Could use suggestions: SWMBO with "discerning nose"

Gentlemen, I could use some assistance with mens fragrance.

The lady of the house has a rather discriminating nose in regard to the following scents: sandalwood, amber, lavender, musk, powdery-sweet. The challenge lies in finding a masculine cologne / EDT that does not have any of these elements. She does tend to enjoy patchouli, at least.

Of course the basenotes website has been helpful, but it would also be nice to have some recommendations to add to the existing knowledge base. Can you point a scent-challenged fellow in the right direction?

Czech and Speake - Cuba

Try something lime/lemon/verbena/citrus-based. My SWMBO also has a dislike for the heavy scents and is quite firm in her desire for me to wear something that's light and fresh. The citrus route was an instant hit.

Although it's "out of production", Bowling Green by Geoffrey Beene is widely available, inexpensive, and (to my less-than-stellar sniffer at least) very pleasant and masculine. It starts off very citrusy, and dries to a woody goodness. Basenotes has a review, so check it out there and see what you (and more importantly SWMBO) think. The good news is that even if it's not a hit, you still have some cash left to continue the hunt.

C. O. Bigelow has a "colored" line of Barber Elixir colognes as well that are inexpensive but don't smell that way. They just recently came out with a new cologne - "White" - that is "Modern, bright, and refined. Our Elixir blends clean citrus notes of Bergamot, Grapefruit, and Mandarin with undertones of peppery Wood Spices."

Now those base notes may be a problem, but then check out either the Green or Blue Elixirs. Good luck!

OH! ...And how does she feel about good ol' Bay Rum? Classic, manly, available, inexpensive, and absolutely luscious (at least to me!)

Good info so far. Thank ye kindly!

Out of curiosity, what about bay rum?

Penhaligons-
Duro/lords
Opus
Hammam

You could try..
Trumpers-
Wild fern
Portugal

Taylor #74

C&S Cuba

Floris-
Carnation
#127

Tea for two

I have recently acquired an amount of Dominica lime bay rum aftershave, which has been well received. My only concern is the longevity of a bay rum scent, as many reviews I have come across have noted the rapid disappearance.

Every now and again I hit up Macy's men's counter and put on a spritz from a tester of something or other to take home for analysis. So far a number of scents have struck out, like Guerlain's Vetiver for example, and everything from Penhaligons. These tips are giving me excellent directions to try, though. It's been fun so far to check out the different products, even though most of the effort to date has been unsuccessful.

Can you remember what elements of the Penhaligons she disliked?

The ones I mentioned are all over the map.

Miles said:

The lady of the house has a rather discriminating nose in regard to the following scents: sandalwood, amber, lavender, musk, powdery-sweet. The challenge lies in finding a masculine cologne / EDT that does not have any of these elements. She does tend to enjoy patchouli, at least.

Click to expand...

This may be a dumb question, but are you sure that she dislikes all of those or was it certain colognes/ containing those elements?

There are many colognes that contain elements of these but they still are not the predominant note.

Jim said:

Can you remember what elements of the Penhaligons she disliked?

Click to expand...

She put the kibosh on all the ones you mentioned, plus racquets and blenheim. Funny you should mention Trumpers, though. I've an inquiry into getting some samples of their colognes / EDTs, maybe something cool like Wellington or Eucris might appeal to the fussy nostrils in question.

Of course once I find the right thing, I'm going to do a big PIF of all the samples

And BarryR, yeah, she just flat out dislikes those elements if they appear in nearly any form.

Thanks again for the help, gents.

What about a Vetiver based scent?

I don't know which vetivers lack the forbidden ingredients though.

MPG Racine is a very nice milder vetiver blend. I look at their website and it's not very specific.

How about a Neroli of some sort?

If the bay rum got a thumbs up, the Bigelow bay rum cologne has decent lasting power for me.

Either Trumper's or (not because there is anything similar, but) YSL.
Trumper's Portugal or YSL Kouros.

Miles you are putting the samples on your skin and letting them develop?

Non synthetic fragrances meld with your chemistry and change over time while wearing them. To test, I would suggest not letting your bride sniff them for a half hour/hour after you apply them.

These 3 are easy to find in most stores so she can test them:

Givenchi Gentleman is probably the king of patchuli. It sometimes remind me of fresh apples (the sour types) and it's truely refreshing and classic.

Another classic bet would be Dior Sauvage, a grapefruit like scent with bitter notes that she might like.

Creed Silver Mountain Water is much more expensive but is quite unique with tea, grapefruit and bitter notes.

SCS New Spice. None of the notes you mentioned. However, it IS quite sweet.

T&H Grafton might also work. It has a tiny bit of musk and woods in the drydown, but I don't think it has the stuff she specifically dislikes.

L'Occitane -- Eau Des BAUX EdT. Vanilla with black pepper.