Developing fragrance?

[Gamgee]

Hi there,

Disclaimer: I am a complete noob when it comes to judging fragrance.

Today I stopped by a big departmental store and tried all the Truefitt & Hill colognes. As soon as I smelled them (both from the bottle and by spraying on my hands), to my surprise I did not like any of them except the 1805. I went there specifically for the Grafton and Trafalgar which are highly regarded here and in many forums. But unfortunately I did not like them at all. (The 1805 at first I did not like but after a while my hands smelled amazing. I had applied it on my cheek as well and after about 5-10mins I loved the fragrance. Even my wife loved it after I came home.)
Unfortunately I had the same bad experience with Penhaligon's Blenheim. The Sartorial & Acqua di Parma were much better smelling for me.

So my question is - Is there a time period for the fragrance of these colognes to develop? Is it because these are very concentrated that I did not like their smell in immediately after sniffing from the bottle? Or am I just impotent to good colognes?

On a side note: if there are any fragrance experts here, do you see a pattern in my liking of scents, i.e., would you be able to determine what type of fragrances would i tend to like based on my likings?

Many thanks!

[Denver Mike]

I am also a complete noob but I can tell you what I do know. I can't site any science behind these two examples so bear with me.

Just last week I was in the mall when I was back home for the holidays. I saw the Art of Shaving store (I don't live near one anymore). I bought their Sandalwood starter kit 3 years ago and I use it so sparingly because I absolutely love how it smells. It's what I personally compare all other sandalwood scents to. I talked to the guy in the store and said I may have to buy some more after shave lotion because I'm running low. I said I love the stuff and said should make it into a cologne. He laughed and showed me the shelf full of their sandalwood cologne.

I probably embarrassed the wife because I was as excited as a kid on Christmas morning - she was pretty happy too because she loves the aftershave lotion. I sprayed it on my arm and sniffed away. Absolutely disgusting!!!!!

How could the scent that I love so much go so horribly wrong. It's not like it was a different company - how did it get lost in translation?
It was if my favorite book was made into a movie and the movie left out the main character. I was devastated...or as devastated a guy could be over something like a cologne (I just double checked - penis is still there). Anyways I told the wife I was pretty mad/disappointed but she reminded me about top notes/base notes, etc. She used to be a fragrance model and had to learn all of these things.

Initially it had a very very medicinal smell. It was a cross between eucalyptus/mint and as if I just walked into a nursing home and the Wednesday night activity was a Gold Bond Powder fight.

I looked at straight razors and chatted with the store clerk for about 5 minutes and then I was about to walk out of the door but I smelled it again. Absolute heaven! I was a nice creamy woody scent that was exactly what I was hoping for.
As I said I'm new to the B&B game and really starting to get into this. I dropped $300 on a bottle of Creed that I really love but ever since I found this sandalwood it's all I have been wearing.

To answer your question - yes. Give it time, the fragrance will evolve. It may take 2 minutes, it may take 2 hours....it could completely change throughout the day.


Number 2: I think I read this in Maxim or Men's Health at one point but the article was about colognes and people's body chemistry. They had 3 guys all wear 3 the same scent on day one, then a new scent on day two, etc.
They had the ladies in the offices smell each guy and they gave their opinions. The short version of the article is that let's say fragrance #1 on guy #1 was great and all the ladies loved it but the exact same fragrance on guy #2 and #3 smelled like the guys were dumpster diving for the past few days.

What smells good on one person may not smell good on another and also, everyone has their own opinion. Personally I love the smell of the generic fake "Brut" I bought at the Dollar Store, my wife thinks I smell old and decrepit when I wear it.

Before you drop some coin on a fragrance, spray it on and it give time. If you're going shopping for something like that, make it your first stop and spray it on and then hit all other places you were going to. If you like it by the time you're heading to the car, make your first stop the last stop and go pick it up.
Good luck!

[musicman1951]

I'll let those with much more experience recommend scents. Many colognes have a distinct top note that is fairly short lived. Some have three fairly distinct notes and some are more linear, but many will be quite a bit different after the dry down - as you experienced.

One suggestion was to select two you might like (sample on paper first) and spray one on each wrist. Then go shopping so they have a chance to dry down.

I generally use samples.

[Dennard]

EDTs are typically structured with three different phases: top notes, base notes, heart notes. Names differ for these three phases, but the opening usually lasts for 5-30 minutes and serves as an introduction to the fragrance (citrus is a frequent aspect). The second phase lasts an hour or more in a well-made fragrance and is often composed of spicy notes. The third phase lasts the longest (usually several hours) and popular accords include woody or musky notes. The notes used in fragrances change, but these suggested notes and lengths are examples from my experience.

