The $100 Wardrobe

Hello and welcome to basenotes!
This kind of hypothetical situation came up a couple of times in the last few months, check out the posts that come up when you search for " cheap favourites" "cheapos" etc!
Speaking from my point of view I'd go with 2-3 of my inexpensive favourites such as Cool Water, Rochas man and Victory league that could cover many situations however chances are pretty high that you end up shifting priorities a bit to have more money to spend on fragrances. Food for example is really loosing ground in my books
And to be honest, I dont feel as bad spening money on perfum instead of lets say smokes and booze (talking hypothetical, right ) which is what some others do.

Adidas Victory League, Witness by Bogart, Francesco Smalto, Carven Homme, FUBU Plush or Rouge Royal, Everlast Original 1910, Cuba Red and Orange, possibly a Samba frag or two, and I might still have some money remaining !

Interesting question...
I'd say depends on if you want to learn about frags or you just want to have a few bottles. Most people end up buying more becuas of curiosity and learning.
The best way IMHO to spend $100 on frags is to buy samples and minis on BN or eBay. Quality over quantity anyday when it comes to fragrance. Also consider used bottles (I know some people may think this is gross?) but it is another way of getting the juice without the outlay of cash.

I second timaru's "shifting priorities" comment as well.

The $100 wardrobe suffered when the plethora of decant sites went south after the ban. 5-15ml decants were seemingly everywhere on the net from reliable sellers. Basenoters offered a great selection also. Since there still 'may' be sellers around, do the rules allow a 'hypethetical' decant wardrobe? (Names will be changed to protect the innocent)

Bulgari Aqua, Mugler Cologne, Versace Dreamer, John Varvatos.

Varvatos Vintage $20
Escada Pour Homme $10
Paco Rabanne PH $15
Fahrenheit $25
Rive Gauche $25

$95 for 5 scents which are really great. To be honest, that is a great collection for under a $100.

now, in real life....if i was given $100, i'd probably just blow it all on a bottle of Knize Ten and be screwed with nothing else!

I'd go for decants of some of my favourites, there aren't many great bargain places here

Everso, you did my heavy lifting. I would've assumed as you did that rikoozik wanted the players to assume at least 50 mL bottle purchases.
Possible substitutions for your list might be Opium PH ($20 at TJ Maxx), Pierre Cardin Cologne (less than $20 for 100 mL!), and possibly Stetson.

where can you get Fahrenheit for $25? just wondering.
it really depends on what you like. for me i'd just wait for a sale somewhere to stock up on some things i like, not really a fan of any of the cheap drugstore ones. right now perfumania has a buy one get one for 9.99 sale going on.

But is this being realistic ? I am sure these fragrances have been marked down to those levels, but still, I do not know how easily one can find fragrances at these prices. Good list however, and I see you have included some of your favorites.

yeah i think Opium is definitely a contender as well! As for Pierre Cardin, im not really a fan----BUT a few weeks ago i saw a HUGE 200ml or more bottle for $7. lol.

this game of $100 is no fun, unless we assume that it requires proper bottles at least 30-50ml....y'know? plenty of cheaper options which are great IMO

that's how much i bought these scents for here in NYC. They are readily available at those prices online....quite easily actually. And not from ebay.....The only one i think that's tough to find for the price i've listed is Escada Pour Homme, and that's mainly because TJ Maxx/Marshall's carries bottles of this new for $7-15...and i'm not sure anyone else does really.

i found those prices in actual shops for sealed bottles in boxes....

I can vouch for all of everso's prices except for Fahrenheit, which I haven't been able to find in a brick-and-mortar store in KC for less than ca. $40. But I'm sure everso has more purchasing options in NYC, so I have no reason to doubt him.

Others that I got cheap and may still be found at super low prices: Horizon, Jacomo Rouge, and Jacomo Silver. Quorum I can get cheaply locally (Marshalls) , but I'm not sure if I'd use it much.

Yeah, you're screwed. Say goodbye to wealth in dollars. There is NO easy answer on what to buy inexpensively that will satisfy your olfactory desires. However... here's a hint that will go a long way...Get samples of everything you can. You can do this very inexpensively. Many places will just send them to you. Some places charge but the cost is minimal compared and you will amass an enormous library from which to plan your purchases of larger amounts. You will also satisfy the need to smell a wide variety frags and learn the similarities and differences in individual frags and houses.

