New members (<90 days) What have you discovered?

What a very good question !!

Firstly, You all are amazing !! Your suggestions and guidance are brilliant.

My wardrobe was basically purchased over the last 3 months - some were scents I have had in the past that I have repurchased, others are brand new - and mostly blind for that matter. I feel 99% comfortable about my blind buys after fully researching the information on the boards. They are invaluable !!!

Here is my current - Basenotes inspired - wardrobe purchased in the past 3 months...

Faves from the past I have repurchased -
Chanel Antaeus
Chanel Egoiste
Burberry for Men

New indulgences -
Mugler A*men
Creed Himalaya
Creed SMW
Burberry London
Versace Man
Terre d'Hermes
YSL M7

and samples from -
Tauer (LdDM / LM)
Malle (MR / Bigarade / Vetiver)
Ormanade Jayne (Man / Isfarkand / Orris)
Burberry Brit

You are all responsible for making me a poor, but really good-smelling man !!!
I hope you can sleep at night with that on your minds... !

Thanks everyone !!!

Bvlgari Black

*grin*

I "discovered" basenotes! My wardrobe, all purchased within last 30 days:

Chanel - Egoiste
Givenchy - Very Irresistible
Green Irish Tweed - Creed
Rochas Man
Terre de Hermes
John Varvatos - Vintage
Vetiver - Guerlain
YSL - M7

Now I'm trying to educate my nose as to the different "notes" I detect.

Since joining, I've bought bottles of:

Hanae Mori H.M. EDP
Body Kouros
Lolita Lempicka au Masculin
Dolce & Gabbana By Man

And I'm about to try decants or samples of about 30 other fragrances.

Ran out of fragrance late last summer. In the past have usually picked up anything that had the best freebie in either a local department store or at the airport.

Went in search of something new and bought SeanJohn's Unforgivable. Liked the stuff but wondered who made it, as had never heard the name before. Got home and got on the web to search. To my horror realised I'd bought a puffdiddydaddy thingy.

Started searching the fragrance world and found basenotes. In the last month have bought more stuff than I had in the previous 40yrs. Is this addictive?

Have bought in the following order:
Green Irish Tweed
Millesime Imperial
Original Santal
Bois de Portugal
Original Taberone
Himalaya
Michael Kors (mistake I think)

Sampled:
Erolfa
Creed's Vetiver
A-Men

Awaiting samples from:
Trumpers
Les Salons du Palais Royal
Amouage

Does this ever end? Nose in training..............

eerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....what next

bought Pi by Givenchy, Dior Homme..(<3), Mat; Very Male, and Gaultier2...
i should have bought the refillabe prada instead of the tiny one....
antidote i'm alright with....


but i need bois d'argent!

Gaultier2, L'eau par Kenzo, strongly considering Terre d'Hermes...I'm trying not to go too overboard heh

Czech & Speake No. 88 - this is one I'd never even heard of before, and now it's a huge favorite.

Also I will be buying a couple CdG Incense series bottles very soon (hard choosing between Avignon, Zagorsk, and Kyoto - maybe all of them) and I would never have thought to try these before Basenotes just because of the general bizzareness of CdG...

And hanging out here re-kindled my appreciation of Aramis JHL (and Surface too), which had started many years ago

And it also re-affirmed that I need to be true to my own taste, letting the insights and opinions of other much more knowledgable members help expand my range of possibilities, but not to sway what I like

All i have discovered is pain in my wallet.... :P

Creed Silver mountain water
Kenzo pour homme
Givenchy pour Homme Blue Label
Terre d'Hermes by Hermes

Excellent blind but safe buyes
and the list will grow of course...

Yea, that too! Picked up a bottle of Tea for Two and GIT. Love 'em both. Next up is some MI and Bois du Portugal. I've got allergies, but the Creed's and L'Artisan scents don't seem to bother them as much as some of the other house's fragrances.

Good Lord...


I was hoping not to have to face all this so soon.

