Hello all! This is actually my first post here, but I have been lurking amongst you for some time. I love what you guys have here at BN, and have found it indispensable when it comes to everything about fragrance.
A little about myself (maybe it can influence your suggestions in some way?) - I am 20 years old, studying economics at the University of California, Irvine, here in sunny southern orange county, california. I dont know if looks really factor into fragrance, but if I had to describe my appearance, I've been told that I am "classic handsome". I have a rather prominent, square jaw, facial hair that works pretty nicely for my image (I never grow a beard, just some scruffiness) and broad shoulders/slim waist (I swam for many years). Other than those hobbies of an erudite nature (I read a lot, have an interest in almost every subject, and find economics, the sciences, and literature especially interesting), my activities include a healthy exercise regimen, guitar (I'd love to learn the piano. It's such an elegant instrument. It just has portability issues), and everything else a regular college-age southern californian would typically engage in, which brings me to my question:
I've always loved fragrance in general (I have my mother, and her extensive [and tasteful!] collection of perfume to thank for this) and I've always prided myself on setting myself apart somehow, and I consider good taste in cologne to be a must for any man. I'm getting really sick of spending 30-40 dollars here and there on various designer frags that catch my attention, because I'll never use them all up and I'd rather save the money for one or several niche/luxury scent(s) that I absolutely love and can call my signature.
To give you guys a little more information with which to make your recommendation, I'll break down my preferences into what I love, what I like, what I hate, and what I'm not sure about/willing to learn more about/give another try at.
What I love:
Bulgari Aqua - out of my experience thus far, this scent epitomizes fresh/marine without smelling cheap, ubiquitous, or unoriginal. I've gotten several compliments on it and I love its mature edge, that comes on appealingly, but without being so easy to like that it seems like its begging
Kenneth Cole Black - perhaps my fondness for this fragrance comes more from nostalgia than its actual merit of composition, but I find it, out of many of the mainstream frags out there, to be sufficiently distinct to where it won't be confused, easy to wear, and it always makes me smile when I smell it. Again, I love its freshness
Z by Zegna - a wonderful sport scent (to me, anyway). It comes on firm, sticks around and sings its fresh-y song, then departs to leave you room for your evening scent.
Banana Republic Cordovan - I dont actually own this, but I bought a miniature with the intention of expanding my tastes in fragrances, and I was thoroughly impressed. It was spicy, woody, more mature, and a bit thicker/intense, without the annoying sweetness/old-man-smell that I tend to associate with mature fragrances
What I like:
Truth by Calvin Klein - this is the first cologne I ever really used for a significant amount of time, so it holds a special place in my heart. Its a bit grassy, which I always appreciate in a fragrance
Versace Man Eau Fraiche - its probably not ground-breaking, but I like its slightly sweeter edge on the mainstream "idea"
Versace Pour Homme - classy marine
Clubman by Truefitt & Hill - this smells pretty different, and has a bit of class to it. I admit that I dont wear this one that often.
L'Homme by YSL - sweeter, more mature, but still retaining a youthful zest that I adore
Vera Wang for men - like L'homme, but even more so, with some woody/spiciness thrown in
Versace Man - normally I'd consider this very much against my grain, but it has a sophisticated maturity and masculinity (my mother attributed it to the tobacco note) that I find interesting, without resorting too overly sweet and incense-like, which I consider un-masculine
Canali Men - safe, fresh, possibly generic? A bit classy
Canali Black diamond - mature, yet fresh. Dries down to a bland sweetness, though. There's probably better fragrances out there in this vein.
Brooks Brothers new york for men - tartly citrusy, powdery. It smells like brooks brothers all the way through. Might make a better aftershave than an actual fragrance, though.
