Good afternoon gentlemen,
I'm new to this board and thought I might request some help from you in finding a few new scents to wear. I'm 29 years old, former military, in good shape, and live in Louisiana where its hot 9 months out of the year. I go to school during the day and work as a sommelier at night, so it doesn't hurt to have more than one style of fragrance. Now, I've always been a big fan of scents, but I've never really had a large collection of them. I usually only have 3 or 4 at any one time, but I would like to start a larger collection. At the same time, though, I'm very picky about which scents that I like. Below I'll list some scents that I own or have owned and liked, but let me start off letting you know what I don't like. I absolutely can't stand anything gourmand. I hate anything with the scent of vanilla, sugar, or anything sweet and I dislike anything that even dries down to even a slightly sweet aroma. I also severely dislike anything with a noticably musky scent. Many of the frags that I've tried lately have smelled great on paper and when I first put them on, but they dry down to something musky, excessively powdery, or sweet. Lastly, I don't really care for anything Oriental and/or spicy. It just doesn't work on my skin. I guess you could say that I mainly like scents that are either clean, water-driven, oceanic, some fresh fougere, most citrus, and some fresh chypre. Most warm scents tend to not work well on me as my skin tends to warm up scents that others might find too sharp or bright, but at the same time, it over-pronounces warmer scents and I get tons of sugar and musk.
There are some exceptions, but not many.
I like scents that are fresh, clean, ozonic, green ( Mint, Eucalyptus, Pine, Fresh Grass ) quite often with citrus scents ( Lemon, Mandarin leaf, Bergamot, Grapefruit ) and sometimes with white flowers ( magnolia, lily, subtle jasmine ) and/or cyclamen, oakmoss, petitgrain, cedar, and sandalwood. Here are scents that I either own, have owned, or have tried lately and liked:
1. Cool Water ( original ) by Davidoff - cheesy, many people hate it, smells ok on paper, but smells great on me, most people who recognize it on others don't recognize it on me. A staple for years.
2. Lemon EdTby Art of Shaving - A recent purchase, works really well for me, but not something I could wear every day. Love the combo of Lemon, Bergamot, Cyclamen, Oakmoss and Vetiver.
3. Derring-Do by Ineke - My only other recent purchase.....very fresh and clean. Warms up to a bit more powdery than I usually prefer, but I still enjoy it. There's that Citrus and Cyclamen again. It gets major bonus points because no one has ever heard of it or knows where to get it.
4. L'eau Par Kenzo by Kenzo - Just had a sample, slightly too watery cleaning product smell, but still decent. I would buy a bottle if found for cheap.
5. Sandalwood by Art of Shaving - I haven't bought this, but have enjoyed it at the store. Its definitely a cooler weather scent, but I like that it is not sweet and it has some eucalyptus and other notes that brighten it up a bit.
6. Eternity Summer by Calvin Klein - A long time ago, I wore the original Eternity, but it doesn't really do it for me now. I tried this recently and it works really well on my skin, and as much as I like citrus, the melon in this one makes it light and fresh. This is the only type of sweetness I can tolerate. Its a slight fruitiness, but not sugary or vanilla.
7. Burberry Summer & Burberry Touch - The only Burberry scents I have liked. Both dry down a little too powdery violet and lavender, but they are still nice scents.
8. Hugo Pure by Hugo Boss - Decent scent that I have worn a few times recently from samples. Its ok, and I would wear it, but I'd like it if it had more brightness and freshness.
Other fragrances that I've worn in the past and liked : Eau D'Orange Verte by Hermes, 1805 by Truefitt and Hill, Eternity by CK, Pleasures by Estee Lauder, Polo Sport by Ralph Lauren, Drakkar Noir ( the only big musky scent that I've ever liked )
Scents that I aboslutely HATE ( no offense to those who love these, they're just horrible on me ) Basically, I normally avoid anything that is sweet or musky.......or anything with scents of vanilla, tonka bean, amber, patchouli, bourbon, or black pepper. Basically, nothing sweet, musky, spicy, or oriental.
1. Angel Men by T. Mugler - So sickeningly sweet, it is the perfect example of why gourmands don't work on my skin.
2. Azzarro Chrome by Azzarro - This one is a decent example of something that I thought smelled decent at first, but then dries down into a syrupy sweet mess on my skin.