[jakespoppy]

First, welcome to the fragrance forum Gamgee! And you, too, Denver Mike! Good questions, Gamgee, and good comments, Denver Mike. Musicman1951 and Dennard have also provided some helpful comments. Gamgee, I think it may be too early, based on what you've told us, for us to know what types of fragrances you will like and dislike. At least I wouldn't want to try to draw that kind of conclusion yet. I would encourage you to keep sampling as many fragrances as you can, and keep track of what you like and what you don't like. There are a number of places where you can get samples and decants, including from a couple of vendors here on B&B, Archerfire and gaj90027. Both of these guys will be very helpful in providing suggestions. You can learn a lot about what people like and why in this forum and in other sites, but you really need to try them yourself to learn what you like. Our preferences for scents is very similar to our preferences for foods and beverages. It only takes a slight variation for something to move from the "love it" category to the "wash it off, fast" category. Enjoy the discovery process!

Edit: I just noticed in another thread you mentioned you have D&G The One and love it as one of your top favorites, and have also tried YSL l'Homme and Gucci Guilty and love them too. So, since it sounds like you are more familiar with some you like than it looked like in your first post here, it might help us help you if you'd share a little more about which frags you've tried and which ones you like, and which ones you don't like.

[stryker4526]

If you like 1805, I'd also go somewhere and check out L'eau d'Issey, which the reformulated 1805 is apparently a copy of. My bottle hasn't arrived yet so I haven't had the chance to compare them directly, but from what I read around here and basenotes, T&H reformulated ALL of their scents in 2004 to be close or exact copies of way cheaper, way more successful designer scents.
Of course, I really do like the bottles that T&H have... I might purchase one just for the bottle and refill it with the "original" scent they copied.

[Gamgee]

Thank you very much for you comment guys..
@Denver Mike, your experience is exactly what i felt. As soon as i came out of the store and smelt it, i really liked the 1805! May be as Musicman 1951 and Dennard said, it might take some time for the lasting fragrance to evolve!

@Jakespoppy, thanks for your advise. I will keep on sniffing other fragrances and then try to develop my own taste! As you pointed out I had mentioned in another thread about some of the fragrances that I loved. But these are so called designer perfumes I guess. I am in the hunt for a more traditional, gentlemanly, english barbershop-ish fragrance. I was not sure I could mix my other tastes in perfumes here.. Here are a some of perfumes that I really enjoyed in the past and am enjoying in the present (in no particular order):

D&G The One
Amouage Ciel Man
PR One Million
Armani Code and Acqua di gio
Burberry - Man, Touch, Brit
Bvlgari Pour Homme
Davidoff Cool Water Deep and Hot Water
Chris Adams Active man (http://www.chrisadamsperfumes.com/Ac..._100ML_For_Men) Cheap but great fragrance
Terre D'Hermes
...... cant remember any more!!

[jakespoppy]

Excellent clarification, Gamgee. To answer your question, we do indeed discuss all types of fragrances here, including traditional barber shop type scents as well as designer frags, niche frags, fragrance oils, and probably others I'm not remembering. Some of us are only interested in certain types, but many of us, myself included, enjoy frags in all of these categories. Your list will be helpful for folks here to make suggestions on some new frags for you to consider. It looks like your tastes lean towards lighter, fresher fragrances, and some with a touch of sweetness. We can suggest some along these lines, but may also suggest some in different styles for you to try, in case you just haven't tried those yet.

So guys, can you suggest some traditional, gentlemanly English barbershopish frags for Gamgee?

[tehtimmeh]

So guys, can you suggest some traditional, gentlemanly English barbershopish frags for Gamgee?

Gamgee,

If you are looking for a traditional, gentlemanly English barbershop style frag, I'd look no further than Penhaligons. 3 of their scents to put on your radar:


1. Sartorial. A modern, revitalized fougere (fern) in the vein of Brut but with much higher quality ingredients and a modern edge. Think traditional meets today. Put on your suit after a fresh shave with this one.
2. Racquets Formula. Not as modern feeling as Sartorial and closer to Pinaud Clubman which is the great American barbershop benchmark.
3. English Fern. THE Fougere. Some consider it the benchmark or gold standard. Been around for a long time and gets a lot of love around here. A drier green stiff upper-lip fougere than the others, but probably the most classic English style.

None of these will smell like the designer scents on your list!

[Matt555]

Is it because these are very concentrated that I did not like their smell in immediately after sniffing from the bottle? Or am I just impotent to good colognes?

It is not really possible to get a feel for a frag by sniffing it from the bottle. At the very least, you have to spray a tester strip. Even then, that is not a great way. You really gotta' try it on your skin.