Creed - I am impressed with MI, GIT, SMW, and Himalaya. I have sample vials of all, and will be trying them out one by one to see how I feel. I assumed these would be some of the first recommendations you guys would give
Abercrombie Fierce - I wore this for a while, before everything it stands for and its sheer ubiquity/immaturity put me off. I found the bottle extremely tasteless as well
What I hate:
Le male: I really dont get the hype. Aside from the tacky (on par with abercrombie fierce) supremely homoerotic bottle, I find the fragrance to be powdery and androgynous. Not masculine in any way
Angel Men: I suppose gourmands in general are a love it or hate it type of thing, but I never associated sweet/candy/chocolate/etc as masculine in any way
Narcisso Rodriguez for men: whenever I smell something I dont like, I usually just put it down. I recoiled from this stuff.
What I'm not sure about:
Prada Infusion pour Homme: It really just smells like soap. One of my friends commented that it reminded her of the expensive hotels her family stays in when they vacation in europe. I cant tell if it's feminine or masculine or neither. Im on the fence with this one.
*If you guys can recommend a gourmand that doesnt smell so obviously of pastries and sweets and whatever it is, ill give that a try too*
As you can tell, I tend to lean towards fresh/aquatic/slightly herbal fragrances (some might accuse me of following the mainstream. But, like hit songs, mainstream is successful for a reason). I dont see a reason that fresh/aquatic/herbal cant be as unique and classy as some of the more traditional style scents. I consider vera wang, l'homme, and versace man all to be departures from the strict formula of "fresh success", so that leads me to believe my possibilities are wider than I initially thought. I have been told that I should try wall street by bond no. 9, as it tends to be similar to creed's MI (which i find endearing, but it apparently has longevity issues?), and I should give the rest of their line a try as well. When it comes down to it, I'll smell anything and give anything a test spray. Do not hesitate to recommend something that might be a bit unusual, if you think there's a chance I would like it. If possible, please provide a retailer where I can order a bottle/sample of the fragrance. Thanks so much for your time, guys! I look forward to becoming a regular here.
Edit: does this belong in the mens section?
A little about myself (maybe it can influence your suggestions in some way?) - I am 20 years old, studying economics at the University of California, Irvine, here in sunny southern orange county, california. I dont know if looks really factor into fragrance, but if I had to describe my appearance, I've been told that I am "classic handsome". I have a rather prominent, square jaw, facial hair that works pretty nicely for my image (I never grow a beard, just some scruffiness) and broad shoulders/slim waist (I swam for many years). Other than those hobbies of an erudite nature (I read a lot, have an interest in almost every subject, and find economics, the sciences, and literature especially interesting), my activities include a healthy exercise regimen, guitar (I'd love to learn the piano. It's such an elegant instrument. It just has portability issues), and everything else a regular college-age southern californian would typically engage in, which brings me to my question:
I've always loved fragrance in general (I have my mother, and her extensive [and tasteful!] collection of perfume to thank for this) and I've always prided myself on setting myself apart somehow, and I consider good taste in cologne to be a must for any man. I'm getting really sick of spending 30-40 dollars here and there on various designer frags that catch my attention, because I'll never use them all up and I'd rather save the money for one or several niche/luxury scent(s) that I absolutely love and can call my signature.
To give you guys a little more information with which to make your recommendation, I'll break down my preferences into what I love, what I like, what I hate, and what I'm not sure about/willing to learn more about/give another try at.
What I love:
Bulgari Aqua - out of my experience thus far, this scent epitomizes fresh/marine without smelling cheap, ubiquitous, or unoriginal. I've gotten several compliments on it and I love its mature edge, that comes on appealingly, but without being so easy to like that it seems like its begging
Kenneth Cole Black - perhaps my fondness for this fragrance comes more from nostalgia than its actual merit of composition, but I find it, out of many of the mainstream frags out there, to be sufficiently distinct to where it won't be confused, easy to wear, and it always makes me smile when I smell it. Again, I love its freshness
Z by Zegna - a wonderful sport scent (to me, anyway). It comes on firm, sticks around and sings its fresh-y song, then departs to leave you room for your evening scent.
