Men's Cologne Recommendation Please: Dry Green Animalic - Page 3  

Hm, thanks for the heads up, but Salvador Dali PH sounds totally wrong, not green at all. . . it sounds like the suffocating air inside an underground dungeon during some depraved ritual. I'm looking for something fresher while still being bold...

Update -- Got to try some powerhouses at the perfume shop, Dali among them. Very gamey and dense . . . intense stuff. Not at all a match for this thread.

I got my tester bottle of Sud Est tonight, interesting stuff. Also not that fresh actually. It's kind of a cross between Yatagan and Xeryus. . . I'll continue with it, though I think it's too warm/spicy/mossy for this thread.

Cool, thanks for the explanation . . . as mentioned earlier, I find vetiver earthy (and really enjoy it) but don't consider it green per se. Dessicated flowers don't sound green either -- how is Dali green?

Awesome, I like that! The tar note is not birch tar, right? Just making sure since all I get from that is wintergreen as you probably know (you've obviously been paying close attention, which I really appreciate).


That's for sure! It can be a pretty gross combination (Citrus Paradisi hehe) but somehow always fascinating.

I'm not familiar with Paco Rabanne, but Le Seducteur sounds like it's worth a sniff... woah, pricey

I've been doing more of my own research here on Basenotes and have come across a few green scents I'm interested to try. Does anyone care to comment on these in regards to this thread?

Adolfo for Men
MPG Baime
Ortigia Corallo
Davidoff
Bogart De Viris
Iskander
L'Eau de Hesperides
Macassar
Mazzolari
Perfect Man Alternative
Portos
Temujin
Aramis Tuscany
Aramis Devin
Virgilio
Bogart Witness

Thanks alfarom! Davidoff might be worth a shot after all; leather is an ok animalic note as long as it's not actually birch tar. Speaking of leather, I'm still waiting on my Dirty English sample...

I'm cool with having spent $2 on my sample, if it sucks no big deal!

Sud Est: I don't regret having bought this bottle. I have to say, so far this is one of the more concentrated, long-lived frags I've worn! I was still getting whiffs after 8+ hours. The drydown has something really nice in it, but you have to be careful not to overdo it. Is it amber? It might just be peru balsam and musk. It definitely works, though it's on the edge of being too intense/sweet. Thanks for the tip on this one.

Update: Apparently this one smells more herbal and dry in its sillage rather than sweet and warm as it does up close. Nice contrast. Also, the balsams are more muted when applied sparingly. Today I've got three sprays going and it seems about right. Good stuff!

Finally got a bottle of Esencia Loewe... and it seems to be a different formulation than my sample! (The first spray from this tester bottle was terrible and I was so disappointed, but once I cleared out the atomizer, it smelled better, but not quite as brilliantly fresh as the new formulation.) I wasn't even aware they had reformulated until I did some research here. I think it's the old one, whereas my sample is probably the new one. The reason I think that and not the opposite, is that the bottle I got has far better longevity and stronger moss & tobacco notes. I assume there is a lot less oakmoss and coumarin in the reformulation, that they tried to make up for with more heart accord (dry rose). The longevity on the new formulation (my original sample) is not good, as I mentioned above, and it was disappointing, so in that way I'm happy with my bottle. Maybe some day I'll get a bottle of the new formula and layer them.

Quorum: This one smells almost as cloyingly sweet as Kouros to me, a total miss. Do you guys think it has birch in it? As usual, everyone else smells that as manly and harsh, and to me it smells like wintergreen and candy, with an undertone of light suede. I'll try it on my arm soon and report back.

Update: not too different on my arm. Way too sweet for me... cumin must be handled very carefully. I don't like it in combination with sweet (birch) notes. Blech.

Does anyone think Lauder for Men could be a match for this thread? I was researching Loewe's other frags and Para Hombre was mentioned as being similar to it. Looks to be out of production but still available for average prices.

Dirty English: I can see why this was recommended: it's not sweet. That's the good. It has intense coniferous aspects which appeal to me - blue cypress and cedar. However, for some reason no one mentions the fact that this is basically a patchouli setting, emphasizing its harsher shades. About half the drydown accord is patchouli. In this concentration, I find patchouli mildly abrasive and almost nauseating, though I might have overapplied. But I do see the appeal of this frag: it's bold. It's not balanced or subtle or complex, but it definitely doesn't give a fuck. Since it's pretty cheap, I'm probably going to get a bottle and see how it works as a flirting aid. That's the type of vibe I like to project in such a setting: I'm a badass, don't try to find depth in me or you'll find out just how dirty I can be.

