I posted an introduction to my blind buy experiment in the Today I Bought thread, and I wanted to share my experience with a forum that has helped me take my first few steps into a scary and exciting world of pleasant smells and empty wallets. I posted "After careful research and a timely tax rebate, I decided it was time to go from a single scent boy (YSL L'Homme) to a well diversified man. From prior experience with the scents, I added HM by Hanae Morie (EDP) and Gucci Envy for men to my wardrobe. The proverbial flood gates were flung wide open, and I went on one heck of a blind buy spree. From suggestions on this forum and from the threads of somethingawful, I ordered Terre D'Hermes, Mugler Cologne, YSL M7, YSL Rive Gauche, Rochas Man, Bvlgari Black, Bvlgari Pour Homme, Bvlgari Aqva, Givenchy Pi, Canali Men, Caron's The Third Man and Paco Rabanne XS. Once I've finished I will make a thread reflecting on what an awesome/horrible experience my blind buy spree was."
I have had a chance to put each scent on my skin for at least a few hours, and what follows is a brief summary of my triumphs and tribulations, told scent by scent. I make no claims to anything but the most rudimentary and crude understanding of the smells and hells that passed through my nostrils, and my thoughts on each fragrance are not going to be peppered (with the exception of Bvlgari PH haha) with any talk of notes this and notes that. This will come later, as of yet I can only share my gut reaction. Some background on me and my climate. I'm a young professional and a grad student, living in the perpetual rain showers of the NW. I hope this thread will bring me feedback and help steer me to plug holes and expand my collection to that of a true hobbyist. And maybe, just maybe, move me one step further from the newb with no nose for notes.
HM by Hanae Mori (EDP)- Love it. The EDT of this scent was my first purchase many years back, and it always seems so soothing to me. Its not a sharp or incredibly masculine scent in my mind, but I feel confident and comfortable when surrounded by its sweet embrace. I have no complaints to share with regards to this fragrance. It no longer is my scent day in and day out, having somehow broke my first two bottles and gone without for so long, but it's back and it's safe. Will wear this in the evenings, but might throw it into the tie/pleated pants/sweater vest rotation.
Envy for Men by Gucci- Love it. My second daily wear and purchase, this one is a wild beast. I don't think I was doing anyone any favors wearing this regardless of weather or situation, but it just smells great on me. Its clean and manly, and the spice that erupts from around my collar whenever I sneak that sniff drive me, and many ladies, wild. Will save this for nights out with familiar women.
L'Homme by YSL- My favorite. This has been my daily wear for about a year now, and it wears me well. A constant compliment magnet, its sweet yet masculine scent usually is enough to push my ego to unbearable levels. I can never see myself without this in my collection. Will wear anytime.
Man by Rochas- Love it. As far as "we in da club where da women at" scents go, its amazing. Its really sweet and it smells like bottled fun. I'm surprised by how "even-handed" so much sweetness can is, its what you folks must be alluding to when you describe something as "balanced". Will save this for seductive warfare sure to violate the Geneva convention.
Rive Gauche by YSL- Love it. Science does it again. Someone figured out how to bottle a straight razor shave at the barbershop. I just feel "classy and clean" while wearing this. A perfect gentleman would wear this, and while it's not how one would describe me, maybe I could hide among them in a cloak of this fragrance. Perfect for work wear, I don't see any situation where I would feel out of place wearing this. Definitely the most wearable of the blind buys.
XS by Paco Rabanne- Love it. Crisp and clean and semi sweet without feeling like someone kicked you in the face. One of the harder scents to describe, I can only say how pleasing it is to have it grace my skin with its presence. Wearable both professionally and anywhere else I would be on my own free will.
Cologne by Mugler- Like it. Reminds me strongly of some soapy thing I smelled walking into the gap as a kid. I know I hated that scent then and it scared me away from that part of the mall for many years, but on my skin its not bad. This is really light and casual, clean too. Well constructed, the only thing keeping it from "love it" is the associated memories.
Black by Bvlgari- Like it. Ever dream of burning rubber on a vanilla paved road? I didn't, but its sure neat to have that scent bottled. This scent is nice and versatile, could be as professional or unprofessional as you want to make it. I found it really strange that the scent never changed, but that will probably by a nice bonus next time you need to spray and run in a hurry--no need to wait for it to settle before someone gets a whiff.
Bvlgari PH by Bvlgari- Like it. Pepper and spice and everything nice. Real casual and unassuming, would make a nice office or "hey now lets just be friends" scent. I don't see any overwhelming complexity here.