Prior to discovering Basenotes and all the wonderful information available I doubt if I wore a scent more than a few dozen times in my life and then that was oh, so long ago. Usually it was something like Old Spice, British Sterling or Aqua Velva. I had no idea what was/is out there...
_____________________________
Since joining Basenotes this past November I have purchased/received the following:

Samples (bought decant = ^/bottle = */might buy bottle = ~ as result of obtaining sample)

Burberry London (new)*
Lez Nez Let Me Play The Lion*
LezNez The Unicorn Spell
LezNez L'Antimatière
L'Artisan Bois Farine~
L'Artisan Tea For Two^~
Issey Miyake L'Eau Bleue D'Issey pour Homme
Michael Germain Sexual pour Homme
DK Fuel For Men^~
Aramis Havana^*
Maître Parfumeur et Gantier Santal Noble
Agatha Brown Jade Emperor
Creed 'Original' Tabarome
Fresh Cannabis Santal~
Fresh Tobacco Flower
Helmut Lang Cuiron Pour Homme~
Thierry Mugler A*Men / Angel Men
Calvin Klein Crave
Kenneth Cole New York For Men
Kenneth Cole Black
Caron Tabac Blond~
Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle Noir Epices~
Bond No. 9 Wall Street
Bond No. 9 Riverside Drive

1/3 oz decants (* = bought bottle as result of obtaining decant):


Creed Erolfa
Aramis Havana*
Jean Pascal Quimbaya Homme
Creed Himalaya*
Creed Green Irish Tweed*
L'Artisan Tea for Two
Creed Millesime Imperial
YSL M7 Fresh
DK FUel for Men
Dior Bois d'Argent
Creed Vintage Tabarome
Creed Acer Aluminum
Creed Bois du Portugal
L'Artisan Navigar

bottles bought since joining (** = Bought because of sample/decant trial)

Aramis Havana for Men**
Caron Pour Homme
Caron Le 3me Homme**
LesNes Let Me Play The Lion**
Burberry London for Men(new)**
Carolina Hererra Hererera for Men
Bvlgari Black
Bvlgari Pour Homme Extreme
John Varvatos John Varvartos
Davidoff Cool Water
Dolce & Gabbana Pour Homme
Armani Mania
Gucci Envy for Men
Guerlain Vetiver
Guerlain L'Instant de Guerlain pour Homme
Van Cleef & Arpels Tsar
YSL Kouros
YSL Rive Gauche
Hermes Terre d'Hermes
Issey Miyake L'Eau D'Issey pour Homme
Creed Himalaya**
Creed Green Irish Tweed**
Salvador Dali Le Roy Soleil**
Dior Dior Homme

OMG...Am I sick or what?

I am nearing my 90-day mark in a few weeks. As mentioned by McD, the info found here is great. There is no way I would have been able to discover all the fragrances I have sampled without it. Those that I have picked out based on info here, tested, and bought are:

Ambre Sultan
Terre d'Hermes
Le Male
Guerlain Vetiver
D&G pour Homme

Along with a large amount of samples, some that will become buys. I also have a want-to-try list that is quite long

Let's see, I decided to give Creed another chance by purchasing a Himalaya sample (I didn't like SWM...not a big fan of tea). i am getting some free samples from the recommendations and I order some of luckyscent samples (I couldn't tell you the name even I tried really hard). I tried to get some Amourage samples, but, they required me to pay for it. So I looked at a pic of their samples and I thought, "What a pretty box and pretty vials. I must do all I can to buy this". Then I found out that it cost over $1200 which pretty much killed my desire to buy the "mystery box".

I'm a student, so I've had to be a bit judicious in what I've bought.

So far:
Vetiver by Guerlain
Kiehl's Orginial Musk
Salvador Dali Pour Homme

I haven't been disappointed yet, and I've been sampling, looking for what to get after I graduate and have a little more income.

Wow! Many great purchases by you new users! I'm surprised at all the Creed scents purchased, though perhaps I shouldn't be. Also lots of Terre d'Hermes being grabbed. For those who like this scent, I would encourage you to try to sample Memoire d'Homme by Nina Ricci, and share your thoughts when you do.

