Men's Cologne Recommendation Please: Dry Green Animalic - Page 4  

Thanks for asking! Eau de Gentiane Blanche, while I enjoy its smell, is too gentle and mild for me -- not enough bitterness and boldness. However, I think the drydown is amazing, and also lasts forever -- who knows what that peppery-earthy aromachemical is? That base on a more bitter, even more green, less gentle heart & top would be a great match. In fact, I just got back from Barney's where I finally got to try Frederic Malle's Angelique Sous la Pluie whose note profile sounded similar to me. I have to admit the drydowns of these two frags share similarities.

Hard to find much information on this one -- one note list I saw mentioned a marine accord. I can't stand marine; care to comment? How do you describe this one hednic? Not much info on the web.

Thought I'd throw in my thoughts on this classic since it kinda belongs on this thread.

Polo (Green/Classic): Just tried some of this juice from a mini of unknown production date. I kinda like its profile in general, but the birch tar is too much for me. However, I can definitely see how it became such a big hit in the 80s. It's a smooth powerhouse. Its pine reminds me of Yatagan, but imo there is absolutely no point to wear it when I have the far superior Yatagan which has almost no birch tar if any. I got bored of the Polo and layered the Yat on it, which kicked poor Polo's ass. Nice.

I keep looking at the reviews of CSP's Barbier des Iles and getting interested. Knowing my taste from this thread, do you guys think it's a match for me? I am wondering if it may have too much incense. I still haven't found an incense frag I like (other than Bond No 9 Harrods Ltd Edition which has a bit of myrrh), but I do have an interest in the genre. Also, some have mentioned a similarity to Antaeus, which I found was chockfull of birch tar; does it have any birch tar (can't stand that stuff)?

Edit: Completely forgot I made a separate thread for this frag and decided I would buy it, then promptly forgot; just ordered a bottle off Amazon. Move along...

http://www.basenotes.net/threads/282...es-Iles-by-CSP

Got a bunch of samples from Bigsly recently. Most of what I'm looking for falls under this thread, so I'm continuing my mini reviews! My review of Chanel Sycomore is 10 weeks old and still hasn't appeared on the site, so this is a lot more satisfying for me...

Firstly, he had a vintage mini of Givenchy Xeryus. The reviews are so varied that I had to know if I was missing something in a major reformulation. Turns out, no. However I would say that the vintage juice is definitely a notch better -- it includes an excellent green juicy jasmine accord, totally missing from the newer stuff, that lends it superior depth and roundness. Other than that it's the same to my nose.

• Bijan: unpleasant chemical mess. "Leather" (birch tar) ruins it for me for sure, but there is a lot of density. Reminds me a bit of Aramis. Maybe it's the cumin.
• Ralph Lauren Safari: I admit I had my hopes up reading the reviews. But I found it a sweet, cloying thing, certainly unisex. Blech.
• Enrico Sebastiano: I think this is the "Classic Cologne." Interesting leather opening (costus root? -- def not birch tar thank goodness), with nice woods and lots of amber to back it up later on. But there is a dried fruit accord in there (not sweet) that I am skeptical about. I'll try wearing it once to make sure it's not for me.
  Edit: I'm starting to be able to identify amber finally, which is generally a totally synthetic thing, explaining my lack of experience with it. I'm finding amber to be rather heavy, fruity, a little woody and slightly sweet. Maybe that's the note I'm sensing in this one that I'm not digging too much?
• Zirh Ikon: Very, very similar to Dirty English with the patchouli and conifer, but has a slight bit more spicy floral (maybe balsamic too) sweetness that helps to temper the extreme dryness. I hope wearing it all day does not overwhelm me (very slight nausea after 10 hours) like I found Dirty English to do. I ordered a bottle, as it's so cheap, why the heck not!

Birch tar is my nemesis.

• Sung Homme: Floral-spice sweet beginning with quite a bit of density. Then all I get is birch tar.
• Aramis Portos: Excellent herbal aromatic opening salvo, followed by birch tar.
• Polo Modern Reserve: Lighter, sweeter version of Polo. Unfortunately it has just as much birch tar if not more.

I also tried Cool Water just for fun. Reminds me of synthetically-flavored shaved ice syrup or something. Floral, metallic, and transparent. It's balanced and cute. Nothing I'd wear of course.

Also I finally found a fougere I like: the cheapie Lomani pour Homme. Stunningly ugly bottle, though the slanted cap is kinda fun to take on and off. It has a fun lemon opening and the drydown is mossy and balanced, without the "hollowness" of other fougeres I've tried. However, the formula is unbalanced, having too little base accord. So I simply overapply. Not too worried about using up my $9 bottle.

