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Help Me Perfect My Collection!

post #1 of 39
1/15/11 at 9:15am
Thread Starter 
Okay. Well, it's not much of a collection, but I would like perhaps two or three fragrances in total.

Right now, I have:
  • Gucci Pour Homme
  • Vetiver by Guerlain


I'm currently using the Vetiver by Guerlain throughout the day and the Gucci Pour Homme at night and for special events.

Anything wrong with my usage of the two fragrances? Any additions that would help "round out" my selection? Anything reasonably inexpensive (under $100) would be welcome.

Thanks!
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post #2 of 39
1/15/11 at 9:44am
Gucci Pour Homme II

Lui by Rochas

New York by Parfums de Nicolai (It costs more, but it is worth it). http://www.luckyscent.com/shop/secti.../New_York.html
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post #3 of 39
1/15/11 at 9:56am
Excellent starting points. A fresh vetiver and an incense-laden, more serious masculine. Going towards different styles, my favorites are:

Floral-musky: Troisieme homme by Caron (An alternative floral would be Insense by Givenchy)
Leather: Knize Ten
Green, vegetal, woody: Yatagan by Caron

I have found all of them for under $100 for the large 115ml bottle, though I am not sure that it is the retail price. They are not easily available outside of big cities, though, especially Knize Ten, which was just recently reissued.

Other directions you could take are citruses (Eau Sauvage, or even better Chanel pour monsieur *not* in the concentree version, but the regular version is available only in Europe), fresh fougeres (Azzaro pour homme), strong masculine musky (Kouros).

cacio
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post #4 of 39
1/15/11 at 10:01am
Start with a few classics that sell for almost nothing (either 3.4 or 4.2 oz bottle).
Ungaro III, can be had for less than $25
Halston Z-14 and 1-12 (the Halston twins), ebay in the 10-14 dollars range.
Quorum, 15 dollars or less in ebay
Drakkar Noir, this may be a little more expensive, but 40 dollars will sufice.
One Man Show, no more than 20 bucks in ebay
Sung Homme, no more than 20 in ebay.

5 of those perfumes will cost you less than the 100 you are willing to spend, and IMO this would be a great start.

These perfumes may seem dated for some people, but it will give you a better understanding of the evolution of perfumes and since you seem to enjoy Guerlain's Vetiver, you probably do not have the idiotic concept of "old man perfume" that some of the bland aquatics fan have.
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post #5 of 39
1/15/11 at 11:47am
Kouros
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post #6 of 39
1/15/11 at 4:08pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the suggestions!

I'll be sifting through them slowly now.

Feel free to suggest anything else!
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post #7 of 39
1/15/11 at 4:29pm
Something nice and sweet, and/or seductive should help complete your collection. My favorite scents of that sort (under $100) are:
A* Men & Pure Malt by Thierry Mugler
Spark by Liz Claiborne
Live Jazz by YSL
Signature by ST Dupoont

hope this helps!
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post #8 of 39
1/15/11 at 4:32pm
Great start buddy!!

I would get a sweet, "sexy", romantic fragrance if i were you.

I would go for La Nuit de L'homme next. I really really recommend it
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post #9 of 39
1/15/11 at 5:30pm
A*Men
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post #10 of 39
1/15/11 at 5:42pm
Chanel Pour Monsieur. Done.
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post #11 of 39
1/15/11 at 5:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by petruccijc View Post

A*Men

this
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post #12 of 39
1/15/11 at 5:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by calero View Post

Chanel Pour Monsieur. Done.

Heck to the yes.
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post #13 of 39
1/15/11 at 6:57pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks everyone!

Looks like A*Men is pretty popular. Could someone describe what that smells like?
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post #14 of 39
1/16/11 at 1:28am
My suggestion is Gucci Envy, I hope you can find it.
A*Men is ok too.
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post #15 of 39
1/16/11 at 4:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by theleonlion View Post

Looks like A*Men is pretty popular. Could someone describe what that smells like?

