Best colognes for people who don't like typical cologne scents

[Barley]

Sample a lot of the better perfumers and then INVEST in a fragrance or two that you really LOVE. Then just spray them sparingly and I think they'll last you a fairly long time.

You are speaking my language! I will start researching today! Thank you!

 

[steffenapelz]

You are speaking my language! I will start researching today! Thank you!

I recommend Luckyscent and Surrender To Chance. Both are top-notch, fairly priced and use decants from real bottles. And between them, you should be able to sample just about anything you want.

 

[Barley]

I recommend Luckyscent and Surrender To Chance. Both are top-notch, fairly priced and use decants from real bottles. And between them, you should be able to sample just about anything you want.

I'm thinking of ordering samples of:

Les Indemodables: Escale En Indonesie, Escale En Haiti, Musc Des Sables, Fougere Emeraude, Vanille Havane
Carthusia: Uomo, Mediterraneo
Penhaligon's: Juniper Sling

Any major omissions from these three houses (or other houses) based on what you've read about my journey so far?

 

[DrStrange]

Old woman here....... since I love Floris No 89

At first, it smells a little bit like cinnamon to me,
and then later more flowery and powdery.

Politically, I like it for the inclusion of Evernia prunastri as an ingredient.

 

[Jaybyrd]

I recently ordered a bunch of fragrance samples and have been working my way through them. I tried to pick a wide variety, with the goal of having one or two mainstays that are discreet and gentlemanly. Three samples in, I'm beginning to get disheartened, thinking that maybe colognes are just not for me. Here is what I have and what I've tried so far:

Nautica Blue - Good initially, but dry down smelled "off"
Nautica Voyage - Smelled "off" initially, but improved with dry down. May just settle on this for a cheap summer spritz from time to time
Floris No. 89 - Powder bomb that both I and my wife found downright offensive. Wife said it smelled like "Old Woman."
Guerlain Vetiver - A little better, but vetiver just isn't an appealing fragrance to us.
Armaf Club de Nuit Intense Man - I will never pay several hundreds of dollars for a fragrance, so Creed Aventus is out. I realize this will not be as good, and the initial scent was pretty good, but the dry down smells too powdery and metallic.

Samples still to go through:

Hermes Terre D'Hermes
Mont Blanc Explorer
Mont Blanc Legend
Versace Eau Fraiche

I've gone through a similar journey with shaving soaps. I am usually unimpressed with the cologne dupes and gravitate more towards the leather or tobacco or tropical (think lime, coconut, rum) scents. But I doubt they would translate well to colognes.

Am I getting discouraged too quickly? Should I just be happy with shaving soaps and aftershaves? Am I wrong and should I just buy Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille, Ombre Leather, and Creed Virgin Island Water (despite my aversion to paying hundreds of dollars on colognes)? Looking for advice, or at least some encouragement that the experience will improve, and someday I will find "the one".

I have Hermes which my wife likes the best. I have Mont Blanc Explorer (this is the closest to Aventus without paying the Creed pricing in my opinion - black cylinder type bottle). I also have Mont Blanc Legend which is decent and Eau Fraiche - clean and powdery so not sure if you're into this and it doesn't have much staying power on me.
Santal 33 and Baccarat Rogue are unique and lovely. The other option I get a ton of compliments on are Riddle oil parfume and Byredo Gypsy Water. Paco Rabon 1 Million is nice but the most compliments I ever get are with Creed (GIT, Aventus) and the other two I just mentioned (Riddle & Byredo) Oh I also have Tom Ford Ombre Leather - it definitly smells like leather but dries down rather nicely but not many compliments on this so depends on what your in the mood for. Versace Eeros I gifted and my daughter's boyfriend said he gets tons of compliments on this. Good luck and enjoy the journey.

 

[Barley]

I went to Sephora at Kohl's and was able to test a lot of fragrances. I am sold on Tom Ford Ombre Leather, which will be my more casual, cool weather scent. I already love Stirling's Oro Valley and feel the two products will mesh well. I hope Stirling re-releases it later this year so I can pick up their EDT version.

I was also able to confirm that I don't like powdery fragrances, and learned that Iris (and Orris) are the main culprits. So I will not be getting a sample of Musc Des Sables since it has an Orris component.

 

[md1234]

I still recommend Crown Shaving Co. Signature Blend (it isn't powdery at all). If you don't mind licorice and tobacco with a spicy base, you will like it. You can get the roll on cologne for 20 bucks.

 

[Barley]

I still recommend Crown Shaving Co. Signature Blend (it isn't powdery at all). If you don't mind licorice and tobacco with a spicy base, you will like it. You can get the roll on cologne for 20 bucks.

I will look into that. When you say "licorice," is that black licorice? Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[md1234]

I will look into that. When you say "licorice," is that black licorice? Thanks for the suggestion!

