New to basenotes, what niche colognes do you recommend?

[Thurnau]

I am new to basenotes, what niche colognes do you recommend? I have a little bit of Creed green irish tweed and original vetiver, Bond 9 chez bond and new orleans, Clive Christian (traveler sample sized bottles) 1872 x and no 1, and many mainstream scents that I gave up on.

Are there some great niche brands and or scents I should smell?

Thanks.

[Sugandaraja]

I personally would recommend exploring the Frederic Malle and Serge Lutens fragrances lines, and perhaps some from the Comme des Garcons, L'Artisan, and Tom Ford Private Blend line. These are some of the most talked about on Basenotes, though there are literally thousands of niche perfumeries out there; the selection is endless.

As for which particular fragrances to try, read some of the descriptions and reviews in the directory and see what appeals to you. There really is no right answer, just forum favorites and so forth; it all depends on what you enjoy in a fragrance.

Have fun exploring!

[Thurnau]

Thanks.
I am pretty bored with my scents, and my wife picks the same scent in a different brand all the time. She loves any bottle painted black! I am just getting ideas from people with taste. Anytime a guy starts paying attention in the fragrance dept, all sales people tries to get me to smell the scent they are pushing that day.

[petruccijc]

Welcome to Basenotes!

Some I would suggest trying are:

MDCI Invasion Barbare
By Killian Straight to Heaven and Back to Black
Frederic Malle Noir Epices
Serge Lutens Chergui and Ambre Sultan
Tom Ford Private Blend Tuscan Leather, Tobacco Vanille and Moss Breches
Parfums de Nicolai New York, Nicolai pour Homme and Patchouli Homme
Le Labo Rose 31

Happy sampling!

[hednic]

Montale
Heeley
Different Company
Diptyque

[Primrose]

Thanks.
I am pretty bored with my scents, and my wife picks the same scent in a different brand all the time. She loves any bottle painted black! I am just getting ideas from people with taste. Anytime a guy starts paying attention in the fragrance dept, all sales people tries to get me to smell the scent they are pushing that day.

At least your wife buys scents!

Also, learn to ignore the sales staff and just use your OWN nose to decide. They have been paid to push the latest "launch."

Do not let pricetags dictate to you, either. Some niche scents can be found for well under $100 for the 50 ml size.

I would give the Parfum d'Empire line a try.

[Thurnau]

I meant she has me buy scents in black bottles when we shop together...

[adonis]

Rose 31
Acqua Di Parma Colonia
Gendarme

Unfortunately, none of them come in a black bottle

[StylinLA]

Well, there are tons of great niche scents to be sure. Don't worry about the bottles.

I kind of advocate poking around in here a bit. We don't know you well enough yet to guess in a direction you'd like. Read forum comments and follow up with scents that catch your eye in the directory.

When you've settled on some that seem interesting, consider popping for samples via The Perfumed Court. I'd advocate a test wear since many niche frags get pretty pricey (as you know with GIT and Clive Christian).

Now, I'll toss out some to consider in spite of that. You bought that Clive Christian "Traveler" set which was what started me in Basenotes. You've also got GIT, which was my first niche scent, so I feel a bit of common ground. So let me toss these at you for consideration:

Tom Ford Private Collection
Though they're all pretty much billed as unisex, they're pretty masculine to me, or just brilliantly designed unisex scents. I just started trying them and they've all been impressive. I like Tuscan Leather, Tobacco Vanille, Italian Cypress. Wow. They kind of freak me out cause I just discovered them.
Editions de Frederick Malle
Noir Epices is very unique and POTENT. His men's vetiver and geranium are distinctive.
Creed
There are a ton of great Creeds other than GIT (which I'm now wondering if you have because it's a black bottle).
Le Labo
Rose 31 is a must try for you if I'm correct we have similar tastes. Don't even think about not sampling it.
Serge Lutens
A lot of these not masculine enough for me, but pettruccijc is dead on with Chergui and Ambre Sultan. I like the Sultan...
L'Artisan
A lot of these are too light for my tastes, but they make many good scents.
Guerlain
Probably not niche per se, but they are not in many cases as available as most department store scents. L'Instant de Guerlain Pour Homme is a killer. Habit Rouge Beau Cavalier a current favorite. You'll have to dig for these.

[TJMAC]

A Taste of Heaven By Kilian.....plus all of the By Kilian bottles come in a sleek black bottle with a handsome box to store it. The travel atomizer is cool too.

[DavidBond007]

sample all the Creeds you can ,trust me.

[bokaba]

For some great traditional ones, try Lorenzo Villoresi and Santa Maria Novella

[Thurnau]

I really like cologne.... for what type I am looking for is fine men's cologne that isn't identical to what I have.
I did like some of the Tom Fords when I smelled them before (tobaccos and leathers). But just because colognes are sold at Saks and comes with a higher price, doesn't mean it really is a nice cologne. We don't have a Neimans in New Orleans.... I know it is hard to make a recomendation to a stranger, but I am just looking for nice companies that use fine ingredients that doesn't smell like a turd I am trying to stay away from RL, Armani, and other mass marketed products that give me headaches.

