Some must have cheapies

I have Cuba Red and it does NOT smell like Burberry London. Unless by "Burberry London" you mean insect repellent and pipe tobacco. I'm not exaggerating either, it smells pretty bad. Cuba Orange smells just like Dunhill Desire if you're into super sweet smelling colognes.

Cuba Gold does smell like Le Male, but less potent. It's like a tamer version of Le Male but def smells like it. No minty note in Cuba Gold either, just vanilla goodness.

I recommend Aspen by Coty b/c it's very cheap and smells pretty pretty darn similar to GIT and CW.

How cheap?
<$40s?
Lanvin L'Homme
YSL Opium
Halston z-14

I do believe that Cuba Gold is the closest you can get to Le Male without buying Le Male. I've smelled Perry Ellis 360 White and it was also very similar, but Cuba Gold is almost a twin to Le Male. And depending on how cheap you're going, you could get The Dreamer by Versace off of Amazon for around $35. It smells like Le Male and D&G pour homme got it on and had a sexy baby.

Sounds like you want "super-cheapos." Everlast Original 1910 would be my first choice, but it depends upon what you're seeking. I happen to like McGraw and Cuba Orange among this group, for example, but a lot of people like Cuba Red and Gold, which I don't like. Cuba Red only smells like London after a few hours, and even then it's not exactly the same. I would suggest Ikon before Cuba Red (Ikon also smells a bit like Cuba Red after a while). Mustang by Estee Lauder is another one you might be able to get really cheaply, and I also like 101 Men by Valenti, which is usually less than $20 total for 100 ml somewhere (check ebay and scentedmonkey.com first). The best deals are on vintage frags on ebay, but you have to know exactly what you're looking for, or else you will likely get the new versions. Others worth considering are Witness, Cadillac (which has a drydown similar to Magnetism for Men), and Horizon, but again, you might hate them, no matter how "objectively" good they are. If you can go to $20 total you should be able to get 125 ml of Montana Parfum d'Homme, which is the one I'd get first if that is your limit (leaving aside the vintage ones that sometimes "fly under the radar" on ebay).

Pino Silvestre
Nobile Royality
Caesars Man
Dirty by Lush

Ah yes, Pino Silvestre. I wore that the other day and was thinking that it was quite good for its "drugstore" price, and could be marketed as designer. I guess the problem is that it's so old and well-known that it's best to sell it at a lower profit margin and not compete against the new designer frags. I'd still try for Montana Parfum d'Homme first, since it will likely become scare soon (though I have no idea when), whereas PS isn't going anywhere and isn't likely to get more expensive any time soon. For $3-4 per 35 ml, Cuba Orange gets my vote for those who need a "super-duper-cheapo," though. LOL.

Versace Blue Jeans - 90's vibe
likewise Versace Dreamer (Tobacco accord)

+1 on Blue Jeans. I forgot how cheap it is now. That and the Dreamer are both excellent fragrances.

Cuba Red is very spicy, one of the spiciest fragrances I have come across. I see a little bit of Burberry London in it, when comparing their dry downs; but in terms of a direct comparison, they are world's apart, in my eyes. I do like the smell of Cuba Red, but only once in a while, and not on my skin. VERY spicy!

I dunno if Magnum Gold is the same as Cuba Gold, from what I hear it is. If that's the case, and you dislike the synthetic mint note in Le Male, I think you will adore Cuba Gold. Since I get no mint from it at all. Other than that, they are very similar. I even prefer Gold to LM. Gold is pretty strong on the lavender, and has a slight barbershop vibe to it.

I have Cuba Hollywood which is not bad. The dry down is very nice, a sweet ambery musk, which strongly reminds me of Musc Raveguer's dry down.

Cuba Black would be the only other one I have tried, and reluctantly. I owned a 3.3 oz bottle which has been given away. I get Azzaro pH's middle notes from it, amped way the F up, projecting like a monster, one spray is enough to knock out everybody in the room. I don't think it smells bad, but it doesn't transition really, and just projects forever. Very 80's too. Black in terms of dark? I would say so..

Other suggestions: You're 20.. and in college. Cheapies are really one of my favorites, although cheapies here on BN aren't really cheap.. You're talking stuff in the under 15 dollar price range, I am sure. That's one of my specialties, as I thrive to find good cheap hidden gems.

Samba Kiss Me always comes to mind first. It's a creamy lemon gourmand, vanilla, high quality, projects nicely, lasts a while. Best of all, nothing really smells like it. Maybe if ya took the creamy lemon accord from Allure Homme Sport, and amped up the vanilla.. I would see it.

