Before we start with today's subject, Malte, I wanted to note that we've just about cleared through the waiting list for the Monday Mail: if you ever thought you might like to be a subject, this would be a good time to apply. You can find the instructions here.
So, Malte lives in Germany, and he's looking for a new evening-wear fragrance. He's willing to pay about $100, and although he doesn't want to shop online, he lives in a town with good perfume shopping, including many niche options. Here is what we know about Malte:
He's in his early 20s and is studying English literature.
He is interested in fashion, traveling and (new wave, indie rock, electronic) music.
His style could be described as modern, European, sophisticated — slim silhouettes, mostly black, white and grey.
Malte likes dry and woody fragrances with amber and/or patchouli; he also likes iris. His long-time favorite is Prada Amber Pour Homme. He also owns Marc Jacobs for Men, Kenzo Power, Annayaké Tomo, Viktor & Rolf Antidote and the new Balenciaga Eau de Parfum. He recently tried Comme des Garçons 2 Man and loved it, especially the dark, leathery masculine quality. He'd love to find something similar: leathery, warm and a bit out of the box.
Malte doesn't like anything with aquatic or citrus notes.
Here is what Malte has tried so far:
Lalique Encre Noire: close to what he's looking for.
Balmain Ambre Gris: started out well, but became weirder and weirder as it dried down.
Dior Homme Intense: smelled good on paper, but transformed into heavy vanilla bomb on skin.
Boudicca Wode: too short-lived.
What say you?
Note: top image is Letterbox [cropped] by Roby Ferrari at flickr; some rights reserved.
More of inside the box: Penhaligon’s Artemisia, Ulrich Lang Anvers or Hermès Rocabar.
More of outside the box: Bulgari Black, L’Artisan Dzongkha or Robert Piguet Bandit!
Bulgari Black is exactly what I was thinking! Malte, you’ll either love it or hate it.
Second the Bandit!
Andy Tauer L’Air du Desert Maurocain
” ” Lonestar Memories just because
L’Artisan Dzing for leather
Mazzolari Patchouli-deep and resinous
Bois 1920 Sutra Ylang and Sushi Imperiale
Il Profumo Ambre del Nepal
I hope some of this is helpful!
2nd Ambre Nepal….
Not a leather expert, but Cuir de Lancome comes to mind…maybe Chanel’s Cuir or Coromandel as well?
I 2nd Bvlb. Black … for anyone. Just love it!
Oromonde Man is worth a sniff for the woodsy-ness.
And I’ll throw in Parfum’s Empire/Eau Suave for just something different…worth a sniff to see if you like something unisex that might simply be interesting….
Ormond Man-amazing! Good suggestion!
I suggest the following, which i prefer over Encre Noire, but i feel is in the same vein.
Etat Libre D’Orange – Fat Electrician
Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier – Route du Vetiver
Can you imagine some one nuzzling up to you? “Mmmmm, You smell sooooo good(purr purr). What are you wearing?”. “Um, I’m wearing Fat Electrician.”
I was thinking the same thing!!! haha!
Third the Bandit! Also, he sounds like a guy who might like Bois 1920 Come la Luna. No leather, but would pick up on that woody, dry, amberish liking. Happy sniffing!
What about Parfum d’Empire Cuir Ottoman? Lovely combination of leather and iris.
Second this! It’s a great scent. He might also want to consider Ambre Russe.
I second the Dzongkha, and suggest:
Frederic Malle’s French Lover (known as Bois D’Orage in the U.S.)
Pascal Morabito’s Or Black
Caron’s Yatagan
I third the Dzongkha and suggest that Malte sniff Timbuktu also. And if he has access to the Parfumerie Generale line, there are lots of treasures that he might love!
Agree with all the above!
I agree with PdE Cuir Ottoman. A beautiful choice. And Santal Noble although that’s a bit over budget. Dzing and Dzongka are also good and my favorite of all, Lonestar Memories. Someone just sampled me with Tom Ford Noir de Noir and my heavens! Wonderful. Again, could be out of price range since I’m heard tell on here that his pricing is way high.
Many/most of these would end up being decants, probably, but worth a try:
Chanel – Sycomore, Cuir de Russie
Eau d’Italie – Bois d’Ombrie or Sienne l’Hiver
Everything else I would have suggested was already listed above.
I’m realizing it’s difficult to work within the “about $100” constraint sometimes, though 50ml bottles of L’Artisan & many of the Comme des Garçons line fall in that category.
My recommendations for evening scents with Malte’s prefs in mind:
– Lancôme Hypnôse Homme (amber lavender, very warm)
– Hermes Bel Ami (not a favorite of mine, but many love this)
– Santa Maria Novella Peau d’Espagne (amazing leather; very strong at first, but calms down to beauty 85€).