Aqva by Bvlgari- Like it. My introduction to the aquatics. Very clean and friendly, and on the handful of sunny warm days we get here in the NW, I can surely see it coming into its own. I wish I had a little more of the "walks on the beach with the sea spray licking your heels" kinda vibe.
Canali Men by Canali- Like it. Doesn't seem to last too long on me, and I wish it had a bit more bite to it. This is a windbreaker of a scent, it does what it does well, but I feel like a bit of a dork in it.
Pi by Givenchy- Undecided. Boy howdy I do love vanilla. And this scent is vanilla. Pretty simple huh? Unfortunately I felt myself wishing for the vanillaness to find a balance with whatever I though was missing, and I can't figure when the heck I would get to spritz myself with this and feel like I made the best choice for the situation given the alternatives I have my paws on.
Terre D'Hermes by Hermes- Meh. I can tell you that something serious is going on here, definitely serious business. Unfortunately I just find myself confused and lost by this scent. It feels like so much is trying to happen all at once and I can't get it to slow down long enough to get my bearings. And the orangeness happens to be a little to pronounced.
The Third Man by Caron- Meh. I can tell this scent is well made, it lasts forever on me and seems to have some old class. Unfortunately, the old class I'm getting from it happens to be my grandfather and his Cadillac. I just can't seem to shake the smell of my grandfather when its constantly saturating my surroundings. I like this scent a lot better when I put my wrist right up to my nose and inhale deep, its well balanced and spicy. But whatever is wafting around is just oldness.
M7 by YSL- Hate it. The second biggest disappointment of this adventure. Its bottled cough syrup, and it comes on so strong. I sensed something trying to fight past the cherry cough syrup, and I kept hoping that spice or whatever elusive scent it was would keep growing stronger. Alas, it did not, and I can't help but feeling I'm missing out on something great here.
Vetiver by Guerlain- Hate it. The biggest disappointment for me, after all I read and read and read I was sure there was a winner here. I guess its not you, its me Mr Guerlain, I just can't handle you. Remember that green gumbi character that the kids watched on tv years past? This is him in a bottle for me. Or liquid playdough. Just not that soapy fresh clean refreshing blast of class I was hoping for. It doesn't smell that well out of the bottle either, and given that all of these scents were purchased online I vow to track down a fresh sample somewhere and give this elusive gem another go.
Whew. That was a lot of typing. If you've made it this far, thanks for reading, and if not, I understand. I have no intention of going back and proofreading this, I'm too exhausted now.
I'm a fiend for the new and the novel, and I hope this post has given a few of you some sense of what pleases my senses, and can point me to where to go next. Today I have built strong foundations for what I hope to be a strong wardrobe of wearables, but I know my collection and knowledge is still fresh and full of holes.
I have had a chance to put each scent on my skin for at least a few hours, and what follows is a brief summary of my triumphs and tribulations, told scent by scent. I make no claims to anything but the most rudimentary and crude understanding of the smells and hells that passed through my nostrils, and my thoughts on each fragrance are not going to be peppered (with the exception of Bvlgari PH haha) with any talk of notes this and notes that. This will come later, as of yet I can only share my gut reaction. Some background on me and my climate. I'm a young professional and a grad student, living in the perpetual rain showers of the NW. I hope this thread will bring me feedback and help steer me to plug holes and expand my collection to that of a true hobbyist. And maybe, just maybe, move me one step further from the newb with no nose for notes.
HM by Hanae Mori (EDP)- Love it. The EDT of this scent was my first purchase many years back, and it always seems so soothing to me. Its not a sharp or incredibly masculine scent in my mind, but I feel confident and comfortable when surrounded by its sweet embrace. I have no complaints to share with regards to this fragrance. It no longer is my scent day in and day out, having somehow broke my first two bottles and gone without for so long, but it's back and it's safe. Will wear this in the evenings, but might throw it into the tie/pleated pants/sweater vest rotation.
Envy for Men by Gucci- Love it. My second daily wear and purchase, this one is a wild beast. I don't think I was doing anyone any favors wearing this regardless of weather or situation, but it just smells great on me. Its clean and manly, and the spice that erupts from around my collar whenever I sneak that sniff drive me, and many ladies, wild. Will save this for nights out with familiar women.
L'Homme by YSL- My favorite. This has been my daily wear for about a year now, and it wears me well. A constant compliment magnet, its sweet yet masculine scent usually is enough to push my ego to unbearable levels. I can never see myself without this in my collection. Will wear anytime.
