Special scents/special notes, hate/love whatever...

This is a good one IMO.

Boss Elements
Baldessarini EDC
Zino Davidoff
Rive Gauche pour Homme EDT

Neither of these should break the $40-50 barrier, especially during sales or on the sites of online retailers, all have very little to no mainstream notes, are woody, slightly incense-like, spicy too in a reasonable measure, also, while being individualistic and mature, they don't smell dated.

Bvlgari Black might fit the bill? Or is that too mainstream?

Eau de L'occitane pour homme.

I don't know whether you'd class it as 'mainstream', but Paul Smith London would be my recommendation. Fits your budget and is a long way removed from the citrus/aquatic club!

Dsquared2 He Wood Rocky Mountain Wood (3.4 oz EDT spray testers go for ~ $35 on ebay) - this is excellent juice

Yves Rocher Comme Une Evidence Homme, in my opinion, is one of the best bargains in masculine perfumery. It would fit your bill nicely from a notes and price standpoint (picked up my 3.4 oz EDT spray plus a 5 oz body wash for $22.00 shipped)

L'Occitane Eau des Baux is woodsy, spicy, and incensy but it does have some sweetness that may bother you (pricetag for a 3.4 EDT spray will likely be around your upper limit)

For something really avant-garde and within the price range, Breath of God by Lush ($45), a smoky vetiver.

cacio

Jacomo de Jacomo -- smokey cloves

Azzaro Visit -- cedar, nutmeg, pepper and incense.

Zirh Corduroy............... nice spicy powdery woods and great compliment getter
Michael Jordan Legend..similar to rochas man, NH Men and Le Male all in one bottle and everyone loves that one
Ted Lapidus Black Soul.......rich spices and great smell


If u want macho less sweet scents try a few of these
Yatagan Caron........great refined oriental chypre that is VERY mascuine
Montana Parfum D'Homme.........great green smell with some insence, vanilla and great spices and a nice green freshness and is absolutely LOVED on here

Dirty English......a nice smoky resinous agarwood scent with some rich spices and a VERY macho feel that can be bought for a VERY low price
Gucci Pour Homme One......great macho scent with some nice exotic insence and everyone loves that one

Gormandish/Sweet Scents
Lolita Lempicka........le male with some licorice and a slightly different powdery feel
Ghost Man.....similar to Le Male but better to many peoples noses
Body Kouros....a more rich masculine version of le male with a MUCH better smell
Ted Lapidus Black Soul.......a nice masculine semi gormandish scent similar to one million in the opening but deeper and richer in the drydown
Carlos Santana.....nice sweet woodsy vanilla cinnamon fresh scent great for a date
John Varvatos.......a nice sweet powdery woodsy vanilla
La Nuit.....great rich spicy smell
Hanae Mori HM.......absolutely phenomenal smell
S.T. Dupont.............VERY highly rated hazelnut drydown

you can prob get a decant of pure malt or musk ravageur on here for under 40 and its VERY good stuff.......let me know what u end up getting

Hi!

Excuse any repititions from above posts, but I'd suggest, for starters:

Encre Noire (~$40) for woody
Bulgari Man (~$45) for woody
Jack Black Silver Label (~$55) for woody-spicy
Body Kouros (~$35) for incensy-spicy

Thew new Spicebomb is very unique. Same goes for Noble Vetiver and Noble Cedre.

Bvlgari Black
Encre Noire

+1 These.

My suggestion is to explore Lush and Comme Des Garcons. They both have quite unusual fragrances at very resonable prices.

As LT and others have pointed out, some vintage frags marketed to women might be fine for men looking for something different, especially if you can wait a few minutes to let the top notes dissipate. One example is the original Dali frag; another is Miglin's Pheromone.

+1
Carbon reminds me TF Tuscan Leather, less sweet and leathery, more spicy and musky

Try:

Fahrenheit Absolute by Christian Dior - Any similarity to its ancestral Fahrenheit is left by the wayside in its opening; this is not a bad thing, inasmuch as this challenging fragrance indeed stands on its own extraordinary merits. The opening is a beautiful violet leaf, toned down by the additon of alluring myrrh, giving the impression of a darkened house of worship, after service, with vases of lovely violets scattered here and there. The heart with its smoky frankincense, a light oud and kisses of leather, beckons and subsumes the violet and myrrh into a warm melange. With the violet still twinkling here and there, this mixture segues into the comforting base with the its dark cedar and agarwood, tempered nicely by coumarin with its tonka bean vanilla. Evoking a dark yet mellow character, this somewhat avant-garde composition is well done. Being a cool weather and evening scent, it has very good longevity and projection.

&

He Wood Rocky Mountain by Dsquared2 - In the enchanting opening, one is treated to a cloud of white pepper, carrying a lovely, cool violet and refreshing, creamy lily. A strong heart with its brawny duet of cedarwood and vetiver makes one sense a wet forest, and carries off the floral accord to join its soothing base. Segueing to that drydown, a melange of warm amber, smoky incense and sensual musk overlay the woody and floral accords. This floral, incense and woody fragrance is one of the best outdoors scents, and is a very versatile fragrance. Wonderfully, the longevity and projection are both excellent.