Pre-Basenotes era

i did care....but my eyes were not opened to the variety. i didn't even know what niche scents were! seriously. i thought 'expensive' was buying a 'larger' size designer fragrance....LOL

i came here looking for a bottle of cuiron.

my collection when i arrived at basenotes consisted of 3 or 4 fragrances.

That's how they suck you in at the Church of Basenotes.

I never thought I was interested before I discovered basenotes, but looking back, I did have a fascination for my mother's box of Evening in Paris and I always smelled my father's English Leather Lime. Later on, I had Jovan Grass Oil and Oleg Cassini for Men. In my adulthood, I neglected fragrances almost entirely. I honestly can't remember what led me to basenotes. I think I got interested in men's skin care because I started getting worry lines in my forehead, and investigating men's skin care products (Zirh, Nancy Boy, Sharps, etc.) eventually let me to fragrance and to basenotes.

I wore Aspen, Jovan Musk, jovan White musk, Sex Appeal, el cheapo* version of polo blue, U2 (CKone clone), Adidas Moves, Givenchy Pour Homme, bulgary pour homme, 212, Ck One, (can you already tell I was a poor guy?) Polo Blue, Leau d'issey (this was the expensive stuff), unforgivable. I got tired of the bad longevity of Unforgivable. My search eventually led me to Erolfa and erolfa to BN. It all went down hill from there

*If I had any ethnic self pitty, I would complain about the use of a Spanish-like words to denote something cheap (if it is cool use French if it is crappy use Spanish). However, I think the phrase is cool

GrandMa was a perfume lover. GranPa also. She died in 1992 being 92 years old, left a whole bunch of traditional perfumes, many empty, other half empty, others full: many Guerlains, many Rochas, etc. GrandPa died in 1972 being 71 years old: left some bottles, my favorite one (half empty) was Carnaval en Venecia (in french), a leathery scent that I used when I stepped into the bottle back in 1994 - It now decorates a bathroom in my bro's department. Thus, Mother is a perfume lover. So, every time she travelled, she would bring us one bottle of EdT / EdC for us boys and a bottle of EdP for my sister. Father followed suit: when I was 13 he gave me a bottle of Signorricci.

Believe me or not, I never used them, except for one or two (Signoricci, Eau Savage and YSL pour Homme). I also sniffed my sister's Opium on a weekly basis. Later, when I started earning my own money I started buying EdC / EdT in every trip I made overseas: but still, since there is this tradition in my family stating that men should not smell perfume even when using it, perfumes never ran up (VC&A pH proved a nightmare, LOL).

Some time ago I wanted to know what became of cherished brands I could not see anymore in stores, so I googled "Macassar" and there it was, Basenotes.

And since then I got abducted by the Church of Basenotes, as The Good Life said.

Before basenotes I mostly wore drugstore fragrances: brut, english leather, old spice. I did wear Polo (green) and Safari pre-basenotes, though..

Ha!! My original pre-Basenotes "collection" consisted of Egoiste, Ultraviolet, Carlo Corinto and Coty Musk for Men.
All my fragrances actually used to fit in the medicine cabinet!!! That was just a little more than three -almost four years ago...*sigh*...

So one day I'm searching around Google looking for a fragrance with a good animalic punch...and I come across this blog article about Yatagan and Dzing! here on Basenotes. I remember thinking 'Man, I gotta get me somma that sh!t.'
I eventually tracked down Yatagan but couldn't figure out why none of the local perfume shops had ever even heard of Dzing! -they looked at me like I was makin' sh!t up. That was my 'niche naivity', but I had my newfound Basenotes website to fill in the gaps.

Well I'm sure you all know and have all experienced the eventual outcome...
Over a hundred bottles later I'm surprised I ain't living in a freakin' cardboard box!

