ultimate must haves

tdh is a good choice dude...you can also try declaration

everybodies gonna say green irish tweed...

eau de cartier, lolita lempicka au masculin, rive gauche ph opium ph angel amen, bvlgari black,

i like everything cartier so im kinda bias...theres many to list buddy...but plz try these

dont think their is such a thing as a MUST have...but definately...judging from cult status alone....here's the ones with a huge fan base...MUST TRY

Bvlgari Black
YSL Rive Gauche
YSL M7
Guerlain Vetiver
Chanel Egoiste
N.Rodriguez For Him
Gucci Envy
Dior Pour Homme
Givenchy Pi
Creed Green Irish Tweed
Creed Millesime Imperial
--------------------------------------
oh... of course Versace The Dreamer

Everyone should have a bottle of the original Chanel Egoiste IMO!

My desert island fragrances would be:

Terre d' Hermes — as you mentioned
Nicolai New York
Divine l'homme sage
Balenciaga pour homme
Hermes Eau D'Orange Verte
Gucci Envy
Dunhill Edition

Rose 31 - Le Labo
Chergui - Serge Lutens
Fumerie Turque - Serge Lutens
Voleur de Rose - L'artisan Parfumeur
Musc Ravageur - Frederic Malle
Green Irish Tweed - Creed
Silver Mountain Water - Creed

There are so many fragrances and individual tastes being . . . individual, there is nothing but varying opinions on this subject. If I was starting from scratch to build a collection of fragrances today these would be my choices since they are all best of type for their fragrances - my opinion.

Rose 31, Le Labo

Avignon, Comme de Garcons

Signoricci, Nina Ricci

Mugler Cologne or Creed Orig. Vetiver

Vetiver Extraordinaire, Editions Parfum Frederic Malle

Bois du Portugal, Creed

L'Homme Sage, Divine

Domenico Caraceni 1913

Borneo 1834, Serge Lutens

I don't know if there are any "must haves" for everybody, but there are lots of things that I would call "must tries." What I've been doing for the past year and a half or so is making my way through many, many samples to find out what I like best. Here are my current favorites houses and the fragrances I'm most fond of from them:

Lorenzo Villoresi (Piper Nigrum, Vetiver, Yerbamate, Uomo)
Creed (Green Irish Tweed, Royal English Leather)
L'Artisan (Dzing!, Passage d'Enfer)
Maitre Parfeumer et Gantier (Santal Noble, Ambre Precieux)

... and of course you can't stay on here long without at least trying Korous and Yatagan ... oh, and Ambre Sultan, MKK, and Gris Clair from Serge Lutens ... the list could go on and on ....

Hi Chuck and welcome!
Here is a link from the community that might help you:
http://community.basenotes.net/showt...ght=Holy+Grail

For me, current ultimate must haves are:
1. Carthusia Uomo - Carthusia
2. New York - Nicolai
3. Sultan Ambre - Lutens
4. Michael Kors for men

and of course, the ones I didn't mention that are in my signature!

I would recommend everything from Yves Saint Laurent - Kouros, Rive Gauche, M7, and others, Salvatore Ferragamo PH, Burberry - Touch, Brit and especially London, and Mugler B'Men while it's easy to find.

egoiste....the best i own

I would add Havana & Havana Reserva...

I'm not going to enforce specific scents on you, but the scents that I like or love are from:

Burberry
Creed
Chanel
Hermes
Guerlain
Yves Saint Laurent

at least that's what my wardrobe says.

I don't see this thread helping you much!

I don't know what "must haves" are or whether if I posted a list of my favourite frags any of them would really qualify as "must haves". I would try Eau Sauvage because it's a classic (though it doesn't last very long). Of the ones posted by others I'd go for Musc Ravageur. And Terre d'Hermes is very lovely.

In my opinion, I would recommend:

-Japiur
-Versace Man
-MPG(Amber Preixou, Jardin Du Nil)
-Shaikh

depends if you want to stay mainstream or not. Me, for some odd reason i love obsession

Hi chuckpolzin!

Welcome to Basenotes!

Basenotes has a very good community search function. It has helped me find answers and guidance for a lot of my questions - especially the ones that almost everybody seems to be interested in!

Here are just a few to get you started in the right direction:

http://community.basenotes.net/showt...light=favorite

http://community.basenotes.net/showt...light=favorite

http://community.basenotes.net/showt...&highlight=top

http://community.basenotes.net/showt...&highlight=top

http://community.basenotes.net/showt...&highlight=top

http://community.basenotes.net/showt...&highlight=top

i'll tell you one that you will love and so will everyone around you....

Kiton.

and if you can afford it Creed Millesime Imperial.

I think you would do well choosing a Creed for your collection. It ´s very hard to affirm which Creed is "an absolute must have". Instead, you should sample them and choose the one that would please you the most.

For starters, I think you could choose a good Creed among Milesime Imperial, Original Vetiver, Himalaya and Green Irish Tweed. I believe these are the most popular or easy to like in their line, and all of them are quality scents that you will be able to easily wear regularly.

Then there are the old classics like Guerlain Vetiver, Azzaro, Eau Savage, etc... Everybody has a passion for at least one or two "old" classics.

As for the niche scents, it is a very personal decision. People tend to develop a taste for certain perfume houses and this will vary according to the personal tastes of each person. Some will swear by Lutens, others by Villoresi ou L'Artisan, etc...

If you are somehow new to this, I think the best money you can spend is buying samples. Buy samples and try as many scents as you can. There is nothing like a personal experience with a scent. Reading the posts here is very helpful and listening to suggestions may take you in the right direction. But being able to sample many scents is the fastest and safest way to get what you want.

