What's that smell? - all things fragrant (colognes, parfums, aftershaves, etc.)

[yoyorobbo]

Wildly anticipated (by at least a a handful of y'all), here's our thread to discuss fragrances. Personally *applied* scents - called colognes by most guys, although categorized quite specifically by those who care about such details - are what we're gonna chat about here.

I've been dubbed in these threads as "Cologne Guy" (actually by Vicious' better-half, if I have that right) - a title likely both legitimate and comedic - applicable nonetheless. I do have a pretty decent interest in fragrances, as well as a *moderately-size* collection. Some here may think it's a bit much, but trust me, there are many gents in a few other online communities who have hundreds of bottles. Hun. Dreds.

I also often add my daily-worn "scent" to my WIWT pics - I figure I "wore" it, so there it is. I may plop in a few short conversations, which we've recently had in the WIWT thread, right here in this thread - hopefully that's cool with the mods. It just seems like a couple good discussions will go amiss if I don't do just that. It's on me for the delay of actually starting this thread that I feel the need to "catch-up," as it were.

Regardless, feel free to ask about certain fragrances or tell us what you have, what you are interested in checking out, what you like, what you don't like, what you wear, what you *used to* wear - nostalgia plays a pretty big role with many fragrances (IMO), as a scent-memory is a pretty cool thang, if you've ever experienced one.

In summary, let 'er rip!

[Deke]

I think this is highly unoriginal, but I've always been a fan of Cool Water. My fiancee likes it on me too (which I guess is what really matters). That being said, I wear it (or any other cologne) pretty rarely.

On the topic of scent memory, I dated a girl back in high school that, coincidentally, wore women's Cool Water. We've been broken up for 8 or 9 years now, but I can still immediately pick up on the scent if I encounter another woman wearing it.

[LosRockets]

Okay, after reading a few things on various fragrance threads/forums about affordable scents I recently picked up two oldies: Nautica Voyage and Grey Flannel (cannot remember the maker). Now, I don't usually wear cologne because a) I live in Houston and everybody here has or develops allergies in short time, and b) I spend most of my time in a healthcare setting... but I figured I should actually have colognes for when I need them.

Voyage is a standard 'water-y' scent, which I needed because I realized I didn't like Polo Sport anymore (i've got this old travel kit with four of the original polo scents) since it smells sorta sea-weedy on dry down. The scent actually lasts for quite a while on me, though it doesn't seem to project very well. There's nothing unique about it, I purchased it because it can be had in a large quantity for a low price from Amazon/Marshall's/Ross, etc (~$16?) But it works well if you need something for the gym/running errands on a hot summer day. I don't have a favorite scent in this realm though I've tried and liked Acqua di Gio and heard great things about some of Creed's fragrances.

(Speaking of which, how would one classify Aventus?)

Grey Flannel is... oof. I got a large bottle for like $10 but it's just violet. More than one spray and you're choking on it. Smells a lot like... baby powder or something. Glad it was so cheap, because it's not something I can see myself wearing very often (I'm only 24).

Other fragrances I currently own are Polo Black (I've had this one for a while and I guess it's my 'dressy' scent because that's when I tend to bust it out) and ... actually that's it right now. I used to have terre d'Hermes but I unfortunately ran out.

[fauxshow]

When I was in high school, some of my classmates and myself would carry around a bottle of cologne in our backpacks and reapply periodically frequently in some misguided hopes of attracting the attention of girls. I remember I used up a 100ml bottle in only a few months. Our fragrances of choice back then were CK Eternity, Acqua di Gio, Polo Blue and Axe body spray when we were broke. I was also given a bottle of Gucci Nobile for Christmas one year, which I still have to this day.

A few years later, I realized how ridiculous I must have been, and I swore off cologne for a while. It wasn’t until two years ago that my girlfriend gave me a bottle of Yves Saint Laurent L’Homme that reignited my interest in fragrances.

Since then, I have compiled a small collection of scents. The aforementioned YSL, Burberry London, Dolce&Gabbana The One, Blugari Aqua, Lacoste (another gift from the gf), and Tom Ford Noir. I also have some samples of Creed Aventus, Cartier Declaration Essence, John Varvatos Artisan and some other ones I got in my Birchbox that I forgot the names of.

I’ve learned from the error of my youth (god, that makes me sound ancient) and use cologne very sparingly now. I pump one or two sprays in the air, and walk through it. My bottle of YSL still has about 45ml out of 60 left.

I won’t touch anything from CK, Armani, Polo or Axe though.

[DrBenji]

Why?

[Trueflame]

This is an excellent thread topic. Unfortunately, I have absolutely no understanding of colognes and scents in general. They have smells, the smells are different, but I'm terrible at understanding exactly how they're different or even sorting through what scents I prefer, or which ones are good on me. That said, I have a small bottle of Pi by Givenchi that I got when I was still a kid (it has a sort of vanilla scent to it), and a bottle of Polo, which I guess is my go to... But I use it sparingly and fairly rarely.

