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underrated mainstreamers

I gravitated away from mainstream fragrances around the time Cool Water + Aqua di Gio took over--I could appreciate them, but have never been able to wear aquatics, + then they got so popular, yada yada yada.....samples + decants made the high-enders a little easier on the wallet.

A couple days ago I was cleaning up + found a sample of Tommy Bahama signature edt someone had included in an ebay purchase. I have to say, the drydown was nice, very smooth. Not as rich as Bel Ami, but not far behind. I had a similar experience with Fendi Uomo months ago, and I've always thought the original Aramis was underappreciated.

Are there mainstream, non-niche scents that those of you with niche inclinations have a secret (or not-so-secret) appreciation for?
 
L'Eau D'Issey is my goto scent in the summer. I really like the stuff(fantastic longevity)...and its pretty mainstream.
 
I like Burberry's men's ranges--I seem to still have a couple of bottles of Brit for Men laying around. Armani Eau Pour Homme is pretty nice too. RL's Safari isn't bad either.
 
The one that recently shocked me and became a fast favorite is Prada Infusion d'Homme. Just super clean and soapy scent with a lot of legs.

I haven't fully wrung it out, but Prada Amber has also got a good rep.

Not sure if these two meet your definition of mainstream, but:

YSL Rive Gauche Pour Homme is near legendary here.

Another fave in designer land for me is Versace L'Homme. It's pretty tough to find- the retail stores rarely have it, but can be found online. A terrific scent, but it is a bit '80s. (Note: it's "L'Homme", not "Homme" or "Pour Homme.")
 
Although I primarily wear niche frags, I still have a few designer frags in my wardrobe:

Polo Green - Mainly because this was my first fragrance when I was 13 and it is nostalgic to me. I still really like it even tho it was so completely overdone and over worn in the 80s. Green Pine, leather, tobacco. The dry down is amazing. A classic in every sense of the word.
Drakkar Noir - My second scent which I wore pretty much all through HS and for a few years after. I met my wife while wearing it and so it sort of holds that special place in the wardrobe. Another one that has a bad rap due to kids over applying it at the frat house during it's time, but I still love it and will always have a bottle.
YSL Opium Pour Homme - Something about this one just screams warm, cozy, by the fire. Full, rich, sweet, seductive. It doesn't get much love, but for some reason I really like the complexity and overall feeling of it.
Quorum - I picked this up at TJ Maxx for $14 bucks because a few guys have gone on about it here on the forums. I haven't really spent much time with it, and I can see why it is popular, but it's just so so for me.
PS by Paul Sebastian - Another cheapie I picked up after I had heard a few folks recommend it. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm not expecting much if it's supposedly a $14 version of Old Spice... We'll see!
 
I actually used up a bottle of that a couple years ago. I should check it out again and see what I think of it now.

Gave it a brief test wear on hand and it was nice. Hard to describe, but pleasant and clean for sure. Not heavy amber.
 
Allure Homme by Chanel is grossly underrated imo. It got its knocks for being an uninteresting amber/allspice frag-of-the-90s. Meanwhile, it garners compliments every time I wear it, always from women, and surprise surprise - always from attractive women.

Grey Flannel should get a whole new marketing campaign and get itself back on men's radar screens. It's popular here, but I'm not so sure we here on B&B fall into the category of "the masses". We know our **** here. Green fragrances were never that popular, and probably never will be, but GF is such an affordable step above the rest in a lot of ways. It's not perfect, but its maker definitely aspired to be. I still consider GF mainstream, although just barely. My 63 yr-old father has never heard of it.

Smelled Nautica Pure today at work. Was pretty to close to Unbound for Men by Halston. Generic, melony, with cucumber and calone. I like that smell enough to find it a pleasant workday scent, and from what I hear the other Nauticas are even better - especially Voyage. This stuff gets overlooked because it's aquatic, but that doesn't make them bad.



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Gave it a brief test wear on hand and it was nice. Hard to describe, but pleasant and clean for sure. Not heavy amber.

I remember it being a clean, soapy type scent, with limited silage and therefore good for the workplace. I'll confess I don't really know what amber smells like.

I haven't smelled them in a couple of years, but I also recall that Canali had one or two nice scents.
 
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