There is nothing like a safe and certain purchase. When you buy a bottle of a scent you already tested and know you love. There are no regrets, no second thoughts, etc...

I try to keep a varied collection in style and perfume houses. Niches, classics, mainstream... There is a place for each of them, as long I like the scent and it fits my personality. For this reason I think it is difficult to suggest you an absolute must have. Because my list may be very different from what your list would be...

For example, I like incense based scents very much, so I always try the fragrances that have incense. The same for vetiver, as it is another note I like very much. But you have to try scents to discover what you like and what you don´t like.

Good luck! :-)

ultimate must haves may be foundations to your fragrance wardrobe. a diverse wardrobe will include a woodsy, a spice, a gormound, a green, a clean, perhaps a classic, and a niche.

i don't know what your favorite smells are but think of what you like. that is where you start your foundation and that would be your first must haves. here are some good examples of different genres, so to speak of fragrances:

green- creed vetiver,
clean- rive gauche yves saint laurent
incense- try almost anything from comme de garcons incense line, or man 2
smoky- havanna
unoffensive- drakkar (yes, it is safe and classic and cheap)
gormound- burberry london

look them up at basenotes, look at the notes and people's opinions. the perfumecourt.com can sell you samples of anything! try out some samples and narrow your choices down. good luck

C & S No. 88

floris vetiver
floris limes
creed MI

Creed samples:
http://www.Aedes.com
http://www.ParfumsRaffy.com

The Basenotes home page lists the most popular fragrances at the bottom of the page. I'm not sure how these are arrived at but I believe there's a thread about it in here somewhere. I think they are based on members' wardrobes (and reviews?).

Take what you like about Terre and expand on it. Do you like the cedar notes? then try another cedar scent like Rochas Lui, do you like the Hermes brand? then try another Hermes like Equipage, do you think that Jean-Claude Ellena did a great job on Terre? then try another one of his creations such as Ambre Extrême. If your going to make this new habit work, you have to play connect the dots in a very creative way. Buying blind involves more than a stab in the dark, it's best to discover what you like first and not to follow what others like; that will get you lost very quickly.

Must haves should include a good Vetiver, a Creed of your Choice, a good herbal fragrance such as Baime, and then a good Sandalwood/Patchoulli combo such as Maubossin. These are my ideas of a good base - very traditional, and very versatile. I try to have a fragrance that can be worn in many different situations: Formal, Office, Casual, Romantic, Et Cetera. Try the Creed samplers first before you buy. I like Green Irish Tweed, but I tend to lean toward classical scents. One of my favorites is Dunhill for Men 1934. This scent is refined, a touch floral, but speaks of formal dress (a suit and tie).

chuckpolzin

You will find as many "must have" lists as there are posters. Your best bet is to set out now on an exploration to discover what works best for you at this time in your life (tastes change with time).

However, you are probably safe building a foundation on both the classics (which most everyone here will agree are the staples of any self respecting gentleman's wardrobe) and some of the more contemporary offerings of smaller designers: For the classics, start with anything from Chanel, Geurlain, Christian Dior, Yves St. Laurent, Gucci and if possible Caron.

Chanel: Egoiste, Egoiste Platinum, Allure, Allure Sport, Pour Monsieur. Antaeus.
Geurlain: L'Instant, Heritage, Habit Rouge, Coriolan, Vetiver
Christian Dior: Fahrenheit, Eau Sauvage, Dior Homme
Yves St Laurent: Kouros (try all the versions), L'Homme, Opium Pour Homme, M7, M7 Fresh, Rive Gauche
Gucci: Pour Homme (I and II), Rush, Envy
Caron: Yatagan, The Third Man, Pour Une Homme, L'Anarchiste

Add these to your "must sample" list:

Hermes: Bel Ami
Cartier: Santos, Eau de Cartier, Must de Cartier pour Homme
Salvatore Dali: Laguna Homme
Tiffany: Tiffany for Men
Versace: Versace l'Homme and Versus l'Homme
Michael Kors: Michael for Men
Kenzo: Kenzoair
Helmut Lange: Curion
Givenchy: Pi, \t Monsieur de Givenchy
Bvlgari: Blu Notte pour Homme

If you have access to good stock in your locale, (Sephora, Nordstroms, Nieman Marcus or better yet, outlets for niche scents) visit them and sample a few of the mainstays. The Duty Free shops in airports offer some of the best overall sampling in one convenient place.

For niche or non-maintstream scents, Luckyscent sells samples of their stock at very reasonable prices.
If you have a Marshall's or TJMaxx in your area, you can often pick up some good stuff for no money. Right now, you can find Thierry Mugler B-Men. B-Men is a definite Must Have!

Griff

That's basicly how I would approach it. Try to cover different bases so you have choice of what to wear, vs 27 different must have fougeres.

For myself.

Lolita Lempicka au Masculin (Gourmand: Ivy leaves, and Light Anise, over a base of licorice wood and toasted sugar/vanilla/tonka/coumarin. Very sexy)

Christian Lacroix Tumulte PH: (Dry Woods: Pure cedar, no distractions)

L'occitane Vetyver (Vetiver: Superb rooty vetiver, very masculine. Much better than guerlain's)

Lanvin Oxygene (Ozonic: My reference for Ozonic fragrances. Well blended, the entire composition converges on fresh water. Whenever I think I'm going to have rough day I wear this.)

Brooks Brothers (Job Interview: Classic well blended masculine fragrance. Nothing stands out, but thats the point)

Pinaud Clubman (Niche: This is what a barbershop smells like.)

You are probably on overload by now with all of the scents mentioned, so I'll just say "Welcome to Basenotes."
Gary