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trying to get started, so many choices, and so hard to choose

post #1 of 14
6/24/12 at 10:26pm
Thread Starter 
Yes! another kid asking you guys, people of basenotes, to help out in narrowing down what kind of cologne to get, only because you guys like what's unique.

I'm 20 yrs old male in college just looking to up my style when adding cologne to the arsenal came to mind. I figured I did not want to smell like every other guy when I go to clubs, other night events, day relaxing, or what have you. But most importantly I'm looking to start with a winter night and then winter day fragrance first (I would have started a summer collection if I weren't going to be vacationing somewhere super humid and hot).

For the past 2-3 days, I've been reading through a lot of basenotes to see what's good for night wear during the winter, but it's tough and overwhelming. Sadly I haven't gone out to try some yet, but I want to see if I can get help narrowing it into 8 choices (4 night 4 day) so that I do not have to make too many runs trying on different colognes.



What I can seem to be interested to narrow down based on review and cost:
A*men
YSL La Nuit de l'Homme
YSL M7
YSL Kouros/Body Kouros
L'Instant de Guerlain EDT
Dior Homme Intense
Gucci Envy
Burberry London
l'eau d'Issey Issey Miyake
D&G The One
Chrome Azzaro
Hanae Mori HM

If there are any more notable ones, please let me know.

What I want to do is one for day one for night and start building slowly. I live in everyday 65 high (or colder) weather (even in spring) so I figured 3/4 seasons is pretty much winter.

For night, it's for clubbing or college club events (which a lot happen at night) and I'm not sure if a different cologne should be used. But to frank, I just want girls to have a remembrance of me not only by personality, but also hopefully think I'm CLASSY AS FCK from smell too when I go to these college day or night events.

The day one is for when I walk around campus or when I meet up with people.

Being asian and a college student, as much as I want to get something from creed, I can't burn a 200 dollar hole or something that can hold only hold a smell for 2 hrs (so good longevity).

I'm looking more into 2.5 oz - 3.6 oz for $60? I'm lenient. Something not pungent (especially during the day).

Please help. I come to you guys so I don't end up getting something like AdG and smelling like 80% of the other students. I know I'd come to love you guys and appreciate the hell out of you guys for helping.


tl;dr looking to grab a winter night and a winter day cologne to leave a good, classy remembrance on people, and to smell great


EDIT: Added tl;dr
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post #2 of 14
6/24/12 at 11:45pm
I live in a country that doesn't have as good discounts as in the USA, but with better discounts than in Europe.
Of the scents you cited, this is what I paid for them
A*men - $40 gift set with 50ml bottle
YSL M7 - $80
YSL Kouros/Body Kouros - $35 100ml bottle
L'Instant de Guerlain EDT - $42 100ml bottle
Gucci Envy - $50 100ml
Burberry London - $30 50ml
l'eau d'Issey Issey Miyake - $50 125ml
Chrome Azzaro - $17 100ml
Hanae Mori HM - $60 100ml

And I subsequently could have gotten some of them cheaper. And I've gotten classics like Egoiste, Equipage and Blenheim's Bouquet for $35.

All I'm saying is that if you're on a budget, it pays to scrounge around bargain bins, closing down sales and internet sites, looking for good scents that have fallen on hard times. I have a heap of $20, $10 and $5 bottles of scents that I quite like or like a lot - and this is the price range that I paid for half of my niche scents. Read the reviews here at Basenotes and at Fragrantica (they're less finicky over there about where a scent is artistic or synthetic in their rating) and pick up some high quality designer scents at heavily discounted prices. Just avoid the budget scents that were made cheap to be sold cheap - because they smell cheap.
Regards,
Renato
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post #3 of 14
6/25/12 at 12:06am
Welcome to Basenotes.

Keep in mind that you can get testers of various Creeds on Fragrancenet.com for less than $80. And there are several opportunities to buy some nice-sized splits of the most popular Creeds here on BN.

It's hard to beat Green Irish Tweed for your age and what you're wanting it for. Other Creeds you should try, to ensure you don't go around smelling like everyone else, are Original Vetiver, MI and SMW.

I like many of the scents in your list. Since you're into some gourmand fragrances, don't forget to consider such things as Spicebomb, Pure Havane, Pure Malt and Tobacco Vanille. I think Aramis Havana would be a good scent for someone your age as well. For something a little different, consider something like Azzaro Acteur or Rive Gauche (both relatively cheap).

