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Looking for new warm fragrance

post #1 of 18
Thread Starter 
I have spent several pleasant hours reading these forums and the insightful reviews and assistance this community offers. I am new to descriptions of fragrances (read: noob), but I think I have learned enough to describe what I'm looking for. I hope to gain from the collective insights here.

I am very picky about which fragrances I buy, but will wear the same "signature" scent for years once I find one I like. While I do enjoy smelling nice fragrances on other people, I personally adhere to the "personal space" philosophy for wearing scents. I generally wear 1-2 sprays on my upper chest/neck area before I put on my shirt for the day, and that's it. I also use a sandalwood shaving soap, but I doubt that anyone but my wife ever smells that subtle bit of my fragrance wardrobe.

Right now, and for the past 2 or 3 years, I have worn Hei by Alfred Sung. I very much enjoy every phase of this one, but most especially the later mid notes and finish notes. For a couple of years, I wore (and sometimes still do wear) Swiss Army, and I like the clean, woody drydown on that one. Before that, I enjoyed wearing Curve.

Lately, I have tried several colognes, each of which leaves something to be desired for a personal fragrance, although I'm sure they would be great on someone else. For example, I love the middle and finish notes of D&G PH, but the top notes are cloying and offensive to me. Such a shame for such an otherwise nice cologne.

Searching by combinations of keywords has yielded several fragrances that I intend to try, but I would appreciate a bit of more focused guidance from a person instead of a database. I especially like the notes of sandalwood, cedar, amber, tonka, and bergamot. I'm sure there are some other notes that I'm missing out of ignorance, thus my previous descriptions of the fragrances I have worn. I am looking for something warm but not spicy, as my own body chemistry is a bit spicy. I'm also thinking that, perhaps, something a bit musky would be nice with winter coming up.

I hope I have given enough relevant information for someone to take a stab at a recommendation. Thank you in advance for any guidance.
post #2 of 18
Welcome aboard, buddy! The first thing that comes to mind is Gucci Pour Homme...even though you don't want something too spicy, I think you would still love it. Other than that, I would recommend Obsession, Jaipur, Canali, and Burberry London. Even though your new to fragrance, I would suggest slowly learning about niche perfume companies, as they have much more to offer than designer companies in terms of quantity, quality, and uniqueness.
post #3 of 18
Try Diptyque's L'Eau because it is very warm, it almost opens up like the "red hots" candies with notes of spicy pepper, however the fragrance is very delicate at the same time; it dries down to a nice warm and mildly hot scent with solid sillage and longevity. I know you do not want something too spicy; but L'Eau has minimal spice to it, although it is there, but it is more hot than spicy. It seems like when L'Eau dries down the pepper notes become more sweet than anything. I love this scent and can not wait to wear it in winter with a nice warm sweater while sitting by my fireplace. Additonally, this scent is unique, it is a nice scent, so you will, most likely, never smell it on another. Yeah, you could get something like Gucci Envy, etc...., but those scents, although wonderful, are not even close to as unique as L'Eau; I have never smelled anything quite like it, it is beautiful and makes me happy when I wear it. I hope this helps.
post #4 of 18
Hi, Welcome to Basenotes!

Have you tried Chanel Allure Homme? I think you might like it. Also, try out all of the other Allure Hommes -- Sport, etc., but I think you will like the original one. Good luck!
post #5 of 18
Welcome lastscout!

I am not as well versed in men's fragrances, especially designer frags. However, I do sample men's frags, and I am wondering about some of the suggestions that have been made. You said you do not want spice, but there is a recent thread about how spicy Jaipur is (in EDT, anyway). Obsession is a heavy oriental, so it definitely would not be a "personal space" scent.

I have tried Jaipur Homme recently--I am not sure if it is the EDT or EDP, but I suspect the latter. It is warm and vanillic, and a little "dirty" smelling. This is most likely from the resins (myrrh, benzoin, etc.). I have found the niche scent Bois 1920 Sandalo e The to wear very similarly on my skin, but a bit less dirty (probably less resins).

One I think that is warm but a bit more clean is the niche scent Divine L'Homme Sage. The closest designer frag I can compare it to is Bulgari Eau Parfumee au The Rouge. However, the Bulgari is a bit spicy to start, so I am not sure you would like that. L'Homme Sage does not have the spice, but it is very expensive.

I think based on the cedar / bergamot / tonka combo, you might want to try Guerlain Jicky or Guerlain Mouchoir de Monsieur. And for a woody citrus, try Terre d'Hermes, a favorite here on BN.
post #6 of 18
I would suggest DKNY Be Delicious for Men. I just bought it and I love the smell...Have yet to test it in the public yet( I'm in high school XD), tomorrow...
post #7 of 18
Thread Starter 
Wow, thank you all for such fast replies. I have a lot of new scent adventures to try. There is a nice fragrance shop at the Galleria here in Houston; I expect I can find many of these fragrances there.

