Bath & Body Works New Signature Collection for Men

Bath & Body Works will be introducing a new men's line, Signature Collection for Men. Travel-size shower gels are available in all four fragrances for one dollar each. I tried each fragrance, and I am anticipating the introduction of the full line of products.

Ocean's notes are "bergamot, cypress, nutmeg, patchouli, cedarwood and vetiver." Ocean smells pleasant, and I predict that it will be the most popular of the four. However, it is the one that interested me the least. It has an indistinct, white-noise background similar to many Axe products, I suppose from the combination of bergamot, cedar, and vetiver. (As an aside, I wonder if future generations will refer to that structure in the same manner that we speak of chypre today.)

Noir's notes are "sage, coriander, cardamom, white vanilla, vetiver and amber musk." Noir smells much like you would expect a fragrance called "noir" to smell. If you have smelled any designer "noir" fragrances, this is a similar combination of sweet and fresh, perhaps not as sweet as most. I would wear this one gladly if I were given it for a gift, but, for instance, the C.O. Bigelow Barber Elixir Black is better done.

Citron's notes are "crisp bergamot, sage, lemon zest, brisk woods, tonka bean and sandalwood." When I smelled the shower gel in the bottle, I thought that this fragrance was Ocean with a little more lemon. However, when it lathers up, it really blooms. Citrus plus sandalwood may not be a revolutionary accord, but it really fills a niche for me.

Oak's notes are "juniper, cedarwood, clove, patchouli, sandalwood, coffee and musk." Oak is easily my favorite. It is a spicy, leathery, woody powerhouse like Halston Z-14's college-age illegitimate son. Probably not most people's cup of tea, but definitely mine.

Has anyone else tried these fragrances? What do you think?

http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/prod...ductId=4097372

http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/prod...ductId=4097373

http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/prod...ductId=4097374

http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/prod...ductId=4097375

Feel free to shop at Bath & Body Works without any moral qualms whatsoever. Whoever told you about Bath & Body Works' animal testing did not know what he or she was talking about.

From the Bath & Body Works site: "We believe all living creatures deserve respect and would never think of testing any of our products on animals. Likewise, we don't ask anyone who may be helping us develop or make our products to conduct these kinds of tests on our behalf."

http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/help...anDriven=yes#5

That is not just corporate bull, either. Animal-rights group PETA awarded Bath & Body Works its 2007 "Proggy" award for Best Animal-Friendly Retailer.

http://www.peta.org/feat/proggy/2007/winners.asp

This blog explains where the confusion may have come from. Apparently, under UK labeling laws, they must say that the finished product was not tested on animals. For most of the ingredients in personal hygiene products, some company, some where, at some time, has tested it on animals.

I agree with you about the similarity between the Signature Collection for Men and the C. O. Bigelow Barber Elixir line. I think that there must be some corporate strategy white paper that says that four is the ideal number of choices to present to men, and that the universe of men's fragrance breaks down into aquatic/sweet/citrus/spicy.

I will have to try Bulgari Aqua in light of your comparison. Ocean struck me as similar to something, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

I believe that Bath & Body Works' fragrances are outsourced to one of the big fragrance firms. Harry Slatkin seems to me to have no function other than to get on QVC and act over-the-top.

I also agree with you that Bath & Body Works has been striving to go up-market in the last year or two. I think that they are jealous of the higher prices and better margins that Estee Lauder and Lancome command, and they want to head in that direction. The new fragrances are more abstract, more consciously "on-trend," and prices are creeping up, too.

The assistant manager of my local store says that the older line will be discontinued, and that there should be some bargains to be had at semi-annual sale time. However, that word is unofficial, so take it for what it's worth.

You got me so excited! I think that the official roll-out date was supposed to be May 27, but they usually do quietly bring things out a few days early if they have enough shipment in. I called my local store and was told that they were not available now, but that (all?) of the full-size products will be available on Saturday. Some of the full-size products are available this evening on the web site (they weren't there before I went to go work out): http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/prod...ductId=4004118

And the good news for me is that they are buy 3 get 2 or buy 2 get 1, just like the regular Signature line! Finally, men are getting some equal treatment!

I agree with you that Cool Spring == Cool Water and Woodland == Obsession. Not that there's anything wrong with that, if there's a bargain to be had. I also agree with you that the new line has a kind of . . . shall we say "familiar" air about it.

I think that your impressions are perceptive and probably quite accurate.

So, what are your opinions about eau de toilette v. body spray? With the sale going on, I could get five body sprays for about half the price of three bottles of EDT. I know that the EDT would be more concentrated, but do you think that the body sprays would smell just as good? My opinion of the regular signature collection marketed to women is that the body sprays are good enough.

I like those scents, but I like White Citrus even better. What do you think of White Citrus?

After having lived with the fragrances for a week, I am somewhat surprised by my reaction. I bought the eau de toilette rather than the body spray because, sampling in the store, the eau de toilette seemed to have brighter top notes. I also could not resist the glass bottles with the different silk-screened designs on the back. The shape of the bottles remind me a little of Commes des Garcons; does anyone else think so?

I thought that Citron would be my favorite, but it has not turned out that way. It has even less lasting power than most citrus fragrances, and the base notes sort of overwhelm the citrus top notes even in the beginning. It's not bad, and it may end up growing on me, but I expected to like it better.

My previous impression of Oak was spot-on. At times, I get the spicy dry-down of Halston Z-14; at other times, it's more like the chocolate gourmand quality of A*Men. Interesting, unique, and complex for a mall cologne. A little hard to wear, though; too much and it wears you instead.

Last week's sale was buy-2-get-1-free, so I chose Noir as my free one. I agonized over whether to get a backup bottle of Oak or Citron instead, because I had not really been impressed by Noir at first. I eventually decided to try Noir for variety's sake, and I am glad that I did. Sure, everyone these days is doing a fresh-plus-sweet, vanilla-plus-coriander thing and calling it Noir or Black. But apparently that's because it really works in a versatile way. Not too heavy for the office, reminds me of some kind of chai or cappuccino drink.

What I learned from this experiment is that the trial-size shower gels did not give a perfect indication of the fragrance. They helped me narrow down my choices, but they misled me a little, too, especially regarding Noir and Citron.

By the way, the Memorial Day sale this weekend is buy-3-get-3-free, which is basically half off, or $15 a bottle for the cologne. It appears to me from the web site that the deal is mix-and-match with the regular Signature line. Finally, some equal rights for guys from the Bath & Body Works folks!

I have been struggling with Citron since I bought it a couple of weeks ago. It is as if the cologne and the trial-size body wash were two different fragrances. The body wash reminded me of Pacifica's Sandalwood fragrance: essentially lemon plus sandalwood. The cologne is something entirely different.

It took me a few days to discern that the citrus top notes are really grapefruit (not a citron). Then last night it occurred to me that the structure was basically grapefruit plus cedar, just like an old friend of mine, Avon's Perceive for Men. I would bet that both Bath & Body Works and Avon were probably inspired by some other fragrance. Does Citron smell similar to something else to anyone?

I have been wearing that one, and there is something vaguely Axe-y and Ambercrombie-y about it to me.

My personal preference is the EDT. I thought that the body sprays were too short-lived.