3. Spanish Leather by Truefitt and Hill - Anything like this with tobacco, liquor and/or muskyness is the complete opposite of what I'm looking for.
4. Aqua de Bulgari PH by Bulgari - This is the type of fruity scents that I dislike. On me this smells like an overly sweet artificial watermelon syrup
5. Polo ( original ) by Ralph Lauren - Too heavy, too musky....just the opposite of my style.
6. Obsession by CK - Very different from Polo, but still at the opposite end of the spectrum from me.
7. Euphoria by CK - I smelled this very recently and liked it on paper, but like so many others, it turned sweet on my skin.
I rarely like unisex scents. For example, I've absolutely abhorred every CK unisex ( CK1, CKBe, CK Electric ). However, I do tend to like some men's scents that may not be labeled unisex, but could possibly work as such ( Lemon EDT, Cool Water, Eternity Summer for Men )
I know this is a lot to read, but I know that the people around here are very knowledgeable and I'm trying to provide as much information as possible. Unfortunately, it seems that every dept store around here no longer gives out samples, only a meager spritz on a scrap of paper which does me no good because scents often change considerably on my skin. So , I would have to go to the mall every day to try and spray all of them on my skin. Sephora gives out samples, but I've gotten different ones there enough that they're starting to look at me funny. I did find a local store that sells Creed, so I'm going to try to get a few samples from there. Anyway, the point is that I'm really trying to find a few more scents to build up my collection, but I don't have the money to waste on stuff that I don't like and my ability to get samples is quite limited. Hopefully, if I can garner some quality recommendations from the people in the know ( you ), then I can look around and buy samples of them online.
Of course scents preferences are subjective and what one likes, another might not, but I hope I've given a good idea of what I prefer. In my line of work, nothing is more frustrating than someone who wants something very particular, but can't clearly explain what it is that they like, much less what it is that they don't.
Another reason I came to this website is because I like fragrances that people aren't as familiar with. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm trying to build up my collection, so if you think I'll like a certain mainstream scent ( except for Acqua Di Gio, its way overplayed ), then don't hesitate to name it.......but I'd definitely like some new or less common fragrances, as well.
Thank you in advance for any help that you can provide.
Jester
I'm new to this board and thought I might request some help from you in finding a few new scents to wear. I'm 29 years old, former military, in good shape, and live in Louisiana where its hot 9 months out of the year. I go to school during the day and work as a sommelier at night, so it doesn't hurt to have more than one style of fragrance. Now, I've always been a big fan of scents, but I've never really had a large collection of them. I usually only have 3 or 4 at any one time, but I would like to start a larger collection. At the same time, though, I'm very picky about which scents that I like. Below I'll list some scents that I own or have owned and liked, but let me start off letting you know what I don't like. I absolutely can't stand anything gourmand. I hate anything with the scent of vanilla, sugar, or anything sweet and I dislike anything that even dries down to even a slightly sweet aroma. I also severely dislike anything with a noticably musky scent. Many of the frags that I've tried lately have smelled great on paper and when I first put them on, but they dry down to something musky, excessively powdery, or sweet. Lastly, I don't really care for anything Oriental and/or spicy. It just doesn't work on my skin. I guess you could say that I mainly like scents that are either clean, water-driven, oceanic, some fresh fougere, most citrus, and some fresh chypre. Most warm scents tend to not work well on me as my skin tends to warm up scents that others might find too sharp or bright, but at the same time, it over-pronounces warmer scents and I get tons of sugar and musk.
There are some exceptions, but not many.
I like scents that are fresh, clean, ozonic, green ( Mint, Eucalyptus, Pine, Fresh Grass ) quite often with citrus scents ( Lemon, Mandarin leaf, Bergamot, Grapefruit ) and sometimes with white flowers ( magnolia, lily, subtle jasmine ) and/or cyclamen, oakmoss, petitgrain, cedar, and sandalwood. Here are scents that I either own, have owned, or have tried lately and liked:
1. Cool Water ( original ) by Davidoff - cheesy, many people hate it, smells ok on paper, but smells great on me, most people who recognize it on others don't recognize it on me. A staple for years.
2. Lemon EdTby Art of Shaving - A recent purchase, works really well for me, but not something I could wear every day. Love the combo of Lemon, Bergamot, Cyclamen, Oakmoss and Vetiver.
