Suggestions for an understated, exquisite and unique scent.

I am 42 years old male, looking younger, a bit introverted and intellectual but very active, sharing, cynical and almost always controversial in interests and sometimes in tastes.

I tried and liked Terre d'Hermes a lot and I am going to buy one. I also would like to buy a couple more scents. I did enjoy Antaeus but it's a classic. I am looking for something not mainstream, something different. It seems that I enjoy either orientals, sometimes spicy and/or aromatic or uplifting scents without being very ozonic, aquatic or fresh and definitely not limey/lemony/grapefruity. Orange or orange blossom are welcome. I like the presence of ambery scents but it should not be too sweet. And I like earthy and mossy too.

I would like to wear a complex but somewhat understated, mystical, not very manly but definitely not feminine or unisex, classy but too much tabac is unwelcome, between neutral and warm in tone. It should stand out, not by the range of effect or pungency but by its distinctive and elegant, exquisite uniqueness (somewhat).

Seems difficuly huh? Do not worry, all above is just to give a sense of what I feel. Not all of above are to be respected strictly. Feel free to suggest more than one. I need your suggestions to be able to limit my sampling at the store. After 5 or 6 sniffs my nose is gone for sure so I wnat to visit the store being educated here.

By the way I am not into parfum world and previously used Xeryus which was OK but not special, Drakkar Noir which I forget but feel the same way as Xeryus, Burberry Week End which I could use a couple of times before I gave it away (too sweet and sour and colognelike)

Thank you for taking the time to read and recommend.

Thank you everybody who replied till now. I appreciate basenotes since a couple of weeks ago and glad to be here.

I had also found out about theperfumedcourt, however they do not ship to a handful of countries, Turkey being among them. Istanbul is where I am and no samples are available here. I need to go to a shop to test fragrances and I can test 3-4 on test tissues and decide to test one on me to fully try out during the day to see how it evolvs. Therefore it's a painful process here requiring too much time. Or I could make my selection based on the top notes and reviews here. That is my plan and your guidance will prepare me a runner-up list. Most perfumes, even the niche ones are available in Istanbul.

Scentologist, I am really new to perfume world so I do not know what I would love much. Mossy maybe. I can say that I do not like candied and sharp fragrances for sure. As nikou noted a feeling of ["something strange, but interesting" (and definitely beautiful) ] should be there.

Strollyourlobster, thanks for recommendations, I was wondering about No. 88 which seems to be one of the top choices of many people. By the way, in my wildest childhood memory of a dream I was strolling my lobster , leash in hand, inside an underwater ruin of a middle-age castle. Weird to see someone opted for such a name

MadScientist, thank you; I have e-mailed luckyscents and they promptly replied to confirm that they ship to Turkey. I will at least be able to sample some niche scents. So far the list you recommended

Frederic Malle ~ Vetiver Extraordinaire (I have heard a lot of praises for it)
Divine ~ L'Homme Sage (Same here)
Tauer ~ L'Air du Desert Marocain (I hope this is not too similar to Terre d'Hermes)
YSL ~ Rive Gauche (Old but a good scent I think)
YSL ~ M7 (So many people recommending it I have to try)
Montale ~ Black Aoud (Sounds intriguing)
Lubin ~ Idole (I liked it without testing !)
Geoffrey Beene ~ Grey Flannel (I know this one)
Caron ~ 3rd man (I need to test this one also)
Aramis ~ 900
Alfred Sung ~ Homme
Guerlain ~ L'instant
Guerlain ~ Heritage
Acqua di Parma ~ Colonia Assoluta (sounds really different)
Bogart ~ Witness
Bulgari ~ pour homme
Prada ~ for men
Herrera ~ for men
Dior ~ Homme
Serge Lutens ~ Gris Clair
Domenico Caraceni
Czech and Speake No.88 (I need to check why so many loved this one)

I will read about those a bit more and then narrow down a bit and go ahead. By the way what about Creed Acier Aluminium, Different Company Un Parfum d'Ailleurs et Feuilles, Serge Lutens Un Lys and L'Artisans (comme Bois d'Ombrie, Sienne l'Hiver and Dzongkha) ? Any experience?

Thank you all for your suggestions.

@lannanside, yes luckyscents ship o Turkey and I have ordered many samples yesterday, now I hope they get to me fast.

@nikkou, thanks for pointing out The Different Companies sample programme, next I may try it.

@weylin, noir epices intrigued me, I will check it out.

and finally, @HDS1963, thank you for the details descriptions and suggestions

I wished LuckyScents could also offer samples for Serge Lutens which I believe very good (L'Artisan Parmufeur is also praised but almost always claimed to be of extremely short longevity so I am a bit distant to it now).

Now I will wait for the niche samples arrive and start sampling. By the way I am testing 3-4 perfumes whenever I go to a store to be able to see what I will like as non-niche. Yesterday I tested Terre d'Hermes again, this time I found it to be quite sweet and somewhat gasoline-like, especialy the first 15 minutes. You know my nose is uneducated and undiscerning yet, and so is my olfactory vocabulary, so bear with me. I tried M7 and it was so heavy that I can wear it only after October. It was rich but I did not "ponder" on it saving that for winter. The seller suggested Vera Wang for Men which I happened to be pleased with. It's sandalwood and leather but I like it mostly due to green mandarin leaf. I do not know if this is a good brand.

Therese, I already did order a sample of Idole, it sounds very promising even though some folks found it to be smelling like an "old man". Well, I am getting older so I might need to know how it smells like to be one. Joke aside, I think it is a dark and ambient and warm without being sweet.Just a guess.

In fact I have ordered following samples from Luckyscents, Thank you all who recommended fragrances, I will try them all whenever I have the opportunity. Below one may have some scents contradictory to my descriptions but anyway I am intrigued by the reviews and ingredients. I hope to receive it in 7-10 days.

Bruno Acampora..........Jasmin (pure oil for my wife to sample)
Nasomatto..................Duro
Amouage....................Jubilation XXV
Olivier Durbano............Black Tourmaline
La Base......................For Him
Profumum...................Victrix
Montale......................Black Aoud
Parfum d'Empire..........Equistrius
Parfum d'Empire..........Fougere Bengale
The Different Company.Un Parfum de Charmes et Feuilles
Divine.........................L'homme sage
Lubin..........................Idole
Tauer Perfumes...........L'Air du desert marocain
Cereus.......................No. 7
Cereus.......................No. 11
L'Artisan Parfumeur.....Passage d'Enfer
L'Artisan Parfumeur.....Dzongkha
Mark Birley.................Mark Birley For Men