Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Fragrance Industry and General Fragrance Discussion › Aromamaterials question about Troisieme Homme...
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Aromamaterials question about Troisieme Homme...

post #1 of 10
11/3/11 at 7:36am
Thread Starter 
What is the chemical that makes a masculine smell masculine? It's hard to define, but now you smell it in everything; it practically screams "frat boy". It's not a fougere thing because I can't smell it in older fougeres like Jicky, but I do smell it in masculines produced after Cool Water. I thought it was called calone, but I'm not sure if it's present in Troisieme Homme.

Sorry that's so vague, but it's hard to pin words onto ignorance.
Reply
Reply

Features on Basenotes

Basenotes Reader Awards 2013 - Finalists Announced.
Petals Falling From The Sky - A Report From The Cote d'Azur's Bataille De Fleurs
Greatest Hits: Annick Menardo
post #2 of 10
11/3/11 at 8:53am
No one material makes something smells masculine, it'll more than likely be a combination of things like coumarin, lavender, etc.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 10
11/3/11 at 9:20am
Thread Starter 
But there are... these combinations I've encountered in other perfumes, in other masculines, unisex, feminines, without that bracing aftershave quality. Hm, I'm not sure I can describe it.

Love your blog, btw. Thank you for responding.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 10
11/3/11 at 9:36am
Calone is quite characteristic, it smells sort of aquatic and watermelony, but strong. It features very prominently in Eau d'Issey and Aqua di Gio, so by smelling these two, you should get an idea of what calone is.

I don't detect much calone in Troisieme homme, though, at least the version I have. The alternative are various woody-ambers. Woody ambers are chemicals that can smell quite sharp, like concentrated rubbing alcohol, and are very persistent. The most famous one is perhaps Ambroxan - there are a couple of niche perfumes supposedly composed only of the material (eg Molecule 02 or Juliette not a perfume). An especially annoying one is in Light blue for men - if you take out the calone-aquatic note, what remains is a sharp, utterly unpleasant woody-amber.

cacio
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 10
11/3/11 at 3:23pm
Calone is definitely a contributor, but mostly agree with others who say it's a combination of various substances.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 10
11/3/11 at 3:32pm
Thread Starter 
Ah, the woody-amber makes sense. It's as you describe: like rubbing alcohol and very persistent, normally smells quite cheap but it's handled beautifully in Troisieme Homme. I'm not familiar with it because it's so characteristically masculine I'd never come across it in a feminine. Maybe there's a hint of it in Kiki...

Thank you. I should be better versed in the chemistry, so it's good I can check with you guys for accuracy.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 10
11/3/11 at 3:52pm
I also think it's the wood or woody amber notes. Many stereotypically "masculine" scents feature(d) this accord quite prominently, starting in the late 70s with scents like Halston Z-14 - scents like de Nicolai's New York and Guerlain's Hertiage also feature this accord prominently, but smooth it out a bit. It's in 3rd Man as well, and figures into many, many other masculines scents that came after that, at various levels.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 10
11/3/11 at 4:10pm
Thread Starter 
Aye. Aramis has it, for example, just a light touch, but it definitely doesn't have calone.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 10
11/5/11 at 6:25am
I think it's dihydromercanol. It's that "limey-woody" thing that seems to be in every mass-market men's scent. I admit I haven't smelled Troisieme Homme, though.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 10
11/13/11 at 2:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Olfacta View Post

I think it's dihydromercanol............that seems to be in every mass-market men's scent


Definitely. "Dihydromyrcenol", which is still hugely used to scent laundry detergents.

It's not nearly as strong in Troisieme Homme as it is in many others, though.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home

Features on Basenotes

Basenotes Reader Awards 2013 - Finalists Announced.
Petals Falling From The Sky - A Report From The Cote d'Azur's Bataille De Fleurs
Greatest Hits: Annick Menardo
Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Fragrance Industry and General Fragrance Discussion › Aromamaterials question about Troisieme Homme...