Get the scent library from Penhaligon's. Get the wax samples from Serge Lutens. Call Robert Piguet Parfums (very generous) for free vials. That's a start.

In the spirit of the challenge, I could end up with this for approx. $100:

Bvlgari Eau Parfumée au Thé Rouge, $20
Gucci Envy, $30
Hermès 24, Faubourg (found for $9 at Gordman's; results not typical)
L'Or de Torrente, $20
Yves Rocher Néonatura Cocoon, currently $20

This leaves out most of my bigger favorites, but limiting to only 1 or 2 more expensive bottles would be too frustrating.

Great question for a first post, rikoozik. Welcome! :wave:

I'd buy 6 or 7 decants of my favorites if limited to a $100 budget. I would probably get 5mL HdP Ambre 114 and GIT, 8mL Guerlain Vetiver, a small decant of MKK and a couple of others depending on how much was left of the original funds.

Uomo? Moschino
YSL pour Homme
Bowling Green (Geoffrey Beene)

davidoff coolwater
Sean John unforgivable
Vera Wang
Grey Flannel
Perry Ellis 360 Red
Rive Gauche

I'd have to go with decants. It's not that I don't like cheap fragrances, it's that I haven't found any cheap fragrances I like.

A guesstimate based on decant prices I've seen.

Iris Silver Mist 5ml 20$ ( my iris )
Paestum Rose 5ml 10$ ( my light rose )
C&S No. 88 5ml 10$ ( my heavy rose )
Ambre Russe 5ml 10$ ( my amber )
Fougere Bengale 5ml 10$ ( my gourmand )
L'Eau Trois 10ml 30$ ( my incense )
Carnal Flower 1ml 10$ ( my white floral )

I realize this is an odd combination ( no citruses, leathers, green fragrances, but two roses ), but I think I'd be happy in a pinch with this collection.

Rive Gauche 25
Unbound 12
Cuba red 4
Cuba white 4
Kouros Fraichur, Summer or Tattoo 30
Heritage 25 (that was the cost of my bottle)

where can i get halston unbound retail?

I don't want to name specific fragrances since there are so many but you can compile a nice collection simply from a mix of fragrances from Marshalls or discount sites that sell fragrances like Amazon, scentiments, etc. Stores like Marshalls often get new items and heavily discount them.

$100 is cruel.

If I am forced to, I would resort to tiny decants of: (probably 1.5~2ml of each)

Serge Lutens Gris Clair (my lavender of choice)
Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist OR Divine L'homme de Couer (iris)
Dior Bois d'Argent (incense, honey, iris -- everything I love)
Serge Lutens Chergui (richly honeyed and exotically elegant)
Chanel Coromadel (lovely smooth and refined patchouli + chocolate)
Serge Lutens Vetiver Oriental (let's see.. it's a vetiver oriental!)
Serge Lutens Douce Amere (anise, absinthe)
Guerlain Cologne du 68 (all-rounder)
Guerlain Bois d'Armenie (perfect balsams and woods)
Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille OR Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille (vanilla)
Parfumerie Generale L'oiseau de Nuit (a labdanum favorite, not too heavy)
Parfumerie Generale Aomassai (a very special woody gourmand)
Parfumerie Generale Cuir d'Iris (leather, iris)
Divine L'homme Sage (elegant fruits, spices, incense)
Parfum d'Empire Ambre Russe (so sumptuous!)
Hermessence Ambre Narguile (comfort scent)
Hermessence Vetiver Tonka (vetiver et tonka)
L'artisan Tea for Two (honey, leather, balms, smoke)
L'artisan Bois Farine (peanut butter!)
Armani Prive Bois d'Encens OR Messe de Minuit (incense)

Actually, I think I just listed my wardrobe-to-be.

some of you are addicted how i see this? by buying decants, he would end up with no scents at the end of month
IMO i would buy;
360red
opium
rive gauche
and terre d'hermes

I think the best use of $100 in building a wardrobe would be to go to a fragrance shop and test until you find something you really, really like and then buy . It begins and ends with you loving the fragrance and how it makes you feel to wear it - not the money you are saving. Two or three scents is plenty for a wardrobe and you can find lots of great ones in the $25 - $50 range. Check the discount sites on the net and check the "Items for Sale" here on Basenotes because you will find great fragrances offered for sale all the time here for half price from other benevolent fragrance OCD - "collectors" who are looking to lighten their load and trim their collections a bit.