I have always loved fragrance.....I came here with experience in sales at a Mom and Pop store and this Mom and Pop store was the place where I discovered many hard to find scents.....This was before the internet so Mom and Pop stores were a great place to get fragrance experience.....The Niche lines are the scents that I discovered here at Basenotes.
I used Halston Z-14 in my teens and Jovan Musk Oil.....Pour Monsieur by Chanel in my 20's along with Lagerfeld.....Devin, Polo, Polo Crest, Polo Sport, Safari , and Escape in my 30's.....I still have and use all of the Polo RL scents and PM by Chanel plus too many to list for sure.....
Gary

Before BN...alot happened.

Girlhood to young woman, I smelled all the Avon and drugstore fragrances I could get my hands on. I was an avid Coty Wild Musk girl.

Later, I started mixing my own fragrances from the stock bottles in the natural food store. Not all were natural, but it was alot of fun. I still have some of my old blend, which is heavy on the patchouli and has quite a bit of artificial musk fragrance oil. I also wore Frontier fragrance oils.

Still later, I tried to find some nice designer scents and settled on Chanel Coco for a very long time. But also at this time, I started to work on my natural essential oil collection that I had started when I mixed my own perfume. Before too long, I had at least 40 or 50 bottles of the more common EO's. I used them for aromatherapy--steam inhalation or skin oils.

When I found base notes, I had already stopped wearing Coco daily, but had a few fragrances in addition to my oils, maybe 7 or 8. I had Chanel, Shiseido, Jo Malone and Miller Harris. I did not know what niche was, but I knew Miller Harris was not like what I smell in a department store.

Now, of course, I have many more fragrances

I cared. For Niche, all I knew was Creed. I remember my first visit looking up reviews for Eau Sauvage & Eau Sauvage Extreme. Trying to decide which was better . I purchased both. I was interduced to a whole new world of L'Artisan, Parfums di Nicoli & Caron.

I'm glad I joined.

Before Basenotes I was lost (Gillette, Brut, Mennen, Old Spice, Blue Stratos, Drakkar Noir), but now am found.
Renato

I cared. Back in the 'dark ages,' I wore:

First full bottle ever: Acqua di Gio PH at Age 12
Age 13~15: Tommy Boy, Freedom, Cool Water, White He, Hugo
Age 16~19: L'eau par Kenzo PH, L'eau d'Issey PH, KenzoAir, 212, A*Men, Starwalker, Le Male

I went through 5 bottles of L'eau par Kenzo and 2 bottles of Leau d'Issey.
and now I'm on the verge on being 21, fully baptized by the Church of Basenotes.

Since I was a child, I have been aware of my love for all things fragrant. For me, my sense of smell helps me understand and appreciate the world around me on a deeper level than "good or bad," "safe or dangerous," and "clean or dirty." I use my sense of smell to intensify and fully understand the daily experiences in my life.

I came to basenotes when I was left standing at the perfume counter wondering why I felt compelled to come back, even though I knew that I would be disappointed over and over again.

as far as I can remember I was always fascinated by fragrances. From wearing grandpa Varon Dandy, to making my own mixes at school. I think I got my first cologne from my dad , I was around 7 or 10.
Then I wore all sort of cheapo until I got my first pay check at 16, I bought Fahrenheit and I never look back.
Basenotes opened the gates of that world I knew it had to exist but I never found. I never met anyone interested in fragrances with the same passion as me , ´til now :-)

My first bottle was at 16 (Kouros), followed by Fahrenheit at about 19. I then picked up a bottle of Minotaure whilst abroad in 1994, and my passion grew since then.

Before Basenotes, since 1998, I worked in the industry as a SA and perfume consultant trainer.

I've worked as a Mugler Ambassador (under the Clarins umbrella), with BPI, James Richardson and Trimex... there were many many brands in those portfolios (from Boss to Hermes, Costume National Creed and so on).
I used to buy many and received many designer freebies at launches and training events, and dabbled a bit with niche.
Its only after discovering Basenotes back in '06 that I began proactively shopping online for scents that always interested me, or were newly introduced to me via the site.