50 Cent Power. Not my favorite, by any means. Green, sweet, spicy, sour, very different and intriguing. You can pick up a 3.4 oz at TJ Maxx probably.

Daddy Yankee. An excellent celebrity scent, probably one of the best. Keep in mind, for the most part, celeb frags will always clutter the shelves at discounters, they are always in rotation, and have tons of flankers.. so they gotta go somewhere when nobody buys them. And, just because nobody buys them and they go for low prices at discounters, doesn't mean they are bad.. it usually means they weren't marketed well. With that said.. I believe Daddy Yankee has some reviews here on BN, which you can check out for more details. A 1.7 oz bottle costs 12.99 @ TJ Maxx.

Nautica Voyage. Excellent aquatic.. long lasting, more interesting than most. The result when you put an experienced perfumer behind a designer fragrance with a low budget.. Miracles do happen

I could name a lot more, but it would be easiest if you knew EXACTLY what you were looking for. What notes do you like? Do ya want something spicy, sweet, fruity, woodsy, fresh, etc, etc, etc.

Horizon by Guy Laroche
Boss Elements Aqua

Celine Fever, though it's on its way out of the market I think.
Great fragrance, can be found on the net, £4.99
Cadillac
Pino Silvestre (you must like pine)
Avon Ironman
Ungaro III (a bit more expensive)
and not to forget
Quorum Silver

Some excellent recommendations so far.

It's easy to think of good, cheap frags, but much harder to come up with any that could be called must haves. It may not be in a style that you are looking for, but Tabac Original Cologne is one that I would put in that group.

They have the 3.4 oz Dirty English for $35 which is a good and discontinued scent.

Geoffrey Beene - Grey Flannel

Michael Kors - Michael for Men

+ 1 for Michael Kors For Men and Dirty English. And if you like A*Men, don't forget Animale Animale For Men, a really pleasing gourmand on which A*Men was apparently based when it was created.
Also nice would be Tommy Bahama Man and Tommy Bahama Set Sails St. Barts. You can also get the men's Carons pretty cheap, and they're definitely worth it, although maybe more serious/complex than what you are looking for...

Encre noire. Cost $~40 but smells like $100.

Set Sail St Barts is an awesome fragrance for around $20. It is very pleasing and reminds me of being in a tiki bar back in Hawaii, drinking margaritas and watching the sunset with the smell of my sunscreen from earlier still lingering.

Bogart pour homme.
It is very cheap it smells good and it has great sillage and longevity.

Clive Christian "X".

Is a really nice cheapie.

Rykiel Homme - Fresh like putting on a new T-shirt.
Zirh Ikon or Corduroy - Ikon is incense and Corduroy is spicy.
Lucky No 6 - Smells like cherries.
Jacomo Rouge - Spicy and better than Le Male.
Daddy Yankee - Great celebrity fragrance.
Stetson Sierra - Refreshing and outdoorsy.
Coty Aspen - Piney and fresh.

The Cuba cigar scents (including the black, the blue and I think the Miami one) are good value in that they are inexpensive and they have good lasting power, and I like all of them. In fact they have better lasting power than quite a few designer scents. And scent-wise, they are usually a cut above most cheap scents (i.e. scents made cheaply and meant to be sold cheaply, rather than heavily discounted designer scents).

That said, with the possible exception of Gold, I think that scent-wise, they're a cut below most designer scents. If you can find heavily discounted designer scents where you live, at near the price of the Cuba scents, I think you are better off going for them instead.

On the other hand, the 30ml Cuba scents, in their aluminium containers, are very handy both as travel scents and as school scents. My nephews love them, they put them in their pen/ pencil containers.
Regards,
Renato

-Perry Ellis 360 Red-- smells like an intense, longer lasting version of Acqua Di Gio.
-Perry Ellis 360 White-- best & closest copy of Le Male I've smelled.
-Usher UR for Men (silver bottle)-- it's sweet, smooth & green. Almost like a bubblegum sweet green scent on top of a silky smooth Cashmere base. One of my favorite cheapies.
-50 Cent Power-- sweet tarts note on top of super mossy, musky, enchanted forest type smell. Smells incredible on cool, rainy days.
-Tommy Bahama Very Cool-- nice orange & ginger fresh scent.
-Cool Water Summer Fizz-- more mossy and musky than original CW. One of my favorites.
-Swiss Army Classic-- Nice sweet minty, cool scent. Very refreshing.
-Live Jazz-- what else can be said.. wonderful, unique, green scent with spearmint, rhubarb, cilantro, & lemon that dries down to a nice sparkly ambergris/vanilla base.