A couple of good ones would be: Gucci pour Homme and Declaration Essence. But the combinations of 2-3 good fragrances for a nice wardrobe could go on and on. The really important thing is that you love the scent you have chosen and it makes you feel really good wearing it! I would much rather have 2 or 3 that I identify with and "are mine" than 5 cheap fragrances that I sort of like.

Montana Parfum d'Homme--$25
Azzaro pour Homme--$20
Pino Silvestre--$12
Bogart Witness--$12
Caldey Island Lavender--$28

I would take:
kbe's Montana Parfum d'Homme--$25
kbe's Azzaro pour Homme--$20
irish's Heritage--$25

and add:
Giorgio for Men--$30

Bvlgari Aqva
Bvlgari Extreme
Guerlain Vetiver
Hermes Rocabar
JV John Varvatos

Bottles would range 30ml to 100ml but should be right at $100

On thinking about my original choices, I think I'd change it to:

Iris Silver Mist 5ml 20$ ( my iris )
Paestum Rose 5ml 10$ ( my light rose )
C&S No. 88 5ml 10$ ( my heavy rose )
Ambre Russe 5ml 10$ ( my amber )
Fougere Bengale 5ml 10$ ( my gourmand )
CdG Original 5ml 15$ ( my oriental )
L'Eau Trois 5ml 15$ ( my incense )
Carnal Flower 1ml 10$ ( my white floral )


Great list! Every fragrance on that list I either love or haven't tried. I have a lot of sampling to do.

This thread is too PYF with not enough explanation about the choices being made. Or enough links. How about this, assuming we're talking about full bottles:

Bulgari Aqua -- $27 http://www.scentiments.com/Product/S....aspx?id=96949

This is a pleasant aquatic that easily covers summer day and night casual use. It's "fresh" and "clean" without making you smell like every idiot wearing AdG. Excellent longevity and sillage. I have usually found Bulgari fragrances to be underpriced in comparison to their quality, and Bulgari Aqua is no exception.

Caron Le 3e Homme (The Third Man) -- $30 http://www.scentiments.com/Product/S....aspx?id=99716

This is a strong masculine fougere you could easily fit in for summer night formal use, and winter day and night formal use. Caron men's scents are tragically underpriced in relation to their quality. This fragrance is fantastic in any business setting or any time the sun goes down.

Terre D'Hermes -- $45 http://www.amazon.com/Terre-Dhermes-...1103989&sr=8-2

This covers your summer day and night casual use, but you can really wear TDH any time day or night, summer or winter. An unusual bitter citrus and vetiver fragrance that works with anything from t-shirt and jeans up to coat and tie. It's a favorite of this forum for a reason.

That's $102 total, plus shipping. These three fragrances could quite easily cover every occasion. I'd personally buy larger bottles of Aqua and TDH, being a better value for the money, but the sizes linked fit the designated budget.


Haha, $100 is cruel? I realize I'm not an old-timer around here, but suggesting to a newbie that a credible wardrobe has no fewer than 20 fragrances, most of them being niche, is even more cruel.

You should also divulge your computer program for deciding what your SotD should be. I bet it incorporates the current phase of the moon and the closing level of the DJIA.

I like Moltening's approach (the second time, especially!)..... go with a damn nice decant in each major genre. You could easily get 7-10 decants between 5-8ml each for $100, which would give you at least enough time to save money (and plus the exposure to different types of fragrances).

Of course, instead of trying to get a well-rounded wardrobe for $100, I'd just keep saving my cash and buy one good bottle at a time until I had a well rounded wardrobe.

In the spirit of the exercise, and using what I paid from my wardrobe (except for the Mistouko, which I haven't bought yet):

Oriental: Jaipur Homme EdP - $18 (15ml, eBay BIN)
Citrus/Cologne Versace Baby Blue Jeans - $12 (50ml, Ross Dep't Store)
Fougere Polo - $27 (40ml, Perfumania)
Chypre: Misouko EdT - $24 (30ml, various online retailers)

Optional - Gourmand Bath and Body Works Vanilla Noir - $22

Total without the gourmand is $81, with the gourmand it's $103. Instead of the gourmand, Guerlain Vetiver can be purchased for @ $30, giving you a well rounded but sparse wardrobe for $119.

"You should also divulge your computer program for deciding what your SotD should be. I bet it incorporates the current phase of the moon and the closing level of the DJIA."