The search continues. (cue John Williams triumphant fanfare)

• Guerlain Coriolan: Beautiful aromatic herbal opening, including the inimitable Guerlinade accord, followed by some seriously waxy aldehydes. Reminds me a lot of this woman's perfume I sampled recently whose name slips my mind. Aldehydes (sparkling or waxy) tend to be overdosed to my nose, and this is no exception.
• Gillette Cool Wave: I couldn't resist this drug-store cheapie, and as with most of them, it's not up my alley. The opening is nicely dry and herbal, but there's too much birch tar after that. Contrary to many reviews, I do detect a smidge of cooling floral dihydromyrcenol, which accounts for its name. I must admit that it is very balanced and smells MUCH more expensive than it is. If you like birch tar this may be an excellent addition to your wardrobe. Just not for me.
• Azzaro Visit: Really nice one, this. A modern herbal-cedar winner. Very, very similar to Lalique Equus which I recently purchased, but has a bit of spicy complexity and of course a lovely herbal opening to accompany the basic cedar theme. However, the green round freshness of Equus' cedar accord is slightly more satisfying. On the whole, I could easily own either, but not both, despite the fact that Visit is more interesting (as Equus has no opening at all to speak of). Recommended.
• Houbigant Duc de Vervins: Yet another beautiful aromatic herbal opening. That must be Bigsly's thing. And I can see why. However there is a bit of heaviness after that which may be amber, not a favored accord of mine. I will have to wear it to make a final decision.
• Celine Fever: If you're a regular reader of this thread, you know I like putting the good ones last. I enjoyed this bay leaf-patchouli-cedar composition, which lies on the other side of Ikon from Dirty English in that it has similar accords but with even a little more sweetness and naturalness than Ikon (while DE is the most austere). Safe to say I like Fever better than those two -- great balance of aromatic and richer wood -- and is that a touch of storax in the base adding its pure spicy sweetness? I would still characterize it as "dry" (not sweet) however. Will definitely be trying on my skin soon. If it were a cheapie, I would simply buy a bottle outright like I did with Ikon.
  Edit: Unfortunately the formula is unbalanced in favor of topnotes. Applying nearly an entire ml, Fever is completely gone off my skin and mild even on my tshirt. Longevity killed this nice scent. Similar problem with Lomani pour Homme, but Lomani is $9 a bottle so I don't really care.

Hm, no. I suppose the spices make it slightly sweeter than Equus, but certainly not anywhere near as sweet as Safari, e.g. However that is on paper. I will be trying on skin soon.

I've been noticing that people's perception of sweet differs a lot! My friend (who thought Yatagan had a distinct cocaine note) thought Grain de Plaisir was too sweet, while I think it is pretty dry.

Thanks KIN!

I've gotten through the rest of Bigsly's samples, but most of them didn't come close.

• Jack Black Silver Mark: Ha I remember seeing this name at Nordstrom and being so confused that the comedian/actor was coming out with scents, whoops. This guy starts out lovely herbal-aromatic then turns to birch tar. Seems to be a common theme in mens' frags.
• Chaleur d'Animale: Nice herbs, very sweet-animalic, too many waxy aldehydes.
• Carven homme: sweet floral, slightly green, blech
• Ungaro II: Old-fashioned animalic. weird
  Edit: After sampling the fantastic Ungaro I, I revisited this. On the skin, I see that it is a tradition lavender-vanilla-civet accord like Mouchoir de Monsieur or Zino. I think I like those two better though, so this rare discontinued guy isn't worth it to me. But the opening is very animalic.
• John Sterling: sweet herbal-floral. meh
• Joseph Abboud: starts off pretty sweet, better in the drydown. meh
• Bobby Jones: sweet floral, slightly green, meh
• Deauville: sweet floral, slightly green, meh
• Mark Birley: interesting dry herbal-woody. will try on skin

Took a shower and threw on the Azzaro Visit just now. It's more of a cedar frag than a bitter green one, but I have to say I'm enjoying it. The sweetness is very light -- certainly far from syrupy.

Wore Visit and really enjoyed it yesterday -- I found it excellent, balanced, and longlasting. The nutmeg was mild to my nose, cedar being the dominant accord. I enjoy its cedar-vanilla-vetiver drydown. It's probably not a fragrance for this thead per se. But my tastes for my signature scent(s) do not encompass my entire interest in fragrances. E.g. one of my favorite scents is Guerlain Jicky, which has nothing to do with this thread. I just bought a 16oz bottle from the mid 20th century of the EdC -- hope it's good! I tend to wear such things when projecting an accurate view of my personality is not so important (being around people who already know me well, for instance).