Several in your list are VERY strong (DHI, M7), so make sure you don't overdo it when using these type of fragrances. One spray goes a loooong way.
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post #4 of 14
6/25/12 at 12:28am
Thread Starter 
@Renato:

Thanks, I'll start with your recommendation of scouring the bargain bins, except I'm not sure where these bargain bins would be in the US.

@redraider430:

With that, it's really hard for me not to consider some Green Irish Tweed (maybe I'll smell richer and classier), but I thought it was more of a spring/summer scent.
I'm not sure how buying from people here at the marketplace with me since it's pretty easy to sell a fake bottle. Makes me skeptical.
And I'm sure almost no college kid would be grabbing GIT..right?
Also with what you listed, are they more for winter night scent or just whenever winter?
I can always just put less/spray less with ie. DHI, M7?

EDIT: I'm fine with shipped and sold by amazon.com after some reading.
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post #5 of 14
6/25/12 at 2:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by killerfrenzi View Post

Yes! another kid asking you guys, people of basenotes, to help out in narrowing down what kind of cologne to get, only because you guys like what's unique.

I'm 20 yrs old male in college just looking to up my style when adding cologne to the arsenal came to mind. I figured I did not want to smell like every other guy...



What I can seem to be interested to narrow down based on review and cost:
A*men -- very gourmand. Quality scent if you like sweet scents. Very strong and can be polarizing. Do not over apply.
YSL La Nuit de l'Homme -- I recommend skipping this one.
YSL M7 -- this is a very distinctive quality scent, but can be quite polarizing, so sample first.
YSL Kouros -- A favorite classic and one of the greats. It is also a quite challenging scent so be careful.
L'Instant de Guerlain EDT-- powdery to the extreme. Should fit what you are looking for, but not a favorite of mine.
Dior Homme Intense-- Very iris heavy, kind of powdery and make-up like vibe. I don't care for it, but many here do.
Gucci Envy -- probably my favorite from your list. It is discontinued, so act fast if you like ginger in particular.
Burberry London -- excellent scent and tremendous value... The main problem is it lacks versatility.
l'eau d'Issey Issey Miyake -- has many fans here, but I find this overpowering chemical mess one of the worst I have smelled.
D&G The One-- skip this "one" as it has no longevity to speak of
Chrome Azzaro-- Azzaro has some great stuff, but not this derivative scent.
Hanae Mori HM -- this is a good one, but may be superfluous

If there are any more notable ones, please let me know.

What I want to do is one for day one for night and start building slowly. I live in everyday 65 high (or colder) weather (even in spring) so I figured 3/4 seasons is pretty much winter.

For night, it's for clubbing or college club events (which a lot happen at night) and I'm not sure if a different cologne should be used.

The day one is for when I walk around campus or when I meet up with people.

I'm looking more into 2.5 oz - 3.6 oz for $60?

I have placed my brief comments next to each scent on your list. Check out the reviews here, and definitely sample, sample, sample... You may also want to check out the entire Aramis line, as they are all at least "good" with a few being great. The line's retail price of $50 for each 100ml bottle is truly an amazing value for their level of quality, IMO.
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post #6 of 14
6/25/12 at 6:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by killerfrenzi View Post

@Renato:

Thanks, I'll start with your recommendation of scouring the bargain bins, except I'm not sure where these bargain bins would be in the US.

Just read all the "Spotted at Marshall's" threads on the Male Board, and you'll get an idea where to go as a first point of call. Plus there are heaps of threads about buying stuff from discount internet sellers, and buying testers. And there is the Internet Shopping guide and City Shopping Guide forum here for you to peruse.

If you are in the USA, you are in fragrance heaven. You can feel sorry for the European colleagues who sometimes manage to find a 10, 15 or even 20% discount occasionally, on the poorest selling scents.
Regards,
Renato
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post #7 of 14
6/25/12 at 7:17am
Instead of L'Instant de Guerlain I would recommend L'Instant de Guerlain Pour Homme Extreme-- it is just absolutely awesome, and if you can find it your price range go for it-- any version.