Yes, kbe, you are sick! What you've done is complete and utter immersion, and kudos to you for doing that! I also am known to dive into a new interest in a similar manner.

I'm hardly a new user, and you can link to my wardrobe from my username to see what I've acquired. Nonetheless, the evolution of my nose continues, new surprises abound when I'm trying newly received samples, and some previous borderline scents grow on me with repeated wearings. Thus, already in the New Year I have purchased bottles of

Loukhoum - Keiko Mecheri
Vetiver - L'Artisan

and am planning purchases of

Ambre Narguille - Hermessences
Eucris - Geo. F. Trumper
L'Air du Desert Marocain - Andy Tauer
Vetiver Bourbon - Miller Harris

This has been a great question, thanks everyone for your candid replies, and all the best for this new year!

Prior to joining basenotes my experience in buying cologne/perfumes were of the kind: I run into store. I smell a frag or two. I get a recommendation from an SA. I buy a bottle. I did get a bottle or three from my mom in the past too I guess.

However, I never really took the time to explore all the possibilities and all the frags available. Now I do Being a university student though, I don't have a lot of money to spend on fragrances, but I've learned that it's certainly possible to smell extraordinary even on a pretty tight budget.

I bought Endymion right after discovering basenotes (but before joining the community).

Since joining I've bought:
XS pour homme
Monsieur Balmain
Lalique pour homme EdP (the lion) (haven't received yet)

Samples of:
A*Men
Himalaya

And in my wardrobe I have 50+ scents I want to try... Hopefully I'm getting samples from some of the houses I've mailed (Caron, Diptyque, Boucheron, Malle, Divine, Jayne Ormond etc.) to lower this number somewhat. I'm afraid my wishlist will grow quite a bit though...

Most important of all, I learned that scent is very subjective and no one else can you what smells "good".

I am round about the 90 day mark.

Of the 48 scents in my wardrobe I had three before joining BN (Chanel PMC, Vera Wang, Givenchy Gentleman). Many of the 45 are decants, but for most of the time I have had more scents than days in the week to properly try new ones!

Being part of the BN community has been a real pleasure. I've learnt a lot and still wake up in the morning thinking 'what shall I wear today?'.

The discussion forum is a welcoming, stimulating and civilised place to be. I had lurked or made a few postings on other forums on music, politics and even my professional area (law), but was quickly put off by the banality, small-mindedness and sheer aggression of many discussions. The anonymity and distance of online communications can bring out the worst in people. BN though is different - long may it continue.

As for future, I have bottles of Envy and M7 arriving tomorrow, and some more decants from the great Gerald next week. I purposefully did not go mad and order bottles of the entire Lutens, Malle, Creed ranges because I want this to be a long journey of discovery rather than a burnt out infatuation.

Saying that, a bottle of Terre d'Hermes is on my immediate hit list; I'm planning a bottle purchase of a good heavy niche scent (Bois du Portugal, Piper Nigrum or Knize Ten are the contenders); and then it will be summer and I'll think about Himalaya, Bigarade Concentree or Aqua di Parma ... and so it goes!

BN is a great source of information on a full spectrum of fragrance related stuff. Members are very generous with their time as they put information out there that will ultimately be helping someone else. As my hobby of collecting cologne has developed I've seen my own knowledge of scent evolve along the line of a Hills Brothers to Starbucks appreciation. The more I learn the more I appreciate the complexities of scent. BN has been very helpful to me in that regard.

Cheers.

I have discovered an awesome community of people with big hearts and poetic reviews! Thanks to fabulous recommendations and seductive reviews, I've fallen prey to the lure of Niche perfumers...especially since I've found houses that avoid my most-hated notes (Calone, certain marine notes, certain white floral notes...anything that smells dry/metallic to me). I've learned to oplay the decant game and i'm sharpening my nose skills.

On the down side, my wallet's a lot lighter, but hey...you can't put a price on happiness.

