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The BEST of...(designer houses)

post #1 of 47
2/1/10 at 2:08am
Thread Starter 
:P
(alternatively titled, "If you can ony choose one from each, it would be...)

In order to limit (as if) my collection I try to only buy 1 frag from each house (well, my wardrobe says otherwise, but the doubles there were bought prior to my "1-per-house" rule)
Was looking thru my wardrobe and seems I haven't got any from the houses below.
Any suggestions? Sort of building a wishlist for 2010.
<< by the way, no need to mention "it's-up-to-yous" and "test/sample all you can", etc. I'm posting this to check for suggestions >> . Side note, TPC doesn't ship here, so decanting suggestions are useless And no "niches-are-the-best" snobs please, there are few niche house choices here...And I prefer purchasing retail rather than online

Back to the houses I'm interested in:

Armani
Burberry
Calvin Klein
Cartier
Dior
Davidoff
Escada
Kenzo
Hugo Boss
Tommy Hilfiger

These brands are more available here, and the replies (what frags and why, in your opinion) will provide me sniff suggestions Thanks guys much!
*btw, i want MattFoo to chime in on this, we have very similar weather and that's one of my considerations in wearing frags :P
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post #2 of 47
2/1/10 at 2:20am
Dior --- Eau Sauvage
Armani---Armani Eau

I don't care all that much for the other houses.
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post #3 of 47
2/1/10 at 3:13am
Non-niche best of:

Armani = White Him
Burberry = London Men
Calvin Klein = Contradiction Men
Cartier = Declaration
Dior = Fahrenheit Absolute
Davidoff = N/A
Escada = Homme
Kenzo = Power
Hugo Boss = Baldessarini
Tommy Hilfiger = N/A
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post #4 of 47
2/1/10 at 3:37am
  • Armani - Eau Pour Homme
  • Burberry - Brit
  • Calvin Klein - N/A
  • Cartier - Pasha
  • Dior - Eau Sauvage
  • Davidoff - Zino
  • Escada - Homme
  • Kenzo N/A
  • Hugo Boss - Number One
  • Tommy Hilfiger - Tommy Girl
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post #5 of 47
2/1/10 at 3:52am
Armani - (Black) Code
Burberry - Brit men
Calvin Klein - Ck Be
Dior - Homme
Davidoff - Cool Water
Kenzo - Amour and Junge L'Elephant, both for women (L'Elephant is imo unisex but cloying in your weather)
Hugo Boss - Bottled (sometimes this one is called no. 6)
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post #6 of 47
2/1/10 at 4:19am
Cartier - Santos and Santos Concentrée
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post #7 of 47
2/1/10 at 4:34am
I fully second APH

also, best male frags from Chanel, IMHO- Pour Monsieur and Antaeus
Versace- Versace L'Homme
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post #8 of 47
2/1/10 at 5:01am
Armani = Eau pour Homme
Burberry = London for Men
Calvin Klein = Calvin
Cartier = Santos Concentree
Dior = Jules
Davidoff = Davidoff (1984)
Escada = Homme
Kenzo = Kenzo pour Homme
Hugo Boss = No. 1
Tommy Hilfiger = Hilfiger Athletics
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post #9 of 47
2/1/10 at 5:04am
Burberry - London for Men
Kenzo - Power
Hugo Boss - Boss Bottled (1998)
Tommy Hilfiger -Hilfiger Athletics (discontinued)
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post #10 of 47
2/1/10 at 5:22am
My selection does not necessarily represent the best from each house but IMO worth > a sniff

Armani --- Eau Pour Homme
Burberry --- London for Men
Calvin Klein --- Obsession for women
Cartier --- Declaration
Dior --- Homme
Davidoff --- Silver Shadow Altitude
Escada --- Homme
Kenzo --- Jungle L'Elephant
Hugo Boss --- XY
Tommy Hilfiger --- Tommy Girl

*waiting for Matt to chime in too*
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post #11 of 47
2/1/10 at 5:39am
Armani - Code or Black Code - classy stuff which always draws compliments;
Dior - Eau Sauvage - a classic which, in my opinion, is as good as just about any high-end niche;
Davidoff - Cool Water, Zino or Echo - Cool Water cos it's basically GIT but cheaper (MUCH cheaper), Zino because it's so unique, Echo because it is, IMO, a unique ozonic/aquatic;
Hugo Boss - Boss Bottled or Energise - both of these are great mpdern frags without being aquatic.

