Toilet Water

[bels]

What are people thinking of for winter?

I imagine some people like the idea of spicy christmassy scents but I've never really connected with Christmas as a concept so I think more of frosty grass, damp soil, fire, fog, darkness, and drizzle.

I guess you can wear stronger scents in winter because.. actually I'm not sure, maybe we should all wear less strong scents in winter.

[pirxthepilot]

damp soil/grass = guerlain vetiver. my all-time favourite.
i've been wearing le labo bergamot all summer but recently discovered a fairly similar scent i prefer: mugler cologne, which also has a bergamot/orange blossom accord, just done more subtly and with a better drydown. (does anybody else find the drydown of all le labo frags to be generic/disappointing?).
i also enjoyed CDG vettiveru, which is like a lighter version of the guerlain.
now, as you say, it's time for winter frags. TF tobacco vanille today, but i always go back to the guerlain in winter.

[smiles]

CDG wonderwood and Le Labo Oud 27. Will also break out the Penhaligons because it smells like fresh tomato plants – Good for cheering up on a dark day.

I also want the Avignon from cdg incense.

would recommend Aesop's improved Marrakesh. quite nice and woody

[stappard_]

What are people thinking of for winter?

I imagine some people like the idea of spicy christmassy scents but I've never really connected with Christmas as a concept so I think more of frosty grass, damp soil, fire, fog, darkness, and drizzle.

I guess you can wear stronger scents in winter because.. actually I'm not sure, maybe we should all wear less strong scents in winter.

Tried MMM Jazz Club in Selfridges the other day and that's a really nice winter thing but very much evening only, can't go into work smelling of rum.

Keen to give the CDG x Monocle 'Hiroki' one a go, cedar and camphor sound like a good autumn/winter combination, very George Mallory.

[stappard_]

but how else will people know you're a font designer/international jetsetter unless you smell like one

[nick]

Any ideas to fall frags that are slightly eccentric yet wholly accessible - and decidedly masculine? Enjoy the idea of niche fragrances but don't dig the whole Unisex thing. I like the presence fruity/floral notes but done in a way that does not come off as wearing womens perfume. Dior Homme does this well but I'm looking for something a bit different.

[odradek]

On that cold, dry November day that guns 'n' roses did not sing about, I think I'm gonna be favoring Encense et lavende. It seems to have this weird inversion of flowers by being perfect for a cold dry wind whipping through naked trees. I'm also going to re-up on CDG Zagorsk. I know I gave it what appears to be a scathing review earlier in this thread, and it is a challenging smell (for me), but it's also distinct and evocative and feels like a very specific memory of mine involving patches of snow on the ground. I will also continue to wear Tom Ford Oud Wood when I'm actually not trying to repel people.

[synthese]

Any ideas to fall frags that are slightly eccentric yet wholly accessible - and decidedly masculine? Enjoy the idea of niche fragrances but don't dig the whole Unisex thing. I like the presence fruity/floral notes but done in a way that does not come off as wearing womens perfume. Dior Homme does this well but I'm looking for something a bit different.

"Decidedly masculine" is difficult to pin down, and (imo) only works with scents like Dior's Eau Sauvage or other unmistakably testosterone-y scents (although I knew a girl who wore ES and it was perfect - I don't much care for "genders" in fragrance, particularly as what gets marketed towards whom has been pretty variable over time). I am very drawn to florals, and (last time I checked) am relatively masculine (most of my fragrances are some type of pretty flower).

Have you tried Serge Lutens? I find most of them fairly "clean," including the florals. De Profundis (chrysanthemum) and Sarassins (Jasmine) are excellent florals (I also like Tuberose Criminelle, but it is more...adventurous); Chergui and Ambre Sultan (one of my favorites) offer more masculine options (although another female friend had settled on Chergui). Ambre Sultan is one of my favorites - I find amber perfect for fall and winter (Ambre Russe is also very nice, but people may think you're drunk).

Chanel's Coromandel is also a favorite of mine, which I think of as a spring scent but most others seem to find autumnal. I find it very sensual, and when worn by a man, nicely surprising. I get a lot of patchouli and white chocolate out of it, but I find that the whole thing has a delectable rot to it that I associate with e.e. cummings, driftwood, beaches, and sex - but you might link to decaying leaves. This may be less accessible, but is truly a stunner.

What has to be one of the best buys in the whole game is a fragrance called "Midnight in Paris" by Van Cleef and Arpels. It's a lily scent, and smells...well, just like the title suggests. Moonlit flowers, a bit chilly, with the warmth of a leather glove - a scarf wrapped around its neck and, just maybe, slightly wobbly after dark. It's often on Amazon for really cheap, and even at retail is a steal. I wear it all the time, and it is really (I think) a beautifully balanced, masculine fragrance. That and Chergui are very accessible; for the others feel free to procure samples as you dare.

Oh, and since they've been mentioned; my favorite of the CDGS3I (whew) scents is Ouarzazate: dry bones, scoured by desert winds, as seen from altitude - and later thought about, with some melancholy, at a teahouse. Also good for fall.