Actually the part that puts me off in the "powerhouses" I've tried (other than Yatagan, which it seems is not really a powerhouse to some) is the sweet spiciness on top of everything else. My ideal sweetness is somewhere between Esencia Loewe and Vetiver Extraordinaire. In a word, 90% dry.

Thanks for the opinion. If there's no birch tar and it's not sweet at all, I might dig it.

duplicate post

Cuba Green: Tried this one on a whim because it's cheap. Cute bottle, awful fragrance. Very sweet synthetic floral. Light tobacco in the base does nothing to stop the onslaught. Quite unisex in fact.

Bois has a lot of very dry orange blossom and/or neroli, which I really enjoy.

I enjoy tobacco, when not paired with birch tar as it so often is. It's masculine and not sweet, which is great to me. Is Lauder sweet at all? I can't handle much sweetness.

Bought a bottle of Lauder for Men blind at a local perfume shop. Whoops, big miss. I can see why it was discontinued: it's full of iris/orris. Soapy ... very old school and not particularly masculine. That might be showing up on the swap board soon...

The big news is my bottle of MPG Grain de Plaisir arrived. What an ugly box! It looks like it was designed by the nephew of the perfumer using Photoshop for the first time. I've had a chance to wear it twice. It's a definite hit for this thread, thanks odysseusm! It's on the cool side, cooler than Yatagan, which is great for Summer. The bitter wormwood of the opening is continued in a skeletal form by the celery seed in a similar way to Yatagan, but in GdP it's supported by sandalwood and anise (as opposed to castoreum and pine in Yat). The sweet sandalwood, smoky guaiac, and fresh anise give the impression of burnt sugar, like the top of a creme brulee (without the creme), but with more emphasis on the burnt than the sugar, however without a defined smokiness, which is great. Really good stuff, good persistence and average projection. Thanks!

That was the last of the more serious contenders from the suggestions, other than maybe a couple really obscure frags that are hard to find. I might go back through the thread and try out a few more of the suggestions that are harder to source. But for now, here's the winners' gallery! Thank you so much to all who contributed.


Frags in my rotation. Caron Yatagan, Romeo Gigli Sud Est, MPG Grain de Plaisir, & Esencia Loewe

I'm so happy, thanks!

I think I might have tried it at a perfume store a few days ago actually ... and it had birch tar, and possibly iris. Wintergreen-sweet and soapy... I'll give it another shot if I run across it just to make sure. But I really have no tolerance at all for those notes.

Thanks Surfacing! How do I qualify for the marketplace? Feedback score?

I think Grain de Plaisir is relatively masculine -- it doesn't really have any flowers in it. But a woman could conceivably wear it. It's no Yatagan of course.

Finally received my last bottle today. It took Radiantgear.com like a month just to ship it. I'm sticking to ebay from now on.

Bogart One Man Show: I kind of like the opening. After that it's almost like Kouros with the incense, but less sweet and no civet. I think it's got birch tar, or the florals ... too sweet and too much incense for me. Pretty sure it's chock full of birch tar.

Thanks Ody! The vintage juice is exorbitant and I haven't seen any samples of it, so I'll wait. Soapy is usually not my thing. I suspect there may be a tiny pinch of iris/orris in Sud Est and even Esencia Loewe (perhaps to prevent them from being too gourmande) but that is all I can handle. No violet either, though I absolutely love violet leaf. In fact, I pulled my little 2ml bottle of absolute out today and threw a drop in my homemade air freshener (pink grapefruit, basil, and ylang) to give it a little fresh stem sap: perfecto!

I am ordering another group of samples from theperfumedcourt based on your recommendations. Stay tuned; as they trickle in, I'll review em here. Also ordered Mitsouko EDT out of sheer curiosity.

I've been ordering stuff this week. I can't stand the though that there might be a bitter green frag I will love out there and I don't know about it. I even found sample of Bond No 9 Swarovski Limited Edition today! Pricey and the notes don't look appealing but it was recommended on this thread, so...