3. Derring-Do by Ineke - My only other recent purchase.....very fresh and clean. Warms up to a bit more powdery than I usually prefer, but I still enjoy it. There's that Citrus and Cyclamen again. It gets major bonus points because no one has ever heard of it or knows where to get it.
4. L'eau Par Kenzo by Kenzo - Just had a sample, slightly too watery cleaning product smell, but still decent. I would buy a bottle if found for cheap.
5. Sandalwood by Art of Shaving - I haven't bought this, but have enjoyed it at the store. Its definitely a cooler weather scent, but I like that it is not sweet and it has some eucalyptus and other notes that brighten it up a bit.
6. Eternity Summer by Calvin Klein - A long time ago, I wore the original Eternity, but it doesn't really do it for me now. I tried this recently and it works really well on my skin, and as much as I like citrus, the melon in this one makes it light and fresh. This is the only type of sweetness I can tolerate. Its a slight fruitiness, but not sugary or vanilla.
7. Burberry Summer & Burberry Touch - The only Burberry scents I have liked. Both dry down a little too powdery violet and lavender, but they are still nice scents.
8. Hugo Pure by Hugo Boss - Decent scent that I have worn a few times recently from samples. Its ok, and I would wear it, but I'd like it if it had more brightness and freshness.
Other fragrances that I've worn in the past and liked : Eau D'Orange Verte by Hermes, 1805 by Truefitt and Hill, Eternity by CK, Pleasures by Estee Lauder, Polo Sport by Ralph Lauren, Drakkar Noir ( the only big musky scent that I've ever liked )
Scents that I aboslutely HATE ( no offense to those who love these, they're just horrible on me ) Basically, I normally avoid anything that is sweet or musky.......or anything with scents of vanilla, tonka bean, amber, patchouli, bourbon, or black pepper. Basically, nothing sweet, musky, spicy, or oriental.
1. Angel Men by T. Mugler - So sickeningly sweet, it is the perfect example of why gourmands don't work on my skin.
2. Azzarro Chrome by Azzarro - This one is a decent example of something that I thought smelled decent at first, but then dries down into a syrupy sweet mess on my skin.
3. Spanish Leather by Truefitt and Hill - Anything like this with tobacco, liquor and/or muskyness is the complete opposite of what I'm looking for.
4. Aqua de Bulgari PH by Bulgari - This is the type of fruity scents that I dislike. On me this smells like an overly sweet artificial watermelon syrup
5. Polo ( original ) by Ralph Lauren - Too heavy, too musky....just the opposite of my style.
6. Obsession by CK - Very different from Polo, but still at the opposite end of the spectrum from me.
7. Euphoria by CK - I smelled this very recently and liked it on paper, but like so many others, it turned sweet on my skin.
I rarely like unisex scents. For example, I've absolutely abhorred every CK unisex ( CK1, CKBe, CK Electric ). However, I do tend to like some men's scents that may not be labeled unisex, but could possibly work as such ( Lemon EDT, Cool Water, Eternity Summer for Men )
I know this is a lot to read, but I know that the people around here are very knowledgeable and I'm trying to provide as much information as possible. Unfortunately, it seems that every dept store around here no longer gives out samples, only a meager spritz on a scrap of paper which does me no good because scents often change considerably on my skin. So , I would have to go to the mall every day to try and spray all of them on my skin. Sephora gives out samples, but I've gotten different ones there enough that they're starting to look at me funny. I did find a local store that sells Creed, so I'm going to try to get a few samples from there. Anyway, the point is that I'm really trying to find a few more scents to build up my collection, but I don't have the money to waste on stuff that I don't like and my ability to get samples is quite limited. Hopefully, if I can garner some quality recommendations from the people in the know ( you ), then I can look around and buy samples of them online.
Of course scents preferences are subjective and what one likes, another might not, but I hope I've given a good idea of what I prefer. In my line of work, nothing is more frustrating than someone who wants something very particular, but can't clearly explain what it is that they like, much less what it is that they don't.
Another reason I came to this website is because I like fragrances that people aren't as familiar with. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm trying to build up my collection, so if you think I'll like a certain mainstream scent ( except for Acqua Di Gio, its way overplayed ), then don't hesitate to name it.......but I'd definitely like some new or less common fragrances, as well.
Thank you in advance for any help that you can provide.
Jester