Wore the Mark Birley today. It's nice and very reminiscent of Diptyque L'Eau Trois, but leaner and with a dash of welcome patchouli. However, the myrrh is too static/dead an accord for me, as usual. Only the rarest, most interesting incense (Bond Harrods Ltd Edition!) accord can really do it for me. It's as if the vibration and tension of the fragrance is lost to dull, dry dust. The Birley is balanced and not sweet, at least.

No prob Bigsly. Bijan (current at least) is nowhere near something I'd wear.

I just ordered five bottles blind from mspa; I think they're somewhat appropriate for this thread & I will be reviewing them!

Wore the Duc de Vervins yesterday. I really like its fougere drydown, and on the whole it's similar to Lomani pour Homme but more classy/natural and balanced. However, for about 20 minutes in the heart accord there is an annoying sweet dried fruit accord that I find cloying. So it's a no-go.

The Harrods is definitely up there. I haven't actually worn it yet since I am hoarding my 3ml sample. That and Yatagan, Grain de Plaisir, and Esencia Loewe are all in the ballpark for sure. (Sud Est is very wearable too.)


Dude thanks again for a very interesting suggestion! I agree, the leather sounds like saffron which is fine with me, I think -- not many fragrances utilize safraleine I have noticed. Reading this from Rogalal on the forum:

'It reminded me of the smell of the garden department at Home Depot - that mix of fertilizer, "Miracle Gro", and mulch. It was simultaneously very green and "living" but with a huge overtone of weed killer chemicals.'

makes me even more intrigued, believe it or not! I will definitely give it a shot.

We differ in that.

CSP Barbier des Iles: Definitely smart to give this one a shot. It begins aromatic and very, very dry. Drier than Yatagan -- no juicy geranium, and the jasmine is barely perceptible if at all. It is bitter, green, spare and rather unique. Then my old enemy, birch tar, makes its entrance. Thankfully its presence is rather muted. At this point the similarities to Yatagan become apparent. BdI has less celery seed, but it shares Yatagan's castoreum. If not for the birch tar, this could be an interesting, even drier variation on Yatagan for me. In fact I had BdI on one arm and Yatagan on the other, and the similarities are obvious. The far drydowns are 90% the same, though BdI suffers from far too much labdanum, resulting in a "drying saliva" accord typical of that ingredient. I'll probably try a complete wearing once just to make sure, but it's doubtful I will like that touch of smoky wintergreen in the heart.

Today I did a full wearing of Zirh Ikon for the first time and it is much sweeter than on paper. Somehow that does not annoy me . . . it has a rather natural, smooth feel rare in a fragrance this affordable. The davana flower adds a welcome greenness.

I dabbed some Dirty English on my arm to compare them, and I have to say I was wrong to call them closely related. I noticed this time that the DE has a dollop of some aquatic accord, possibly calone, and it struck me that that is probably what gave me a headache in previous wearings. Ikon is a lot more balsamic/vanillic sweet though its fresh wafts of patchouli do resemble DE. Ikon is rather concentrated as well. I'm only using 1/4 ml and it lasts hours and hours. Looking forward to my bottle -- it's gonna last me.

Hm those both sound like "leather" scents, which usually means birch tar. Care to comment on what kind of "leather" they're referring to?

Thanks for your thoughts, Surfacing. I appreciate it very much. Kouros is way too sweet for me. I am wearing YSL Rive Gauche pH today for the first time and it's also much too sweet (and incensey) for me. Visit is about as sweet as I can generally go. I still haven't found an incense fragrance I really like, and Kouros' drydown is definitely heavy on the incense. So it's doubtful that Orange Spice would be a match. Keep thinking though!

I ended up getting a full bottle of Visit from Bigsly, guess I did need both that and Equus after all. In case you hadn't noticed, I've become a rather serious collector since starting this thread. What a wonderful world to enter.

This latest find is not directly related to this thread but I wanted to mention it: Bowling Green by Geoffrey Beene. I got a bottle for cheap (discontinued and all) and I must say, this is a cute frag, and very green. Rather sweet but certainly not heavy or cloying. It's not as bold as my favorites or anything, but it is quite comforting. I wanted to mention that its opening especially, but also the frag in general, reminds me of a sweeter, lighter Esencia Loewe. Bowling Green has a touch of spice and less musk and bitter notes than Esencia, but its fresh tartness and naturalness are reminiscent. Nice bedtime scent for me. I suppose it's too frivolous for the modern market and that's why it got discontinued after 25 years, but what a pleasant scent.