Meanwhile, I ordered a bottle of Brut Classic out of sheer curiosity. I still haven't smelled a single fougere I like, and this is no exception. It's pretty soapy and synthetic, definitely a sinus-searer. Also there seems to be some vanilla going on that prevents it from being something I could wear. I could see a fougere with a lot of green, thick bitter notes filling out that empty coumarin-lavender accord appealing to me someday, but all the supposedly dry fougeres I've tried seem to have birch tar which smells sweet to me. Azzaro pour Homme, I admit, is not sweet, but it does smell rather hollow and cheap to me. I'm starting to think I simply don't like the entire genre. Chypres, on the other hand...

Update: The drydown is kinda cute, though the longevity of this Brut Classic EdC is not great. I wore it around the house yesterday and it was alright.

Okay, I received a grip of samples yesterday & tried them on paper.

Got a mini of Aramis Tuscany: Great dry-green opening, then it turns into a rather anonymous fougere. Consistently disappointed by fougeres... they are just too conventional & hollow for me usually.

Diptyque Virgilio: Kinda surprised this company came out with something like an 80s powerhouse. Definitely animalic, but the heart gets a bit sweet as predicted. Also, I think there's birch tar going on. Not for me.

Parfum d'Empire Eau de Gloire: Refreshing green opening, then mostly birch tar. Miss.

L'Artisan d'Humeur Jalouse: Part of some limited edition "Mood" series, this one interprets "green with envy" rather literally. Chock-full of sour tomato leaf, it invokes a dry, dusty garden like the one my mom had when I was a kid. Not something I want to smell like though. Much less refined and literal "garden smell" than the more subtle Eau de Campagne, which I still can't really do.

Diptyque Eau de Lierre: Really nice linear, literal ivy smell. Pretty cool how it blends with a bit of vetiver for longevity. A candle of this might be really refreshing. Probably too simple for me to wear, though.

Santa Maria Novella Pot Pourri: Interesting one, thanks for the heads up on it! I am kind of amazed it's from 1828. Beautiful chamomile opening. The heart is dense and complex. Sweet spices and florals balance dry dusty resins and green earth. It definitely evokes the wood shavings and stale dried flowers of its namesake. Dried flowers & sweet spices get too sweet for a minute, then the earthiness asserts itself again -- seems to share a myrrh note with L'Eau Trois but sweeter and fuller. I'll try wearing it, though it's probably not ballsy enough for my taste. The incense/resin is probably too static.

Lorenzo Villoresi Uomo: Nice one, excellent green-citrus-herbal opening. Lemongrass extends the citrus into the heart nicely. Refreshing without being too clean. Might be too simple for me; I'll give it a shot on my skin soon.

Diptyque L'Eau Trois: Excellent green opening. The myrrh is not as intrusive into the green notes of the top and heart as frankincense tends to be. Soil/stone/moss drydown is quite unusual and pleasant in its straightforward invocation. Not animalic, but I'll definitely be trying it on my skin. If it has a bit of dissonance with the natural vegetal+earth combo, it might be a good one for me.

Bonus: got a sample of Mitsouko for research purposes. Boy, this has a LOT of aldehydes/benzoin (max powder!) and that peach note (undecalactone or whatever it's called) is very dominant. The opening has an intriguing "new plastic" chemical undertone. On the whole it's rather cooling. Powder powder powder! Similar to Old Spice in that way. I barely get any oakmoss from this supposed "chypre reference" frag. Nice construction, sweet without being cloying. I'd probably like it on a girl, but I can't really imagine any guy pulling it off nowadays -- too dowdy.

I sure am, Ody. It's been an amazing journey. After this last group of samples, this thread will likely be retired for a while, as I'm really looking under every rock here.

Got new samples today.

Bella Bellissima Perfect Man Alternative: I picked this one based on the note pyramid. Big mistake. Disgusting sweet synthetic fruit miasma, faceless yet disgusting. Nuf said.

Miller Harris Fleurs de Sel: This is one of the few frags I've sampled that really smelled exactly how I imagined it from the note pyramid and reviews. Basically it's the smell of dry bushes on the beach, scoured by salty ocean breezes. It's got some floral sweetness but not too much. Might not be a match but I will try it on my skin. It could be good for hot Summer days in LA, when the dry desert Santa Ana winds blow through.