Man by Rochas- Love it. As far as "we in da club where da women at" scents go, its amazing. Its really sweet and it smells like bottled fun. I'm surprised by how "even-handed" so much sweetness can is, its what you folks must be alluding to when you describe something as "balanced". Will save this for seductive warfare sure to violate the Geneva convention.
Rive Gauche by YSL- Love it. Science does it again. Someone figured out how to bottle a straight razor shave at the barbershop. I just feel "classy and clean" while wearing this. A perfect gentleman would wear this, and while it's not how one would describe me, maybe I could hide among them in a cloak of this fragrance. Perfect for work wear, I don't see any situation where I would feel out of place wearing this. Definitely the most wearable of the blind buys.
XS by Paco Rabanne- Love it. Crisp and clean and semi sweet without feeling like someone kicked you in the face. One of the harder scents to describe, I can only say how pleasing it is to have it grace my skin with its presence. Wearable both professionally and anywhere else I would be on my own free will.
Cologne by Mugler- Like it. Reminds me strongly of some soapy thing I smelled walking into the gap as a kid. I know I hated that scent then and it scared me away from that part of the mall for many years, but on my skin its not bad. This is really light and casual, clean too. Well constructed, the only thing keeping it from "love it" is the associated memories.
Black by Bvlgari- Like it. Ever dream of burning rubber on a vanilla paved road? I didn't, but its sure neat to have that scent bottled. This scent is nice and versatile, could be as professional or unprofessional as you want to make it. I found it really strange that the scent never changed, but that will probably by a nice bonus next time you need to spray and run in a hurry--no need to wait for it to settle before someone gets a whiff.
Bvlgari PH by Bvlgari- Like it. Pepper and spice and everything nice. Real casual and unassuming, would make a nice office or "hey now lets just be friends" scent. I don't see any overwhelming complexity here.
Aqva by Bvlgari- Like it. My introduction to the aquatics. Very clean and friendly, and on the handful of sunny warm days we get here in the NW, I can surely see it coming into its own. I wish I had a little more of the "walks on the beach with the sea spray licking your heels" kinda vibe.
Canali Men by Canali- Like it. Doesn't seem to last too long on me, and I wish it had a bit more bite to it. This is a windbreaker of a scent, it does what it does well, but I feel like a bit of a dork in it.
Pi by Givenchy- Undecided. Boy howdy I do love vanilla. And this scent is vanilla. Pretty simple huh? Unfortunately I felt myself wishing for the vanillaness to find a balance with whatever I though was missing, and I can't figure when the heck I would get to spritz myself with this and feel like I made the best choice for the situation given the alternatives I have my paws on.
Terre D'Hermes by Hermes- Meh. I can tell you that something serious is going on here, definitely serious business. Unfortunately I just find myself confused and lost by this scent. It feels like so much is trying to happen all at once and I can't get it to slow down long enough to get my bearings. And the orangeness happens to be a little to pronounced.
The Third Man by Caron- Meh. I can tell this scent is well made, it lasts forever on me and seems to have some old class. Unfortunately, the old class I'm getting from it happens to be my grandfather and his Cadillac. I just can't seem to shake the smell of my grandfather when its constantly saturating my surroundings. I like this scent a lot better when I put my wrist right up to my nose and inhale deep, its well balanced and spicy. But whatever is wafting around is just oldness.
M7 by YSL- Hate it. The second biggest disappointment of this adventure. Its bottled cough syrup, and it comes on so strong. I sensed something trying to fight past the cherry cough syrup, and I kept hoping that spice or whatever elusive scent it was would keep growing stronger. Alas, it did not, and I can't help but feeling I'm missing out on something great here.
Vetiver by Guerlain- Hate it. The biggest disappointment for me, after all I read and read and read I was sure there was a winner here. I guess its not you, its me Mr Guerlain, I just can't handle you. Remember that green gumbi character that the kids watched on tv years past? This is him in a bottle for me. Or liquid playdough. Just not that soapy fresh clean refreshing blast of class I was hoping for. It doesn't smell that well out of the bottle either, and given that all of these scents were purchased online I vow to track down a fresh sample somewhere and give this elusive gem another go.
Whew. That was a lot of typing. If you've made it this far, thanks for reading, and if not, I understand. I have no intention of going back and proofreading this, I'm too exhausted now.
I'm a fiend for the new and the novel, and I hope this post has given a few of you some sense of what pleases my senses, and can point me to where to go next. Today I have built strong foundations for what I hope to be a strong wardrobe of wearables, but I know my collection and knowledge is still fresh and full of holes.
