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Perfume Intervention for my BF-pls help!

post #1 of 22
9/19/10 at 9:11am
Thread Starter 
I'm reposting this from MUA in the hopes that you smart chaps will have a better sense of the men's fragrance world.

My SO thought he found his HG scent a while back, and I have been feeding this by buying him bottle after bottle. Scent is DSquared (He) Wood. At first, I thought I liked it on him. But increasingly, it's just not working for me. Too sweet, too overpowering. Have been trying to do the suggestions of having him spray less, only spray once a day, but that stuff has a staying power and sillage that isn't helping my efforts to avoid it.

As long as that's the only scent he owns, that's what he's gonna spray. Need to buy more options to put in front of him to ween off this scent.

When we met, he wore Burberry Touch for Men, then for a while he wore Hanae Mori HM (both of which I liked on him -- honeymoon phase of the relationship... he could have worn Eau de Garbage and I would have adored... but he's now tired of these.)

He likes Vetiver scents but his inclination is to go a bit gourmand i think. I'd like to tone down the sweetness a bit and focus on the woods. Ultimately, I want to find where he feels good and I am not trying to avoid his neck and face area 10 hours later.

Would love some recommendations because I'm even more clueless on men's scents than women's scents.

Thanks guys!
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post #2 of 22
9/19/10 at 9:19am
Vetiver, you say... Chanel's Sycomore? It's smoky vetiver softened and sweetened with florals on top of sandalwood. And even though it is floral, it's still on the masculine side of unisex.

Or more gourmand: l'Instant Pour Homme from Guerlain, edt or edp; edp is a heavier gourmand.

Oh, and welcome to BN!
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post #3 of 22
9/19/10 at 9:33am
I'd suggest getting a bunch of samples, laying them out for him and telling him to pick one so you can buy a full bottle for him.

(and say it's because you love him so much, or for his birthday, etc. Not "becuase goddamit I'm tired of smelling that DSquared on you!")

As for frags... well, how old is he? What does he do? is he a casual or formal guy? Loud or quiet? Beer or whisky? Honda or Ferrari? McDonalds or cigars... well, you get the idea.


if you just want to swap out teh woods for something related but nicer, then I'd say check various types of wood scents (Gucci PH (sandlewood), Tommy Bahamma, Guerlain Homme, Terre D'Hermes (Cedar?), Polo green (Pine), etc...)
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post #4 of 22
9/19/10 at 9:35am
Encre Noir for a vetiver type scent that is masculine and warm. I hate to say it, but Azzaro PH is still wonderful after all these years.
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post #5 of 22
9/19/10 at 9:58am
Thread Starter 
Yes, the goal is to get a ton of possible samples and start spraying him until we are both happy.

About SO--turns 40 in October (Scorpio), way over dresses for every out of house occasion (as do I). Very quiet, vegetarian, sober for years. But I think he wants his scent to be more of an alter-ego wish fulfillment. If we had money (which we don't, or at least not money like this) he would wear tons of Thom Browne and Hedi Slimane. He's decided he wants to look like Josh Beech. I think he'd want his scent to be somewhat in line with that kind of aesthetic if possible.
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post #6 of 22
9/19/10 at 10:26am
Some suggestions:

Jack Black Black Mark: Nice cedar note mixed with Saffron
He Wood Rocky Mountain? - not sure how it compares to the original, but might be worth checking out.
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post #7 of 22
9/19/10 at 10:50am
Thread Starter 
He has the Jack Black Silver Mark somewhere... just never wears it anymore.

Didn't know there was a rocky mountain, thanks.
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post #8 of 22
9/19/10 at 11:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rlikestosmell View Post

He has the Jack Black Silver Mark somewhere... just never wears it anymore.

Didn't know there was a rocky mountain, thanks.

Actually, there are at least three different Dsquared2 frags that I know of. I only own the Rocky Mountain Wood, so I don't know how they all stack up. I believe the third one is called aquatic wood.
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post #9 of 22
9/19/10 at 11:10am
Ugh. I too found Dsquared He Wood dreadfully banal & synthetic.

I agree with the samples approach & would add my vote to the Sycomore rec. But also try Nightscape by Ulrich Lang - a quiet patchouli scent with an urbane sophistication about it. Perfect for a modern sensible guy.

Oh yea, one other thing - advise your SO to avoid spraying on the neck & apply on the chest instead; to prevent early onset of olfactory fatigue & well...let's just say perfumes just don't taste as good as they smell, KWIM?
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post #10 of 22
9/19/10 at 11:30am
Thread Starter 
All too well. soapy tingly tongue not my favorite.
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post #11 of 22
9/19/10 at 12:02pm
Well, first of all, just tell him that you don't like He Squared. Other than that, some of the suggestions here sound good.
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post #12 of 22
9/19/10 at 12:49pm
You may scoff at the idea but Givenchy Play is a really nice all purpose scent that has some gourmand tendencies but also a rather large and realistic haitian vetiver note in the drydown (it's a slightly cleaner/more golden take on vetiver, but still noticeably vetiver). It's a very underrated scent, imo.
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post #13 of 22
9/19/10 at 6:40pm
As soon as I read your post I thought, "Dior Homme" (gourmand-ish but not overly sweet, dry, slightly woody, very elegant; perfect for someone quiet, understated, and inclined to dress up). Then you mentioned Hanae Mori (another men's gourmand) and Hedi Slimane (former creative director of Dior Homme) and my brain screamed, "Dior Homme!"

So...hey, have you tried Dior Homme?
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post #14 of 22
9/19/10 at 6:45pm
Perhaps you can both explore the new Comme des Garcons release "Wonderwood".
Here is a review I wrote:
http://sorceryofscent.blogspot.com/2...s-garcons.html

I think if you prefer he focuses on the woody aspects in a cologne, and if he likes to bring a slight gourmand aspect to his fragrance, Wonderwood's dewy wood and plummy facets might just keep you both happy. Its also more like a skinscent, so it won't be shouting from the rooftops. Instead it will be perfect for you to nuzzle!

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post #15 of 22
9/19/10 at 6:47pm
the two of you sampling Mazzolari Lui - Rive Gauche - Clive Christian X - l'instant - the original varvatos and cdg's Artek Standard are my suggestions
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post #16 of 22
9/19/10 at 7:58pm
+1 for L'Instant de Guerlain. I don't like gourmands myself, but love this one. Just the right amount of sweetness.
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post #17 of 22
9/19/10 at 8:01pm
Thread Starter 
A good thought. Wonderwood has been on my list of scents to try for me so once I pounce on a sample, perhaps I'll let him try some too. thanks!
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post #18 of 22
9/19/10 at 8:03pm
Thread Starter 
It's true--I should go to the horses mouth and try Dior Homme! these have all been great suggestions, thanks guys!
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post #19 of 22
9/19/10 at 8:55pm
depends on price, bois du portugal is very woodsy, same as m7 and rive gauche, or for vetiver we have the guerlain vetiver that you might like, original vetiver by creed, opium is a nice oriental but is a bit toned down.
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post #20 of 22
9/19/10 at 9:02pm
  • KMF
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Give Bang by Marc Jacobs a try...
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post #21 of 22
9/19/10 at 9:12pm
+3 for L'Instant de Guerlain Pour Homme. Slightly sweet. Fringe of gourmand. Oh so refined. Masterful work.
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post #22 of 22
9/19/10 at 9:38pm
Some other woods-dominant scents that tone down the sweetness:

Yatagan - pine
l'Anarchiste - cedar leaf and orange
Sequoia
Kyoto

+1 for Encre Noire, but there are a lot of other good vetiver scents too
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