Update: On skin the flowers come out too much for my taste. Could be a subtle scent for a girl with the bitterness.

Hey mike. I tried Devin the perfume shop and it seemed to be chock-full of birch tar, which smells very sweet & minty to me, rather than leather. You'll notice my aversion to this note many other times in this thread. Thanks for the suggestion though!

Well I'll give Devin another shot next time I'm in a perfume shop.

Meanwhile, my 1st purchase ever from a BN'er arrived, man he was fast!

Vintage Yatagan: This is supposedly the 2nd formulation -- 50ml rectangular bottle but with the red label, not white. I did a side-by-side on my wrists with my new bottle. I think the top notes already died in this old juice, so I missed the delightful sweet-bitter-green opening. After that, the heart accords lined up. I always thought Yatagan lost too much horsepower (density) going into the heart, and I was not surprised to perceive that the older formula has a little more oomph in there. Could be oakmoss -- it's got a slightly thicker, slightly classier vibe, while the new formula is a little more streamlined and the castoreum comes through stronger in tandem with the celery seed. I prefer the older heart but they don't differ too greatly. I was relieved to find the base accords almost identical. I dropped some good coin on this little bottle; we'll see if it's really that much better.

Creed Cypres-Musc: This one started out alright with some nice conifer needles. Then I got to the heart and it was 99% tonka. No musk to speak of, possibly a drop of orris, but that's it. I like a bit of tonka but this is way over the top. Gradually faded out from there. I could basically make a tonka tincture with the seeds I bought a while back and achieve a similar effect.

Nina Ricci Phileas: I bought a splash mini of this, not sure when it was manufactured. Very interesting juice. There's a lot going on. It had a mysterious quality to it that took me a while to identify because no one mentioned it in anything I read about this frag: tomato leaf. The note is blended much more subtly than in Eau de Campagne or D'Humeur Jalouse, but I'm pretty sure that's what it is. I also get celery seed, cedar, orris, and lots of gentle musk. Projection seems light, but the musk drydown lasts pretty long. It has a nice green freshness and I can say with certainty if this stuff was as cheap as Yatagan I'd definitely pick up a bottle, but at $150 I'll use some more of my splash and see if I really like it enough.

Update: Searched around and found an online retailer selling a bottle for $95! I figured it was a good investment. I'll wear my splash and either trade or wear the bottle depending. I justified the purchase by telling myself I'm diversifying my portfolio. Anyone else think of fragrances that way?

Excellent comments alfa. I get that metallic thing too which is very interesting. I did find that the heart faded rather quickly, but that could be a problem of application. I think I am underdoing splash application in general. It takes a lot of drops on the wrist to equal one fat atomizer blast.

Got this one because people seemed to consider it so dry. Oops.

Crown Eau de Quinine: A touch of bergamot and medicinal quinine at the top, and a touch of benzoin at the bottom, and a huge slug of petitgrain/orange blossom in the middle. And that's about it. I admit the orange blossom lasts pretty long and is a very smooth mix with the benzoin, but it's too simple for me.

Stay tuned for Ayana Moriel all-natural sample pack...

Ayala Moriel samples. These are made of all-natural materials.

Ban Zai: Has a pleasant herbal-sweaty clary sage opening. Then the rose comes in like a bomb. Gorgeous real sandalwood drydown. Simple and bombastic but fun. Overly floral & girly for me though.

Vetiver-Racinettes: Very dry, dusty vetiver -- Vetiver Extraordinaire light.

Ayalitta: Peachy floral -- must be real osmanthus flower. Lovely storax base. Would be very charming if not great on a young lady. I must douse one soon...

Rainforest: Delightful bitter green opening! Wet and earthy. The heart is full of grassy flowers like zdravetz, maybe davana. After that it's mostly oakmoss. Probably too sweet but I'll try wearing it.

