Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Male Fragrance Discussion › MFD Archive › Several Questions From a Canadian
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Several Questions From a Canadian

post #1 of 10
7/13/08 at 6:51pm
Thread Starter 
Hello everyone,

I've lurked on this site for several months and I have found it to be a wonderful source of information and I would like to thank everyone for the education. However, I would like to ask for some advice from those with more experiece than myself.

1) The Canadian content question. Frags are much more expensive here in Canada than in the USA so I have been looking at perhaps buying online from someone like Fragrancenet. When I researched it I found there can be issues shipping to Canada. Have any other Canadian Basenoters experienced this or have any suggestions?

http://www.canada.com/globaltv/calga...6-99e09ea87d3e

2) Also some Canadian content. I recently moved to the Greater Toronto area (Oakville) and I'm interested in trying YSL M7 but I can not find anyone who carries it so I can sample it. Based on the reviews this would seem to be wise but I am very interested based on what I read here. Does anyone know where it is carried in the Greater Toronto Area?

3)Finally my questions lacking in Canadian specific content. I am a mid 30's professional. Where I live it can be hot and humid in the summer yet I find I have been unable to find a frag for this climate which I really like. I have Chrome, Cool Water and Polo Blue. All good for hot humid weather but nothing special. I find the current aquatics rather bland and was hoping someone could suggest something less linear. I tend to prefer spicier winter scents but they don't do well in the heat. My favorite frag currently is Burberry London and I also own Safari and Burberry for men. I am considering Dolce & Gabbana for men as well as M7 (as mentioned above) but these are more appropriate for cool weather. Without entering into a Creed debate please no niche suggestions. I've sure they are lovely but bear in mind for some reason we Canadians seem to pay alot more than our southern friends even for non-niche.

Thank you in advance!
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 10
7/13/08 at 6:59pm
For summer:

Dlish Clean Man, Geir Ness, Nina Ricci Signoricci
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 10
7/13/08 at 7:20pm
Hi kanuck34.

Shipping across the border with the postal services is always a bit of a risk, precisely as the linked article from Global describes. You have a choice of shipping a fragrance in from the USA via postal delivery and taking a chance on Customs destroying it, or you can use a courier like UPS/FedEx and be assured of getting the product but pay $30-$50 in customs brokerage fees plus tax on the whole thing for that assurance.

I've ordered from individual sellers from the US as well as American business who sell via eBay, and I get items shipped in via Postal Delivery. The only thing is, I request that the items be labeled a little carefully. Thus far I've only had 2 items taken and destroyed by Customs, and considering almost everything in my fragrance wardrobe has come through the mail, that's not bad at all.

Sometimes after the cost of shipping, the difference in final cost can be so small that it's better to just pay retail from a bricks-and-mortar store like Sephora or a department store. But sometimes the difference really is great enough, or there aren't any easily-accessible Canadian/local sellers who carry the fragrance, and you'll just have to take the chance and order from the USA or elsewhere.

As for YSL M7, I haven't paid attention so I don't know if anyone in the GTA carries it. But in any case, there's a good chance you can get a sample from a friendly Basenoter who already has it in their wardrobe if you ask nicely

Suggestions for summer that are more interesting than standard aquatics... I think there should be a number of threads on just such a question if you search the forum archives. I'm still on the hunt for something that I'll love in this summer heat & humidity we've been having, so I don't have any great suggestions for you yet.

Oh, and I almost forgot: Welcome to Basenotes!
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 10
7/13/08 at 7:25pm
Some recent acquisitions that have been great in the heat: M;Men, Boucheron Pour Homme, 1881, Ricci Club and Cristobal Pour Homme
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 10
7/13/08 at 7:38pm
  • kbe
  • offline
  • Gender:
Welcome Kanuck34.

For the hot weather I like Hermes Eau de Orange Verte, Davidoff Cool Water, YSL Live Jazz, Mackie for Men and Mugler Colgne. Creed Virgin Island Water is another, but on the expensive side.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 10
7/13/08 at 7:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mudassir View Post

For summer:
Dlish Clean Man, Geir Ness, Nina Ricci Signoricci

D'Lish Clean Men is very nice, but expensive (... well, pricey for what it is, sort of a just-got-out-of-the-shower scent).
Geir by Geir Ness is incredible. Really fresh, and it lasts. Big thumbs up.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 10
7/13/08 at 8:06pm
Welcome to BN kanuck34, you shouldn't have any problems finding great frags with great price tags in the area your living in, tons of places with great deals check this link out

http://community.basenotes.net/showthread.php?t=177406

I usually don't purchase online, but when I have, I haven't had any problems, online retailers (good ones anyways) usually label as cosmetic product, as opposed to fragrance which dosn't seem to be a problem making it across the border.
RE: YSL M7, The Perfume Outlet, in Dixie Outlet mall carries it (contact number in the above link) and it's not to far from where you're located.
As for Hot and Humid weather frags I use CD Eau Sauvage, Mugler Cologne, SJ Unforgivable (same as Creed MI, but fraction of the price) Bulgari PH, Guerlain Vetiver, which all seem to work great for our summers ( I'm from Hamilton). There are tons of others, but these seem to work best for me!
Happy hunting!
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 10
7/13/08 at 8:18pm
Welcome to Basenotes.

My favorite for hot and humid days are M:men by Masaki Matsushima, Terre d'Hermès, Moustache by Rochas, Sud-Est by Romeo Gigli and Spazio by Krizia. The latter two are discontinued but you can probably still find them.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 10
7/13/08 at 9:10pm
I live in the Niagara region and have just recently purchased Terre d'Hermès and Bulgari Aqua from Fragrancenet. Took about a week and no "surprise" fees or damage. I will shop with them again. That idea that fragrances are dangerous and flammable is nonsense. Paper is flammable so I guess all paper goods are dangerous too.

UPDATE: I just checked my empty boxes from Fragrancenet and it seems they use DHL courier. I believe any problems they had in the past are corrected and you can rely on their service.

I will be sampling some superclean fragrances soon (Luckyscent) - have ordered samples of Puro Lino (expensive), Gendarme, Gendarme Sky and Geir.

Eau Sauvage, Terre d'Hermès, Bulgari Aqua, and Unforgivable are in my current summer lineup.

If you like aquatic scents, Bulgari Aqua is all you need. It's fresh, cool and has a natural aromatic quality.
Terre d'Hermès is orange peel and flint, smoothed out by patchouli and other notes.
Unforgivable has a fizzy-orange fresh smell. Modern.
Eau Sauvage is a legendary lemon/herbal blend. I love it but some younger folks might find it dated.

I highly recommend M7 for cooler weather. What starts out strong and medicinal fades down into a beautiful berry/woody fragrance that is not sweet and powdery like a lot of cooler weather fragrances. One of the best fragrances I have ever smelled and has in fact ruined my liking of many other scents. Everything else seems cheap and weak by comparison. M7 is my gate to the niches.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 10
7/14/08 at 7:00pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you all for taking the time to reply! I'll let you know how things turn out and thank you for the suggestions.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: MFD Archive
Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Male Fragrance Discussion › MFD Archive › Several Questions From a Canadian