I'm a new guy to all of this and I need HELP. Please?!

What you list there looks like a pretty good men's wardrobe already to me. You've got a really nice vetiver, a really nice cologne, a great oriental, a nice lavender, a nice aquatic, a great gentlemen's barbershop frag. And don't let anyone tell you that AdG is a badly made frag. Nothing wrong with the stuff at all. Nice job, man! I'd say, esp if you're concerned about spending money on stuff you're not sure you love, you're right when you suggest that it's time to slow waaaayyy down. Wear, read and write about what you have until you know it really well. Wear things several days in a row until you start to notice how they unfold, and start to notice the little tucked-away notes that are harder to pick up on. Read reviews on BN and elsewhere. Sometimes notes are right there in front of you and they remain invisible until someone whispers 'rosemary' in your ear.
The question of how to continue your education and your wardrobe could be answered a dozen ways. But what I recommend is waiting until you can give a good account of what exactly you like about each frag, so that you can continue collecting with a clear sense of what you'd like more of. You've got a nice start on Guerlain, a great, classical house. Can you find a department store with a full(-ish) line of Guerlain stuff and just go there once a week and spray yourself silly?
The other thing I recommend strongly is finding a source of spices and essential oils. Don't buy 'em, just sniff 'em. Then go back to your wonderful fragrance collection and see what you can pick up.
Welcome to Basenotes. Great start!

it looks like you're only missing a gourmand. check out body kouros.

Hello and welcome to BN!

I actually just underwent the very thing you mention. I got crazy about fragrances, spent a lot of money on typical things (One million, Pure malt, Dreamer, etc.) and have found a breathing point finally. Sounds like you have a great wardrobe so far. One thing that you need to do is have a clear idea of why you actually need to purchase something (I only buy if I know I really love it and it makes a real upgrade to my wardrobe as a whole). Also, I always have a set of friends smell what I'm thinking of dropping a couple of hundred bucks on, to make sure they think it's pleasing and sends the right message. It may be good for you to work with the sampling process on perfumedcourt and keep in mind that fragrance will always be there. I think the most dangerous thought is that we need to possess the bottle immediately. It'll still be there! No worries Let me know if I can be of any more help.

Some things you could use - Pure Malt by Mugler, L'eau d'Issey and I really enjoy Burberry London.

For me, Aqua di Parma is just a nicer version of things like Channel's Allure and other such smells. It's not totally unique. A gourmand is a fragrance that's based in edible components like vanilla or chocolate. Body Kouros is probably the sexiest sweet scent you can find, but I also find it really annoying after the initial spray. Hope that helps!

I also strongly suggest that you buy the paperback book "Perfumes: the A-Z guide" by the fragrance experts and critics Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez. It can be ordered from Amazon for $13.60 U.S. dollars. (Do you live in the U.S.?) It is a very helpful overview of over 1,800 perfumes. I don't always agree with their opinions, but it has helped me to find some fragrances I had never heard of which I now really love, such as Diorella by Christian Dior. This book describes Body Kouros as "licorice rum". (I don't own that fragrance myself.) Have fun on your new adventure!

Experts have been wrong plenty of time before, and Luca Turin's book is just one man's (and one woman's) opinions on certain fragrances, hardly what I'd consider a real guide. But he IS a scent scientist.

You seem to be doing fine on your own, sampling and trying scents. Learn to trust your nose; what you like about a scent is the only thing that matters in the end. But getting friends to check the sillage is a good idea though. Likewise, joining Basenotes to share experience could well be one of the best things you could do for your growing hobby.

Nice wardrobe there, sirsmellzalot. And welcome to Basenotes!

Nicely put sir!
+1

p.s. welcome to basenotes!

I like your wardrobe. You have some of my favorites in there. Take it slowly. Sample many fragrances. Read the review section to see what types of scents are discussed to decide on how you want to sample, but take reviews with a grain of salt, since your tastes may vary quite a bit from any of ours. Avoid going into credit card debt over fragrances.... purchase small samples and decants. Wear them several times before making a decision. Just a few little rules of thumb I personally follow... nothing is cast in stone. Most of all wear what you think smells good, not what someone else tells you smells good. You will probably find that your fragrance appreciation widens with time.

First of all, welcome, sirsmellzalot! Remember that a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.

I echo mrclmind...

Scent connoisseurship is really a long road of exploration and you seem to be well on your way to finding your true "scent self."

Nice wardrobe! My advice is you don't box yourself in with name brands, celebrity endorsements, pricetags, or gender labels. Be open minded. Sniff the juice and make your own decisions to wear or not to wear. Life is short and there are soooo many scents out there.

Again, welcome!

Primrose always speaks wisely...enjoy having her pop into the male posts.

Just be patient with yourself. Learn to fully sample. i.e. Watch out for the in store card spray and making snap judgements on 10 minutes of that scent. Many of these frags don't present their true character for a couple of hours. Get SAs to give you a small vial or get them from TPC, Lucky Scent or others. I've walked away from a couple of scents I've ended up loving based on the in store card spray. AND I've bought a couple I ended up hating the same way.

If you really like the way you smell wearing AdG- then wear it. We can be a bit snobby about the most popular scents just because after a time of doing this we develop unique tastes and style of our own. So will you.

Read reviews in the Directory. Check the forum posts and don't be afraid to ask questions. But don't ask "What scents do women dig?" The answer is all of them. Or none of them.

You've got a nice wardrobe already. It will just get better.

Welcome to Basenotes!!!
Gary

Well Yee Haw. Dallas is home to Nieman Marcus and Creed Country. Get y'all some Boys Do Portugal.

I know what you mean - it doesn't seem to last long. One night I sprayed it on at 8pm and couldn't notice it at midnight. The next day someone told me they smelled it on me at NOON FROM 3 FEET AWAY! Unbelievable! I heard of olfactory fatigue but this felt like a practical joke. The scent will go into stealth mode on your radar but others will get the signal loud and clear!

+1 I believe this may happen more with some scents than others. Be careful. I don't know if it's a Guerlain thing, but I can't tell I'm wearing Habit Rouge a couple of hours after I put it on and it IS indeed still there hours later.