My Search For A New Winter Fragrance - Help Me Narrow It from 12 To A Few. Please

[imyourhuckleberryxx]

Whats going on guys? So I'm fresh off my newest blind buy/let down of Narciso Rodriguez for Him Musc. I was hoping to switch things up this winter and get into some nice musk fragrances but it seems as though I might be anosmic to musk. So now I'm back to what I should've stuck with in the first place for winter and that's Woody Spicy, Oriental Woody and gourmand fragrances. I know its a big handful but I've narrowed my selection down to 13. 13 fragrances that I haven't tried and know nothing about. And before everyone starts saying it, for those that dont know, I'm not fond of ordering samples. Just my thing. I like doing this research and talking to people and then waiting to find out if my research payed off. As some of these are more expensive I may break down and get a few after I hear what people have to say. Just don't feel like this being a while thread of people telling me to orders samples.

Really just looking to see what everyone has to say about the one I picked out below. As I'm sure is the same for most guys, I would like something that has good longevity and projection. Not much a fan of close to the skin scents. As winter is rapidly approaching I would like something that is appropriate of the winter months. If its an all around that can be worn anytime that's great too. I think my list pretty much shows what kinds I'm looking at but not really anything too particular. * indicated ones that I am most interested in. They're separated for more expensive and less expensive. I'm not looking to spend money on a name. If something cheaper is equal to or better than something that is only more because of its brand name I would rather the latter.

As something to go off of, my current lineup for this coming winter is: Jaipur Homme edp, La Nuit, LIDGE, Allure Homme and Encre Noire.

Also, I can honestly say that I know nothing about nor have I ever smelled (that I know of) Aoud. From what I've read it sounds like something I would like though.

Thanks guys!

<$$$
L`Air du Desert Marocain Tauer Perfumes *
Dark Aoud Montale
Les Nombres d`Or Vanille Mona di Orio *
Idole Lubin *
Moon Aoud Montale
Blue Amber Montale *
Or Black Pascal Morabito
New Haarlem Bond No 9

>$$$
Gucci pour Homme Gucci
Eau des Baux L`Occitane *
Hypnôse Homme Lancome
Strictly Private Baldessarini

LDDM almost got ordered last night but I refrained. If they offered a bigger bottle I think I might have just done it. Really don't like that they only offer the 1.7oz bottle. But it’s still up at the top of my list though.

I’ve been back and forth on New Haarlem for a while now. I know it has great reviews but I can’t help but wonder how much of that comes from it simply being a Bond No 9. I like Rochas Man enough to keep my bottle of it. Very rarely do I go grabbing for it though.

Honestly I want Idole more than any of the others listed. I’ve got Lubin Le Vetiver, Itasca and Bluff and I enjoy them all. Bluff doesn’t have the best longevity but other than that they’re great. I don’t really have any experience with these boozy rum fragrances though. I’ve got Baldessarini Ambre and I love it to death but it unfortunately it has almost the shortest longevity of anything I’ve owned. That doesn’t sound like it’ll be an issue with this however. I just don’t want to smell like straight rum and nothing else. Can you easily pick up other notes with Idole? Or is it boozy all the way through?

Gucci Pour Homme is another I’ve come really close to ordering many times. I know it’s got great reviews but I’ve read many complaints on its longevity/projection. Can anyone comment on either for this fragrance? Again, I don’t need a super powerhouse but nothing that dies off just hours after application.

EDB sounds so very intriguing. It’s got the reviews and I don’t know much about house of L`Occitane but I’ve heard almost nothing but good things. Many people have said this one can almost be too sweet and vanilla filled.

Les Nombres d`Or Vanille is also another that has come very close to getting ordered already but it’s just so darn expensive! I’m sure there’s a reason for that. I’m sure the fragrance is amazing! But this one has almost no “so so” or “it’s alright reviews”. It seems like it’s either heavenly and amazing or gross cigarette ash. There is no in between lol.

Or Black is one that’s been on my list and in the back of my head to get for some time now. The big thing hold me back for this one is the fact that it was made in 1982. I am very guilty of often trying to sport fragrances that simply are too old smelling for me. While on paper Or Black does sound amazing. I think on me it might just be out of place.

Or Black is one that’s been on my list and in the back of my head to get for some time now. The big thing hold me back for this one is the fact that it was made in 1982. I am very guilty of often trying to sport fragrances that simply are too old smelling for me. While on paper Or Black does sound amazing. I think on me it might just be out of place.

[drseid]

Both Idole de Lubin and Les Nombres d'Or Vanille are my favorites from your list... That said, neither are projection beasts, and Idole's longevity could be better. They both are incredible smelling, so no problems there...

One not on your list that should be based on your requirements is Costume National Homme. Check out the reviews on that one here...

[hednic]

Moon Aoud and Dark Aoud are both very nice as well as Idole.

[Jonty Coppersmith]

L'Air du Desert Marocain certainly meets your criteria for strength and longevity, but it could be a risky blind buy.

By Gucci PH if you mean the 2003 version I say get that while the getting is still good. It's great and good longevity on me.