Good question, rompip; before trying it, that was my concern as well. I can attest that to my nose, this smells if anything more natural to me than Grey Flannel -- I assume the blast of violet in the latter is from methyl ionone, which while not synthetic like the vile brands you mention, does not exactly smell like an essential oil. BG's naturalness was definitely a factor in its ability to charm me. There isn't a single note out of balance, rather it is smooth and round. Perhaps a little more risk in its composition could have increased its appeal over the long term, but its appeal is undeniable.

Speaking of Versace, have you tried the discontinued Green Jeans? It looks to have a similar profile to Bowling Green.

Got some samples from hellcat9 -- he was generous! Either I lucked out, or he has good taste, because the first four I tried were all pretty good.

Bogart Witness: I was concerned about this one because One Man Show and Bogart were full of birch tar. Witness is on the spicy side, with an intriguing complexity and a touch of green herbs. No birch tar. The sandalwood is the predominant accord in the drydown. The cheapness of the synthetic sandalwood is obvious, and yet it somehow remains in balance. That's what capable perfumers do after all. Witness is a pleasant and not totally conventional sandalwood fragrance, whose fir and patchouli give it a mild bite. I'll try wearing it at least once. Might be worth picking up if I can score a bottle super cheap. Edit: wore this yesterday and found the geranium, cinnamon, storax and patchouli quite sweet but not overly so... could be a good comfort scent for bedtime and such. Definitely pleasant.

Cartier Pasha: From the reviews, this isn't what I was expecting at all. It's certainly not sweet. It's not really bitter either, but rather green, leafy, and sappy. There is similarity to several Diptyque creations (Eau de Lierre) and Andy Tauer's new Verdant pentachord. Thankfully, there's no tomato leaf. I'll try wearing it but I have a feeling it might be a bit austere for my taste -- I think there's some myrrh in the base that deadens things. I'm a little surprised no one recommended it to me here.

Crabtree & Evelyn Sienna: Okay, you are reading this for the first time: I like the birch tar in this! Finally, it's treated as wintergreen, flanked by cinnamon and green leaves. Spicy, a little sweet, and masculine. The reviews here seem to think this is dirt cheap juice, but it's not. If it were a super cheapie, I might consider a bottle. It's fun. Edit: Upon wearing, the birch tar is still annoying to me. I just don't like the combo of wintergreen and smoke.

Carven Vetiver Dry: Not a whole lot of info on this one out there. The spray sample was calling to me -- a little must have gotten sprayed on the tape hellcat9 sealed it with, and it smelled great. I was delighted with the opening, which recalls Esencia Loewe, and they seem to have been released the same year. A lot of perfumers were probably looking for a new direction at that time; too bad for guys like me, Cool Water became the wave of the future instead of Esencia. Vetiver Dry has less herbs (wormwood) than Esencia, a bit more rose, and a big slug of smoky vetiver where Esencia has more smooth moss and musk. They are both quite dry, the Carven perhaps even moreso than Esencia in the drydown. The smoke is intriguing, though I do prefer Esencia. I'll give it a wearing but I'll probably pass. I would go so far as to say this frag is a hidden gem however. Edit: After giving this a wearing, I really like it and want a bottle.

Let us all know how you like it ... possibly the most innocent, cute frag in my collection.

Got around to the rest of the samples. Looks like I picked all the good ones in the first half.

Serge Lutens Chene: As will all other SL's I've tried, this one suffers from overrefinement. Also, its woody/amber thing is very reminiscent of Iso E Super, not my favorite overdose ingredient. Woody and dense, with a bit of animalic and/or floral weirdness.

Montale Patchouli Leaves: Interesting contrast between dry, harsh patchouli and some sweet floral/spicy note to balance, but really too much of a patchouli bomb for me. At least it lives up to its name...

Bois 1920 Vetiver Ambrato: I suppose this one lives up to its name too, though I would perhaps reverse the words, since the amber kicks the vetiver's ass. Rather sweet-floral and conventional.

Le Galion Eau de Vetiver: Plenty of smoky, dusty vetiver here, flanked by abandoned attic and locked crypt accords. If I were undead, I'd probably really dig this -- if I still had a sense of smell after my nose decomposed.

Worth Pour Homme Concentree: I think he included this because he's trying to get rid of his bottle, which I understand, since I don't like iris and sweet florals, nor waxy aldehydes. Pleasant sweet moss base though, and certainly a balanced composition.

