Church vibe, candle-wax + incense

[Brian_Towers]

I know it's quite creepy, but after smelling Comme des Garcons 2 MAN for the first time, I realized how much I liked the church smell when I was young...

The top-heart notes on this are wonderful, however, since I don't particularly love its drydown, anyone know any similar scent?

[volley2]

Messe de Minuit by Etro

[cacio]

I love CDG2 man too. There are many churchy incenses (eg Avignon and Zagorsk), but I cannot think of anything with the candle-wax.

My other Italian catholic-church-memory perfume is Hindu Kush by La via del profumo, which obtains the effect not via candle-wax, but via a sort of camphoraceous floor-wax, like a well kept church. (Unfortunately, it is not very durable on me, so it wouldn't solve your cdg2 duration problem anyway)

cacio

[rompip]

Messe de Minuit by Etro

This

[hedonist222]

Avignon but it doesnt have the candle wax aspect.

[pirop]

Full Incense by Montale

[L'Aventurier]

Around Midnight by Marc Buxton is a re-worked version of Avignon to my nose. It's less harsh, but still has that churchy incense vibe. It smells like cold air on a crisp night with frankincense burning. There's no candle note to it, but there's a really nice dose of chamomile that is relaxing and cool - it might give you a similar vibe to candles and incense. At the same time, I'm sorry to say I haven't smelled anything that smells exactly like a church with candles and incense burning.

The closest thing I can think of after Around Midnight would have to be Cologne pour le Soir by Maison Francis Kurdkjian. It has a churchy vibe (frankincense in the base) and there's a huge dose of soft benzoin in it, that reminds me of wax sometimes.

Good luck and don't forget to post back once you've tried some of the recs here.

[Jack Hunter]

Heeleys Cardinal is all about that church vibe.

[lgarruda]

I second the suggestion of Montale Full Incense

[Kevin Guyer]

That "waxy" smell from the aldehydes is one of the characteristics that makes CdG2 Man so unique. I agree with the others that Etro's Messe de Minuit is a close relative; the combo of its bright orange top note and the lurking honey note, combined with the frankincense, bring to mind CdG 2 Man's burning candle vibe. But MdM is less brutal, and has a "dampness" that's not present in CdG2, it's also a bit more complicated than the amazingly simple 2Man.

[hednic]

Definitely Full Incense

[scentimus]

Messe de Minuit by Etro

Yes coming from s catholic school background this on hits it right on the head of dark brown mahogany wood incense and during candle wax

[b0n3z]

Gucci Pour Homme I

[kccparis]

Messe de Minuit by Etro

++1

[Duke Hunt]

No.88

[frrrrrrunkis]

Le Labo vetiver 46 has a church vibe to me.

[BrianH1016]

+1 for Gucci Pour Homme 1. Also, Tommy Bahama original (brown bottle) kind of has that same vibe as well.

[jdnba]

Heeley Cardinal and Cdg Avignon are practically the same frag...what you could do is get the Avignon candle and use the wax as solid perfume, that I think would do the trick...Avignon brings me back to Easter mass but it's so wearable

[mikeperez23]

Messe de Minuit by Etro

This

Try to find vintage juice, the new juice on shelves is not as good.

[Oaksbluff]

Try to find vintage juice, the new juice on shelves is not as good.

I absolutely agree. The vintage version (round label, I think) is incredibly rich in dry down stages. Almost not even the same scent, sadly, as the newer stuff.

[tiberije]

I know it's quite creepy, but after smelling Comme des Garcons 2 MAN for the first time, I realized how much I liked the church smell when I was young...

The top-heart notes on this are wonderful, however, since I don't particularly love its drydown, anyone know any similar scent?

Good that I read this. That fragrance was on my wish-list, but if smells like church I am staying away from it.

[Brian_Towers]

Thank you all for the suggestions! Adding them to my samples list hehe

Good that I read this. That fragrance was on my wish-list, but if smells like church I am staying away from it.

Nooo!! At least I think you should test it, it's only my/our impression, you could probably enjoy it anyway for another reason...

[blackened]

Good that I read this. That fragrance was on my wish-list, but if smells like church I am staying away from it.

i don't particularly like this vein of fragrances (church incense style , etc) but CdG 2 man is amazing!!!!! gives you more than you think.. and the most important, works very good on the skin.

[tiberije]

i don't particularly like this vein of fragrances (church incense style , etc) but CdG 2 man is amazing!!!!! gives you more than you think.. and the most important, works very good on the skin.

Maybe I'll try sample but I am definitely not a fun of church/medieval/incense based scents.

[scent]

Vintage MdM. Screw those a**holes at Etro for ruining every single fragrance. Also Curiosities candle by Diptyque. It is a candle however LOL

[Nouveau Nez]

I haven't tried most of the other fragrances that are dominating this thread so, I can't compare but when I fell hard for Bond No 9's Silver Factory a few year's back, it was largely due to the very prominant incense note(s), which to my nose is super churchy - and IMO, can easily be worn with or without Catholic guilt.

[SculptureOfSoul]

Amouage Honour Man - more waxy than CdG2 Man. Kind of a stony/woody austere incense.

[alfarom]

Amouage Honour Man

This! I'll add Carthusia 1681, Linari Acqua Santa and Profumum Olibanum (the latter has a sealing wax vibe)

[vhild]

Excellent thread. Especially because in Orthodox church where I come from, the candle-wax/incence factor is even stronger