Seriously, which are THE best DESIGNER fragrances ?

[SixCats]

Hi all,

It's been a looong time since I've posted. I hope this post finds all Basenoters well. OK, ok, here it is in a "nut shell". As much as I LOVE my (nearly depleated) collection of NICHE fragrances, I just can no longer afford to buy each and every bottles of my favorites, such as :
CREED BOIS DU PORTUGAL and MILLESIME IMPERIAL, MPG EAU DES ILES & ROUTE DU VETIVER, SMN PATCHOULI, ACQUA DI CUBA & NOSTALIGA,
LV PIPER NIGRUM, DILMUN & VETIVER, L'ARTISIAN DZING!,
DIPTYQUE L'AUTRE, MONTALE CUIR ARABIE OUD, SERGE LUTENS FUMERIE TURQUE, MILLER HARRIS FEUILLES DE TABAC, etc. etc. etc. Of course, I will ALWAYS have a FEW of my VERY TOP favorites but...that being said, which DESIGNER fragrances (Classics or newer) TRULY/REALLY/WITHOUT A DOUBT
do you believe compete with the likes of the best NICHE "heavy hitters ?"
I am seeking suggestions for fragrances that are NOT too expensive ($30.00 to $50.00 a bottle) yet, are truly SUPERIOR! On the whole (those who know my taste) know that I am not a big fan of TOO sweet fragrances. I tend more towards the FALL/EARTHY fragrances i.e. TOBACCO, PATCHOULI, LEATHER, COFFEE, VETIVER, etc. At any rate, I will list a few of what I believe are among THE best of the DESIGNER fragrances I have tried
and/or own :

YSL KOURSO
GUERLAIN HERITAGE, HABIT ROUGE & VETIVER
BOUCHERON JAIPUR
TRUSSARDI
PIGUET BANDIT
DOLCE & GABBANA PH
GENTLEMAN GIVENCHY
PACO RABANNE
KINGDOM
L'EAU BLEUE D'ISSEY
FLORIS JF
VC&A ph
YOHJI

Perhaps some of these DESIGNER fragrances are in your TOP TEN ?
I'm am open to more suggestion of your MUST HAVE fragrances
(perhaps your favorite THREE). Thank you ALL for any suggestions as to
THE best of THE best DESIGNER fragrances.

Regards,
SixCats!

[thebeck]

Yatagan is one of my top 5 fragrances regardless of price and I have some more pricey ones in my collection. $30-35 for 125 ml bottle. A steal.

[ziffy321]

Hey SixCats ... welcome back!

Off the top of my head, my (personal) top three designer "must haves" would be: Burberry - Brit, YSL - M7, and Armani - Code.

Perry Ellis 360 Black is another "cheap" personal favorite of mine. I originally had it on my swap list but took it back off. It's really good and REALLY cheap. Another one, though not a designer, is L'Occitane's Eav des Bavx. Another personal fave and a great value at $40.

[zztopp]

Floris is probably classified "niche".

A "best of" designer list should probably contain the following:

Chanel Antaeus
Guerlain Vetiver
Caron 3rd Man
Van Cleef pour homme
YSL M7 (a bit sweet, but well worth it).

[Travtex]

Another Guerlain Vetiver vote, here.

And, since your preferences are in line, I have to give my obligatory plug for Puig. Quorum! (Can find a monster bottle for around 10-12 bucks. At that price if you hate it, you can always give it to me. )

[incedal]

Guerlain Heritage for me.

[CologneJunkie]

Good to see you, SixCats!!!! My recommendations...

Bvlgari Black
Lolita Lempicka au masculin
M7

[LiveJazz]

Caron Third Man
Bvlgari Black
Helmut Lang Cuiron, although it is gradually getting more and more expensive these days
Gucci PH

[Riddle]

One not mentioned yet that I think you'd enjoy is Dunhill Edition. It holds its edge from start to finish, and it is very reasonably priced to boot.

[wicozani]

Welcome back, SixCats!

Don't forget Hermes Equipage, which is in my top-10 overall, and I agree with the recs for Guerlain Vetiver and Heritage. So, too, Chanel Pour Monsieur, Caron Pour un Homme, Hermes Rocabar and Terre d'Hermes, and Cartier Declaration are all pretty much classics.

For my darkhorse recommendation, Krizia Spazio Uomo is out of this world for how little known it is, and bottles can still be found on eBay for pretty cheap.

[Sloan]

Cacharel PH
Terre d'Hermes
Allure PH
M7

[magnnum]

Vendetta by Valentino is one to consider. Maybe a couple from Balenciaga are worthy of consideration.

BTW, I don't consider Guerlain to be of 'designer' status.

[_R$_]

When I saw the author I was thinking that someone had dug up an old thread, but holy ish! Welcome back!