Hm, I found Bogart (not Bogart pH) to be much darker and more bitter than the Worth pH. Salvador has more animalic-floral-yet bitter weirdness, almost a blood note... very dense. Probably too sweet for me, and certainly too much birch tar. Sienna is the only good use of birch tar I've ever come across. It's a shame because so many of those 80s powerhouses are so bold and bitter otherwise. If anyone can think of more bold dark bitter powerhouses with no birch tar, chime in, because I love their weird artsy challenging openings especially!

Profumi del Forte By Night: Green, but also sweet-balsamic and earthy (myrrh), with some indolic florals as well. Too sweet for me.

I definitely trust your nose, dude. I will be trying that along with Baudelaire.

Thanks for the suggestion. Tea and sandalwood often don't work for me (too mild, round and sweet) but I will give it a shot.

Hopefully not too much incense! That annoyed me about Rive Gauche. It's interesting that I enjoy incense but don't like to smell of it. I suppose that's not too surprising; after all, I enjoy the smell of garlic etc. I wrote Byredo an email; maybe they'll grace me with a couple free samples.

I finally got to try Mazzolari Mazzolari by the way -- unfortunately its leather is definitely birch tar. Ah well.

Well the amazing Bond Harrods Ltd Edition has myrrh, which is an incense note, so I don't want to write it off entirely...

Parfum D'Empire Iskander: Perhaps I underapplied, but after the lovely citrus opening, this became rather faceless. The oakmoss amber drydown just kind of sat there. Just not much "there" there with this one.
Edit: Applying more, I get sour tomato leaf in the heart . . . still don't really enjoy that stuff.

Humiecki & Graef Askew: Great name on this one. Their Skarb was a very interesting and dissonant fragrance whose Calone made it unwearable for me. This time around, it's the candle wax note (aldehydes?) that taints an otherwise very unique composition. I never much cared for the smell of crayons.

Nicely blended fragrance, but far from bitter or animalic. Only a little green, just a clean vetiver. The touch of iris makes it too clean for me to really vibe on it. It's not bold in any way, rather I find it quite restrained. I can't wait to try Italian Cypress, however.

Nobile 1942: Estroverso: Got a sample at the Scent Bar. Interesting one, very earthy, probably from myrrh. Bit of musk on the drydown. A bit muted and sober for me, however. I don't really see myself wearing this one, good as it smells.

Kindly read the whole thread before replying; both those have already been discussed. Thank you

Blind buys from a BN member! I've had good luck as far as courteous prompt users on the swaps/buys forums, but not great luck liking blind buys. This time was much more successful than last (5 out of 5 misses). I also got a backup Lomani bottle. Why not, I know I'll definitely use up my current guy at some point, the juice being not that strong.

First, the misses:

Versace Green Jeans: I had high hopes for this discontinued '96 release, people saying that it was dry citrus and pine and not much else. Imagine my surprise when after spraying it on, it smelled like an 80s leathery citrus powerhouse. Nice citrus-herbal opening drying down to -- you guessed it -- birch tar. Ah well.

Krizia Uomo: I suspected this would be full of birch tar from all the "hardcore leather" comments, and it is. The herbs and pine seem to mix with it better than in Polo though, for example. I'll try it on skin but I doubt it's for me. It's hilarious how sweet and wintergreeny birch is to my nose while others perceive it as smoky and dark. I wonder what percentage of humans have this unusual perception -- maybe 2%. I've found at least one other person on the forums with it.

Creed Epicea: People tend to categorize this one as a conifer fragrance, which I found misleading. (I suppose based on its name, which means spruce, not "spicy" as some have said.) It is in fact a spice fragrance for the most part. On paper, I got a rather stale clove and tobacco (coumarin) combination, old fashioned and a bit wet and weak. On skin, however, it is more lively, with the spice in the fore and the coumarin in the background. Excellent grassy clean vetiver drydown, barely any animal notes if at all, so the longevity is average at best. Obviously full of natural essential oils. Pleasant blind buy! Thanks odysseusm.

Thanks blackened. But "Russian leather" usually means birch tar, which is a no-go for me. Care to comment?

Hey man I kind of skipped this one because I couldn't find much information on it. It sounds aquatic which is generally a no-go for me. Care to describe it at all hednic?

Actually, while I do enjoy the petroleum notes (not birch tar, yay!), the honeysuckle is too floral-sweet for me. I get how that makes for an interesting dissonance in the composition, but it's just not for me. If there's something out there that smells like Fahrenheit with galbanum instead of flowers, let me know!!

Tough to get a hold of! Otoh, it sounds rather rounded and mild for me -- ylang, cinnamon, sandalwood.