I will report after stopping in and giving some of these a sniff.
post #8 of 18
Quote:
Originally Posted by lastscout View Post

Wow, thank you all for such fast replies. I have a lot of new scent adventures to try. There is a nice fragrance shop at the Galleria here in Houston; I expect I can find many of these fragrances there.

I will report after stopping in and giving some of these a sniff.

Don't forget to try Habit Rouge by Guerlain too.
post #9 of 18
Hi there, lastscout. For some reason, JOHN VARVATOS popped into my head when reading your post, even though it doesn't contain many or any of your listed preferred notes. It is a really interesting, warm fragrance with a (I think) sexy vanilla/woody drydown. I really like this one on my husband and think it's perfect for fall.
post #10 of 18
I wonder if Declaration would fit what you're looking for. I ended up going with Declaration Essence. The only problem is that it might be a little on the "spicy" side.
post #11 of 18
Thread Starter 
Yesterday, I stopped by the fragrance shop by my house and smelled Declaration, Burberry London, and Burberry Touch (after the recommendation of the sales associate). I can't put my finger on why Declaration didn't do it for me. I think it's the kind of fragrance I would enjoy smelling on someone else, but I don't think I could wear it all day. London was nice, but too edgy for what I was looking for. Touch was very nice - soft and warm. It is not over-the-top masculine, and the middle notes hit the spot. It's a shame that it didn't last long on my wrist - my wife gets veto power since she has to smell me more than anybody else.

I have ordered samples of Canali, Habit Rouge, Terre D'Hermes, Allure Homme Blanche, and Allure Homme Sport, as I was unable to find them locally. I'll be happy to share the samples that I don't use.

Thanks for the recommendations. I look forward to trying them once they get here.
post #12 of 18
Burberry London
Michael by Michael Kors
Declaration Essence
post #13 of 18
I think Opium EDP will do the trick. Loads of warmth, it's actually hot!
post #14 of 18
I'll make a couple of different recommendations:

Let me Play the Lion by Les Nez - This smells like a slightly sweet sawdust. It's a bit resinous smelling, sawdust from fresh, even slightly wet wood. Hints of sweetness come from ambergris, a note that weaves its way in and out of the composition. Cedar comes prominent in the heart notes, and the frag from there on is a cedar/ambergris combo. It's very round, a bit fuzzy, warm smelling, and extremely comforting. Not sexy per se - a bit more zen like. Longevity is good although its projection is minimal, which is what it sounds like you prefer.

Viktor and Rolf Antidote: The progression of this is a bit like D&G PH, although it is far more refined and the opening is not cloying at all. It starts with a blast of grapefruit and mint with some lavender present, then lavender helps seque into the heart notes of a sweet cinnamon, nutmeg and jasmine (yes, there are a fair dose of spices there, but they are perfectly tempered by the jasmine, and it doesn't come across as overly spicy by any means). On cool and dry days, or dry skin, I also get hints of a supple leather at this stage. Then it evolves again into a base of tonka/vanilla, amber, and musk. Longevity seemed weak to me the first few wearings, but now I can easily detect it 12 hours later. One or two sprays to the chest would be perfect for how you want it to project. It's an oriental, but lighter than most, and versatile enough to be worn to the office, to the opera, or even casually, IMO.
post #15 of 18
Some frags to try: Adidas Victory League, Azzaro's Onyx or Silver/Black (same thing), Rouge Royal, Jaipur. You really need to sample these though, because some are sweet and some aren't, and some find Jaipur spicy but others experience it more as powdery.
post #16 of 18
Welcome to Basenotes, lastscout!

I'd like to endorse two suggestions already made: Jaipur Homme (the EdP is superior to the EdT), and Habit Rouge. For something warm, ambery, and woody, as you've described, I'd add Heritage, Santal Noble, Mechant Loup, The 3rd Man, and New York.

Happy hunting!
post #17 of 18
Welcome to the forum lastscout

Parfums de Nicolai New York
Chanel Anteaus
Creed Acier Aluminum
Gucci Envy
Annayake Miyako
Nautica Voyage
Chrome Azzaro
Antonio Puig Sybaris

Oooops, I thought you meant fragrances FOR warm weather Oh well.
post #18 of 18
you could give these a shot ( i speak from personal experience, so the conclusion is supremely yours to make)

Slate by Banana Rep.
Narciso Rod for Him
Boss Selection
Loewe Solo
Fahrenheit 32
Aramis Tuscany
Creed himalaya
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