All Invited! ♥ ♥ ♥ Sniff 'n' Speak Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010 ★★★ OPPOSITE GENDER

I've seen this mentioned before but haven't taken part, it sounds like fun!!! Opposite gender, oh my, my husband will get a kick out of this, lol.

you mean for the girls we sniff mens cologne?
i'm i getting this right

Hmm...what to wear? It can't be unisex but truly butch to be a real gender bender. Maybe Antaeus. It's a long time between now and Saturday, though. Anything can happen.

if it's foggy here, I will likely opt for one of the lavendar male scents I own- mauboussin pour homme or grey flannel; if it's warm out something more citrusy- Balman perhaps?? we'll see. What fun.

LOL, Quarry, I have a hard time getting him to wear men's fragrances, so I don't think there's much chance of that happening. I will ask him though, just to see the look on his face, lol.

Oooh, Quarry, that sounds great. I have a bottle of the Dana and it's nice enough but I hear the original is rilly gooooood.

This might just be my favourite SnS of the year, yanno? It is the reason I embraced masculine scents a couple of years back and I think that was the moment my mind really started to broaden on what I like and enjoy wearing. Now I have a great collection of masculines! So I might wear anything from Lolita Lempicka Au Masculin to Eau d'Hermes or even raid the samples collection and embrace Yatagan (Yippeee!!!!!).

Fun fun fun! I may have to go and brave Kouros at the department store if I have time, just because. Otherwise I'll probably end up wearing Eau Noire.

If I get a chance, I want to re-try Dirty English. I recall this is a men's scent but I really liked sniffing it at the store. Otherwise, I will raid my extensive "boys'" scents in my wardrobe.

Oh what fun! I was wanting to try Encre Noir by Lalique, for my boyfriend really, but I am going to wear it on Saturday!!!

A fun one! Easy would be Dior Homme (which I am wearing now), or even Terre D'Hermes. More challenging...hmmm, let me think about it. I want to sample Egoiste, maybe I'll try to find some.

Dior Homme and Terres D'Hermes are wonderful choices but as I have neither - I will have to wear Dior's Eau Sauvage.

A-ha ! Just remembered ! I do have samples of VIP by Usher I could wear !

I'm dying to give my En Avion EdP sample another full wearing, anyway. So, I'll join in tomorrow

I only have a few so it would have to be Terre de Hermes, John Varvatos Artisan, or Lacoste Essential EDT pour Homme. I think I'll go with Artisan.

Sent from my SPH-M900 using Tapatalk

HM by Hanae Mori
1997



I was a little lazy not searching out any new men’s fragrances to try for today’s SnS. I found a sample of HM among my hubby’s things. It was one I brought home for him to try, but he’s never even taken a sniff. It’s fruity and somewhat sweet in the beginning - I almost get an impression of a freshly sliced pineapple - mouth watering. Earthy and woodier toward drydown and a touch of aromatics (lavender and ??) that lingers. It’s very pleasant to wear, not overly self-consciously butch, just nice and easy on the nose. It wouldn’t lure me away from my feminine frags, but I could wear it as an occasional alternative, and I definitely wouldn’t mind smelling it on my husband – if I could persuade him to wear fragrance that is.

Citrus, lavender, nutmeg, jasmine, iris, lily of the valley, Bulgarian rose, moss, cedar, tonka, vanilla, chocolate, amber.

p.s. I love simple, elegant bottles like this.

I can always tell when either of my sons is wearing Dior Homme,
because I always have to comment on how great they smell.
I just love the cool, grey iris note that sets the tone of understated
elegance. I have a mini spray of the edt and wear it when I want to
feel cool, calm and collected.
I think this is fine on a man or a woman and feel the same way avout
Eau Sauvage too.

I dug through hubby's sample box for something new.

Came up with Canali Men. I remember buying the sample for him to try, based strictly on the notes. He thought it smelled nice but unremarkable and it's been in the sample box unused for over a year.

I find it pleasant but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to recognize it if he or another man (or woman!) were to wear it again. I would notice only that someone smelled good.

The notes:


The sweet fruits dissipate after 15 minutes or so. It evolves to a pleasant spicy wood with a touch of leather--a very typical male fragrance that most men would enjoy and which doesn't smell out of character on a woman, either.

I sampled some 1740 Marquis de Sade EDP from the Histoires de Parfums collection. This is marketed as a "masculine" in the house's black label (the femme scents are labelled in white), but I would not limit any scent to just one gender, being a firm believer in "wear what you like."

Surprisingly, this does not have the "dark, perverse" character that one would expect, as many reviewers noted it should have more of the "Secretions Magnifique" notes that are sure to surprise, delight or offend! Instead, this opens with a lot of booze in the top notes followed by an almost fruity middle.

I found this very enjoyable but sadly too close to the skin. The patchouli gives the "chocolate" that many people observe, and the whole dries down to a soft labdanum with a light leather.

Marquis de Sade? More like Comte Alexis de Tocqueville. Enjoyable, pleasant, intellectual, democratic and egalitarian. This can be worn indeed by both men and women. Certainly not a shocking scent. (I would try Dior Poison for a shocker.)

Head notes: bergamot, davana sensualis; Middle notes: patchouli, coriander, cardamom; Base notes: cedar, elemi, leather, labdanum.

A great plus for this house is that you can buy these scents in small 15 ml bottles, as the large bottles are quite pricey and only available in 120 ml bottles. I like this approach to buying luxe fragrances on a budget. (By Killian do this too in their small travel bottle with refills.) I can easily see falling in love with something in this line and buying a full bottle.