[nick]

Thanks for the great reply @synthese. By "decidedly masculine" I don't mind abundantly so, I just mean that it smells like a fragrance targeted at men - even if it could even work well on women too.

I'll search out samples of some of your suggestions - though it seems "Midnight in Paris" is at the blind buy level of affordability.

[cheshster]

So since my clothes are more or less stable I've been getting into fragrances. But I'm still a complete newbie and am about to ask a bunch of probably dumb questions.

I tried a few things from the fragrance guide on MFA, and (since it's autumn) ordered a sampler of autumn scents. So far I like, in roughly descending order: Green Irish Tweed by Creed (but doesn't everyone), L'instant de Guerlain pour Homme, Chergui by Serge Lutens, Thallium by Yves de Sistelle, Burberry Touch, and Bvlgari Pour Homme Soir. The only one I've tried that I really didn't care for was Nautica Voyage.

My nose isn't very sensitive, so I have a lot of trouble discerning more than "I like this" or "I don't like this", and the biggest deciding factor is whether or not my wife likes something.

My big point of confusion with fragrances is that I don't really see what makes different categories distinct. Like, what makes something better for daytime or evening, what's best for one season over another, why is this set of things that sound like they smell nice considered feminine rather than masculine. All of the ones I listed above except for GIT and Chergui are from the autumn sampler I got, and the Chergui definitely seems similar to them. But I don't know what makes them autumnal.

I feel like I could probably happily just wear GIT all year round but, I dunno, it seems too safe? I dress pretty conservatively but I try to put out some weirdness within the constraints of the trad/prep look (I think germinal once described me as "an eccentric professor"). I'd like to find fragrances along the same lines but I don't speak the language at all and I don't even know where to look to start learning.

[Syeknom]

Keen to give this a try

[ducksick]

As am I, I use a rather cheapish Green Tea scent at the moment, and the description of the Margiela perfume sounds like it should smell reasonably close to Genmaicha!

[jrisk]

why do some scents (seemingly) only come in EDT? Why not EDP too? I'm looking at BLACK by comme des garcons. I got a sample of the EDT and I really dig it but it doesn't seem like it lasts very long.

[KLF]

currently alternating between diptyque tam dao and maison louis marie no.4.

[nick]

that @synthese fella sold me on Midnight in Paris - got a bottle of the stuff for $23 off a fragrance group on FB - $23!!!
totally worth it but don't really get much out of it rather than vanilla. there's a little bit of a chemical/rubbery smell (dont know what you call this?) when u first apply it, which is kinda cool, but that fades, which is also kinda cool. vanilla is lovely and somehow it still does come off as a mens fragrance (tho would work on women too I reckon) so I'll be wearing it a lot.

still on the lookout for something piney/incensey though perhaps not as ridiculous as CDG zagorsk.

[pei]

my current rotation is

• CDG zagorsk
• lush smell of weather turning
• maison louis marie no. 2

sometimes i combine all of them together and it smells kinda gross but weirdly good at the same time

i'm waiting for some scents from goest to come by in the mail, namely 'silent films' and 'realism'
and i really want do son from diptyque!!! AHHHHHH i fell in love with the samples for it and it's so good ; ___ ;

[yoyobeat]

Anyone have experience with Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab?

http://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/

They had a booth at the last comic convention I went to, but don't remember any of the scents and they have so many, so I don't know what's good to try...

[nick]

from what I can gather (and some personal experience fueled by curiousity!) those etsy-core perfume oil based fragrances just kind of smell like a hodgepodge of cheap head-shop incenses. no thanks - but maybe BPAL is better due to their ubiquity - though I wouldn't bank on it.
if you're on a budget and down to experiment, my recommendation is picking up decants/splits from forums and social media groups. great way to try stuff out / have fun w/ it without leaving burning holes in your pockets.

[pei]

got 2 5ml mini flacons of scents from goest, 'silent films' and 'realism'. at $34 USD these may be a bit pricey but they pack a huge punch even with the slightest drop!



silent films has a really smooth feel to it and it's more of a night scent but i could see it working through days in fall and winter!! it starts off with a sweet minty taste and then becomes a bit more earthy. personally i like this one more than the other one i got lol

realism is really floral and earthy, then mellows out with the same feel. if you like the smell of rain and crushed leaves, then this is pretty much perfect! feels pretty much like a day scent to me but could be funky fresh for the night.



adding a bottle of silent films atomizer and the sample of the entire collection from goest to my to buy list rn lmao

[chadnik]

ramdom perfume thoughts~

- Estee Lauder just announced that they are acquiring Le Labo. hope this doesn't spell bad things...

- on a more positive Le Labo note, I'm enjoying how Rose 31 changes on my skin and becomes fuller, muskier, and less plasticky in the cool air, and how the citrus of Bergamote 22 suddenly becomes too crisp somehow against the chill. probably some of this is conditioning (citrus for summer!!) but I can also definitely smell a difference, too.