I see a few people have recommended Boss Number 1 - just a quick warning from an HB aficionado, I find Number 1 to be a horrible and stereotypical 80s powerhouse, so it largely depends on how old you are, what kind of guy you are and what kind of frag genre you like. If you generally don't like 80s powerhouses, then Number 1 is not for you.
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post #12 of 47
2/1/10 at 6:14am
  • MFJ
  • offline
  • Gender:
*Humbly chiming-in*

I can hear someone saying :"Anti-snobbery is snobbery" :winks: :grins:


Burberry = Original Burberry(Red box) for men
Calvin Klein = Obsession/Obsession for men/Calvin
Cartier = Must de Cartier (ladies)
Dior = too many favorites, but at the moment Diorissimo.
Davidoff = Cool Water
Escada = Homme (I cannot believe how this is on a much different level compared to the other Escada scents I've tried. Another I tried was Magnetism for ladies, which I find to be not bad. A little too thin for my liking, but it bears certain similar smelling qualities to Red Aoud - which I love. For the record, I didn't mean to compare them in the context of designer vs niche.)
Kenzo = Time for peace pour lui (try this before it disappears! Totally fitting for our weather)
Hugo Boss = Boss Selection

I hope this helps, it was very nice to feel appreciated. Thanks Funhuntr and DF!

Edit: Funhuntr, I am aware you may have access to some older frags, possibly vintage versions of some. I recommend (but I am no vintage-snob ) the vintage version of Diorissimo (while you're with dior, do also consider sampling the vintage Poison esprit de parfum), preferably in my case the parfum - it is not over-powering. Also the vintage version of must de cartier EDT. They are also possibly more affordable than current stock. Believe me when I say that I only suggest the vintage formulations or specific concentrations because I have found them to be of a more substantial quality (compared to the current), while maintaining a very good level of wearability in our weather.
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post #13 of 47
2/1/10 at 6:39am
Armani - Code
Burberry - Brit
Calvin Klein - ck be
Cartier - L'Essence de Must de Cartier
Dior - Eau Sauvage
Davidoff - Silver Shadow Altitude and Cool Water
Escada - n/a
Kenzo - Power
Hugo Boss - No.6
Tommy Hilfiger - Tommy (1994)

U forgot YSL !
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post #14 of 47
2/1/10 at 6:42am
Cartier - Santos and Santos Concentrée
+1
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post #15 of 47
2/1/10 at 6:42am
Hmm, I don't have too much of an experience on designers, but :

Armani : Emporio Diamonds
Burberry : London
Calvin Klein : Calvin (Original)
Cartier : Declaration
Dior : Homme Cologne
Davidoff : Zino
Escada : Pour Homme
Kenzo : Power
Hugo Boss : Selections
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post #16 of 47
2/1/10 at 8:00am
Armani Acqua di Gio pour Homme
Burberry London for Men
Calvin Klein Obsession for Men
Cartier Eau de Cartier
Dior Dior Homme
Davidoff Zino Davidoff
Escada Escada pour Homme
Kenzo Kenzo pour Homme
Hugo Boss Boss Number One
Tommy Hilfiger Tommy
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post #17 of 47
2/1/10 at 11:27am
Armani - Eau Pour Homme
Burberry - London
Calvin Klein - Obsession
Cartier - Pasha
Dior - Fahrenheit
Davidoff - Zino
Escada - N/A
Kenzo - Pour Homme
Hugo Boss - N/A
Tommy Hilfiger - N/A
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post #18 of 47
2/1/10 at 11:43am
Armani Code for me.....
Burberry Brit.....
Cartier Roadster.....
Calvin.....Eternity
Dior.....Fahrenheit 32
Kenzo.....Pour Homme
Gary
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post #19 of 47
2/1/10 at 12:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by funhuntr View Post

