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Fragrances that you can't tolerate the horrible top notes to get to the great drydown!

post #1 of 32
8/26/10 at 7:02am
Thread Starter 
Fragrances that you can't tolerate the horrible top notes to get to the great drydown!

Well for me it would have to be these:

-Versace The Dreamer
I can't get past the paint thinner + fabric softner detergent opening to get to the amazing drydown everyone loves. I have had to clean it off every time I have tried it. And to think I almost blind bought it.

-Tom Ford's Tobaco Vanille
I do really like this scent once the tobacco takes a breather but it plays for 3 of the 4 quarters of the game. This one made me realize I'm not a tobacco fan... maybe cause I don't smoke. Everyone on youtube thought I was going to love this fragrance.

-YSL Kouros
I'm sure some of you saw this coming. I HATE the urinal/piss opening sooooo much that I have never smelled the dry down ONCE. I have heard time and time again that the dry down is great but I refuse to even think of getting past 15 mins of wearing this for anything.


I know eveyrone has some fragrances that would fall into this catagory... Please share and no biting your tongue!
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post #2 of 32
8/26/10 at 7:04am
Fahrenheit Absolute - I detest the super-strong oud opening. It just smells of dead animal to me! The drydown is lovely though.
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post #3 of 32
8/26/10 at 7:12am
Bvlgari Black.

Smelling like a hot smouldering rubber tire for about an hour is a bit annoying. Love the drydown though, like a really silky smooth smokey vanilla.
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post #4 of 32
8/26/10 at 7:18am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Smeghead View Post

Bvlgari Black.

Smelling like a hot smouldering rubber tire for about an hour is a bit annoying. Love the drydown though, like a really silky smooth smokey vanilla.

I kind of like the opening to that now. Lol I tried to wear it like a month ago in 98 degree heat. <--- No good!
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post #5 of 32
8/26/10 at 7:20am
For me, probably Versace Blue Jeans. The opening is a little too sweet or something and it irks me until the midway point. The drydown is the best part for me on that one.
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post #6 of 32
8/26/10 at 7:31am
I think the mid and base notes of Parfum d'Habit and Mouchoir de Monsieur are good enough for the wait.
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post #7 of 32
8/26/10 at 7:53am
Two scents with the same problem, though not horrible at all: too strong rose. Amouage Lyric Man, and Montale Louban. The drydown of these both is extremely nice, what's more they are quite similar. But I can't get through the initial rose blast. Perhaps Louban is not a so strong rose, so I've been experiencing with a sample for about 2 weeks. The drydown in itself is bottle-worthy, hands down.
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post #8 of 32
8/26/10 at 8:24am
If you don't like the opening of Kouros I doubt you would like the drydown. The opening is my favorite part.
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post #9 of 32
8/26/10 at 8:26am
I kept hearing about how bad the opening of The Dreamer was, but that it was worth it to get to the dry down. Oddly enough, the top wasn't as bad as I was expecting, but also unfortunately the base wasn't as good as I was expecting either.

I think the one for me that fits your description to me though is Live Jazz. I really like the heart and base, but wow that top (coriander/cilantro?) is just a bit much for me.
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post #10 of 32
8/26/10 at 8:38am
Dreamer, Bvlgari Black, and Fahrenheit.

What surprised me was Angel's Men top notes weren't as bad as I read about. I mostly get a burnt caramel smell rather than the tar note.
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post #11 of 32
8/26/10 at 8:42am
Montale Cuir D'Arabie. Takes a while for it to settle. Initial note is acrid, but it dries down beautifully. A couple of hours in, it's not that jagged. Great leather.
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post #12 of 32
8/26/10 at 8:57am
For me it's Creed's Boi Du Portugal with its overpowering lavender opening though the dry down is great. I find that if I rub the scent into my skin I get to the dry down quicker.
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post #13 of 32
8/26/10 at 9:01am
The amped up grandma's old knitwear closet opening from Antaeus, Body Kouros & Krizia Uomo. Talk about a blast from the past...
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post #14 of 32
8/26/10 at 9:03am
Kouros!
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post #15 of 32
8/26/10 at 9:20am
used to be this way with Bois De Santal, several of the older Creed's, and several Maitre's.
Now if it's only awful for a few minutes or less, and opens up into a beautiful work of art....I'm wise enough to totally disregard the first notes.
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post #16 of 32
8/26/10 at 9:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack Hunter View Post

For me it's Creed's Boi Du Portugal with its overpowering lavender opening though the dry down is great. I find that if I rub the scent into my skin I get to the dry down quicker.

