Layering Fragrances

I have a bottle of Christian Lacroix Tumulte pour Homme that I thoroughly love. It's a cedar fragrance. That's what it basically boils down to. It's fairly linear but if one loves cedar I think it's a great scent. So last week I showered up after hitting the gym at our station and spritzed on the CLTpH. Run into a beautiful specimen of a lady that I work with and this is how the conversation went:

Her - You smell like a hamster.
Me - Huh....
Her - You smell like a hamster. Well, not so much like a hamster but like a hamster's cage.
Me - I just showered. **sniffing myself** Could it be my cologne?
Her - That's what it is. It smells like a clean hamster cage. It's not bad but I had a hamster when I was a kid and that's what her cage smelled like after I cleaned it.
Me - .........I had a bowl of quinoa, cucumber, and kalamata salad in the fridge and it's missing......did you eat it?
Her - I thought you guys ate pellets?
Me - I hate you.

Yep, she's a witty one.

So, yesterday I shower and shave (Dovo Shavette w/ a Feather and Modspa Avocado Cream--BBS and so nice) and splash on some Ogallala Bay Rum & Sandalwood as my aftershave and cologne. The Ogallala is a great, wonderful scent by itself and it has awesome longevity so it's fine to use as a cologne as well but it smelled a little sweet last night for some reason. So I go back into my dopp and pull out the Tumulte. Spray a little on the chest and forearms--and then the heavens opened up. This was a totally new scent. The bay rummyness and sweet scent of the sandalwood mixed PERFECTLY with the cedar. It took the edge off the cedar and the sweetness mellowed out wonderfully.

So I smile at my good fortune and head to the kitchen. I get to the kitchen and there she is. My blonde-haired-and-ponytailed nemesis is sitting at our table. I make a bean burrito and sit down next to her.

Her - What are you wearing?
Me - Same stuff that I was when you said I smelled like a hamster mixed with a little something else.
Her - Really? But you don't smell like a hamster. That smells really good. Like, really really really good.
Me - I know.....

Bingo! So, short question made long, anybody have any layering suggestions?

Hahahaha. I find the first conversation highly amusing

I wish people were witty like that more often, but it just doesn't seem to be the case.

I am too ignorant to add any value to this thread.

Mmm, pellets.

*digs a hole in the cedar chips*

I think people associate certain scents with certain memories. I know I do. Whenever I smell sun tan oil (coconut) it takes me back to when I was 16 and hanging out at the pool with my first love.

I really like sandalwood yet some people associate it with burning incense. I think your friend had a cedarwood memory.

Actually, these are a few fragrances that I like to layer (that aren't too obvious, like a rose cologne with a rose aftershave...):

Ogallala Bay Rum with Tam Dao
Aqua Velva Ice Sport with T&H 1805
Floid with Tam Dao
This one sounds weird, but Clubman Bay Rum with Pen's BB EdT
And I discovered this one because I wore the same shirt two days in a row, but apparently C&S 88 with the previous day's Guerlain Vetiver is quite pleasing to my nose...

Feel free to gag at the thought of any of these combinations!

some scents, like foods, go well together

adonnellyr said:

I wish people were witty like that more often, but it just doesn't seem to be the case.

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I think I'm pretty witty, but unfortunately not too quick. Get back to me in a few days, I'll have a couple retorts you could've used last week.

As for layering, I've tried a little Paul Sebastian after splashing on Clubman, Tabac EDT after splashing on Old Spice, and some British Sterling over Skin Bracer. Sandalwood over Bay Rum is definitely one I gotta try. Thanks!

I'd laugh my head off if I got a comment like that. Haven't had any comments told outright about anything I've worn yet. Guess it isn't so bad. I can enjoy what I want without worry.

TinFish said:

Sandalwood over Bay Rum is definitely one I gotta try. Thanks!

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Ogallala has a Bay Rum & Sandalwood that is wicked good. Definitely invest in some. It's super cheap and high quality stuff!

This is not original with me, but I tend to agree with the idea that Creed Green Irish Tweed does better with something leathery layered underneath it. In part this is because GIT, at least on me fades pretty fast and is pretty linear. Leather gives more of a base note, to me.

I think I have written before that something more specifically rose used with 88 seems to tend to bring out the rose notes in 88.

This morning I wore three different lime-based scents together. T&H WIL AS balm, a wonderful rich lime sample scent I got from Colonial Drug (but have no idea what it is called), and one spray of Penhaligon's Anthology Extract of Limes.

The Penhaligon's opening is wonderful, but it leaves little to nothing at drydown, whereas the sample I got from Colonial smells great two hours later but is a lot more subdued at the start. So I used a little of both.

I know, not very creative. But it's the first time I've ever used more than one cologne at the same time.

FLTiger said:

I am too ignorant to add any value to this thread.

Mmm, pellets.

*digs a hole in the cedar chips*

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<Penhaligon's Anthology Extract of Limes>

I am jealous! Can you tell me more about it! Decant from Perfumed Court?

