Great "smells", but not "fragrances"

[zztopp]

There are quite a few fragrances out there which I would say "smell great", but they aren't something which I would consider appropriate as "fragrances".

As an extreme example, certain eateries like BBQ, starbucks coffee, etc, or that "new car smell", smell great .. but a person wouldnt necessarily want to smell like them.

Some of the fragrances which I consider "great smells" but not "wearable fragrances" are:


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Creed Chevrefeuille Original: Top notes are great, but the back end smells too much like kitchen herbs.

MPG Eau Des Iles: An interesting bitter, smoky scent with hints of vetiver. Too bitter and smoky to qualify as a wearable scent.

L'Artisan Tea For Two: A very accurate tea smell creation. And it ends there.

A*Men: Lots of coffee and chocolate notes. I like coffee and chocolate. Just dont want to smell of one.

MPG Grain De Plaisir: Too much of a veggie note (celery).

Joop! Homme: Smells like plastic.

Penhaligons LP No.9: Clove overload. Nice as a breathmint, just not as a fragrance.

Some may add Dzing! and Black to this list, but I think they are quite wearable !

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What are your "great smells but not great fragrances" ?

[PigeonMurderer]

Well, I kind of like the smell of old, stiff leather jacket that is dipped in a bucket full of paint thinnner, but I don`t want to wear it. That`s why I stay away from Tabac Blond. Same goes with Knize Ten and even Cuir Mauresque.

I love the smell of curry and eastern dishes overall, but L`Autre is quite much unwearable for me.

And then, I kind of like the smell of ****, but I really don`t want to wear it - at least outside. That`s why I don`t wear Kingdom, and see myself wearing La Nuit very rarely.

[CologneJunkie]

I absolutely LOVE the smell of brand new Converse Chuck Taylors. The closest I'll come to wearing that smell is Bvlgari Black in all it's rubberness, though

[rompip]

The Smell of a highveld thundershower. I wouldnt mind if they could bottle it though!

[Serpent]

There are quite a few fragrances out there which I would say "smell great", but they aren't something which I would consider appropriate as "fragrances".

Serge Lutens has taken this notion to quite fashionable heights. He makes a load of really good scents: Sa Majesté la Rose, Fleurs d'Oranger and Fleurs de Citronnier, Iris Silver Mist, La Myrrhe. But those aren't what get notice. It's always the heavy-duty benzoin and cedar monsters that people praise. I can't fathom scents like Ambre Sultan, Arabie, or any of the Bois scents - or their predecessor, Féminité du Bois - as something one would wear on the skin all day long. (I wore Ambre Sultan all day once and thought I'd become asthmatic after twenty minutes. It makes Pi seem clean and light.) They're just too thick, too musty, too heavy for flesh.

I'll haul out the old line: Rooms should smell like that, not people.

[Bad_Dawg]

That smell in a Rose garden thats been in hot weather for too long, the Roses are doing ok because theyve been watered but everything else is barely making it.
Its dusty and dry.
Then it cools off, and it rains.
Not enough to wash the smell out of the air, but enough to quench the ground and cause it to breathe a sweet sigh of a promise. A promise that more water will bring life even to this parched piece of land that was verdent only a summer ago. A lifetime for its past inhabitants, the now drying weeds.
All this mixing with the scent of the still living inhabitants, the Roses, and the hearty herbs that live among them.

yea, that was a great day.

good luck trying to bottle it!

[Thrax]

That smell in a Rose garden thats been in hot weather for too long, the Roses are doing ok because theyve been watered but everything else is barely making it.
Its dusty and dry.
Then it cools off, and it rains.
Not enough to wash the smell out of the air, but enough to quench the ground and cause it to breathe a sweet sigh of a promise. A promise that more water will bring life even to this parched piece of land that was verdent only a summer ago. A lifetime for its past inhabitants, the now drying weeds.
All this mixing with the scent of the still living inhabitants, the Roses, and the hearty herbs that live among them.

yea, that was a great day.

good luck trying to bottle it!

Mix black aoud and VDR

[zeram1]

I found that if you get past just the top notes of t42, its base notes are quite refined and pleasant - thus, to each their own!

[zztopp]

I'll haul out the old line: Rooms should smell like that, not people.

MPG and L'Artisan are also guilty of that. Thats why to me Creed is the most balanced niche house when it comes to (human) wearability of fragrances.

[supermarky]

C&S Cuba sure it's nice to stick your nose in a thermador (is that the word? cigar storage thing) for a minute, but not to smell like that for hours on end

the opening to cuba is fantastic by the way but eventually you mainly stink of cigars used very judiciously it might work... mmm

[stuigi]

Thrax- Killer Vavoom just sent me some frags from Dubai including one called Black Rose, a very interesting combo of opposite end of the spectrum notes.

[Mario Justiniani]

zztopp: I'm afraid I would have to add Dzing! to the list, as well as Bois Farine.
Some fragrances are often touted as: "Something James Bond would wear." --Or some other suave fictional character.
I can't help but feel that these two would have been the all time favorites of The Cookie Monster of Sesame Street renown.


Agraria's Bitter Orange is um--a bit too linear?

And then there's the leathery perverse splendor of Santa Maria Novella's 1901 offering: Peau d'Espagne! ---I likeTabasco Sauce but. . .

[zztopp]

zztopp: I'm afraid I would have to add Dzing! to the list, as well as Bois Farine. .

I would also add the hazelnut-wonder Mechant Loup. Come to think of it, its not even a great "smell"...

[pluran]

I would also add the hazelnut-wonder Mechant Loup. Come to think of it, its not even a great "smell"...

I think Mechant Loup smells excellent. Not that it's anywhere close to as good, but at times it has reminded me of Dior's Jules. But, like most L'Artisans, it's hardly worth spending money on.

I love the smell of Dzing! as well, but I wouldn't buy another bottle. It doesn't do a lot for me when I wear it.

Tea for Two is another story. I love it and find it extremely wearble. My female companion also loves to wear it. Other than Balenciaga Pour Homme, Tea for Two is one of her favorite fragrances.

[EnvYuS]

Almond extract is my absolute favorite smell in the entire world, and then some. Almond is an overlooked and underused not in fragrance. It is just perfect. It would go well in Tea for Two and Dior Homme I'm sure. They both have honey, which blends well with almonds.

PS ~ ^^ ouch on the L'Artisan bashing...