Gaucho: Nice earthy one at first, using the clary sage - tobacco - costus accord of leather and fresh pipe tobacco. Once the sage burns off, it's just blond tobacco absolute. Kinda boring

ArbitRary: As usual saving the best for last. ArbitRary exploits a classic masculine lemon-tobacco accord for its concept. While the others above have a bit of idea to them, this is the only one that also has structure. The lemon accord (lemon oil - verbena) has nice longevity and is accompanied by light herbal and green accents. The tobacco drydown is rounded with a little woods and while it doesn't last long, it's enjoyable. A very good, dark, natural citrus.
Edit: After another couple wearings, I find ArbitRary good but a bit boring.

Yes I have a bottle of Grey Flannel in the bathroom I use as a deodorizer. Anything more than a hint of violet (methyl ionone I assume) or iris and it smells to me like I'm wearing a bar of soap, which I don't like. Violet leaf on the other hand I love.

Got a blind bottle of MPG Baime. Delightful semi-sweet herbal opening, definitely get the basil there. The heart is a very natural yet structured sweet flower bouquet. Drydown is sophisticated and a bit sweet. I'll try wearing it but it's probably much too sweet -- I hope I can trade it. I'd be surprised if it's a different perfumer than Grain de Plaisir; they have a certain warmth and slight edibility in common.

Update: Definitely too sweet. Will be offering it to swappers...

Sample of Bond No. 9 Harrods Swarovski Limited Edition (confusing name...): Right off the bat, this smells wonderful! The cumin-oud combo reminds me of a more rich civet. I definitely get the medicinal thing but it is rounded out by the dry spices and earth. Slight green tint. Really terrific, well-rounded and balanced juice! I couldn't stop smelling my strip. I would love a bottle but unfortunately you can only get it with an investment in crystals. Must be real oud in there since it was so pricey for only 1.7 ml. Thank you so much for the recommendation SculptureOfSoul. I am going to start a new thread over on the Men's board asking if anyone can recommend something similar to it. I'll drop by Lucky Scent's Scent Bar and try all the dry ouds there as well. I guess I'm an oud guy after all! After trying this, I'm very glad I've left no stone unturned. A real gem! Or crystal, rather... grr that is annoying that I can't buy this juice in a plastic bag or something. I have no interest in crystal.

Update: I got a good feel for the ouds at the Scent Bar, but this Harrods thing blows them all out of the water. The others were very traditional (other than pure oud which was just kind of raw) compared to the Bond No. 9. Its drydown is reminiscent of Esencia Loewe but with less tree moss.

Got my group of samples by Bellyflowers, a natural perfumery. I was pleasantly surprised. Much more interesting and gutsy than Ayala Moriel's creations.

Verdigris: I had high hopes for this one, all the reviews being focused on its bitter green character. Actually while I found it wasn't sweet, it was more fresh-earthy brown than green. Clary sage and tobacco. Apparently there's real African weasel poop tincture in this or something. I'll probably wear my 2ml but I doubt I'll get more.

Spiral: Beautiful opening grapefruit/lemon myrtle accord, but it dropped off into a light spice base rather quickly.

Wild Chypre: Has the effect of a rounded, powerful orange flower absolute accord that lasts and lasts. Deep mossy drydown with obvious real oakmoss. I'll definitely wear this on my skin as I'm sure it will make quite a fresh classic statement. Not really for this thread, too flowery but it's not too sweet which is good. Seamless blending.

Torch: Appropriately named, this one is complex, a little smoky and woody, but with a huge slug of gorgeous, real tuberose absolute. Not for this thread but definitely a quality fragrance.

These samples show a talented nose at work. Worth a sniff for all those interested in natural perfumery.

Fou d'Absinthe: This is like a corrected Pino Silvestre (without all the cheap linalool, eugenol etc.). Drops off rather a lot from the top notes to the heart, where it gets a bit incensey for my taste. Maybe it's the anise or something. I prefer Cipresso di Toscana for coniferous notes, though it too is a bit weak in the heart. I'd love to find a fresh, green, dry pine that avoids the stale man-sweat note some day. That accord seems to develop in the combination of animalic and pine sometimes -- the celery in Yatagan freshens that effect enough to mask it, I think, which I really like.

Yes Phileas is sophisticated for sure, and longlasting, though with not much projection. However, the iris gets a bit soapy for my taste. I'm going to let my bottle appreciate a little and use up my mini.

I haven't tried it, thanks for the recommendation. How much smoke/incense is there in it? I usually don't find incense very agreeable (too static, if that makes any sense, compared to vibrant herbs).