I think lime scents are generally short on tenacity. Any way to figure out what the Colonial Drug sample was? How is it, say 4 hours later? I think I would be interested in a lime scent with some "legs."

It was always interesting to me that Issy has strong citrus accords that have rather stunning tenacity and, for that matter, like it or not, "sillage." And I suppose I can think of some other scents that are more toward lemon than lime that are rather persistent. (Some that are not, too, such as Pen's BB's lemon accords/"top notes." If the Pen's anthology line has lime anything like that opening citrus in BB, Pen's has a hit with me!)

But I cannot immediately think of any scent with a strong truly lime note that is very persistent.

Maybe Old Spice Lime, back in the day! It also seems to me that there are many lime scents that smell artificial, whereas lemon seems to have a much easier time in smelling authentic.

adonnellyr said:

I wish people were witty like that more often, but it just doesn't seem to be the case.

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A pity you can't spend time with me - there's more than enough wit to go around. Just ask my wife, I'm sure she'll tell you there's more than enough.

Speaking of Mrs. Obsessed, I was pleased to dissover that she likes Floris No. 89. A lucky break for me!

cstrother said:

<Penhaligon's Anthology Extract of Limes>

I am jealous! Can you tell me more about it! Decant from Perfumed Court?

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Yup. Got it on Saturday in the mail. Really nice fragrance, but, like most lime scents, doesn't last very long.

I think lime scents are generally short on tenacity. Any way to figure out what the Colonial Drug sample was? How is it, say 4 hours later? I think I would be interested in a lime scent with some "legs."

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Yeah. I sent them an e-mail asking them to decode what scents they sent me, but they never replied. I think I'm going to have to call them on the phone and ask them to read it off to me.

Four hours later it has a nice "greens" smell; it's light but pleasant.

It was always interesting to me that Issy has strong citrus accords that have rather stunning tenacity and, for that matter, like it or not, "sillage." And I suppose I can think of some other scents that are more toward lemon than lime that are rather persistent. (Some that are not, too, such as Pen's BB's lemon accords/"top notes." If the Pen's anthology line has lime anything like that opening citrus in BB, Pen's has a hit with me!)

But I cannot immediately think of any scent with a strong truly lime note that is very persistent.

Maybe Old Spice Lime, back in the day! It also seems to me that there are many lime scents that smell artificial, whereas lemon seems to have a much easier time in smelling authentic.

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There was one other sample they sent me that seems to last even longer; I don't use it because it seems I'm a bit allergic to something in it. When I get the names I'll let you know.

As far as lemon scents go, you may be right. Check out C.O. Bigelow "Lemon No. 1999" at Bath and Body Works. I started a thread about it last week. It's a pretty nice lemon scent that you might like/be able to pull off.

I'll update you on info (if I can get it) from Colonial Drug.

OK, I just got off the phone with a guy at Colonial Drug. He was kind of a jerk, but I managed to wrestle the information from him.

The one I used this morning is called Balmain Monsieur or Monsieur Balmain. Apparently it's a reformulation of a scent that's been around for a long time. It's pretty nice. You can go to basenotes and find out all the notes that are in it. The opening is probably more lemon than lime. On me it lasts longer than any "citrus" EDT I've ever used.

kingfisher said:

OK, I just got off the phone with a guy at Colonial Drug. He was kind of a jerk, but I managed to wrestle the information from him.

The one I used this morning is called Balmain Monsieur or Monsieur Balmain. Apparently it's a reformulation of a scent that's been around for a long time. It's pretty nice. You can go to basenotes and find out all the notes that are in it. The opening is probably more lemon than lime. On me it lasts longer than any "citrus" EDT I've ever used.

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Thanks for the effort. (I hear mostly good things about Colonial, but there also seems to be an element of running hot and cold.)

I wore Issy for years and still have a bunch of it. As far as lemon with persistence, I do not think it can be beat, so I think I have that one covered. Maybe you want to try it though, if you haven't, if you want citrus with "legs." L'Eau D'Issey pour Homme by Issey Miyake. I also to think that despite its prevalance and despite the "haters" it seems to attract, it is extraordinary juice. I eventually got tired of it, but that does not take away from its quality. Complex, persistent, evolving on the skin and in dry down, wood and floral in there as well as the citrus, potent, but balanced. A very fine piece of scent-making work, all the more impressive given that it came out in 1994. No one is going to mistake it for ckOne, launched that same year!

L'Eau D'Issey is great stuff and it's longevity can't be beat. It's pretty commonplace but that doesn't take away from the fact that for a citrusy frag with staying power it can't be beat.

Austin said:

I think people associate certain scents with certain memories.

I really like sandalwood yet some people associate it with burning incense. I think your friend had a cedarwood memory.

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The incense smell is the whole reason I like sandalwood!

More seriously, scent association is one of the strongest forms of memories, continuously and subconsciously formed. If a smell triggers a memory, even if you can't remember what the scent is associated with, you will generally make a like/dislike judgement on the spot.

Thanks for the tip on the L'eau D'Issey.

You guys should consider checking out the Balmain Monsieur. It's really a nice fragrance and it is growing on me.