I can't speak for Moltening, but we have a love for many of the same fragrances, and I don't require any program for deciding my SoTD... I just go with what I feel like when I get out of the shower.

In my suggestions I went with a fragrance from the major genres, I didn't pick two aquatics and a fougere.

You are absolutely correct, the OP will have to do some legwork. If, in the process, he gains the knowledge to make his own choices is that bad?

(BTW, what does Premature Yeast Flocculation have to do with fragrances? It was one of the answers when I googled PYF)

I'm just barely one step above fragrance newbie, and one of the big things I had trouble with was placing different scents in their particular contexts -- although moltening's list is very comprehensive (I could easily recommend it to someone who wanted to explore the continuum of men's fragrances), the list is completely without context. It mentions the what of each fragrance, but not the why. (Also, it only amounts to 30ml or 40ml of fragrance, which doesn't make much of a wardrobe.)

With a nod to bbBD, we could debate whether or not TdH is an "aquatic," but TdH, 3rd Man, and BA give adequate coverage of summer/winter day/night casual/formal, and they're all relatively wearable and safe, which is what the OP asked. If we wanted to instead to cover the major themes, we could always do a PYF aquatic/oriental/chypre/fougere for under $100?

Ungaro III, L instant extreme , Bijan wicked, Lacoste Essential all testers of course and still spare some change.

It would be pretty easy for me since I don't have the extensive wardrobe and knowledge base that most here have. But I could be happy with Lacoste Essential, Tuscany from Aramis and Kenneth Cole Black. If I could squeeze in a small bottle of Dirty English I'd be all set.

I'd scope ebay until I found a poorly-listed authentic 4oz GIT for ~$70, (already done it twice)
which leaves me $10 for a 4oz of Bowling Green,
and $20 for a 2.5oz Multi-Platinum Sean John.

Done.

Vetiver de Guerlain.....$47.00
Bvlgari Aqva...............$30.00
Cuba Gold.................$ 8.00
Burberry London........$29.00

Total.........................$114.00

What do you think???

I recently discovered this site and I'm in a similar, but less restrictive boat. Basically, my take on what to do on a limited budget is to stick with the classics or stuff that I really, really like, not all of which are expensive. I would avoid "drugstore" type scents or buying ubiquitous designer stuff that everyone and their brother is wearing. At a minimum, I would have one cold weather scent and one warm weather scent.

I will give a few recommendations, based on my limited experience that are under $50.

Bonny Doon Farm - Meehan's Bay Rhum. Hands down, the very best inexpensive cologne I've tried. If I had to be stuck with just one cologne, this might be it. Costs about $25, and all natural too.

http://www.bonnydoonfarm.com/catalog/page8.html

Taylor of Old Bond Street - Mr. Taylor

http://www.classicshaving.com/catalo...60/1169987.htm

Dunhill - Dunhill for Men. This is the original Dunhill men's cologne. Now discontinued and no longer in stores but still available at some online retailers.

http://www.beautyencounter.com/40357...html?synertech


One cologne that I've not tried yet but sounds very interesting to me is Monseiur de Givenchy. I have a sample on the way, but I came very close to just ordering it based on the reviews and descriptions alone. Amazon.com and some other places have a 100ml bottle for roughly $40.

Rive Gauche or M7
Mugler Cologne
Guerlain Vetiver

Under 100 and all purpose.

TNMA

Wow, great lists so far. You don't need a lot of $$$ to smell fantastic after all.

My list:
Terre d'Hermes.
Dior Homme.
YSL L'Homme.

Buy them on discount.

The question was what would we do if we only had a hundred dollars to make a selection. Many of us enjoy most of our fragrances through decants rather than full bottles, and I'd rather have twenty niche decants I liked than any amount of cheap fragrances I didn't.

Hrumm, here's a second wardrobe, except this time I'm going to allow myself decants Decant pricing will be derived from a popular decant source that will remain nameless because I don't know if naming it can get me banned.

First: Pick a daily. Depending on your age and daily usage pattern, we'll use as dailies Bulgari Aqua, Terre D'hermes, and Caron Le 3e Homme because they're widely available, versatile, and affordable.

Bulgari Aqua 100ml $38 -- http://www.scentiments.com/Product/S....aspx?id=96975
Terre D'Hermes 10ml decant $10
Caron Le 3e Homme 10ml decant $9

For all the aforementioned reasons. Buy a full bottle of the one you like and 10ml decants of the other two.