It was 1982 and I was 14 when I bought a bottle of Paco Rabanne Pour Homme. By my late teens I'd had Kouros, Antaeus, Azzaro, and Eau Sauvage. I just enjoyed fragrance without thinking much about it. I wasn't aware of how much there was to learn and explore.
Basenotes in 2007 was the first tentative step of this 1000 mile journey of exploration. I'll keep learning because it's so much fun!

I never liked fragrances as I knew them growing up - I hated going through the cosmetics aisles of stores to be wafted by a thousand different overwhelming smells. None of the fragrances my mother wore I liked, bar 4711.

When I was twelve, I got interested in incense, moving from sticks to burnt resins, which I preferred. From there I began exploring essential oils, and got to know dozens of essences that way, making my own blends or wearing them neat where possible.

I lost interest after I was seventeen... but last year I started digging through my old collection and decided I'd have a peak at just what was out there. I've forgotten how I found Basenotes - I think it was from Ayala Sender's blog - but I posted here asking for recommendations, and the rest is history.

I still own little, but I sample maniacally.

Let's just say I'm getting poorer by the minute

I wore Acqua Di Gio back in 1998 (high school) till 2001 (Second year of college). I wore it everyday for a while. Then the nozzle broke and I got lazy with it. I just put on a few drops once in a while. After that, I just didn't wear anything. Then Axe came out and I wore that. LOL. I was tempted to buy a bottle of cologne a few years back. I was going to get the regular ol' canteen bottle Hugo Boss. Then about a year ago, I figured it was time to get a cologne because a friend of mine was doing research on some. So after sniffing a magazine insert and rubbing it on my neck, I decided on Le Male. I originally joined Basenotes to look up reviews on my purchase (yea, how backwards is that?).

Before basenotes I had:

Jako by Lagerfeld
Escada Pour Homme
Armani Code
Thallium
AdG
Dreamer
Joop!!

And that was it

I saw some internet talk about Creed's Milleseme Imperial on AskMen.com where I was directed to this website I now have 17 full bottles since then and have sampled close to 500 fragrances ( I had to use an Excel spreadsheet to keep track) . I was preoccupied with martial arts and digital photography forums prior to BN's. I've been inches away from Ernie Gallo's thread but have managed somewhat to stay clear, barely.

I lurked for a couple of days then joined. I read most of the reviews posted by seasoned, veteran basenoters to try and grasp what was going on here. My first 2 purchases were Creed's MI and YSL's M7. I've been hooked ever since

I'm so grateful to this site. It's a wonderful new hobby for me and I learn something new every day.

Xeryus during my teenage years
Eternity during my university years
Le Male during my twentysomething period
Cerruti 1881 a few years before discovering Basenotes (my then girlfriend is to blame for that)

Before BN, nothing. Then I hit my mid life crisis and didn't want to waste my money on a cool sports car so I turned to fragrances and found BN.


PS However, I do own a WRX

My pre-Basenotes bottles - as I recall - were (in the order of acquisition):

Old Spice (actually my Dad's)
Aqua Velve (Blue)
Canoe
Jade East
Halston I12 & Z14 (recommended by my brother)
Polo
Boss No. 1
Dior Fahrenheit
Oscar de la Renta Pour Lui
Annick Goutal Eau d'Hadrien (my first "niche" fragrance bought on my first trip to Paris)
Diptyque Tam Dao (bought in Aix-en-Provence in France)
Diptyque Philosykos (my first online purchase)
Diptyque Oyedo
Etro Palais Jamais
Annick Goutal Vetiver (bought on my second trip to Paris)
Creed Original Vetiver

- then I did a Google search on Creed fragrances and the rest is history.

o gosh the memories. lets see...