Banana Republic Cordovan - I dont actually own this, but I bought a miniature with the intention of expanding my tastes in fragrances, and I was thoroughly impressed. It was spicy, woody, more mature, and a bit thicker/intense, without the annoying sweetness/old-man-smell that I tend to associate with mature fragrances
What I like:
Truth by Calvin Klein - this is the first cologne I ever really used for a significant amount of time, so it holds a special place in my heart. Its a bit grassy, which I always appreciate in a fragrance
Versace Man Eau Fraiche - its probably not ground-breaking, but I like its slightly sweeter edge on the mainstream "idea"
Versace Pour Homme - classy marine
Clubman by Truefitt & Hill - this smells pretty different, and has a bit of class to it. I admit that I dont wear this one that often.
L'Homme by YSL - sweeter, more mature, but still retaining a youthful zest that I adore
Vera Wang for men - like L'homme, but even more so, with some woody/spiciness thrown in
Versace Man - normally I'd consider this very much against my grain, but it has a sophisticated maturity and masculinity (my mother attributed it to the tobacco note) that I find interesting, without resorting too overly sweet and incense-like, which I consider un-masculine
Canali Men - safe, fresh, possibly generic? A bit classy
Canali Black diamond - mature, yet fresh. Dries down to a bland sweetness, though. There's probably better fragrances out there in this vein.
Brooks Brothers new york for men - tartly citrusy, powdery. It smells like brooks brothers all the way through. Might make a better aftershave than an actual fragrance, though.
Creed - I am impressed with MI, GIT, SMW, and Himalaya. I have sample vials of all, and will be trying them out one by one to see how I feel. I assumed these would be some of the first recommendations you guys would give
Abercrombie Fierce - I wore this for a while, before everything it stands for and its sheer ubiquity/immaturity put me off. I found the bottle extremely tasteless as well
What I hate:
Le male: I really dont get the hype. Aside from the tacky (on par with abercrombie fierce) supremely homoerotic bottle, I find the fragrance to be powdery and androgynous. Not masculine in any way
Angel Men: I suppose gourmands in general are a love it or hate it type of thing, but I never associated sweet/candy/chocolate/etc as masculine in any way
Narcisso Rodriguez for men: whenever I smell something I dont like, I usually just put it down. I recoiled from this stuff.
What I'm not sure about:
Prada Infusion pour Homme: It really just smells like soap. One of my friends commented that it reminded her of the expensive hotels her family stays in when they vacation in europe. I cant tell if it's feminine or masculine or neither. Im on the fence with this one.
*If you guys can recommend a gourmand that doesnt smell so obviously of pastries and sweets and whatever it is, ill give that a try too*
As you can tell, I tend to lean towards fresh/aquatic/slightly herbal fragrances (some might accuse me of following the mainstream. But, like hit songs, mainstream is successful for a reason). I dont see a reason that fresh/aquatic/herbal cant be as unique and classy as some of the more traditional style scents. I consider vera wang, l'homme, and versace man all to be departures from the strict formula of "fresh success", so that leads me to believe my possibilities are wider than I initially thought. I have been told that I should try wall street by bond no. 9, as it tends to be similar to creed's MI (which i find endearing, but it apparently has longevity issues?), and I should give the rest of their line a try as well. When it comes down to it, I'll smell anything and give anything a test spray. Do not hesitate to recommend something that might be a bit unusual, if you think there's a chance I would like it. If possible, please provide a retailer where I can order a bottle/sample of the fragrance. Thanks so much for your time, guys! I look forward to becoming a regular here.
Edit: does this belong in the mens section?
for an excellent 1st/Intro post! You seem to like lighter, marine, citrus, and sporty scents, which makes sense given your So. Cal. residence. Since you love Z by Zegna so much, have you tried Essenza di Zegna? I'm just about done with my bottle of this, and it is an excellent scent; check out the reviews in the directory. Amidst many other possible recs, I would also urge you to try the following, both difficult to find (i.e., unlikely to be worn by anyone around you, ever...)
I got 2 x 200 bottles of the Iris tester.