Bond No.9 New Haarlem 10ml decant $21
Gucci Envy 10ml decant $7

Next it's time to choose some high quality clubbing and date night scents. New Haarlem is a fantastic gourmand that will do good things out dancing with friends, as can Envy, provided it is applied with a light touch.

Mugler Cologne 10ml decant $9

There are some scents that smell like "clean," and then there's Mugler Cologne, which smells like the world's greatest soap. A lot of people get an Irish Spring accord, but I miss out on that completely and get a citrus/vetiver skin scent that's very intimate. Lasting power and sillage are not great, but it's affordable enough that you can keep the decant with you throughout the day and refresh when needed.

Dior Homme 5ml decant $5

And now for something completely different: Masculine. Floral. It's an enigma; personally, I can't wear the stuff, but on some people it just works.

Total -- somewhere between $100 and $120 depending on which daily you choose.

As far as compiling a list totaling $100, I don't feel like it...

But it would most likely include some of the following:

Dunhill '34
Dunhill 2003
Mugler Cologne
Caron third man
Tommy Hilfiger True Star (!)
Herrera for men
Gendarme
L'Occitane Eau des Baux

Terre d'Hermes ($35)
Versace Homme ($30 for 1 OZ) 2008 OR Polo Double Black (1.36 oz)
Rive Gauche ($20)
Lanvin Arpege ($15) OR Dior Homme (travel mini) OR Opium

That's sad, actually. To think that I could smell that great for just $100. They would probably last me for at least two years! I spend that per month sometimes!

This question brings some needed perspective! It shows me that probably ten bottles would be a reasonable collection that would get used regularly. I might actually use a bottle up!

BUT WHERE ARE THE CREEDS AND BOND NO. 9'S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I need those too!

Creed-Green Irish Tweed 1 oz.- $81.19 plush shipping

Take suggestions from members here....build your $100 wardrobe....and disappear forever from basenotes if you want to stick to spending not more than $100 on buying fragrances

If i had only 100 € ( not dollar ) i would buy here in Germany:

Ysl Rive Gauche pour homme (did buy 125 ml with 60 ml showergel for 35 € )
Terre d´Hermes (100 ml for 65 €) Alternative could be Declaration & Essence from Cartier which is available cheaper for around 50 € so we could buy another frag like 125 ml iceberg twice for 15 € (or lagerfeld photo) as bonus.

/takes out notepad

Versace L'Homme 1.0oz for $15
Rive Gauche PH 2.5oz for $20
Francesco Smalto 3.3oz $16
Claiborne Sport 3.3oz $15
Escada PH 1.3oz $10
Bogart One Man Show 3.3oz $8.50
Zino 1.0oz $15

Not too shabby....

ha--- 8 ounces of Cool Water or 1 ounce of GIT. Tough

I feel qualified to answer this question after several recent discount purchases:

Escada PH 1.3 at $14
Quorum Silver 3.4 at $16
Halston Unbound 3.4 at $19
Tommy Bahama 1.7 at $25
Montana Parfum d'Homme (Red) 4.2 at $26

That's 14 ounces of juice for $100 even. Between them, these 5 scents have 83 positive reviews, 8 neutral reviews and 1 negative review on Basenotes.

I think my $100 would be enough for:

Guerlain Vetiver (2.5)
Opium PH 3.3
Polo (smallest)
1.7 oz. Paco Rabanne
2.5 oz. D&G

but just barely...


OK....maybe I would buy 1-4.....and then shoplift the D&G and run like hell!

Moneysuckle, that's a great idea re the BN ratings. I got: 372 positive, 83 neutral and 63 negative!

one mention of carven homme... I would buy that almost immediately if pinched for money, but I have to agree with those that reco buying decants. If you've got the fragrance infection you can easily shell out 100$ on a few that have you stoked for a few wearings, but then bore you leaving you stuck with trying to flip them on ebay or basenotes..............or............ you get yourself a whole mess of decants and try try try try try. Eventually you are going to find one that drives you so absolutely nuts that you are willing to skip a car payment to have it, and then it is yours, your signature scent, your raison d'etre, and that 100 bucks you spent to find it will be the best investment you've ever made

I'm having a similar problem but I don't have access to many fragrances mentioned here. I'd appreciate if you could help me out:

http://community.basenotes.net/showthread.php?t=227632

Thanks.