Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Fragrance DIY › Man up my Frag tips?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Man up my Frag tips?

post #1 of 10
5/25/11 at 8:40pm
Thread Starter 
I am working on my first blend ( a frag for my teenage son). It is lacking a manly type base. The top and middle notes are nice, mainly consisting of a grapefruit/leaf alcohol/Iso E Super/Calone accords with ambroxan.
Could you throw a few suggestions my way please, on how to man it up a little?
Its quite unisex at the moment for his taste. He likes European style frags, once older Italian men wear ( his words LOL).
The blend is in fractionated coconut oil, am yet to purchase some alcohol.
Would the aroma chemical Kephalis help?
I have the kits from perfumers apprentice, but not the naturals (yet)
Reply
Reply

Features on Basenotes

Basenotes Reader Awards 2013 - Finalists Announced.
Greatest Hits: Annick Menardo
Petals Falling From The Sky - A Report From The Cote d'Azur's Bataille De Fleurs
post #2 of 10
5/28/11 at 5:16am
I often find a drop of bay ( pimenta racemosa) " masculinises" things
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 10
5/28/11 at 6:28am
Thread Starter 
Thanks Hirch for your reply, I will put that on my must buy list : )
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 10
7/10/11 at 2:49am
Maybe try to add some wood, that always adds some "man" to cologne. You could use some balsamic woody scents, smoky,sweet wood like benzoin or just some cedar or sandalwood. Vetiver is also nice to "man" it up but it tends to be dubbed as "old manish", although used sparingly it give a cologne some roughness or teeth as I would say. If you use it though be careful it is very strong, one drop ruined a batch I was working on once, use a pipette. Basil or clary sage is also a nice staple to add.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 10
7/10/11 at 7:45am
Try a hint of labdanum EO, a bit more labdanum absolute, and a mix of virginia (pencil shaving) cedar and himalaya (sharper, cleaner, aromatic) cedar.

Vetiver is also a good suggestion - haitian is the most typical although indonesian, which is much darker and smokier, can be an awesome accent note when used in very small proportions.

If you wanted to take it in another direction you could use something like black currant absolute to combine with the sulfurous qualities of the grapefruit, and then go with fir absolute to create a green, soft, fir base with fruity accents.

If he likes Italian bases, you're going to want to go with oakmoss, tobacco absolute, labdanum absolute (which becomes rather leathery), etc.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 10
7/10/11 at 8:01am
all suggestions are good, but IMO what it needs is not a base, but some aromatics. So I think basil and sage are the better recommendations.

small amount of labdanum, cypress, juniper, rosemary would all italian-ly man it up.
ambroxan and Iso e super should be enough base, but if you want it thicker, aged patchouli would always be welcome in my book.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 10
7/10/11 at 8:22am
some spices, aromatic herbs, dry woods, yes, plus lavender, geranium, coumarin (the fougere direction).
if he wants something classic, you will need some naturals.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 10
7/13/11 at 6:42am
I'd vote for lavender or frankincense top notes, some leather, and a sandalwood base note. Maybe some rum? I remember a sales associate telling me that men's colognes used to all be tobacco + leather + booze
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 10
7/13/11 at 3:34pm
the classic idea of masculinity in fragrances almost equals dryness. plus a lack of obvious floral odors, except lavender. (of course about every 'pour homme' fragrance contains some floral elements, too.)

note that there's one domain where a very large percentage of fragrances for men are residing, a place where you find almost no fragrances for women at all: the fougere.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 10
7/18/11 at 11:55pm
Thread Starter 
wonderful suggestions! thank you everyone : )
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Fragrance DIY

Features on Basenotes

Basenotes Reader Awards 2013 - Finalists Announced.
Greatest Hits: Annick Menardo
Petals Falling From The Sky - A Report From The Cote d'Azur's Bataille De Fleurs
Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Fragrance DIY › Man up my Frag tips?