"Opposite Gender" day could really be any day for me. I wear many classic feminines without hesitation, but I tend to avoid the biggest fruity/floral ones. I enjoy them, but I also feel self-conscious wafting a huge bouquet around me. They feel very flamboyant to me, like the equivalent of wearing a tight, bright green velvet suit with an orange shirt and red shoes. That person is not me, at least not for now...

My sotd is Chanel No 19: soap, deodorant, body lotion and vintage parfum. Yum.

This is a good excuse for me to sneak a little of my wife's Opium. Yes, vintage. I've purchased it for her several times. I confess, it's more a gift for me, because I love the way it smells on her. But now and then I'll cadge just a tiny spray for myself, and oh my is it great stuff.

I recently purchased Opium pour Homme, and it's good, but the ladies version is vastly superior.

After a dig, I remembered I had some Penhaligon's masculine samples that had only been sniffed, never worn. So, after a quick note lookup, I picked Racquets, for the clove and vetiver.

Head Notes: Geranium, Lemon, Lavender, Bergamot and Lime
Heart Notes: Rose, Ylang Ylang, Clove and Cedarwood
Base Notes: Musk, Amber, Oakmoss, Frankincense and Vetiver

Perfumer: Francis Pickthall

It's a little 'meh' to start off, but quickly becomes lovely. It's not uberbutch, nor is it too floral. Rather, it is a lightly powdered masculine and I'm enjoying wearing it very much!

I own and regularly wear lots of masculine frags so it's a pleasure for me to join in Opposite Gender day. What's nice about these SnS days is how they invariably remind me to revisit something I haven't worn in a while. Thus I chose my decant of Creed's fabulous Vintage Tabarome. It's so smooth and elegant. Smells "old money" to me.

Hey MrCologneGuy, sneak on, mate! We ladies love to smell something as interesting as Opium on a guy. I bet your wife appreciated it on you.

I was a housemate with Petra Ichor today in Penhaligon's Douro L'Eau du Portugal. A very nice, suave and gentlemanly citrus with a little aniseed to it. Very very nice, very well-behaved and I should think perfect with a suit. The longevity was decent but it wasn't an overpowering scent - no massive radiance, thankfully. I'm not keen on men's fragrances that knock me out, I prefer to have to snuggle up to get a sniff of something delicious. I spritzed well this morning and by dinner time it had disappeared. Perfect to change your fragrance for the evening.

I like it very much and wish my husband would wear it more often, but then he's a perfume-phobe. Shame as I've got a great stash of masculines now, following my epiphany a couple of years ago on this very sniff and speak.

I tried Encre Noir, because I have wondered wether it might not suit my significant other. But I think I like it for myself!
what a lovely deep warm velvety fragrance!
And tonight I am wearing paco Rabanne pour homme. I have a bottle here to remind me of him! Clean MAN!
I don't think he needs any other fragrance. I love to smell this and feel as if he's near!

I'm using this day as an excuse to pull out my sample of Guerlain Derby (big thanks again to Primrose for sharing this!). My comment that I posted elsewhere when I first tried it: "Oh, my – it's gorgeous! Refreshing top, subtle leather, classy well-blended woods and moss, and a wonderful – I mean wonderful – vetiver drydown."



Notes for Derby, as listed in the BN Directory, include Bergamot, Lemon, Artemisia, Peppermint, Pimento, Rose, Pepper, Mace, Jasmin, Leather, Vetiver, Sandal, Patchouli, and Moss.

I agree, kewart!

Today I wore Houbigant's Duc de Vernis, an aromatic fougere & Creed's Original Vetiver. I like both of them but don't need full bottles of either.

My sniff'n'speak frag for yesterday was EQUISTRIUS by Parfums d'Empire. I'm not entirely sure it is marketed at the chaps, but for SnS day I chose something that I have not tried before but sounds as if it is very chap-like.

I have had this store sample for a couple of years but was put off trying it by the blurb: apparently it conjours up the smell of Roman horses and stables, but fortunately for everyone around me it was a little easier on the nose. I loved the iris and I'm on a bit of an iris kick at the moment. Equistrius felt opulant and complex and I enjoyed it.

Notes include orris, violet, rice powder, chocolate, ambrette butter, ambergris, sandalwood, vetiver, grey amber.

So I may not have worn a chap's scent , I didn't get the chocolate, and I didn't smell like horse dung. Did I fall at the first hurdle?

Just got back from the French Alps and smelled the most amazing opposite gender fragrance on an older man with a very french moustache. I just had to ask him what it was: Habit Rouge by Guerlain. (He was very flattered that I asked) So I know what I'll be sampling tomorrow as soon as the stores open!! Does anyone know Habit Rouge? Do you like it?

Habit Rouge is a favorite among basenotes men. Try to find a vintage bottle. By all accounts, the modern bottles aren't as velvety smooth. My new-ish bottle of the EdT comes on with a very strong, sour citrus note. Takes forever to get to the sweet drydown. If you were responding to the citrus notes then the modern version might be for you. Otherwise, it'll take a little shopping.

I wore Dior Eau Noire. Visited friends in the country and it just wasn't a day for experimenting with Kouros. Eau Noire doesn't read as noticeably masculine to my nose, I find it completely gender-neutral, which sort of defeats the purpose, but, eh, another day...

I agree with Cologne Guy on this. Habit Rouge is a men's classic, but quite gender neutral. The vintage cologne version is wonderful, but the modern EDT is nice and crisp, and still has a nice leather vanilla bottom note.

I have tried all versions and this is wonderful! (It even comes in parfum strength, which was released in a limited version numbered set of bottles.) The EDP was released in North America as Beau Cavalier, and has the addition of rich agarwood (oud).