Like you fell in a vat full of syrup that have been spiked with tar. Makes me gag, but some people like it.
Try Animale Animale instead, same fragrance but it is better, not so cloying and at one fourth of the prize.
Make sure is Animale Animale, because Animale (only once) is a different animal LOL.
BTW, Animale Animale was launched 2 years before A*men, so go for the original.
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post #16 of 39
1/16/11 at 5:39am
You should look into a gourmand - like A*Men. But others to look at could be Rochas Man, Hanae Mori HM, A*Men Pure Malt or Lolita Lempicka au Masculin.
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post #17 of 39
1/16/11 at 7:56am
I am not going to make a specific recommendation, but will simply make the observation that you have two very dry fragrances, and perhaps you need something with a little sweetness to it.
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post #18 of 39
1/16/11 at 6:39pm
Thread Starter 
Wow. Everyone seems to be suggesting A*Men. Is there any way to get a free sample?
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post #19 of 39
1/16/11 at 7:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by theleonlion View Post

Wow. Everyone seems to be suggesting A*Men. Is there any way to get a free sample?

No, I am NOT
I clearly said that instead of A*men you should try Animale Animale
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post #20 of 39
1/16/11 at 7:52pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by PerfumeCollector View Post

No, I am NOT
I clearly said that instead of A*men you should try Animale Animale

I meant it colloquially, where everyone means "a lot of people". No offense intended. I'm still taking your opinion into consideration. It's just that more people recommended A*Men.
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post #21 of 39
1/16/11 at 8:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by calero View Post

Chanel Pour Monsieur. Done.

Yes.
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post #22 of 39
1/16/11 at 8:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by PerfumeCollector View Post

Like you fell in a vat full of syrup that have been spiked with tar. Makes me gag, but some people like it.
Try Animale Animale instead, same fragrance but it is better, not so cloying and at one fourth of the prize.
Make sure is Animale Animale, because Animale (only once) is a different animal LOL.
BTW, Animale Animale was launched 2 years before A*men, so go for the original.

I looked at the reviews of Animale Animale and while they are overwhelmingly positive, some people complained of poor longevity and projection compared to Angel Men.
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post #23 of 39
1/16/11 at 8:23pm
I would also agree with the suggestions of a gourmand or something with some sweetness to it.

While I tried and never got A*Men, it has many fans. In addition to trying it, try B*Men if you can find it, along with the already suggested Hanae Mori and Rochas Man. I've owned all and eventually got rid of them as well, settling on other scents to satisfy my sweet tooth.

I'd suggest Michael Kors' Michael for Men and Chanel Égoïste.

You may also go the route of something citrusy or an aquatic, especially if you live in a warmer climate where those types of scents may offer more wearability. Or something "clean", like Mugler's Cologne, Tommy T or Gendarme. I'd even suggest Jovan Musk for a cheap musk that is extremely wearable.
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post #24 of 39
1/16/11 at 9:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingpin View Post

I looked at the reviews of Animale Animale and while they are overwhelmingly positive, some people complained of poor longevity and projection compared to Angel Men.

That is precisely the worst part of A*men, not only you smell awful, but you smell awful for HOURS
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post #25 of 39
1/17/11 at 1:41pm
Animale Animale is very musky, if memory serves. I would suggest a few scents for you based on categories..

Sweet - YSL L'homme (Super wearable for ALL occasions)
Floral Spice - Kenzo Power (Very modern with a manly old-school spicy vibe)
Aquatic - Z Zegna (This is the grown man's aquatic)
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post #26 of 39
1/17/11 at 1:51pm
Repost
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post #27 of 39
1/17/11 at 6:56pm
Here are some reasonably priced scents that you should get:

1- Rochas Man
2- Dior Homme
3- Gucci by Gucci Pour Homme
4-Animale Animale
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post #28 of 39
1/17/11 at 7:21pm
Based on your user name and your love of Gucci PH, I'm going to recommend "Let Me Play the Lion" by Les Nez. It's an absolutely wonderful dry wood and incense scent, with a good dose of real ambergris (one of the few scents that still uses the real thing). It smells dry and woody and dusty, like incense smoke and a hint of sawdust, but all of it as soft and comforting as the fur of a beloved pet.
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post #29 of 39
1/18/11 at 5:17am
You guys don't think Gucci pour Homme is kinda sweet? Not gourmand, surely - but it seemed to have plenty of sweetness to me.
Both pretty clean though - I'd suggest a little dirt.
Jicky!
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post #30 of 39
1/30/11 at 3:00pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all the suggestions! I just got a batch of samples for many of the scents suggested.

First of all, I really did not like A*Men. As PerfumeCollector said, A*Men was almost sickly sweet to me, with an extremely heavy synthetic smell.

After trying some other gourmands (including Animale Animale), I figured that none of them were for me. Instead, I'm not looking for either an aquatic or a citrus. I know a few of you have proposed some of both, but any other recommendations?
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post #31 of 39
1/30/11 at 3:07pm
Le Male
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post #32 of 39
1/30/11 at 3:14pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jonny19 View Post

Le Male

I actually did try Le Male in a department store, but it seemed overly sweet and synthetic, which is exactly what I hated about A*Men. However, it was a terrible testing environment, especially with the open food court right next door.

The thing is, plenty of members describe Black by Kenneth Cole as being overly sweet and synthetic, but I actually like it quite a bit. Perhaps it's nostalgia (my first cologne), but maybe it's a different type of sweet and synthetic from A*Men. I wouldn't mind finding a scent close to Black by Kenneth Cole.

On an unrelated note, the Guerlain Vetiver is definitely growing on me, but I think I still like the Gucci a slight bit more, but I do want to go a different direction.
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post #33 of 39
1/30/11 at 4:14pm
Thread Starter 
And by the way, my budget has expanded quite a bit, so do feel free to recommend more expensive fragrances.
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post #34 of 39
1/30/11 at 4:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by theleonlion View Post

Wow. Everyone seems to be suggesting A*Men. Is there any way to get a free sample?

I'm not one of the everyone. A*Men is a very sweet and somewhat loud fragrance. It is very well done, but it not for everybody.
There are people in all age ranges in Basenotes that like it a lot, but I'd say it's mostly really loved by guys in 20s.

We don't know a lot about you based on a two scent wardrobe and 5 posts. Look it up on the directory.

EDIT: D'oh didn't read far enough down in the thread to see you already tried and dismissed A*Men.

I'll suggest you give L'Instant de Guerlain Pour Homme a shot. It's a borderline gourmand to me....just a little on the sweet side. Very refined scent.
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post #35 of 39
1/31/11 at 3:54am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by StylinLA View Post

I'll suggest you give L'Instant de Guerlain Pour Homme a shot. It's a borderline gourmand to me....just a little on the sweet side. Very refined scent.

Will do. Time for another trip to Macy's!
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post #36 of 39
1/31/11 at 4:07am
If there's a Tiffany nearby drop in and check out Tiffany for Men while you're at it - it also might complement what you have nicely.
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post #37 of 39
1/31/11 at 3:37pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks mr. reasonable! Will do!
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post #38 of 39
1/31/11 at 3:59pm


Have a try of Terre d'Hermès next time you're in a department store. It's both zesty and woody, strong but not overbearing. particularly suited to the colder months so a perfect time to try it out. It's important not to judge this one too quickly as I've found it to be a deliciously evolving scent whose drydown will almost certainly be unlike anything you have experienced before.

Available as both an EdT and a pure parfum (although I've not had the pleasure of sampling this yet)
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post #39 of 39
1/31/11 at 4:20pm
Why not try Pour un Homme de Caron? Realistic lavender, non-gourmand yet pleasant vanilla. Timeless. Inexpensive. Probably will still be around long after gourmands have gone out of style.
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