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Citrus...the same fragrance...different colognes

post #1 of 22
1/18/07 at 9:40pm
Thread Starter 
I have found that almost 75 % or more of the colognes made today have pretty much the same fragrance. That infernal citrusy smell. The same fragrance you get when you buy the Boss, or Curve, or Michael Jordan...and on and on. It's almost predictable. I mean literally, you can almost be assured that when you find a new fragrance that you can be sure to find that smell. I have found it necessary to go to great lenghts to find fragrances that are in fact different. Of course there are the easier ones to find like Lagerfeld, or Polo original, but then to really go on a hunt for the ones that seem to be almost impossible to find. IE: Adkinsons Royal Briar. Which in my estimation is absolutely the finest mens cologne on the market.That is what I have been forced to do. Then I recently heard that the manufacturers of this cologne are now going to stop production...a travesty if this is true as they have been producing this since 1799. Some years back I went to England and to Harrods. There they had an amber colored cologne, in fact called Harrods.It was woodsy, and wonderful. Then after some years went by, and my supply ran low, a friend who was going to visit the UK brought back 2 bottles of that cologne for me...and low and behold, Harrods had a new version, and did away with the old version, When I sprayed this on, to my dismay what do you suppose the new fragrance was? CITRUS!. I wrote them, and they said that it was there new cologne, and they did away with the old cologne. If I wanted to get a refund, just ship them back. I told them it would be a fine complement to my dog Max's paraphanalia, and that is exactly what I used it for. It's so sad that these manufacturers of great colognes around the world have such minimal imagination. I recently went to visit Saks, and they had a new ARMANI. I brought back some samples...citrus... citrus, and a spicy citrus, and what was even worse still was that the scent lasted on me for about an hour, and they wanted $184.00 a bottle(one oz.) So frustrating. I look for the more obscure and imaginitive, and would love to hear from people that may have suggestions as to something different.
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post #2 of 22
1/18/07 at 9:51pm
I smelled something on some guy recently and it was very YSL homme, armani mania, etc, that infernal "fresh" smell.

well it turned out he was wearing Degree anti perspirant!!!!!
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post #3 of 22
1/18/07 at 10:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by supermarky

I smelled something on some guy recently and it was very YSL homme, armani mania, etc, that infernal "fresh" smell.

well it turned out he was wearing Degree anti perspirant!!!!!

How did you find out what he was wearing?!

TNMA
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post #4 of 22
1/18/07 at 10:44pm
Citrus was really in last year so a lot of citrus fragrances came out. Now it seems like the woody/oriental is starting to come into fashion.

I can safly say the age of citrus is over.
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post #5 of 22
1/18/07 at 11:08pm
try GucciPH
and Pino Sylvestre
I hope this helps.
I realize you're not going to find these in Harrod's but since they've redone the entire Harrod's floor plans 20 years ago, it's just not the same.
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post #6 of 22
1/19/07 at 1:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by supermarky

I smelled something on some guy recently and it was very YSL homme, armani mania, etc, that infernal "fresh" smell.

well it turned out he was wearing Degree anti perspirant!!!!!


Note to self... try out Degree. There's nothing like a fresh smelling deodorant.
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post #7 of 22
1/19/07 at 2:29am
Are we talking citrus scents or aquatics? Sometimes I think people don't make that distinction, giving away explanatory power. For me citrus means there is a strong citrus fruit note: lemon, lime, orange, bitter orange(neroli), grapefruit, or other notes that aren't technically citrus fruits but can be mistaken for one.

Aquatics on the other hand simply have lots of calone in them which gives them this rather synthetic freshness.

The big difference between the two is that the latter one is usually quite sweet (AdG or the vile honeysoaked L'Eau d'Issey), while a real citrus is actually more sour in my book.
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post #8 of 22
1/19/07 at 2:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by thisbekevinn

Citrus was really in last year so a lot of citrus fragrances came out. Now it seems like the woody/oriental is starting to come into fashion.

I can safly say the age of citrus is over.

I don't think so. Citrus last year, now woody/oriental, put that way it looks more like a seasonal change. They simply come up with fresh scents for summer and darker ones for winter, so the coming releases (like that sickly blue Gucci ph, which scares me) will surely be fresh again.
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post #9 of 22
1/19/07 at 3:11am
I've just sprayed some Curve and Michael Jordan Cologne on.
I can detect a hint of citrus in Curve - but it's pretty well swamped by everything else.
I can't detect anything citrusy in Michael Jordan Cologne.

However, I think I know what you mean. Many years ago I did post here as to what exactly was the component that gave that strong fresh smell or effect to the back of my nose. I never got a single response.
Renato
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post #10 of 22
1/19/07 at 9:49am
Welcome to Basenotes. I think one of the reasons you see (smell) so many citrus scents is simply the big names jumping on whatever bandwagon is popular at the moment...meaning more of a chance to make quick money. Mainstream America (and elsewhere) is used to this type of scent - read those people that just go out, take a quick sniff, and buy without really trying to get into all the notes that a fragrance has to offer.

You probably need to check out the niche fragrances from someone such as Serge Lutens or a Frederic Malle.
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post #11 of 22
1/19/07 at 10:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by fakepurseninja

Are we talking citrus scents or aquatics? Sometimes I think people don't make that distinction, giving away explanatory power. For me citrus means there is a strong citrus fruit note: lemon, lime, orange, bitter orange(neroli), grapefruit, or other notes that aren't technically citrus fruits but can be mistaken for one.

Aquatics on the other hand simply have lots of calone in them which gives them this rather synthetic freshness.

The big difference between the two is that the latter one is usually quite sweet (AdG or the vile honeysoaked L'Eau d'Issey), while a real citrus is actually more sour in my book.

