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      • hongkongmom says:
        23 November 2009 at 2:00 am

        my dh uses cussons english leather…really good smell and bought in the local superemarkets, i guess like irish spring and safeguard are!

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  7. fountaingirl says:
    22 November 2009 at 9:30 pm

    Let me preface this by saying maybe I’m nuts. But. I just don’t see getting “Spiderman” cologne for a kid, unless he’s like 3. My son has been expressing interest lately, and we went sniffing today. He tried a bunch on paper strips, then chose four for skin and wore them for several hours. Winnowed down to Givenchy Pi and Terre de Hermes being “must have” (and I’ve gotten small bottles of each for holiday presents) and followed closely by Gendarme, and A*Men.

    He’s 8. He’s a responsible 8, and won’t do something dumb like put them on his stuffed animals or anything. But I would rather spend $20 on a .40oz bottle of Terre d’Hermes than spend $15-20 on a Spider Man bottle and lunch box.

    But maybe that is just me.

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    • Robin says:
      22 November 2009 at 11:18 pm

      Ok!

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    • Absolute Scentualist says:
      23 November 2009 at 11:12 am

      I can see where you’re coming from with the notion of buying your son an actual cologne rather than one made as a marketing tie-in. My b/g twins got corresponding Versace Baby Jeans frags when they were younger as something special for parties and the like, and my daughter got an extremely generous sample of Insolence from my partner in crime AKA favorite Macy’s sales associate a year or two ago that we use for special occasions.

      I just bought her a mini of the EDP (Fragrancenet has them if anyone’s interested) in the same lovely box, bottle shape etc. She’ll be positively thrilled to have her own little bottle. Unfortunately, her brothers *are* the type to pour it on stuffed animals and each other, so it will remain out of reach for anyone under four and a half feet until she wants to wear it, as long as she doesn’t want to wear it to school. I can’t imagine letting her wear it in such close quarters as a school bus!

      Besides, I’m more the type to buy the Hello Kitty fragrances for myself. lol I was thrilled when the Momoberry line launched. 😀

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      • fountaingirl says:
        23 November 2009 at 3:03 pm

        LOL, I agree, it does depend on the kid, and the fragrance. Good point! I know plenty of 15-year-olds, let alone 8-year-olds, who wear enough fragrance that I can taste it when they walk by….

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  8. zaheer says:
    23 November 2009 at 6:07 am

    the soaps look very interesting, not so sure about cartier’s fragrance range, it always smells very pharmacy special to me…

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    • Robin says:
      23 November 2009 at 9:33 am

      Cartier Declaration is a classic, but it doesn’t work on me either.

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  9. cazaubon says:
    23 November 2009 at 1:52 pm

    I bought that gift box of soaps last year and the recipients loved them. Expensive, but very much appreciated.

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    • Robin says:
      23 November 2009 at 5:33 pm

      Thanks! Glad it turned out well.

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  10. VintageLady says:
    28 November 2009 at 12:59 pm

    Duel is such a marvellous fragrance. I am thinking of getting one for my brother who does not know about it. It is like going back in time.

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    • Robin says:
      28 November 2009 at 5:40 pm

      Oh, hope he will like it!

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