Armani - Eau pour homme
Burberry - london
Calvin Klein - MAN
Cartier - must de cartier essence
Dior - eau sauvage
Davidoff - cool water
Escada - casual friday
Kenzo - l'eau par kenzo ph
Hugo Boss - used to like hugo, now nothing
Tommy Hilfiger - athletics

I tend to like citrus and aromatic herbs more than anything else in fragrances.
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post #20 of 47
2/1/10 at 12:22pm
Armani - Eau pour Homme.
Burberry - London.
Calvin Klein - Obsession.
Cartier - Eau de Cartier.
Dior - Eau Sauvage.
Davidoff - Zino.
Escada - Homme.
Kenzo - Power.
Hugo Boss - Baldessarini.
Tommy Hilfiger - None.
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post #21 of 47
2/1/10 at 12:49pm
Burberry - London for Men
Cartier - L'Essence de Déclaration and Santos
Dior - Eau Sauvage & Homme
Davidoff - Cool Water
Hugo Boss - Hugo (widely panned around here, but a favorite in my youth)
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post #22 of 47
2/1/10 at 2:13pm
Wow, I'm slightly suprised by all the love for Zino!
I personally like Bri, Code, One (summer versions), Obviously COOL WATER, a whole bunch by Dior, with Homme just a bit ahead.
Boss Bottled is very nice, too, as is Baldessarini Ambre, albeit I'm not sure it still belonged to boss at that time..
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post #23 of 47
2/1/10 at 2:23pm
Armani - Emporio Armani Night
Burberry - London
Dior - Homme , Fahrenheit Absolute
Calvin Klein - Obsession
Cartier - Declaration Essence
Davidoff - Zino ( no contest )
Escada - Magnetism
Kenzo - L'Eau Par Kenzo Ice
Hugo Boss- Bottled
Tommy Hilfiger - T
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post #24 of 47
2/1/10 at 2:25pm
Armani:Black Code.
Burberry:Brit for Men.
Calvin Klein:Obsession for Men.
Cartier:Santos Eau de Sport (HEAVYWEIGHT green here...)
Dior:Homme Sport.
Davidoff:No Relax mentioned yet?
Escada:My best blind buy ever:Casual Friday.
Kenzo:Time for Peace for Him.
Hugo Boss:Boss Sport.
Tommy Hilfiger:-
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post #25 of 47
2/1/10 at 2:38pm
Burberry: They're mostly all good (I own 4), but Burberry for men (the original London) slightly outclasses the others. My first Burberry purchase was Brit though. Really good stuff as well.

Gucci: Gucci Pour Homme 2, with a VERY honorable mention of Envy

Cartier: L'Essence de Déclaration. The best out of the Declaration bunch. Better, imo, than Terre D'Hermes.
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post #26 of 47
2/1/10 at 2:50pm
Armani - Attitude
Burberry - London
Calvin Klein - Intense Euphoria
Dior - Fahrenheit
Davidoff - Zino
Hugo Boss - Baldessarini
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post #27 of 47
2/1/10 at 3:48pm
I'd go with...

Armani - Code
Burberry - London
Calvin Klein - Euphoria
Cartier - Not sure
Dior - Dior Homme
Davidoff - Cool Water
Escada - Magnetism
Kenzo - Power
Hugo Boss - Boss in motion
Tommy Hilfiger - Not sure
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post #28 of 47
2/1/10 at 4:58pm
Calvin Klein- Obsession for Men/ One
Cartier- Declaration
Dior- Dior Homme/ Eau Sauvage
Davidoff- Cool Water (even though I hate it)

I dont know the other houses well enough/ dont like them.
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post #29 of 47
2/1/10 at 5:22pm
My selections:

Armani - nothing
Burberry - London
Calvin Klein - Euphoria Intense
Cartier - Declaration
Dior - Fahrenheit Absolute
Davidoff - Zino
Escada - Homme
Kenzo - Power
Hugo Boss - Baldessarini
Tommy Hilfiger - nothing
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post #30 of 47
2/1/10 at 6:23pm
Thread Starter 
Hi Jonny! I didn't forget YSL, I left it out on purpose. It's already represented in my 'drobe by Rive Gauche