That's exactly what I think too. Many mainstream fagrances rated as 'citrus' rarely come across as such to me. Instead, they just have some generic, like you said aquatic, accord that makes them so boring and hardly different from another. Very good point, ninja.
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post #12 of 22
1/19/07 at 11:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by globetrekker

You probably need to check out the niche fragrances from someone such as Serge Lutens or a Frederic Malle.

No he doesn't I didn't, and I am happy nonetheless with the non-aquatic designer frags I own, and I could easily name ten more I would get if money was not a concern (which it is ).
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post #13 of 22
1/19/07 at 1:06pm
Citrus is a class of fragrance, and in this capacity will never go out of fashion any more than flowers or woods will.
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post #14 of 22
1/19/07 at 1:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hirch_duckfinder

Citrus is a class of fragrance, and in this capacity will never go out of fashion any more than flowers or woods will.

Agreed. But that doesn't mean that citrus scents can't be very different from one another. Some very striking ones are combined with green notes, herbal and leafy/grassy notes. Others are really enlivened by their basenotes, say maybe a bit of oakmoss or labdanum. Some have clary sage or myrtle to enrich them.

But many are, sadly, pretty generic and predictable. Easy citrus, like bergamot, bigarrade, or petitgrain (or worse, limonene and citronellal synthetics); maybe some woods or light spice in the base, but no florals (not even neroli!), no dominant spice, no "body"; very "thin."

The preference I detect is for light and inoffensive fragrances, which are OK sometimes, but boring as hell in great numbers.

How about something like Monsieur de Givenchy, Dior Dune, Montale Soleil de Capri, Chevalier d'Orsay, Hermès Orange Verte Concentrée? That's the sort we chiefly need as citrus/hesperidic scents.

Just my opinion, of course...
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post #15 of 22
1/19/07 at 1:53pm
It seems to me that most of the designer fragrences you'll find at the department stores (and what the majority of men are wearing) are going to be mainstream fresh/aquatic/citrus. Most men that buy fragrences will buy anything the cute woman at the counter tells them smells good or is the most popular.

While looking into the more interesting niche houses (Creed, Lutens, L'Artisan, Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier) may be a good way to go to avoid the bland designer scents, many designer houses make more interesting fragrences than what you'll see in the department stores.
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post #16 of 22
1/19/07 at 3:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by fakepurseninja

No he doesn't I didn't, and I am happy nonetheless with the non-aquatic designer frags I own, and I could easily name ten more I would get if money was not a concern (which it is ).


I guess I should not have used the word probably. It was used as offering an alternative to the designer frags. And yes, as you mentioned and I do agree with, there are numerous designer frags that do not fall into the citrus or aquatic category. These are excellent choices and usually much easier to find than niche frags. I also agree with you that there is a blurring in how most people that are unaware view citrus and aquatic.
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post #17 of 22
1/19/07 at 8:16pm
Just my $.02

I've been testing many citrus frags in preparation for Summer.

My short list consisted of the following:
Annick Goutal Eau de Sud
Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet
Dior Eau Savage
Hermes Terre D'Hermes

They are all vey nice citrus scents. Blenheim and Terre got my interest on longevity alone. Of the two, Terre D'Hermes won on longevity, quality, etc... Blenheim was a strong contender, but Terrre does the job SO much better and lasts ALL DAY!...

Terre D'Hermes will be my Signature Summer Citrus. I just got a 100ml and am wondering if it will be enough....

Paul
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post #18 of 22
1/19/07 at 8:43pm
If you are looking for something with a woody-tobaccoey dry down try Michael Kors for Men. It is a real alternative to what you are describing.

BTW I think the epitome of that bland, citrus-aquatic smell is Essenza di Zegna.

(And welcome to Basenotes!)
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post #19 of 22
1/19/07 at 11:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by supermarky

I smelled something on some guy recently and it was very YSL homme, armani mania, etc, that infernal "fresh" smell.

well it turned out he was wearing Degree anti perspirant!!!!!

Ouch! That's my brand!
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post #20 of 22
1/20/07 at 1:50am
Thread creator, and everyone else that agrees:

The same can be said about woody colognes, and any category you want, really. You just have personal bias and are quicker to jump on citrus fragrances because they are more common and you think you are better than someone who wears strictly the light, aquatic/citrus, common fragrances.
I find citrus-focused fragrances have many distinctions amongst eachother.

Try a purely objective standpoint next time and see how you react.
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post #21 of 22
1/20/07 at 2:38am
I didn't lick it and have my tounge curl up, I asked the guy wearing degree what cologne he was wearing. it smelled like a guy who was wearing kenneth cole black who also got into very close proximity (close to the skin, you might say)! Not citrusy smelling, more "aquatic" I guess, although not like any water I've smelled. Awful, and yet. . .

My theory is, as I've said before, that people wear this stuff cause the other pre AdG designer colognes are too overbearing and . . . they don't particularly want to smell like dad. I think many of these guys would be nicheheads if only they were aware.

Everyonce in awhile, if the person keeps moving past me, I really enjoy a whiff of this class of odeurs, cause of its solid association with young manflesh on the prowl, really trying to do it right. It's endearing.

Come to think of it, on a young buck who doesn't keep moving past, who lingers, moves in closer, who maybe even ends up climbing on top of me...the reeking of "freshness" is something that, under the circumstances, I would find far from repellant.
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post #22 of 22
1/24/07 at 10:13am
I hate to dig this thread back up...but I did want to mention a citrus fragrance that I love, has good longevity, but is not very widely known or talked about at all.

O2xygen by California North....geez this stuff smells great. I will have to get a small bottle for this summer. I have been wearing this off and on for the past 8 years.
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