Thanks to Basenotes, I've found the perfumer of my dreams, Serge Lutens, who indulges my every desire for spicy/oriental and musk. I've also discovered L'Artisan (Timbuktu, plus I hope to get many, many more), Editions de Parfum Frederic Malle (Musc Ravageur, plus I hope to get many more!), and Annick Goutal (Songes, and I want to try more!).

You people are fabulous and supportive and just plain great. I love it here. Cheers, Basenotes.

Oh, I almost forgot -- fragrances I've bought since joining Basenotes:

Decants/samples of: A La Nuit, Borneo 1834, Muscs Koublai Khan, Gris Clair, Santal Blanc, Creed's Love In White, L'Artisan's Dzonghka,Tom Ford Black Orchid, Badgley Mischka, So Lovely, Annick Goutal's Songes, I'm sure that I'm forgetting some here...I've spent a LOT of money on decants.

Full bottles of:
Timbuktu by L'Artisan ($110)
Muscs Koublai Khan (my best blind buy ever!) ($160)
Musc Ravageur (it's on its way here through the post!) ($180)
Chergui ($92)
A La Nuit ($92)
Ambre Sultan ($92)
Bvlgari's Pour Femme ($40)
Kiehl's Musk ($20)
---------------------------
Grand total of $786 O_o
YIIIKES!

Before "discovering" Basenotes my wardrobe consisted of frags that my cousin thought to be "great" but they were just mass circulated designer frags that every other teenager wore like:
Cool Water
Aqua di Gio
Dunhill Desire
L'eau D'Issey (Which I love anyway)

and twowhich Dad used:
Safari RL
Azzaro PH

After finding basenotes I have sampled so many fragrances by mulitple visits to the mall and some high-end place like the Bond No. 9 store and Nordstrom, etc.
I have to admit my wardrobe has not really grown much but my knowledge of fragrances has grown extensively that my friends and family ask me what frags are worth looking into.

In the past month I have purchased:
XS Paco Rabonne
Bvlgari PH
D&G PH
Minotaure
Gucci Envy
Live Jazz
Creed GIT

Linnea, you don't like dry/metallic notes but you like Timbuktu? I find it very dry and metallic, obviously you will not agree, what's your take on it? Describe what you get when you wear it, I'd be interested! :-)

Really? Wow! Let me see if I can explain the dry note that I hate so much. I adore Timbuktu and just bought a 100mL bottle of it.

The dry/metallicness that I hate is from calone and similar notes, which are so drying that they hurt my nose and sinuses. There are some fragrances like Creed's Love in White that I seriously doubt has Calone, but it too has a similar dry/metallic/hurts my nose effect. When I smell fragrances like Cool Water or Acqua di Gio (or Love in White), they hit me in the back of my sinuses with a powerful feeling, and my face/sinuses hurt, and my sinuses feel dry as heck (like being in a sauna for an extended period of time).

I love Timbuktu. When I first sprayed it on, it smelled so alcohol-y that I thought I might have accidentally been given Fou d'Absinthe or something instead (which I have never smelled, but I was just guessing). On my skin, Timbuktu dries down into something mysterious, sexy, with lots of spices and dry woods like vetiver. It doesn't hurt my nose, but other niche fragrances like Creed's Love In White did hurt my nose. Weird, eh?


I love dry woods, like Vetiver, and Timbuktu obviously has a lot of vetiver. To me, Timbuktu is spicy and dry, but in a pleasant way.

I bought a sample of Dzonghka but couldn't wear it because it turned awful on my skin! I was heartbroken. It had the same hurts-my-nose effect after I applied it. I really wanted to like it, too!

I have smelled one of the Tommy Bahama scents for women, and I get the same hurts-my-nose effect from those, too.

I'm a huge fan of Lutens and rich, heavy oriental scents. I like to wear Timbuktu with Musc Ravageur, to be honest! I find the vetiver and pepper very refreshing in Timbuktu.

The craziness of layering! :-)

Have you tried any "traditional" male scents? Like L'Instant de Guerlain, I bet you'll like it! (For sure this time! :-)