Also note that Aedes.com does 7 samples for $15. Selection may not be as large as Lucky, but that's a good price for samples. Many lines are exclusive to certain department stores. For a slightly higher price, you can get samples of almost any fragrance that exists at theperfumedcourt.com
Spiritual: L'Artisan's Timbuktu
Masculine/Sensual: de Nicolai's New York or Frederic Malle's Musc Ravageur
Clean Healthy (for those sensitive to scent): Gendarme (many people with allergies can only wear this scent) or L'Artisan's Navegar
Last edited by MysteryBuff40; 16th August 2010 at 04:23 AM.
Hi Jeff
I'm a newbie member too, but since I'm from Albuquerque, I thought I'd add my two cents, especially since I have a similar problem here in Los Angeles. You said that the fragrances you've tried don't last very long and that they can be overwhelming to sensitive people. I think it has a lot to do with the dry heat in Santa Fe and how you are applying it.
I learned a valuable lesson during an extended stay in New Orleans when I was considering moving there - it seems that the humidity or dryness of a place definitely changes the scent and the sillage. In New Orleans I had to wear heavy heady scents that could withstand the humidity. The light perfume spritzes that I wear in Los Angeles just disappeared in New Orleans and burned off in New Mexico. Here in Los Angeles and when I go back home to New Mexico, I have to wear oils that are lightly scented; like body oils and then layer my fragrance. Anything else just fades away too quickly, or if it's too strong it becomes overwhelming in the dry heat.
I've found that if I moisturize my skin before applying fragrance with a body oil, like sweet almond oil or jojoba oil, then layer the fragrance with a scented lotion and matching fragrance, it lasts much longer, I use less, and it's surprisingly more subtle.
I just thought of something you might want to experiment with. There is a woman who sells at the Pow Wows in New Mexico who makes scented massage oil with medicinal herbs. I bought a white sage massage oil from her that I use to moisturize my skin before I apply my fragrance. I like the way it very subtly changes the scent, but even more intriguing is that to me, makes it more "spiritual" because of the white sage. Her website is www.medicineofthepeople.net
Hi Jeff try these from the house of L'artisan Parfumeur:
Timbuktu
Dzongkha
Al Oudh
My blog: http://scentedpassion.blogspot.com/
I was thinking, Mugler Cologne could well be a match to all three.
Welcome to Basenotes!
Seconding recs on Dzongkha & Timbuktu.
You should also give Serge Noire by Serge Lutens a sniff. It starts off fresh and camphoraceous, gets dry and incensey in the middle and peters off smoothly to mild spicy sweetness. An excellent masculine frag for meditation with moderate projection, but go easy on the trigger if you're planning to do some heavy duty workouts.
Also try Encens Flamboyant from Annick Goutal.
Spiritual , uplifting and sensual .... all covered by Homage from Amouage
The only easy day was yesterday
I miss SF....spent alot of time there, lived there awhile and had my base/Drivers License in the state of NM for a few years. Even lived down the road from SF in a 200 year old adobe on the old SF trail for awhile which was retro fitted with water and electric so I wasn't too old school...hehehe
Jeff, you may want to consider pure oud oils and natural oil attars which could be a perfect for a spiritual person like yourself. Oud, sandalwood, rose, musk, vetiver and other traditional oils and oil blends can have a profound psycho-emotional effect. I'd try good Indonesian and Cambodian ouds (Oriscent's Blue Brunei, Oriscent Borneo Kinam, Oudimentary's KSSS) for both spiritual and masculine/sensual. As for clean/healthy there is plenty of good quality "regular" spray fragrances, you may like Creed's Millesime Imperial and Silver Mountain Water, or even Windsor for example.
Hi,
Many of the scents recommended are very far from natural (for example CDG are self consciously synthetic heavy).
I would recommended two all-natural perfumers held in very high regard by many around here Ayala Moriel and Dominique Dubrana (www.profumo.it).
Also "Essentially Me" make excellent fragrances which are heavilly but not entirely natural.
Edit - igor01's oud oil suggestion is excellent!
"Don’t try to be original. Be simple. Be good technically, and if there is something in you, it will come out. ” - Henri Matisse.
"Wear R de Capucci" - Hirch Duckfinder
reviews
Thanks for the great advice, a couple of others have recommended oils too. I know what you mean about the humidity in Narlens (as we call it in the south!) because I lived close by in Mobile. I don't know, seems like a lot of trouble tho, I'd like something low maintenance I can just spray and go. Based on your experience in NM what should I look for and what kinds of scents don't work here?
Thanks,
Jeff
After not wearing it for quite some time I decided to put on Les Nez's Let Me Play The Lion today, which was recommended by someone else and which I seconded, earlier.
While I knew I loved the scent, in the absence of wearing it for so long I forgot just how amazing this scent really is. It absolutely fits the spiritual/meditative aspect of the equation, it is quite assuredly masculine and natural smelling, and I (and my g/f) find it to be quite sensual, although not outright sexy. It has excellent longevity and rather subdued sillage, which seems like the ideal combination of those attributes for the overall effect you are looking for (i.e wearing scent primarily for your own enjoyment with the scent being perceptible only to those who get in rather close to you).
I know you plan to sample this so in essence I'm preaching to the choir, but I just simply had to chime in again, as I absolutely love this scent.![]()
***For sale:
Iris Pallida 50ml
Ungaro I 75ml
and more! - http://www.basenotes.net/threads/301...n-Man-and-more
I was also going to recommend pure oud oil but Igor beat me to it! It's the only thing that fits all of you criteria!
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my stuff for sale!
http://community.basenotes.net/showthread.php?t=223916
I would recommend Kiehl's Musk in either the EDT or oil, or one of their other fragrance oils (Pour Homme, Amber, etc.) - http://www.kiehls.com/_us/_en/fragra...applicator.htm
Please feel free to check out my Swap Thread - Patou pour Homme, L'Instant de Guerlain PH Extreme, Dior Homme Intense, Pure Malt, Pure Coffee and many more! Click Here For My Swap Thread
Thanks, Serge Noire sounds interesting, I'll try it and Encens Flamboyant as well.
Thanks everyone for your kind and generous recommendations!
A couple of people have mentioned that my 2nd criteria, masculine/sensual, is too broad or general so since so many are kind enough to take the time to offer suggestions and I'm impressed with how much you guys and gals know about scents, what I've found so far is that unisex scents in general don't appeal to me, they're too feminine for my personality, but strongly masculine scents with no feminine qualities don't fit me either...I don't like going around smelling like a grizzly bear ;-) so I'm looking for something in between, something predominately masculine but that offers some contrast, a combo of masculine and feminine features that's say 3/4 masculine 1/4 feminine if that makes any sense...On the luckyscents scale, something midway between unisex and pure masculine (as well as spiritual/mystical and natural/healthy)...have there been any threads on this?
Thanks!
Jeff
Last edited by jnailen; 17th August 2010 at 02:04 PM.
Please feel free to check out my Swap Thread - Patou pour Homme, L'Instant de Guerlain PH Extreme, Dior Homme Intense, Pure Malt, Pure Coffee and many more! Click Here For My Swap Thread
Some KenzoKi beneficial waters are pretty good for yoga or meditation.
Ginger(Euphoric), Bamboo(Energizing), White Lotus(Relaxing) and Rice Steam(Sensual)..personally i like all of them
you can log on to Kenzo fragrance website to check them out.