Gucci Envy and Armand Basi come to mind, although Envy may be a little sweet for you. Armand Basi can be had very cheaply, around $25.
- Rich

[nattygold]

Dior Homme

[EnvYuS]

I think I have an off view of "the best" because my list is:

Gucci pour Homme
Dior Homme
M7

[Scentronic]

Some of my picks (not yet mentioned):

Dunhill Homme
Burberry London (although it is getting to be out of season, imo)
Mugler Cologne
Gendarme
Bulgari Pour Homme
Chanel Platinum Egoiste
Chanel Allure Sport
Kenneth Cole Black
Paco Rabanne XS
Polo
Unforgivable
A*Men
Zirh Corduroy
Vera Wang
Armani Eau Pour Homme
Drakkar Noir
Prada man

[radix023]

These ones for sure:
Dior Eau Sauvage
Dior Homme
Gucci Envy

All of them cover the holy trinity of fragrance duty:
casual, formal, date

These might not fit the price range you specified( and I think you could fuss about 'designer' status):
Hermes Equipage
Chanel Pour Monsieur
Santos de Cartier Concentree
Conquest by Agatha Brown

and an honorable mention to R de Capucci

[trumpet_guy]

SixCats, welcome back!

I can answer your question in a word:
Chanel.

They are my favorite designer house, and not one of their men's scents is
bad. In fact, I enjoy them all.

[foetidus]

Not yet mentioned:

Romeo Gigli Sud Est
Aramis 900
Tiffany for Men

Plus several classics that have been discontinued.

[Renato]

Caron's L'Anarchiste is sufficiently weird and different that I have difficulty thinking of it as a designer scent. Similarly, but less so for the rest of the Carons I've tried.

Aramis's New West is one I keep in my niche drawer, as it seems more similar to them.
Renato

[fredricktoo]

Hermes Bel Ami
and Terre d' Hermes
and welcome back!

[mugler]

I will say the following can compete any niche in my book,
Antaeus
Kouros
Zino
Santos
Gucci PH
Aramis 900
Dior Homme

[the_good_life]

I think there are many many excellent designer fragrances. My absolute favorites are:

R de Capucci. The best fresh chypre I ever smelled. All seasons
Cacharel ph. The most beautiful use of a nutmeg note ever. Autumnal-Decembral.
Adolfo Dominguez Vetiver hombre. Light-hearted yet sophisticated. My favorite barbershop scent. Best for Spring&Summer, but I wear it anytime
Valentino Vendetta pour homme. I do not know of a better incense smell. Beats every CdG I've tried. More autumn-wintery.
Monsieur Balmain. The best designer citrus IMO. Gorgeous lemon. Endorsed by Luca Turin as the sunniest fragrance ever
Richard James EdT - One of the finest masuline florals in the designer world. Tuberose and suede notes, very sophisticated and British gentleman-like
René Lezard - Identité pour homme. While this German design house produces crappy perfumes in general, they hit the jackpot on this one. Lutens excepted, my favorite gourmand- because it's restrained and elegant.

All of these are unconditional five-star favorites of mine and no niche has anything on them IMO.

I would add Patou ph, Jil Sander Man Pure and a few others, but they are more expensive and harder to find than most niches. The above are anywhere from affordable to dirt cheap.

[Candy Perfume Boy]

If you like earthier things try No19, I know it's a 'feminine' fragrance but I think it really suits men and could be to your taste?

My favourites include;

Kingdom
No19
Dior Homme
Mugler Cologne
Gaultier2
Lolita Lempicka Au Masculin
Peony Angel
Shalimar

I can't think of any more right this very second.

[JYvdK]

M7
Versus Uomo
Vetiver - Guerlain
Feeling Man - JS

[fernloth]

Burberry London is by far the best I've experienced.
Bvlgari Black is very good and I also really enjoy Aqua Bvlgari
Gucci Envy is nice

[Halo]

If we consider CdG a non-niche house, then I recommend Seguoia, Avignon and Zagorsk.
And also:

Chanel´s Egoiste
Guerlain´s Shalimar, Mitsouko and Jicky
Lalique pour Homme (the Lion)
YSL Nu edp

cheers!

[innamoramento]

YSL M7
Gucci PH
Guerlain Vetiver
Guerlain Heritage
Chanel Egoiste
Chanel Antaeus

[Boal]

I love so many. Here are some that I would mention:

Alexander McQueen KINGDOM
Burberry BRIT, LONDON, TOUCH
Bvlgari AQVA, BLACK, PH
Cacharel NEMO, PH
Cartier DECLARATION, MUST
Chanel ANTAEUS, EGOISTE, PLATINUM
Christian Dior FAHRENHEIT, HOMME
Dolce & Gabbana BY, PH
Fendi THEOREMA
Givenchy XERYUS, XERYUS ROUGE
Gucci ENVY, PH
Guerlain L’INSTANT PH
Hanae Mori EDT
Helmut Lang CUIRON
Hermes BEL AMI, TERRE D’HERMES
Issey Miyake L’EAU D’ISSEY
Jean-Paul Gaultier LE MALE
Laura Biagiotti ROMA
Loewe SOLO
Lolita Lempicka AU MASCULIN
Rochas MAN, POUR LUI
Salvatore Ferragamo
Shiseido BASALA
Everything by Mugler
Ungaro III
Everything by Van Cleef & Arpels
Versace DREAMER
Yohji Yamamoto YOHJI HOMME
Everything by YSL

[Strollyourlobster]

For me Eau d'Hermes, Gucci pour Homme, Parfums de Nicolaï New York (which is perhaps almost a niche but can be gotten pretty cheaply) and YSL Rive Gauche pour Homme might be the tops. They all feel very distinct and powerfully themselves to me. Polo Double Black (too new to be really cheap yet but it'll get there) also smells heavenly some days.