bottles in my collection were:
AdG(which I thought was the best thing),
Le Male (first experience was when I was club hoppin in Vegas and they had this in the
Mirage club called Jet, many compliments from women and what a night so I
bought it the next day)
cK Be
Burberry Weekend
Prada Amber pH
L'Eau par Kenzo
Armani Code
Coolwater
Alfred Sung Hei
Alfred Sung Paradise
(I OWE MY ALFRED SUNG COLLECTION TO MY EX GIRLFRIEND BECAUSE SHE LOVED IT SO MUCH, SO NOW EVERYTIME I WEAR THEM BOTH, IT REMINDS ME OF HER. YOU GUYS CAN ALL BET I HAVENT TOUCHED EITHER BOTTLE FOR A LONG TIME)
Romance Silver by Ralph Lauren
Swiss Guard
Subtil

Before, I was an impulse buyer usually getting all the new stuff and not even knowing anything bout the oldies. Did not know what niche was and I actually thought Unforgivable was the best. It wasn't until I was in Macys doing the usual round of sniffing the new scents where I overheard a SA talk about how he heard of this so called website where people talk about fragrances. So I checked out basenotes a couple of days later, read up about what people were talking about even though I had no freakin clue what in the world Creed was or what Guerlain was for that matter. Then I read a thread regarding LT and TS The Guide; Bought it, Read It, Researched the Top Fragrances in the Book and the rest is history.

As of now, now longer impulse buyer. Actually smell the different notes and to differentiate the difference between fragrances that smell alike. I know the difference between the different concentrations and I respect the perfume world alot more.

WWW.BASENOTES.COM CHANGED MY LIFE FOREVER AND MADE ME POORER THAN EVER!!!
I AM FORCED TO ORDER FROM THE DOLLAR MENUS WHILE I SPEND HUNDREDS ON JUICES. BUT IM HAPPY AND THATS ALL THAT MATTERS.

I lived in a cave, poured on gallons of Wild Country and sniffed everyone else's ass.

I've always loved scents, so really finding basenotes a few years back was almost like a "coming home" to see lots of other fragrancistas like me. Of course, once here, I was exposed to MANY new brands and scents that I'd never tried, which was great for my catalogue and terrible for my wallet.

The interesting thing, though, is that the initial newness and "wow" of finding such a great resource and place to obtain new scents has come full circle and in many cases I find myself reaching for the old scents that I found on my own, years ago, pre-Basenotes. Out of a peak collection of about 300 scents, I'm now down to about 30, probably half of which were ones that I've always used, since WAY before coming to Basenotes.

There have been a few miraculous finds that without BN I would never have tried (like Montale's Aouds, Creed Bois du Santal, or Parfum d'empire), but overall, I think that one has to be really careful in their reactions/purchases made via a site with lots of people whose opinions you really respect.

Even though you consider them e-friends and respect their "nose," scent is SUCH a personal thing. So, really, I've probably bought/swapped dozens (hundreds?) of scents that were OKAY, but really that I didn't love, because others loved them and kept talking/posting about them. That's the dangerous thing... with the exception of Balenciaga Pour Homme, almost none of the "MUST HAVE" scents of legend around here (which change once or twice a year, from LV Piper Nigrum to Sandalo to Chergui to PdN NY to Creed GiT to Patou PH) have really "hit" with me.

So, the short answer is that pre-basenotes, basenotes, or post-basenotes, ALWAYS trust your own nose and use the site as an excellent resource of knowledge, which it is. BUT, be very careful when laying down your hard earned money, as even an "expert" in scent may not know YOUR nose or your likes.

Since my mid 20s I have been mildly interested in fragrances. I always had something around. Before I moved to NYC, I would go to the City some weekends and sometimes I would look for fragrances,. I remember when I first ran into Jean LaPorte fragrances at Bloomindales. That was something of a revelation. I tried one of his (can't remember now which one it was) and I didn't buy it the first time, but couldn't get it out of my mind, and had to go back the next weekend to get it. I knew that that was ridiculous, but I had to go all the way back into NYC and get it. So, the germ of the oak that became my basenotes.com dependency was there for over 20 years prior to finding this place.