Reaction to New Blind Buys

If you like Ungaro III... check out Zino.. (if you havent already)

It took me some time to like Zino, but it has a similar sweet/rosey vibe.. but I find it to be a more complex and satisfying scent... a 'red wine' type fragrance, so to speak!

I loved Ungaro III at the get-go.. but grew tired of it rather quickly. Zino on the other hand.. just lures me deeper and deeper into its velvety/dank embrace.

a.

I just received yesterday Ungaro III - also a blind buy. And I got my first ever compliment. Our Secretary - She said "You smell European, It's the smell I get when I go into Amsterdam. Floral and Herbal. Men in the States rarely smell this good." Imagine that!

For me it has a damp rose fragrance, wet and earthy. To tell you the truth I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I do but to be honest, I sprayed my pillow with it last night so I could smell it as I drifted into rich dreamy sleep.

It's actually Black XS's older brother (Paco Rabbanne XS) that gets compared with Creed Himalya. It's a pretty apt comparison.

I got Versace's The Dreamer as a blind buy and I'm not crazy about it, at least not yet. It's kind of sweet and crepuscular like an updated Gray Flannel, which has never been my favorite school of scents. It's got major sillage, though, and just a tiny bit goes a long, long way. For someone who likes this kind of romantic scent, it would be a great addition to a well-stocked wardrobe.

Kouros was my last blind buy and that turned out pretty well.

Zino is at the top of my list, and I'll probably blind-buy it soon. I know a lot of people don't blind-buy, but I'm really careful about reading reviews and posts about a certain scent before I buy it. More often than not, I can tell the persona of a scent by reading up on it (after all, Basenotes has the most educated noses on the planet), and I know what types of scents I like.

I like to do what I call "educated blind buys." I bought Ungaro III and Czech & Speake no88 both blind, because I love brooding rose scents. I also bought Erolfa blind, because I live by and love the ocean, and the reviews unanimously said it is reminiscent of the sea. All three of those blind buys have been amazingly satisfying, and I knew they would be.

When I blind buy I'm not always right, but if I'm careful, I usually am.

Its funny that you have 2 and 3 significant figures in your judgement scale.

You aren't the only one. I find some similarities (but some differences as well) but 2 of my friends who I gifted decants of Himalaya and who wear XS pour homme can't see how the two are similar. Must be a skin chemistry thing.

Black XS ...I don't wear it much, but I like its tart spicy sweet accord wafting over a balsamic amber base with hints of rosewood.

Oddly enough that was my impression when I got it blind too. Even more oddly we had a thread here a month ago where people said they detected no rose in this scent whatsoever. I was wondering if they were crazy and went back and smelled it - and couldn't find it either!

I think my nose has gone awry.
Renato
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I love it every time this comes up as I go and spray XS on one hand and Himalaya on the other (as I've just now done) and it boggles my mind that others can't see the similarity.

Our noses are apparently as different as men's colour vision.
Renato

my last threee blind buys have been Ungaro III, Francesco Smalto PH and pour lui by Oscar....i got all these based on my small research on BN. i actually had it sent across to a frnd in US who inturn got it for me to India...anxious that i was ...i drove to his house over the weekend to pick up my package..and boy, was i delighted to see these three lil monsters...i was very lured by the packaging of Ungaro III and pour lui...cudnt wait to try all at a time...tried on the pour lui first on right wrist...WHOA! just loved it! cudnt believe i was actually smellin something like it...so dense, so dark, so intense, so damn smoky...right there i was happy. just cudnt wipe the smirk on my face....Thanks BN!! now, the impatient guy tht i'm i cudnt wait to try in the Ungaro III...what a bottle to begin with..piece of art...spritzed one on my left wrist and man...all the reviews of BN came right in front of me...every word was so true..DENSE ROSE..booze...and other notes tht i really dunno how to describe...its a must have for everyone...just doesnt get any better..and these are th scnets which makes you think whether its worth putting in tht money in commercial favs.

now on to the mightly Francesco Smalto PH ...uuugghhhhh...i just didnt understand wht to make out of it...wht was tht note...i was thinking, why wud anyone like to put these on...it was dry...barren desert with hints of moss now and then...but there was this note which literally smelled like napalm..burnt my nostrils... until one day...i gave it a shot again....and again.......and again......and again....boy this scent really grew on me....talk about moss, talk about Dry and sultry perfumes...FS ph is one of the best. it takes some time to grow on you, especially if you are not accustomed to a scent whih doesnt have a HINT...and believe me when i say... it doesnt have a "hint" of sweetness in it...but you'll love it...you love the fact that you were born a MAN.
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buddy, im so glad to know XS smells like one of the creeds... btw, it also happens to be my SOTD

Yesterday I got Paco Rabanne pour Homme (a classic I never really knew about) as a blind buy. Man that scent is great. Lavender, mossy, citrusy... just great. I think its scent-family is called a chypre.

I've had very mixed results with blind buys, some great finds and some regrets. Ungaro III belongs, unfortunately, to the latter category. I liked it initially - even enough to buy a back-up bottle (!!!) - but the interest wore off very quickly. Hence its spot on my swap list.

Caron's Third Man was a great blind buy. As was Montana (red). And most definitely Annick Goutal's Sables (a blind swap).

My most recent blind buy was Aramis JHL. Just got it a couple of days ago. Even after only a couple of sprays, I can say with complete certainty that it just is not going to work for me. Yet another one for the swap list.

Despite repeated resolutions to stop blind buying, I still do it. I guess I like the suspense of the unknown...

Excellent choice. XS came out nine years before Himalaya, and it lasts longer.
Renato

thanks for re-affirming the same Renato, appreciate it...im really curious to get a hint of how a creed smells, seems this is the closest i could get.

a little off-topic, i dunno if its just me, but do you guys feel XS almost disappears into the skin on initial application...i feel as if i havent spritzed it at all..but, it evokes this sillage after half hour to one hour which then keeps on developing for 8-9 hours....
its just amazing love it....also, do you guys see the similarity between the drydown of dune and XS to be similar....?

Burberry London blind buy. That turned out well.

Guivenchy Pi blind buy. That turned out not so well.

Glad to see you enjoyed your blind purchase of Black XS Alex - I too bought Black XS blind (from another Basenoter actually) because I found it impossible to test in discount perfume stores and back then I didn't know many people here on Basenotes. I loved it, but more importantly my husband loved it even more and stole my bottle away and made BXS his signature scent. I smells BXS all the time. Lovely stuff - the strawberry jam accord manages to be fruity and sensual at the same time...not a small feat.

The most recent good blind buy for me is...well, probably last year when I bought Secret Melange by MPG. So many people here on BN hate it, and call it a Christmas potpourri fest, but in the Miami warm weather the combo of orange, spices and sweat really appeals to me. I love it.

Yatagan was the last thing I bought blind and (needless to say) that was a great purchase. I felt fine buying it blind because it was very inexpensive and it is such an iconic fragrance here on basenotes, I knew I had to check it out. A couple more blind buys I'm currently considering are Caron's Third Man and Van Cleef and Arpels PH. Also perhaps Rive Gauche if I can't find it locally to test. I've read so much about these three that I'm pretty sure that I'll at least like them. Trumper's Spanish Leather is also on my maybe blind buy list.

As far as blind buys go, those three are about as safe as it gets. All awesome frags!
(As long as you like soapy frags as at least the last two are quite soapy to my nose)

Ged
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Recently bought Montana Red and Creed Vetiver 1948 both blind. They are both creeping up close to my top ten, so they were great blind buys!