Habanita de Molinard. You can find this at many discounters for very low prices.

A great powdery tobacco with vetiver sold as a feminine.

This is an EDT but is long-lasting and has great sillage.

A word of advice. Don't limit yourself to age when it comes to fragrance. A man who is his own self will wear what he likes regardless of the gender or the marketing.

You should try Quartz Pour Homme by Molyneaux. On me it smells like a cross between a toned-down Yatagan by Caron (which I absolutely love) and Dior's Eau Sauvage. It's strong but not loud and, in my opinion, exudes quality. I picked up a 3.4 tester for under $17 a few months ago.

I also like Tommy Bahama EDC, Royall Vetyver and Royall Spice, Vetyver by Malizia. If you like smoky, tobacco-y, rich scents like the original Zino Davidoff, Vermeil Pour Homme is great and dirt cheap (<$15 for 3.4 EDT spray). You may also consider Acqua Di Selva. You'd have to like green smells, but, if you do, a 3.4 EDC could be had for < $20.

Best wishes.

Those sound like good choices to me. Cuba Gold projection is pretty good so 3-4 sprays is fine. Of the Cuba Line, gold and orange are my two favorites. Lucky #6 smells really good but longevity isn't the best so you can go 4-5 sprays on that one. Set Sail St Barts...you can go to town with that sprayer. I spray it at LEAST 5 times..maybe 6 or 7 b/c it's so light and smells amazing.

Diesel zero plus, Paris Hilton man and Animale Animale are not "cheapies" like Cuba cigars, they are designer scents that are heavily discounted (I haven't come across lucky No6 or Tommy bahama).

I'm not sure where you get the notion that "cheapies" don't project well - some of the loudest scents are the cheapie musk bombs that only ever came on the market for $20.

I put six sprays under my clothes. It doesn't matter what I'm wearing, if it's a scent with typical projection properties, it will be smelled from a distance. If instead its an expensive subtle scent like Emporio Armani He or Bvlgari PH, then more sprays will be required for the same effect. If it's a powerhouse scent, then it may be worth dropping to four sprays.

Diesel Zero Plus I used to think of as an interesting cinnamon oriental - but I've gotten a bit sick of it lately. It's kin Diesel Plus Plus often goes cheaper, and I think it's a great ambery fougere scent with great projection, it keeps me quite fresh on hot days. After about an hour it smells a lot like Nikos Sculpture.

Paris Hilton For Men is a very nice fruity scent also with very good projection.

Animale Animale was the first men's chocolate scent to come out ( a year before A*men). It's very good and potent for about three hours and then tones down a lot - it's still there but doesn't seem as chocolatey as A*men or Rochas man would still be doing at the same time.
Cheers,
Renato

Agua Lavanda
Quorum
Azzaro Pour Homme
Grey Flannel
1-12
Patrick
Sung Homme

When sprayed on skin under clothes, they last longer. There's not much difference between skin and clothes if all one is wearing is a shirt or light jacket. Even with heavier clothes, 6 sprays permeates through very quickly. When going out to night clubs in my non married days, I'd add a couple of shots on open chest or neck or both, depending on how strong the scent was. However, I'd never do this with scents like say Joop Homme, unless I wanted people to sniff me from 100 yards away.
Regards,
Renato

I like this thread.

CK one
Cool water Game (great scent out of the davidoff collection)
Azzaro chrome
Cubas, i have 4 of them, all smell good, gold and orange are my fav.


Go for the 1oz of 2-3 of them, and buy the 3.4oz of the scent you love the most, and stick to it. That what i usually do.