Eau des Beaux is a good reasonably priced vanilla scent that I would prefer to the more expensive option on your list.

[jcw122]

Nevermind.

[mesaboogie]

L'Air du Desert Marocain and Eau de Beaux hands down. I got my LDDM from Min NY's website for $106 shipped with coupon code "robes08". It is such a fantastic fragrance. Everything is exceptional. From the quality of the juice, to the bottle with legit wooden cap, to the tin can it comes in.

[calilove]

L'Air du Desert Marocain

[dougczar]

From your list,

L'Air du Desert Marocain
Lubin Idole
New Haarlem

I love all of these

[cacio]

Most of the ones I know on your list would be good purchases. As the others have said, LADDM is a classic. Idole won't make you pass for a drunkyard (that would be Spriritueuse double vanille). It has a rich rhummy note in the opening, but it is primarily a smooth, elegant saffron with a touch of leathers and ambers. Logevity is not great. In fact, they introduced an edp, but I have not experienced its longevity yet. The EDT has a much nicer bottle though. If you want saffron leather but not the rhum, you can look into ELdO Tom of Finland (which is more leathery and more long lasting). Or Black is great but it is, indeed, a supercharged 80s fougere; if you like Rive Gauche, you should be ok. The Montale ouds are all good, and to some extent interchangeable. I'd go for Black or Lime, but matters of taste. Eau des Baux is a good spicy woody, great for the price, though I find it too simple.

I would also suggest you do not give up musks. There are dozens of different types of musks, and everybody is anosmic to some of those. Evidently, you are anosmic to the ones used in Narciso Rodriguez, but you'll likely smell the others well. So don't give up on things like Kurkdjian's Absolue pour le Soir or Kiehl's original musk. Which are not, however, safe blind buys.

cacio

[frostyicy]

Rather than gettin New Haarlem try out Michael Jordan Legend you'll save yourself about $220. Legend is the perfect blend of the good in Rochas Man and the good in New Haarlem. Therefore Legend is the best of the three imo.

Mona di Orio Vanille is amazing I have a sample on right now...like you I just wasn't able to justify spending that much. Another great vanilla based fragrance is La Maison de Vanille Absolu de Vanille it goes for $100 for a 3.4oz parfum so it is a pretty good deal.

If you do decide to spring for Mona di Orio I woul suggest also sampling Van Cleef & Arpels Orchidee Vanille this is an amazing fragrance as well yet the price of $185 for a 2.5oz is kind of ridiculous.

I'm not a fan of Gucci Pour Homme I, but if its your thing then get it while you still can find it. Some sephoras still carry it.

Eau des Baux is a must buy!!!! Just get it it's only $50! I purchased this on Sat and wore it today in 49 degree weather. This fragrance is the definition of fall/winter in a bottle, it's smoky, balmy, incense, sultry and enticing! This along with Boss Bottled will be my go-to fragrances this fall and winter without a doubt!

[Neil4Speed]

I absolutely love Eau Des Baux for winter. Smelling it in the coldest of days literally warms my body - amazing fragrance overall.

[marcusman]

LADDM has my vote, I would sample Mono D'Orio first...I was pretty disappointed by Les Nombres d`Or Vanille Mona di Orio. It was a real scrubber for me...

[Akahina]

My favorite from your list is Dark Aoud. Long lasting and great silage. New Haarlem is incredible but given that there are so many haters of Bond I would not be concerned that people give it good reviews because of the house. It gets good reviews in spite of the house because the scent is good. Better than Rochas Man but similar.

[rbaker]

By Gucci PH I (2003) is good for winter; Dark Oud.

[dreamer81]

I own samples of this:

L`Air du Desert Marocain Tauer Perfumes * - amber plus spices plus incense, great longevity, quite original
Dark Aoud Montale - dark woods, dry and masculine
Moon Aoud Montale - just *another* aoud variation from Montale and definitely not best. I dont know why this scent exist
Blue Amber Montale * - almost linear amber scent, kinda scifi on top, but great on drydown. Excellent longevity but may become boring after while.
Eau des Baux L`Occitane * - spicy vanilla. Excellent longevity. Not most complex scent on market (but neither one from this list is) but masculine and elegant.

I like all but Moon Aoud (White Aoud, Black Aoud, Aoud Musk, Black Musk or Dark Aoud are IMO much better scents).
LADDM and Blue Amber are both heavy on amber but LADDM is more complex and has incense and spices that makes it more masculine.
Eau Des Baux is great bang for bucks and for spicy woody vanilla lovers.
Dark Aoud is just woody and dark.

If I had to pick one of this, it would be LADDM (almost safe blind buy) or Eau Des Baux (safe blind buy) as a warm scent, or Dark Aoud as a masculine dry scent (NOT a safe blind buy)

[mr. reasonable]

LADDM & Eau de Baux are personal favourites.

Idole EDT is excellent in summer, haven't tried the EDP.

Never tried the Mona di Orio but I'm sure it's a good 'un.

[alfarom]

L`Air du Desert Marocain Tauer Perfumes
Dark Aoud Montale
Idole Lubin
Or Black Pascal Morabito
Eau des Beaux

These are my picks.