- I got a sample of MMM Beach Walk (the Replica scents are at Sephora now (!)) and spritzed it yesterday. was quite dissonant to smell such an intensely summer scent (think sunscreen, white florals, salty tang) in the middle of autumn...

- really want to try some Byredo scents soon. anyone have any favorites by them?

- @yoyobeat I have some experience with BPAL, when I was scouting out the perfect rose (Peacock Queen is a lovely full, lush, non-sickly sweet rose fwiw). I recommend buying imps' ears (samples) from BPAL's site (though fair warning, shipping takes f o r e v e r), scouting eBay, or as nick recommended checking out BPAL's non-official but super popular forum (also super helpful for scent reviews). I am not a BPAL-head by any means and I did not love everything of theirs I happened to sniff, but I didn't find it as etsycore as I had feared.

[synthese]

ramdom perfume thoughts~
when I was scouting out the perfect rose

oh sup

Mine are probably: Malle, Portrait of a Lady (Holy shit); Ormonde Jayne, Ta'if (Holy shit);and in a less-interested third place, Guerlain, Rose Nacré du désert. I like Voleur de Roses (too fleeting) and Rose Poivree, too.

PoaL is a huge scent, and despite the title strikes me as very Parisian; Ta'if is beautiful and delicate and, to my nose, as nacreous as the Guerlain; the Guerlain is also quiet, maybe not quite as sweet as Jayne. Voleur de Roses and Rose Poivree are perhaps a bit more like a St-Exupery rose; thorny and spicy, some of that dry alien dirt.

Voleur de Roses (as well as its copy blurb) makes me think of these signs they have all over Paris, which say "En cas de tempête, le jardin sera fermé." I think that if you broke into one of those shuttered gardens during a storm and found yourself suddenly somewhere that wasn't Paris at all, that's what VdR would smell like.

[Jeezas]

I currently have Odeur 53 by Comme des Garçons (Smells like.. Huh.), Poivre Piquant by L'Artisan Parfumeur (Smells like fresh pepper milk and honey) and 1 by Galimard. (smells like the idea of sea, not the salty one.)

[insect]

Using yohji yamamoto homme and some cheap redwood cologne stick i got off etsy

Still shopping around for something that suits me

[prawnzee]

okay @synthese I trust you this time

Your Order Summary: Midnight In Paris by Van Cleef & Arpels 4.2 oz Eau De Toilette Spray for Men

[eufemism]

i've been using this for a while now. i need to step my game up.

[easthastings]

Here's a meagre picture of my meagre collection:



YSL La Nuit de L'Homme: The first fragrance I bought. I get a decent amount of compliments on it, and the longevity and drydown are really nice. It's really sweet and can get cloying though. I wear this when I go out, but if I could go back, I'd probably get Dior Homme instead.
Terre d'Hermes: Got this as a gift. I don't wear this very often, but it is very versatile and likeable - probably one of the better designer scents I've tried.
Prada Infusion d'Homme: Not everyone loves this one, but it's my signature scent - day and night, year-round. It's soapy and powdery which might turn some people off, but I just really like iris. I think it's citric and smoky enough to balance out the soapiness. The women's version, Infusion d'Iris is very similar and also really good.
CdG Kyoto: Really glad that it's popular here. I tried out CdG Avignon and Heely Cardinal before settling on this. I kind of associate incense with solemnity and death, but this one is pretty refreshing, and wearable.
Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille: It's a tiny 5 mL sample but it feels like that's more than I ever need. It smells more like a baked goods explosion than anything to me. But I kind of like that, so I keep it around.

Any ideas on what I should try next?

[prawnzee]

When I wear this I could imagine myself out on a date with a beautiful gorgeous woman in the night time cool of the spring. We have been to dinner casually dressed attire. We then decide to go for a stroll through a park. We sit down on a park bench and gaze into the beautiful night time sky having a nice conversation. She nestles under me and fully embraces my essence and the fragrance of a Midnight in Paris.

works for me

[bels]

Lately I've been using whatever random Ittars I've collected over the years. Some are better than others, a lot are really cloyingly sweet but there are a couple of more subdued ones. The scent sticks around a lot though.

Feels kind of fun to wear something "ethnic"

[meatjacket]

Just ordered 5 samples for $20 of stuff i've heard was pretty good online, then i'll try to find one i like

- cdg kyoto
- cdg amazingreen
- m.micallef homme/aoud
- Helmut Lang - Sample:Eau de Parfum
- l'artisan parfumeur: passage d'enfer

gonna try to get a sample of tobacco vanille bc i heard its amazing

[meatjacket]

received the samples today!

amazingreen really surprised me as it smells just like it sounds! Smells like i sat on a rock in the middle of a forest, crisp air and pine needles at my feet. Very lush and free. I feel happy smelling this.

never heard of l'artisan parfumer before, ordered a sample simply because it had notes of Lily of The Valley (favorite flower) which was very clean, very "open"