As for being impotent to good colognes, well, no such thing. Just because a cologne is expensive and gets high praise does not mean it is right for you. There is nothing wrong with that. Your favorite frag might end up costing half of what a T&H frag costs and that is just fine.

[Lamb Root]

Aramis Tuscany per Uomo
Parfums de Nicolaï Carré d'As

my two cents

[Denver Mike]

Man I love this! - I now have a new shopping list because of this thread. I do have a question and at the risk of sounding stupid, here is goes....but if there is an FAQ that I missed tell me and I will stop the basic questions.

Of course I know what I sample is but what is a decant? Also how do people go about splitting orders or doing these group orders I hear about? It sounds self-explanatory but does someone just buy the biggest bottle of something, tear off the top and divide it up and send it out to people (paying people of course).

[Dennard]

Decants are basically the same as samples. When somebody transfers some of a fragrance from a full size bottle into a sample vial, that is a decant. The act of doing this is called decanting. For splits, usually one person will take responsibility of ordering a bottle and arrange for those interested to pay him/her for the cost of their portion of the fragrance along with shipping cost.

[Gamgee]

Thank you very much guys.. You have no idea how much I have learnt in one day just inspired by this thread. I have noted down all the recommendation and will make it a point to try them. Hope I can find some good Parfumeries nearby which stock some of these. I've only seen Sephora kind of stores where mostly they stock only the latest bestsellers!

Anyways, thanks again guys!!

[Ron991]

I don't know that I can add a-lot to this conversation taking into consideration all the great advice that were provided you with all the above statements. I will add that now that you have found several fragrances that you do like, you might at this point want to start to pay attention to fragrance pyramids. Find like notes that are blended within the structure you like. Also I would strongly recommend that you sample, and give any possible fragrance that you find that may be considered a bottle worthy purchase on your part several proper wearings. If you are a patient person try the fragrance in different weather conditions, as I find a-lot of fragrances wear different in hot, warm, cool, muggy conditions, and etc. There is no time limits on fragrances, take your time, and I think you will be rewarded for doing so.....IMHO

[Denver Mike]

Ron,

Any links to the pyramid? I am trying to learn more about the base or core scents that I like.

Here's another question for a new guy. When I first decided to explore Creed fragrances I had to do a search for retailers. My choices were either blind buy it online at their shop or hit up the Neiman Marcus 290 miles away next time I go back to visit the family.

My list of things I want to spray and sample is building and tonight the wife and I are going out to dinner that is right by an Ulta.

Could anyone put into simple terms where I find what?

I don't think I'd find any of the scents on this thread in a Target or a Kohls - but would I at Sephora, Macy's or Ulta?

Of course it will be fun to hit up places and explore myself.

In my town I have Ulta, Sephora, Dillard's, Macy's, Von Mar and JC Penny.

I've used Denver Mike as a name for 10 years but sadly I was relocated through work and do not live in a big city.

[jakespoppy]

Here are two links to vendors postings in the Vendor Forum here on B&B who sell decants by mail. Randy (Archerfire) and Garry (gaj90027) will both be glad to help supply you with decants/samples to try many of the frags discussed here on B&B. Both of these guys are folks just like you and me, who started as members of B&B, and are still members of B&B who have decided to start this sideline business because of their love of wetshaving and scents. These guys have helped us with the Fragrance of the Month by providing samples at cost so we could more easily do this activity, and have helped many of us try different scents.

#1 (this is a link to Archerfire's vendor page)

#1 (this is a link to gaj90027's vendor page)

There are other vendors who sell decants online as well, like Luckyscent, Surrender to Chance, and others. You should be able to sample many, many different scents without ever having to leave your home.

[Ron991]

Ron,

Any links to the pyramid? I am trying to learn more about the base or core scents that I like.

Here's another question for a new guy. When I first decided to explore Creed fragrances I had to do a search for retailers. My choices were either blind buy it online at their shop or hit up the Neiman Marcus 290 miles away next time I go back to visit the family.

My list of things I want to spray and sample is building and tonight the wife and I are going out to dinner that is right by an Ulta.

Could anyone put into simple terms where I find what?

I don't think I'd find any of the scents on this thread in a Target or a Kohls - but would I at Sephora, Macy's or Ulta?

Of course it will be fun to hit up places and explore myself.

In my town I have Ulta, Sephora, Dillard's, Macy's, Von Mar and JC Penny.

I've used Denver Mike as a name for 10 years but sadly I was relocated through work and do not live in a big city.

Take a peek at this site find a fragrance click on it, and you will be shown It's pyramid structure.....http://www.fragrantica.com/search/ Basenotes is another good source of information....