[Nazz]

Montale Dark Aoud.
Mona di Orio Les Nombres d'Or Vanille.

[elbenja]

Hypnôse Homme Lancome
Strictly Private Baldessarini

[chopwet]

From your list, these are the ones I would like to get for myself and in this order:

Idole Lubin
L`Air du Desert Marocain Tauer Perfumes
Eau des Baux L`Occitane *

[Ken_Russell]

I'd recommend a scent with terrific price-quality ratio, also very suitable for winter wear: Eau des Baux.

[imyourhuckleberryxx]

Lovin all this feedback guys! Thanks so much. A lot has happened since I posed this yesterday. I've managed to easily knock a good majority of these out of the running completely for one reason or another. Im pretty much now down to Idole, EDB, Gucci and New Haarlem. Im leaning most towards Idole and EDB or New Haarlem. Still the only thing holding me back on the Idole is the longevity. Like how many hours are we talking about before only you are smelling you? EDB as many have mentioned is just a steal. Such great reviews for such a low price. My buddy that actually got me into this wallet killer called fragrance collecting found out about my winter fragrance quest last night and he immediately said I need to go for New Haarlem. I've spent a good portion of my morning looking into it and I came across more reviews than I would have liked that said something startling...many people have compared this to A*Men which IMHO is one of the nastiest creations ever. Are they saying that just because they are similar in that they are a coffee/gourmand fragrance? Or do they actually smell pretty similar? Cause better quality ingredients or not, there simply isn't anything that can be done to make A*Men bearable for me. bleh! And my same buddy informed me last night also that I probably wont enjoy the Gucci as much as others do. He and I have pretty similar taste and he knows my likes and dislikes. But Im gonna wait till the end of the week before making my decision. Gotta see if any of y'all can further sway me towards one or two in particular. haha!

[imyourhuckleberryxx]

Idole

[fit&frag'd]

New Haarlem is a fantastic winter choice IMO and would be my pick. I have a sample that I use sparingly as I can't quite afford a FB yet. Well blended, quality Juice. NOT AT ALL like A*Men IMO. I can't tolerate A*Men, but rather enjoy NH. To me, NH has a classy & still somehow a little "clean" vibe to it, while still being a rich gourmand. To be fair, however, I have yet to test EDB (really want to though), so I can't comment on it, or whether you should choose it over NH or not.

[bgoc]

Hypnose Homme has a good longevity period, however on the other hand the silage/projection isn't great. It's a good quiet/office scent.

[Akahina]

New Haarlem is on my to buy list when Bond has their free bottle event. A great choice...but you still need Dark Aoud!

[ajmc]

Blue Amber and New Haarlem.
Dark Aoud would be a good choice too. But It's a riskier blind buy.

[MJM_77]

I would choose L 'Air and New Haarlem from your list.

[dollars&scents]

L`Air du Desert Marocain Tauer Perfumes
Eau des Baux L`Occitane

These ^^^^^.

[imyourhuckleberryxx]

So I've made the leap on at least 1. I went ahead and ordered Eau de Baux this morning. Super excited to try it out! I was on luckyscent getting ready to order Idole as well but somehow before I was able to follow through I came across a couple more that I think need some consideration before I make my final decision. Tom of Finland and Black Tourmaline by Olivier Durbano. A few people have already mentioned Tom of Finland as one I should look into but I really never took the time to until today. It sounds nice. Very masculine from what I can find. Seems like its going to be more leather as opposed to sweet stuff though. Black Tourmaline also sounds like it'll be very leathery and long lasting which is a big plus for me. Does any body have any good/bad things to say about either of those?

[Buysblind]

LDDM

and Eau des Baux

I'd get both of them, if possible.

Gucci Pour Homme is also a great choice, but it's actually pretty expensive right now.

My fourth choice would be Blue Amber by Montale. B

[TeenfragGent]

New Haarlem and Hypnose Lancome are great buys.

[dollars&scents]

Black Tourmaline also sounds like it'll be very leathery and long lasting which is a big plus for me. Does any body have any good/bad things to say about either of those?

Black Tourmaline by Olivier Durbano - Upon application, one experiences a wonderfully smoky leather accord and a burst of lively pepper, with its smooth, almost woody presence. A wondrous, campfire smell majestically ebbs and flows as well. This captivating opening meanders to the awating middle. Transitioning to the heart, heaps of heavenly sweet and orangey frankincense as well as medicinal and musty oud crest the potent, smoky wave, and are joined with a herbal pas de trois of fresh and slightly bitter cardamom, nutty and spicy coriander as well as a smattering of dirty and sweaty cumin. A halo of flavorful and dry woods caps the remarkable melange, and wends to the waiting base. An alluring blend of warm and fur-like musk, velvety and slightly sweet amber, bitter and foresty moss as well as a hint of dark and earthy patchouli, highlights the robust base and leads to an evocative drydown. This superbly mysterious and intense composition has average projection and longevity.

and, do enjoy your Eau des Baux by L'Occitane, a wonderful choice.

[Sol invictus]

Just bought Eau des Baux, and i'm loving it.