My next two choices from your list would be M7 and A*men, which I wore a lot, before my wife developed allergies to all my frags, so now I barely get to wear any
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post #8 of 14
6/25/12 at 9:49am
Thread Starter 
Reading through the comments and further reading else here is what I can see
Correct me if I'm wrong

A*men: GREAT choice to go with (especially Pure Malt), but I should try to make sure I'm a fan of its style
YSL La Nuit de l'Homme: Good fragrance, just not what I'm looking for according to criteria
YSL M7: Good scent, can be strong, try first, becareful
YSL Kouros: Great scent, I should put into consideration but more of a second choice
L'Instant de Guerlain EDT: Really good for I want, check if I'll like
Dior Homme Intense: Really good, just depends if I like iris, which I might not.
Gucci Envy: Something I should try looking for, but probably won't be able to try due to availability
Burberry London: Good scent, just depends if I'll like it
l'eau d'Issey Issey Miyake: Great scent with mixed review, going to skip since its more of a summer scent
D&G The One: SKIP
Chrome Azzaro: Not very good, I can skip
Hanae Mori HM: Summer scent, I can skip on this one
Creed GIT/As well as the rest: Great for almost everyone as long as you like the scents.
Havana: Something I should be looking for

So now I'm really considering/trying out
Havana
Creed GIT/Veviter/IM/SWM
A*men
YSL Kouros
L'Instant de Guerlain
DHI (or else I will base DHI off of L'Instant)

Hope I find something that I will end up loving for my purposes and not get any "oh so and so is wearing the same cologne!"
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post #9 of 14
6/25/12 at 12:51pm
I'd go with Burberry London & L'Instant de Guerlain
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post #10 of 14
6/25/12 at 3:07pm
I'd recommend going to Nordstrom- neiman marcus and saks..these are stores that I never stepped in until recently when i wanted to start smelling different fragrances...most of these fragrances, MOST guys won't be smelling like them unless its a designer like jpg that you'd find in macy's or are pretty popular...not sure if I make sense but I never noticed terre d' hermes until i came onto the boards and I smelled it and loved it when I went to Nordstrom literally just to try it and sample it...(they give free samples and atomizers)

They don't have a TON of niche's but they do have the a*men/ terre' d' hermes and at neiman/saks you can I believe try the creeds.
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post #11 of 14
6/25/12 at 3:28pm
I think your comments pretty much nail down the scents themselves.

A couple of comments.
Kouros will be the most controversial. It smells at once extremely dirty (because of the musk) and clean. In fact, some people disparagingly compare it to urinals and urinal cakes. I donot think so, and I like it a lot, but again, be prepared.
Body Kouros is actually completely different from Kouros, and it would be a good candidate for a fresh scent.
Amen is very strong, I like it, but you have to like strong scents.
M7: I think you should test it. It is dark, woody, with candied fruits, but nowhere as intense or controversial as the two above.
The three above are all relatively warm, I personally do not wear them in hot summers.
Another warmer one I would consider is Chanel Egoiste (the regular Egoiste, not the Platinum Egoiste). Smooth, sandalwoody, with some candied fruits.

I personally do not like Creeds, which, as you have seen, elicit quite different opinions in people, love or dislike. They tend to have a particular style, light modern smelling with good naturals, but still, kind of simple. I do not like the style, but it might work for you. As for GIT, the much cheaper Cool water has similarities, and, should you really love GIT, could work as a gap stop before you can afford GIT.

cacio
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post #12 of 14
6/25/12 at 10:06pm
Thread Starter 
With that I'll try out A*men, M7, Body Kouros, and Havana w/ London, L'Instant, Kouros, and Creeds to backup try.
Will these be good all day (including like classroom settings) or just mostly for night settings?
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post #13 of 14
6/26/12 at 9:43am
Well, they are sort of gourmandy or, for Kouros, powerhouse, which is better for dinner or a night out, but if worn sparingly you can get away with them in class as well. I have worn A*men, M7 and Kouros to work with no ill effects (gotta go real light on the Kouros though).
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post #14 of 14
6/26/12 at 6:02pm
Thread Starter 
Back from my trip to the mall and I visited Nordstrom and Perfumania. I tested Terre d'Hermes, A*men, Havana, and Egoiste and I like the A*men and Egoiste the most.

Sadly there's no where to try out the Kouros's or M7 since those are discontinued, but I'll get some samples or something soon.

I also was able to try some GIT (smells great) and some London (not really considering because of longevity).

I'm going to either have to get a bunch of samples or 1.7oz bottles because its hard to choose and I still have L'Instant and YSLs to try out.
Or I'll get some Havana for now.
Or both A*men and Havana
Maybe Body Kouros just for kicks

EDIT: Too indecisive, I'm pretty much going to get 2.5 ml decants of a lot of the ones I listed earlier :]
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