You should be able to get vintage Quorum, especially if you have some patience, on ebay (at low prices). The bottle should not say Antonio Puig on it (if it just says Puig that's fine). The vintage box looks like a Navajo rug type pattern whereas the new one is abstract. Most on ebay now are the new, so the vintage ones will look clearly different if you examine them closely.

dirty english By juicy couture
escada - magnetism

I agree; however, I must say that I prefer the mint in Le Male and Le Male has better longevity.

this is my TOP CHEAPIES LIST:

dirty english

YSL - jazz/live jazz

thierry mugler - mugler cologne

YSL - rive gauche

essika - vehemence (smells sweet, somehow reminds me of 1 million, have y'all try it?)

perry ellis - 360 red

jesus del pozo - quasar

Baldessarini - amBer

swiss army

also my Brother used to rock eau de grey flanel, and it is good scent, smell nice, mayBe i will get it
im thinking of getting versace - Blue jeans , van cleef and arpels - midnight in paris, Bcus i found them at a good price

what y'all think ?
thats your top cheapies list?
any recommendation?
what im looking is 28-36 price range
mayBe 40-48 if stuff is really good

thanx in advance

Bvlgari Black
Lalique Encre Noire

Caron Pour un Homme
Le Troisieme by Caron

Azzaro Pour Homme amongst all

Z-14, 1-12

One Man Show

These... and I'll add a few more...

PdN New York (a 30 ml bottle can be had for under $50)
Bellago for Men (100 ml can be had under $20)
Giorgio for Men (a 118ml can be had for $20)
also +1 on Azzaro pour Homme ($30 or less)

I haven't tried all of these but here are some more ideas.

HM
Body Kouros
Cuba Gold
Curve
Cool Water

Quorum
Lapidus Pour Houme
Bogart P H

Grey Flannel, Eau de Grey Flannel, Pino Silvestre, 1-12

Also these:

Rochas Man by Rochas
Michael for Men by Michael Kors

Lomani - Lomani

Good Morning To All!

New member, long time lurker, first post.

Would like to share some of my fav cheapies.

In no particular order:

Cerruti Pour Homme (Sexy Citrus Scent)
Trusardi Inside Man (Coffee & Tobacco) Yum.
Desir De Rochas Homme (Gourmand?) Maybe.
Paul Smith Man (Watered down Dior Homme) I still love it.
Mauboussin Homme (Spicy!) Girls love it. Loads of compliments on this one.
Gianfranco Ferre Bergamotto Marino (Long-lasting Eau De Cologne) Great for Spring/Summer
Salvatore Ferragamo Tuscan Soul (Similar to Bergamotto Marino) Great for Spring/Summer
Valentino V Pour Homme (Similiar to Body Kouros)
Tous in Heaven (A Fruity Masculine) Oxymoron?
Armand Basi Homme (Amped up Zirh Corduroy) Works best in Fall
Ted Lapidus Altimir/Black Soul (Interchangeable) I smell Paco Rabanne 1 Million
Essenza Di Zegna (Sweeter Acqua Di Gio)
Zegna Intenso (Similar to YSL La Nuit De L'homme)


The following are worth a try. They're good but not great.

Sonia Rykiel Grey
Roberto Cavalli Black
Angel Schlesser Essential
Jacomo De Jacomo Rouge
Romeo Gigli Man
Baldessarini Del Mar Marbella Edition
Lalique Equus


I've received the most negative feedback on the following.

"Why are you wearing your grandfather's cologne?" The most common question/complaint.

Animale Animale
Azzaro Pour Homme
Azzaro Visit
Azzaro Silver Black
Ungaro III
Halston Z-14
Michael Kors Michael for Men
YSL Pour Homme
Gucci Pour Homme
Zirh Ikon
Kouros
YSL Rive Gauche
Ungaro Apparition Homme Intense
Angel Schlesser Homme
Jil Sander Man
Encre Noir
Byblos In Black
Lavin L'homme Sport
Lalique Pour Homme

Seconding those who have already mentioned Aspen and adding Coty Wild Woods.

My favorite cheapie (can be found quite cheap as a tester and/or on the bay) is Hanae Mori HM edt, and it lasts a long time. Also a +1 for Dirty English.

Paco Rabanne pour Homme
Agua Brava
Tabac Original

Joop! Homme is a brilliant cheapo!

I just repurchased Curve for $14.00, which I think is an excellent value.

Pretty Much all Carons:

L'Anarchiste
Yatagan
Le 3 Homme
Pure

Quality Fragrances with great silage for less

+1 on Midnight in Paris and Bvlgari Black. Both, are nice powdery, smoky, leather/vanilla scents that are really cozy and nice in winter months. I have a decant of the edp version of MIP and am going to be ordering a full bottle soon, myself.

I second both Midnight in Paris an PdN New York. PdN Pour Homme is also great.

For really cheap, CO Bigelow elixer scents can be had at $10-$20 for a 50ml bottle. I've only tried the blue one, and while it's fairly linear, it's not bad for times when I don't feel like wearing anything earthshattering.