Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Male Fragrance Discussion › MFD Archive › my 1* and 5* fragrances according to The Guide
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

my 1* and 5* fragrances according to The Guide

post #1 of 10
11/14/08 at 6:31pm
Thread Starter 
Okay, while The Guide is a very interesting read, especially for us basenoters, I'd have to disagree with more than 70% of the reviews. My take on The Guide is a person who happens to love certain fragrances and loathe certain fragrances and then expertly base his opinions based on his tastes. I don't think people should look as The Guide as a "guide" but rather as be inspired to try other scents that they wouldn't normally try. You know what I mean?

Well here's a list of my fragrances that The Guide gave 5 stars:
Derby
Angel (go figure)
Bandit
Timbuktu
Joy
Hermes Osmanthe Yunnan
Private Collection
Chanel No. 5 EDT
Chanel No. 5 Parfum
Cristalle (I hate this one with a passion)
Loulou (hahahahahah! i would give this one -5 if i could! my mom loves it though...)

And here's my 1 stars:
Tabac Blond (he is INSANE!!! wtf is what I'm feeling right now)
Carthusia Uomo (my mom as well as myself love this)
Allure Homme (sorry guys...i have to agree...was given to me as a present)
Chanel Gardenia (supposedly it's full of tuberose which I hate, but oddly enough I love this)
Lanvin Rumeur (yeah disgusting i agree...also a present)
Sisley Eau de Soir
Sisley Soir de Lune (okay this guy has officialy gone mad...seriously no comment)
Boudoir (nasty i agree)
Flowerbomb: I kinda like this

My other 70+ fragrances which I use waaaay more often than these are in between (2,3,4)

-and I truly believe that Luca Turin is biased towards certain brands, like he isn't even giving certain brands a chance.
Reply
Reply

Features on Basenotes

Basenotes Reader Awards 2013 - Finalists Announced.
Petals Falling From The Sky - A Report From The Cote d'Azur's Bataille De Fleurs
Greatest Hits: Annick Menardo
post #2 of 10
11/14/08 at 7:49pm
While I definitely agree with your general sentiments, I really don't understand why you've posted about all these feminine scents here.

On me, I'd rate most of them as zeros, but would give a star or two to Allure Homme (though the new version I'd give a three or four to).
Renato
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 10
11/15/08 at 2:49am
Thread Starter 
Well Renato, the reason I've posted all these "feminine" scents here is because I bought, love, and wear them and I don't feel like I have to stick to "masculine" scents just because I am a man. I have a lot HOMME scents but they didn't happen to be 1*s or 5*s. And sorry, it really ticks me off when people say how can you wear that, that's for ladies...I DONT CARE! I'd happily wear my Chanel No.5 or Attrape Couer ANYwhere I go. And FEMME and HOMME are just extremely profitable marketing ploys IMHO.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Renato View Post

While I definitely agree with your general sentiments, I really don't understand why you've posted about all these feminine scents here.

On me, I'd rate most of them as zeros, but would give a star or two to Allure Homme (though the new version I'd give a three or four to).
Renato
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 10
11/15/08 at 3:28am
He gave Osmanthe Yunnan five stars? Wow.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 10
11/15/08 at 3:52am
The book may be an interesting read but don't take everything in it too personally. Many of the fragrances that got great scores in the book ended up getting bad scores on basenotes and vice versa. I would much rather trust in the reviews on basenotes than from the book.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 10
11/15/08 at 4:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by aboodchy View Post

...And here's my 1 stars:
Tabac Blond (he is INSANE!!! wtf is what I'm feeling right now)....

I had thought the same, and discussed it with Tania Sanchez when they were both discussing the book with all of us here at BN. Turin always loved TB and had nothing but praise for it whenever he wrote about it, i.e. for almost 20 years. I understand the one star only for TB as an expression of utmost sadness an disappointment, caused by a completely unneccessary and unconceivable 'modernization' of this perfume in either late 2006, or early 2007. Caron wrecked it for everybody who has a sensitive nose and could compare it to prior editions of the same.

To remain critical and still trying to be objective I would give the new Tabac Blond perhaps three stars. Star ratings are always questionable, unless in absolutely objective, measurable dimensions, and I would have preferred a guide without them. Read about any of the popular perfumes in the BN review section, and you will often find one and five star reviews side by side. As Turin suggests - the best thing you can do is finding a critic you can trust! I can trust him more than Sanchez, particularly regarding older perfumes and perfumes for men. I have more than 10 favorite reviewers on BN and find it ideal when more than five of those have written something about the perfume I need opinions about.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 10
11/15/08 at 6:24am
I agree with you that a lot of fragrances marketed to women are perfectly wearable by men. However some are clearly "perfumy/girly" and NOT suitable IMO. Those I could easly pull off are:
Baiser Du Dragon Cartier
Magie Noir Lancome
Shalimar
Mitsouko
Brit Gold
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 10
11/16/08 at 2:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by aboodchy View Post

Well Renato, the reason I've posted all these "feminine" scents here is because I bought, love, and wear them and I don't feel like I have to stick to "masculine" scents just because I am a man. I have a lot HOMME scents but they didn't happen to be 1*s or 5*s. And sorry, it really ticks me off when people say how can you wear that, that's for ladies...I DONT CARE! I'd happily wear my Chanel No.5 or Attrape Couer ANYwhere I go. And FEMME and HOMME are just extremely profitable marketing ploys IMHO.

You can wear whatever you wish, and post whatever you like about what you wear - you didn't make it clear in your original post that you actually wore them. It's just that you would probably have gotten a lot more views and responses had you called the thread,
"my 1* and 5* women's fragrances according to The Guide", rather than something indicative of a general discussion.

In that way, the title would more accurately have reflected the content of your thread, and people who are into wearing women's scents or who can't tell the difference between male and female scents, would have been more likely to look and respond rather than thinking "Groan, not another 1* or 5* thread" (of which we've had numerous similar ones in the past) and probably not looked at all.
Similarly, those who can tell the difference between male and female scents could have bypassed the post rather than click on it and read it in puzzlement, as they would have little to contribute to your content.

Regards,
Renato
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 10
11/16/08 at 2:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by afraafra View Post

However some are clearly "perfumy/girly" and NOT suitable IMO.

Hmmm - how come when I wrote that several times a few years back I effectively had a flame war on my hands?

But you say that, and don't even get a response.

Did I blaze a trail or something, for people to be able to express that opinion without fear of being attacked as unsophisticated or sexist or brainwashed by marketers?
Cheers,
Renato
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 10
11/16/08 at 2:27pm
I agree with the OP - I use PtG as a starting point in my exploration, as a general reference to find out what specific perfumes are like, and as an aid to help me pick out notes (because LT & TS are certainly good for that). I stopped trusting their opinions when they gave Spiritueuse Double Vanille two stars. And my fiancee almost dropped the thing in the trash after TS dissed her beloved Sa Majeste La Rose by saying "I imagine it repels mosquitoes well". Of course, the authors have an admitted bias against rose soliflores, so that's pretty useless.

Authoritative it is not.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: MFD Archive

Features on Basenotes

Basenotes Reader Awards 2013 - Finalists Announced.
Petals Falling From The Sky - A Report From The Cote d'Azur's Bataille De Fleurs
Greatest Hits: Annick Menardo
Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Male Fragrance Discussion › MFD Archive › my 1* and 5* fragrances according to The Guide