I too wish this opening were tuned down.
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post #17 of 32
8/26/10 at 9:33am
Kouros opening is not bad to me, but what makes me salivate at the mouth is the opening of Jicky. It is almost unbearable. 5 minutes later I am in love.
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post #18 of 32
8/26/10 at 10:42am
l'Eau Bleu d'Issey pour homme, the drydown is great, sometimes the beginning it's disgusting and nauseating.
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post #19 of 32
8/26/10 at 12:26pm
Serge Noire by Serge Lutens. The opening smells really bad to me, sulphorous and very harsh burnt rubber mixed with odd sweet syrupy notes. But hours later the scent is soft and smokey leather woods and is very nice to smell. It's a mystery.
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post #20 of 32
8/26/10 at 12:30pm
Esencia Loewe. Something peculiar about the opening for a minute or two...after that, it's great.
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post #21 of 32
8/26/10 at 12:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lodz View Post

Montale Cuir D'Arabie. Takes a while for it to settle. Initial note is acrid, but it dries down beautifully. A couple of hours in, it's not that jagged. Great leather.

I hear you mate, probably the boldest opening I have encountered so far, along with Kouros. The Dreamer looks tame against it.
However I actually enjoy every bit of Cd'A, one heck of a leather. The aoud really is the way to go here, barnyardy as it gets
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post #22 of 32
8/26/10 at 12:55pm
Ambre Sultan by Serge Lutens: The opening smells like a piece of strangely spiced meat, but the drydown of smoky incense comprised of patchouli, sandalwood and myrrh is worth the wait.
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post #23 of 32
8/26/10 at 1:31pm
Fleur de la male. My reaction to the top notes was visceral to the extent I where I felt physically sick. I don' know what the dry down would be like!

Ho-hum
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post #24 of 32
8/26/10 at 1:33pm
M7. That cherry, baby powdery, cheapness wears off to a sublime, calming, thick, oud-vanillic note. Sadly, this takes 2.5 hours on me.
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post #25 of 32
8/26/10 at 1:48pm
Fleur Du Male
Tuscan Leather
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post #26 of 32
8/26/10 at 1:52pm
I really don't have this problem. There are scents that seem unsettled and fuzzy at first but settle down to elements I sure like, but I don't think there are any scents I have that I dislike in this way, more that they have different parts to them, and that's part of the adventure.
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post #27 of 32
8/26/10 at 8:01pm
Perhaps Zino. No secret that I can't stand the stuff, but the dry down is kind of nice. The opening is not worth the price of admission though. This goes for Grey Flannel too.
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post #28 of 32
8/26/10 at 8:18pm
For me Le Male is by far the worst opening I've come across yet.. I'm not crazy about Diesel Only the brave either. =\\
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post #29 of 32
8/26/10 at 8:24pm
Body Kouros for sure it gives you a head ache , ditto with Kourous which smells like a mens urinal for 2 hours
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post #30 of 32
8/27/10 at 1:06am
Santos de Cartier- not appalling in any way, just too nondescript to my nose in the first minutes or less than an hour and than, starting from 45 to an hour onwards- pure genius, such a smooth fragrance combining so many complex, lush and smooth layers of powerhouse woods, florals and spices

Burberry London for Men- at first I thought "not another licorice-smelling, intoxicating syrup-sweet gourmand", but then, after an appropriate standby time of at least 30 minutes (to my nose, I doubt there is a "standard time-frame") it evolves into something both youthful and extremely elegant, with rich, boozy suggestions of high quality tobacco

Givenchy Gentleman- I used to underrate this and be turned off by its initial impressions: way too pungent, sharp, short-lived and heavy, but the drydown has a very classy, comfy, anything BUT dirty sort of extremely high-end, Old-School leatheriness

most Aramis male frags, including Aramis (1965) and Tuscany- again, one-dimensional, heavy and even slightly musty at first, but once the fine herbal, spicy, almost balsamic notes stop lurking in the background and take more and more of the center stage, thus achieving some of the best drydowns ever
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post #31 of 32
8/27/10 at 6:48am
Thread Starter 
Keep em coming!
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post #32 of 32
8/27/10 at 7:25am
I agree about Zino! Horrible top notes but beautiful sweet dry down.
Another one:
- Jacomo de jacomo: Too pungent, gasoline like top notes. On my skin, lasts 30 min... Then, a great fragrance.
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Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Male Fragrance Discussion › MFD Archive › Fragrances that you can't tolerate the horrible top notes to get to the great drydown!