Quote:
Originally Posted by JoNnY 4 View Post

Armani - Code
Burberry - Brit
Calvin Klein - ck be
Cartier - L'Essence de Must de Cartier
Dior - Eau Sauvage
Davidoff - Silver Shadow Altitude and Cool Water
Escada - n/a
Kenzo - Power
Hugo Boss - No.6
Tommy Hilfiger - Tommy (1994)

U forgot YSL !
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post #31 of 47
2/1/10 at 6:37pm
Armani - Armani Eau Pour Homme
Cartier - Declaration
Dior - Eau Sauvage, Fahrenheit, Dior Homme
Kenzo - Kenzo Pour Homme
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post #32 of 47
2/1/10 at 8:28pm
Burberry London
ck be
Dior Eau Sauvage
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post #33 of 47
2/1/10 at 8:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by funhuntr View Post

Hi Jonny! I didn't forget YSL, I left it out on purpose. It's already represented in my 'drobe by Rive Gauche

No wonder, RG would definitely be my choice from YSL too
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post #34 of 47
2/1/10 at 9:29pm
Armani - Prive, Amber Soie or Bois D'Encens
Burberry - Brit
Calvin Klein - ?
Cartier - Le Essence de Must de Cartier
Dior - Homme
Davidoff - Adventure
Escada - Homme
Kenzo - ?
Hugo Boss - Have not smelled any I like yet.
Tommy Hilfiger - nothing
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post #35 of 47
2/1/10 at 9:31pm
Armani - Code
Burberry - London
Calvin Klein - Euphoria Intense
Dior - Homme
Davidoff - Echo
Hugo Boss - Bottle No. 6
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post #36 of 47
2/2/10 at 2:28am
Armani - Armani Eau pour Homme
Burberry - Burberry Brit for Men
Calvin Klein - Calvin (1981)
Cartier - L'Essence de Declaration
Dior - Dior Homme
Davidoff - Zino Davidoff
Escada - Escada pour Homme
Kenzo - Kenzo Jungle pour Homme
Hugo Boss - Badessarini Concentree
Tommy Hilfiger - Tommy
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post #37 of 47
2/2/10 at 4:28am
Can't believe I forgot Hugo Boss's Baldessarini. It's probably one of Hugo's better releases.
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post #38 of 47
2/2/10 at 7:58am
Armani - Code For Men
Burberry - London For Men
Calvin Klein - Euphoria Intense For Men
Cartier - Declaration
Dior - Homme Intense
Davidoff - Cool Water
Escada - Sunset Heat
Kenzo - Power
Hugo Boss - Boss Bottled (#6)
Tommy Hilfiger - Tommy
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post #39 of 47
2/2/10 at 10:04am
Armani --- Eau Pour Homme
Burberry --- Brit for Men
Calvin Klein --- Euphoria Intense
Cartier --- L'Essence de Must de Cartier
Dior --- Fahrenheit
Davidoff --- Silver Shadow Altitude
Hugo Boss --- XY
Escada ---
Kenzo ---
Tommy Hilfiger ---
- Not smelt enough of these last 3 to comment

I was thinking of starting a thread asking which of these brands available in every department store had really produced 'Basenoter Approved' new fragrances in the last decade, and who needed to raise their game after giving us 10 years of dross and flankers...
(along with Chanel, Guerlain, Givenchy, YSL, Hermes, Joop, Gucci, D&G, Donna Karan, Diesel, Issey Miyake, Paul Smith, Paco Rabanne, Carolina Herrera etc etc etc)

I thought of doing it after reading another thread where someone gave the opinion that its been a poor decade for Designer frags.

There seems to be quite a few nominated already in this thread from the 2000's
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post #40 of 47
2/2/10 at 9:08pm
Thread Starter 
@Andym27
Well, this post can get you started. This is really just for my personal sniff-fest this 2010 but I did like to get an idea what designer frags sort of found favor within the community just to start off. This might also be a good starting point for those newbies too, or those with limited access to fragrances. I can imagine some people here being based in countries with a good distribution of both designer and niche brands, and have online and retail access, but for some people that's just not the case.