I’d be curious to know what it was about Comme des Garçons 2 Man and Encre Noire that didn’t work — they sound like they were winners. What was missing?
Good luck, Malte.
Boss Bottled. Inexpensive and easily available. A true niche quality for a mainstream commercial fragrance thanks to Annick Menardo’s talent.
I reckon you will LOVE Escentric 01 and Molecule 01. They’re created by a Berlin based perfumer called Geza Schoen. Molecule 01 is the pure chemical Iso E Super, and it starts off very subtle and almost unnoticeable – it gradually develops on the skin though, and is described as more of a ‘pheremonic scent aroma’ rather than a perfume. The Escentric 01 is a development of the Molecule with added woody and peppery notes, and is quite masculine and very modern, sleek, woody and sexy.
I second Bandit, Timbuktu and suggest trying Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan and (once it is released at christmas!) Cuir Mauresque.
Chanel Egoïste? Or is that maybe too sweet?
I agree with Haunai that there are many treasures from Parfumerie Generale, and the 30 mls are well below the 100 usd limit. L’Ombre Fauve or Bois Blonde maybe? They are both lovely on my early-20s boyfriend
You might like another Mark Buxton (CdG 2 Man nose) creation w/ leather Sander Scent 79 Man. PG Cuir Venenum is a wonderful outside of the box leather. In the direction of Encre Noir is Etro Vetiver. Good luck!
Second PG Cuir Venenum – beautiful and weird! Also love PG Coze for patchouli.
I love Coze, too.
M7 by YSL. An amazing Vetiver and Amber with a little Oud…
Again, we might be looking at decants here, but Chanel’s Bois des Iles is a wonderful, dry, woody scent. Dior’s Escale di Pondichery has a delghtful woody- tea note as well, and both of these are easily unisex. And I love most of the Hermes masculines – they’re all definitely worth a try! Good luck!
I’m also a big fan of Cuir Ottoman (PdE) when it comes to leather, especially when the call is for “evening wear”. Andy Tauer’s Lonestar Memories is also a favorite, winning big points in the “out of the box” competition, of course, but try wearing that, say, in a tux!
As for wood, I would highly recommend a sniff of CdG Monocle Scent One Hinoki – just sensational, very dry, very out of the box, totally evening-wearable. And while we’re at it: how about that upcoming wonderwood stuff from CdG? Can’t wait.
I also wanted to add that Malte might enjoy this link to the leather series by Helg which mentions Koelnisch Juchten. For leather lovers it’s a fascinating post.
http://perfumeshrine.blogspot.com/2007/12/leather-series-5-cuir-de-russie-vs-peau.html
I have 2 suggestions…
Malles’ French Lover, which is over his budget, but extraordinarily excellent, and just what he is looking for. This is one of the finest vetiver-based fragrances I know of.
Next, I would suggest Let Me Play the Lion, from the Swiss perfume house, Les Nez. It’s aching dryness twirls and teases, until it leads to resolution. I find it unbearably sexy. This one has a character of dry woodiness.
Oh — and a third suggestion for a leather fragrance: Andy Tauer’s Lonestar Memories. Dark, gorgeous leather with a touch of rubber; beautifully done.
I third all the suggestions for Bvlgari Black, but also would recommend Coriolan by Guerlain, or Gentiane Blanche by Hermes. Both contain lovely dry woods. Coriolan can be found for a song on discount web sites.
If you want something out of the box, I’d also recommend Estee Lauder’s Azuree. It’s a great leather chypre, very sexy on a man (tried it on my hubby), it’s reasonably priced at 38 dollars u.s. Base notes are: orris patchouli, leather, oakmoss, amber, and musk.
I love Azuree as well. Another suggestion is Histoire de Parfumes 1740 Marquis de Sade although it may be over the $100 limit.
I recommend Heritage de Guerlain EDT.
I hear it has been reformulated, so proceed with caution.
Also, does anyone know if Helmut Lang’s Cuiron is still in production?
As noted above, I like the suggestion of the PGs very much. Also SL Daim Blond it an attractive and innovative leather.
A line that has beautiful, high quality scents for absurdly low prices is Parfums de Nicolai. (The trick is they don’t spend anything on PR and packaging.) I liked Vie de Chateau so much that I ordered up samples of all the masculines but haven’t tested them yet, so I’m not much help in narrowing it down. But why not try them all: you could get TWO small Nicolais!
Not niche, but I suggest Gucci Pour Homme. IMHO a very sexy, woody fragrance, yet not too heavy. Not sure if this works with indie rock, though, but it does suit the other specifications
Comptoir Sud Pacifique’s Bois de Filao is reasonably priced. Might be on the mild-mannered side, though.