[shad0w4life]

Spray it on your wrist or some skin, let it sit for a bit and then smell it and see what you think, if you like it then chances are other people will and don't forget the coffee bean smelling in between scents. You can also grab samples from local stores or order some online.

The best test of course is a member of the sex you're trying to attract, wear it out and see if anyone mentions it after a hug and so forth or if you're in a relationship bring the better half to pick cause it's for them.

[yoyorobbo]

I think this is highly unoriginal, but I've always been a fan of Cool Water. My fiancee likes it on me too (which I guess is what really matters). That being said, I wear it (or any other cologne) pretty rarely.

On the topic of scent memory, I dated a girl back in high school that, coincidentally, wore women's Cool Water. We've been broken up for 8 or 9 years now, but I can still immediately pick up on the scent if I encounter another woman wearing it.

Cool Water is a classic. It sometimes get a bad rap for being overplayed in the '90s - and then Snoop Dogg (or Lion, or whatever) had to go and reference in his lyrics - that'll time-stamp a scent like nothing else will - but honestly it's still a nice *fresh* scent. What's kinda funny is that many people say Cool Water copied Creed's Green Irish Tweed (GIT) - they *do* smell quite similar in some portions of the scent life. Those same people applaud GIT, yet some of them bash CW. Odd.

CW has, as many other "designer" scents typically do, gone through at least one formulation (probably more). This means they changed some of the ingredients, usually switching to more cost-effective ones, which often changes the smell. It's always *close* - as I doubt their QC would let to major of a change slip by - but true frag-heads, and even the more casual cologne-user will often notice that their favorite fragrance from back in tha day smells a little different these days.

I currently only own a "flanker" of Cool Water - one of their Summer spin-offs called Cool Water Summer Fizz. It has a stronger lemon-lime (think Sprite) opening, and then goes into a more typical CW mid and dry-down, just slightly lighter. It also only lasts about 1/3 to 1/2 of the normal longevity of the original CW. Here's a shot of that flanker (they've released MANY different spin-offs):



Full truth be told, my wife *LOVES* Cool Water on me, too. It's highly likely that this is product of a scent memory of when we first met. A few of the popular fragrances of that time (early-mid '90s) are ones that she still loves - and says, "*that* smells like my husband" when she sniffs them. Again, scent memory is a STRONG thang.

[yoyorobbo]

Hey guys - also want to thank you for the initial energy in this thread. So cool to see some interest and questions/advice already from other Dapperedites. Nice! I wish I could sit here and type (some of you know I can kinda get a little wordy - sorry), but I'm off to... PROM!

LOL - don't worry, and more importantly don't call the police - my wife (a HS teacher) chaperones prom every year, and I'm the luckiest dude in the world: I get to be her date! We've done this for probably 15 years now. Wow! It's always a blast, as my wife is that "favorite teacher" type, and she is smothered with love from all of her seniors who are leaving her this year. I should snap a WWWT (*we*), before we get all sweaty on the dance floor and my tie gets all in disarray, but time is short - I gotsta get a move on! Maybe I'll sneak a pic in later during the event.

Catch up with you guys tomorrow.

Laterzzzzz.

[fiddlestyx]

I've always been a fan of fragrances since I got my first bottle of Freedom by Tommy Hilfiger. Since then I've moved on to Polo Red, White and Blue and now YSL L'Homme as my signature.

For those interested, http://www.fragrantica.com is an awesome site that breaks down the top, middle and base notes for the different fragrances. It's a good resource to identify fragrances you may like.

[Fred G. Unn]

and don't forget the coffee bean smelling in between scents.

Yep. I put a bunch of beans in a Glencairn glass and sniffed that between scents when I was testing all those decants. I posted it in another thread, but here's what I got a couple of days ago:

I've come to realize my sense of smell is pretty terrible compared to my wife's. Plus it doesn't really matter if I like it, if she doesn't it's not really in my best interest to wear it, knowhutimean? The two I had been wearing were Hermes Rocabar and Terre d'Hermes. Of all those above, really the only ones I'm considering buying are the Ormande Man, Creed Aventus and Green Irish Tweed. I'm gonna wear 'em on my skin (as opposed to testing paper) and see how those three wear in the next few days.

[bruschetta]

I find this thread interesting because it exists in a world in which I can never take part. Perfume of any kind causes my nose to clog and it impedes my breathing. As a result, I dislike being around anyone who wears strong perfume or cologne.

[alan]

I find this thread interesting because it exists in a world in which I can never take part. Perfume of any kind causes my nose to clog and it impedes my breathing. As a result, I dislike being around anyone who wears strong perfume or cologne.

Ditto.

[Fred G. Unn]

I put a bunch of beans in a Glencairn glass ...

Bruschetta is probably appalled that I used a Glencairn glass for this.
EDIT: and tdig.

[Ian619]

I'm a cologne fan. You know who else is? Women :-P

My scent of the moment is actually Banana Republic M. It smells like a designer fragrance despite picking it up for $26. I tend to like the crisp, citrusy scents.

Others in rotation:
Dolce Gabbana Sport
YSL L'Homme
Giorgio Armani Aqua di Gio