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What would be considered "Synthetic" cologne

post #1 of 16
4/17/07 at 9:21pm
Thread Starter 
To everyone on basenotes:

What is considered a "synthetic" type cologne?

Some of the BOSS line? I actually bought Abercrombie & Fitch back in 93"..is this a synthetic smell??? Would scents that go along with a clothing line or something be synthetic in notes and smell?

After being on this website and testing Traditional and L'Homme, you get the feeling that there is REAL notes (ingredients) in there. It actually smells like florals, musks, Patchouli..etc..etc. Real cologne or a real product.

I'm liking those 2 choices so far but I was wondering if any of you can thread this post out with suggestions of what is considered "synthetic" colognes? I definately want to stay away from them.
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post #2 of 16
4/17/07 at 9:35pm
Anything by Calvin Klein is mostly synthetic. And even more generally, any mainstream American fragrance is largely synthetic. Most of the "designer" fragrances can be included in that. Any fragrance that's internationally mass-marketed (American or otherwise) is heavily synthetic, for profit and also because it's easier to ensure uniformity among batches during production.
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post #3 of 16
4/18/07 at 12:27am
"Odeur 53" by Comme des Garcons is a perfect example of a synthetic unisex fragrance (and was one of the worlds first!).
It comprises 53 COMPLETELY synthetically-recreated odours such as "washing drying on a line" and "running your tongue along a chrome pipe" and so on.
Perfumers build these scents using computers and synthetic ingredients that, when mixed correctly, best match the olfactory makeup of 'actual' smells.

The science behind the process is very inteeresting, however, opinions of the results are varied. Personally, "Odeur 53" at something like $140 AUD a bottle was a travesty... the scent lasted less than 10 minutes on my skin. But before you decide if its something to be avoided, its always best to give it a try.

Here is a link to "Odeur 53" the basenotes directory:
http://www.basenotes.net/ID26121209.html

Most mainstream scents use synthetically created accords - normally because the actual ingredient is too expensive/difficult/illegal to obtain (as is the case with certain animal products, civet, musks, or accords such as 'ozone' etc)... however these are often mixed with real oils to often produce a very fine fragrance.

Hope this has helped
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post #4 of 16
4/18/07 at 6:57am
Thread Starter 
I'm not happy these a-holes moved my post to this area. I think this is a really good question and you guys helped, believe me.

I really would like a list of more colognes to stay away from, so the more that answer the better. Names of colognes would be great a full list. AND I"M SURE OTHERS WANT TO KNOW AS WELL!!!!!!! Who wants to wear cheap s&%T!?

Thanks again guys, too bad these idiots dont know better to leave this post IN A MENS FRAGRANCE DISSCUSION AREA. lol Little boys running these boards at times. Tisk, tisk.

Thanks again. Anybody else with colognes that are synthetic?
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post #5 of 16
4/18/07 at 7:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Squire View Post

I'm not happy these a-holes moved my post to this area. I think this is a really good question and you guys helped, believe me.

I really would like a list of more colognes to stay away from, so the more that answer the better. Names of colognes would be great a full list. AND I"M SURE OTHERS WANT TO KNOW AS WELL!!!!!!! Who wants to wear cheap s&%T!?

Thanks again guys, too bad these idiots dont know better to leave this post IN A MENS FRAGRANCE DISSCUSION AREA. lol Little boys running these boards at times. Tisk, tisk.

Thanks again. Anybody else with colognes that are synthetic?

...
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post #6 of 16
4/18/07 at 9:12am
The Squire,

Why are you so against synthetic cologne? A juice being mostly or completely synthetic does not equate to cheap. Furthermore, an all-natural frag will not necessarily play nicer with your skin - you could have an adverse reaction to any ingredient, natural or synthetic. You will severely limit your choices if you hang on to this idea.


DustB - a perfect response.
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post #7 of 16
6/2/07 at 9:15pm
yeah definitely stay away from the calvin klein stuff
i used to like hugo boss colognes but my guy friends say they smell fake and like cheap deodorant... matter of opinion?
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post #8 of 16
6/9/07 at 11:26am
Thread Starter 
Funny, now that I smell Hugo by Hugo Boss I can see why it smells synthetic! lol

All the other ones I have in my wardrobe have that "Real note" smell to them, then I went back and smelled Hugo and it is true! It smells synthetic to me now.

I have a big bottle too! It's too heavy and strong for summer wear anyway so who knows what to do with the whole bottle I have. Dont know but I am fixing to get Unforgiveable and Lucky Number 6.

I have a feeling that Hugo is gonna waste away on the shelf...lol.
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post #9 of 16
8/12/07 at 3:43am
I'd say Hugo seems to ring the synthetic bell for me.
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post #10 of 16
8/12/07 at 4:45am
synthetic doesn't automatically equate to bad. i wouldn't avoid something just because it was labelled 'synthetic'.
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post #11 of 16
8/12/07 at 12:33pm
I've always loved Calvin Klein Obsession. Can anyone rec. anything very similar, yet smells better in their opinion? Thanks :-)
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post #12 of 16
8/13/07 at 12:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ProudFather View Post

I've always loved Calvin Klein Obsession. Can anyone rec. anything very similar, yet smells better in their opinion? Thanks :-)

I'm not familiar with the frag, or with any of the recommended frags... so grab your SO and go try them out this weekend. GOOD Luck, & let us know how it goes!!!

Here are the SEPHORA website recommendations whose fragrance family, notes, and subnotes is most similar to OBSESSION FOR MEN by Calvin Klein:

Hanae Mori - HANAE MORI
John Varvatos - JOHN VARVATOR
Vera Wang For Men - VERA WANG
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post #13 of 16
8/14/07 at 7:46am
As others have said, the CK line is quite synthetic-smelling, as is the Boss line.

Dunhill Desire Blue stands out to me as the most synthetic smelling fragrance I know...but it still smells pretty good.
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post #14 of 16
8/14/07 at 2:30pm
Out of the 60 fragrances I own, maybe one or two doesn't smell synthetic. Actually no, they all smell synthetic.
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post #15 of 16
8/15/07 at 3:42am
Some all natural and 'organic' scents SUCK. Some totally synthetic scents smell wonderful. And vice versa.

In my opinion, don't allow synthetic ingredients to steer your choices, when it comes to choosing a scent that you love.
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post #16 of 16
6/4/10 at 4:32pm
Hello,everyone I would say that almost 100% of all cologne's are from synthetic ingredient's. The only cologne's that are probably not synthetic are the really expensive cologne's like creed that cost anywhere from $100.00 to $300.00 per bottle and they will not have a great shelf life at all compared to the regular designer cologne's that could last 10 plus year's without losing there fragrance. I would like to mention that just because a cologne is synthetic does not mean it smell's synthetic. I think the majority of the designer cologne's you can buy either at department stores like macy's or online stores like fragrancenet smell absolutely wonderful even though they are synthetic. There is a reson why most cologne's are synthetic. It would cost too much money if they used pure purfume oil's and the cost of the perfume and cologne would be way more expensive than what they are in the stores.
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Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Just Starting Out › What would be considered "Synthetic" cologne