From lurking around here for a couple of days...
Creed MI and portugal, i already have GIT.
A lot of different fragrance by killian
Tom Ford's private line
and a lot of different names I have to print out because I can't remember them.

[tsuzumi]

My first niche was Lutens Fille en Aiguilles. It doesn't even smell like a cologne! It is more like a cedar chest or something. This makes it easy to wear at the office or near fussy frangrance haters! On the other hand, it would be out of the running at a club or other high-intensity fragrance environment.

[StylinLA]

I know it is hard to make a recomendation to a stranger, but I am just looking for nice companies that use fine ingredients that doesn't smell like a turd I am trying to stay away from RL, Armani, and other mass marketed products that give me headaches..

All the suggestions in here so far meet that requirement. The question is will you like it. Many are not commonly available in many, if any retail stores in New Orleans. You've got put in some leg work in the directory to see which you think are worth pursuing via purchasing samples from Luckyscent or The Perfumed Court.

[G.303]

Welcome to Basenotes!!!
Gary

[ronni]

I love all of these suggestions (make me want to try them ALL). Is Hermes considered niche or mainstream?

[Sugandaraja]

I love all of these suggestions (make me want to try them ALL). Is Hermes considered niche or mainstream?

It depends on who you ask, but I'd call their mainstream offerings ( Terre d'Hermes, etc. ) designer, and the Hermessence line ( Ambre Narguille, ect. ) niche.

[Bigsly]

I would suggest Avon's Mesmerize for men, actually. The reason is that it is niche-like but costs next to nothing. Why spend a couple of hundred dollars on something you like now, but might despise a month from now? There are plenty of "cheapos" like this out there, and you can get ones that represent the different genres, play around with them, and after a few months start to sample the more expensive ones if you feel a need to do so.

[Thurnau]

I love all of these suggestions (make me want to try them ALL). Is Hermes considered niche or mainstream?

I like hermes eu de orange sold in a green bottle.

[Thurnau]

Welcome to Basenotes!!!
Gary

Thank you!

[ronni]

It depends on who you ask, but I'd call their mainstream offerings ( Terre d'Hermes, etc. ) designer, and the Hermessence line ( Ambre Narguille, ect. ) niche.

thank you.

[Thurnau]

Black Bottles I have or Had
Creed GIT(which is one of my favorites), Clive christian X, Bond New Orleans, and RL double black(which I don't wear); I used to have armani black code, and Kenneth Cole Black but I had to give them away because I get headaches and swollen throat from them.

Speaking of Killian, they look pretty Bi Gender. The sample pack has many scents, are they all guys scents?

[Thurnau]

Le Labo Rose 31....
Does the 1/2 oz size or any of the sizes come with a spritz top?
I am unsure between picking 3 samples for 50 dollars or picking the 1/2 oz size of rose31 for 50.

does anyone know about the by kilian sample pack for 140? Is it by gender? Or male fragrances?

[adonis]

Le Labo Rose 31....
Does the 1/2 oz size or any of the sizes come with a spritz top?
I am unsure between picking 3 samples for 50 dollars or picking the 1/2 oz size of rose31 for 50.

Yes, you can get the 1/2 oz with a spray applicator. BTW, Theperfumedcourt.com sells Rose 31 as well - smaller sized amounts so you can try it and you'll have a little $ left for other samples.


http://theperfumedcourt.com/Products...ABOROSEDW.aspx

http://theperfumedcourt.com/Products...E-JOINTdw.aspx

[Thurnau]

I just ordered by killian back to black and straight to heaven, and le labo rose 31 from the perfumed court. I just got creed erolfa for fathers day

[Diamondflame]

I meant she has me buy scents in black bottles when we shop together...

You are in luck. The By Kilian line is predominantly black!

Great that you're trying 2 of the favorites:-

Back to Black
Straight to Heaven

But also try:

A Taste of Heaven

[boosh]

My first two would be Creeds and Frederic Malles. Maybe move on to Tom Fords and Serge Lutens after that. To me Serge Lutens is either full on hit or full on miss, some are extremely amazing some are just potpourri scents (to me).

[cbstarker]

At least your wife buys scents!

I couldn't agree more!

Niche brands are like everything else, it depends on what you like. The only advice any of us can give is Have Fun Exploring! At least exploring niche perfumes is more fun. How do you like the Creeds and Bonds you have?

Personally, my favorite niche lines are Le Labo, Tauer, Parfumerie Generale and Amouage. Actually, I could make that list a lot longer but I'll stop there.

[Thurnau]

I really like creed. I like my New Orleans bond, dislike the chez bond even though it smells good as it is too strong to wear. Le labo rose 31 just came in this afternoon. It smells good, but I haven't worn it yet.