By the way, going thru the posts, is it just me or there seems to be quite a few who don't give a ** about Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss and Tommy H. ?

<< I did sort of foresee this already, I see quite a few disses of their releases on the boards...I am leaning towards Calvin Klein's original Calvin though (but it might be too old-powerhouse, ick that sucks in tropical weather) or CKBe (coz I missed the whole hoopla about CKOne and CKBe, I was still a student with no disposable income during their heyday), Hugo Boss's Bottled (6? The silver bottle) and Tommy's Athletics (just because it's discontinued...and I'm looking for an after-gym scent)...>>
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post #41 of 47
2/2/10 at 9:17pm
Armani - Code
Burberry - London for Men
Calvin Klein - Obsession for Men
Cartier - Santos
Dior - Eau Sauvage
Davidoff - Zino
Escada - Escada pour Homme
Kenzo - N/A (not familiar with Kenzo frags)
Hugo Boss - Deep Red
Tommy Hilfiger - Tommy 10
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post #42 of 47
2/2/10 at 10:58pm
Armani - Diamonds for Men
Burberry - Brit for Men
Cartier - Roadster
Hugo Boss - Baldessarini Ambré
Tommy Hilfiger - Tommy
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post #43 of 47
2/2/10 at 11:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by funhuntr View Post

By the way, going thru the posts, is it just me or there seems to be quite a few who don't give a ** about Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss and Tommy H. ?

<< I did sort of foresee this already, I see quite a few disses of their releases on the boards...I am leaning towards Calvin Klein's original Calvin though (but it might be too old-powerhouse, ick that sucks in tropical weather) or CKBe (coz I missed the whole hoopla about CKOne and CKBe, I was still a student with no disposable income during their heyday), Hugo Boss's Bottled (6? The silver bottle) and Tommy's Athletics (just because it's discontinued...and I'm looking for an after-gym scent)...>>

It's the same with me too haha. When I was a teenager most of my frags were the almost empty bottles handed to me by my dad and as like u a lack of disposable income made me unable to hop onto the ckone and ckbe bandwagon that was really big when we were teens. A few months after discovering BN i started appreciating the very commonly worn stuff like ckone and ckbe. I am now a fan of both. But I am still unable to appreciate any of the Hugo frags.
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post #44 of 47
2/3/10 at 12:20am
Annick Gotal, F. Malle, Kilian. Maybe Byredo?
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post #45 of 47
2/3/10 at 3:25am
Armani EAU POUR HOMME
Burberry BURBERRY FOR MEN VERSION 2
Calvin Klein OBSESSION FOR WOMEN
Cartier DECLARATION ESSENCE
Dior POIS0N
Davidoff ZINO
Escada ESCADA POUR HOMME
Kenzo TIME FOR PEACE FOR HIM
Hugo Boss BALDESSARINI
Tommy Hilfiger FREEDOM FOR HER
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post #46 of 47
2/3/10 at 3:31am
My Decisions thus far;

In No Particular Order

1. Chanel - Antaeus.
2. Dior - Fahrenheit.
3. Hermes - Terre'd Hermes.
4. Armani - Armani Pour Homme.
5. Dolce And Gabanna - D&G Pour Homme.
6. Calvin Klein - Obsession.
7. Tommy - Tommy For Men.
8. Davidoff - Zino.
9. Cartier - Declaration.
10. Dior - Eau Sauvage.
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post #47 of 47
2/3/10 at 8:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by funhuntr View Post

By the way, going thru the posts, is it just me or there seems to be quite a few who don't give a ** about Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss and Tommy H. ?

In a word, yes I think because most Tommy H releases aren't new or 'original', they tend to be seasonal rehashes of the original Tommy for Men that dont improve on the original (known as Flankers in BN jargon, presumably because of the Flanking manoeuvre in battle, the same army coming at you at a slightly different angle...). CK and Boss are also Flanker mad, but in addition they subscribe to the 'quantity not quality' method of creating scents, they crank out new scents at an astounding rate. The phrase 'throw everything at the wall and see what sticks' comes to mind There are only a few gems amongst a lot of duds...
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