Black licorice to my nose

 

[Barley]

Today's fragrance was Terre D'Hermes and I like it a lot. I like how subtle it is after trying some of the more in-your face scents. Did not affect my wife's allergies and while she was not wowed she also didn't hate it and she hates most fragrances. So I am feeling more upbeat about this journey. And I have lots of time (and product) to test and re-test. It doesn't take more than 1 spray to get the performance I want.

 

[AlphaFrank75]

Edt is a simple but marvelous citrus summer scent that seems to work in all weather , not much projection or longevity but marvelous all the same

Not for no reason was it the signature scent of Alain Delon and John Lennon .. its iconic , much like the people who wear it

The Parfum maintains the same quality , but goes much deeper , and richer .. much more resinous, there are 2 versions the 2012 Myrhh bomb, impossible to find now and the 2017 which is more elemi based and still available, stock up on that one is my advice as Dior tend to be silly and discontinue iconic scents with no warning

I fully endorse this recommendation. I have both versions and the 2017 edition is my favorite.


This is the 2012 edition ...................................................... This is the 2017 edition

 

[Barley]

I fully endorse this recommendation. I have both versions and the 2017 edition is my favorite.


This is the 2012 edition ...................................................... This is the 2017 edition
View attachment 1818172View attachment 1818173

In your opinion, is there room in a limited fragrance collection (think 2-3 for summer and 2-3 for winter) for both the EDT and Parfum?

 

[Slock]

If you like Tom Fords Tobacco Vannille but not the price try Stirlings Haverford. They have a EDT of it.
You can get samples of there aftershaves and if you like get the EDT. I would research if they offer the EDT before ordering the aftershave samples. I did a smell test comparison between Tom Fords TV and Haverford and my wife couldn't tell the difference.

 

[AlphaFrank75]

In your opinion, is there room in a limited fragrance collection (think 2-3 for summer and 2-3 for winter) for both the EDT and Parfum?

I don't see why not although I think with a limited selection, I buy the Parfum first. There are companies that do decants so you might want to look into that.

 

[GlazedBoker]

Take a look into the house of Acqua Di Parma if you haven't done so as of yet. Their Colonia line offers some very nice compositions with quality ingredients & some naturals. Those in the brown bottle will offer a bit more spice/oriental undertones like Oud, Leather, Mirra & Quercia while still having their signature citrus accords about them. The OG Colonia, Intensa & Essenza are staples for me during the warmer days and may work for you as well. Lastly, the Blu Mediterranean line has some really fantastic aromatics with a coastal flavor to them that's hard to beat. Performance or longevity with this particular line is it's only knock for quite a few but, the natural ingredients and quality compositions more than make up for it in my humble opinion. Online discounters have these at very relative affordable prices. Get to a shop or favorite mall and sample a few just to get your nose on them. You can test them on paper strips but, I recommend going through with the on skin test. Best results come from wearing a spray or two.

Good luck on your journey.

 

[steffenapelz]

I'm thinking of ordering samples of:

Les Indemodables: Escale En Indonesie, Escale En Haiti, Musc Des Sables, Fougere Emeraude, Vanille Havane
Carthusia: Uomo, Mediterraneo
Penhaligon's: Juniper Sling

Any major omissions from these three houses (or other houses) based on what you've read about my journey so far?

Good bunch of options, IMO. If I had to add anything, here's what I'd add:

Les Indemodables: IF you like rose, Rose de Jamal is really nice. It isn't a feminine rose at all. Quite appropriate for men, as well. Just incredibly well done. And if you like citrus, Chypre Azural is a must-try.

Carthusia: I OWN Mediterraneo and it is amazing. Also reportedly George Clooney's daily wearer. I personally didn't love Uomo, but it is good. I liked Numero Uno better, so I would add that one.

Penhaligon's: I think I would try several more from Penhaligon's older lineup. here are some I like:

- Douro: Classic Eau de Portugal that is both aromatic (lavender/herbal) as well as citrus.
- Opus 1870: Yuzu, black pepper, and complex base notes.
- Castile: In my opinion the very best Neroli fragrance there is. I have tried seemingly all niche Nerolis, and this is the one the others can only hope to be.
- Sartorial: This one is kind of odd for me to like because it has a pronounced aldehyde note. But somehow, Penhaligon's really was able to round that into a really nice manly fragrance.

 

[Barley]

Over the past few days I sampled Versace Eau Fraiche and Mont Blanc Legend. They were fairly subtle and inoffensive, which I like. However, they did smell unnatural and synthetic. Kinda made me wonder "what's the point?"

I also stopped by a Sephora and was able to sniff a bunch of designer colognes. Some felt very powdery to me (I'm looking at you, YSL La Nuit De L'Homme), and others seemed not mature enough for me (Versace Eros and Eros Flame). Acqua Di Gio Profundo smelled like seaweed to me.

I'm not trying to be flippant or insulting. I realize many people, including on this forum, love some of these scents. But they're just not for me.

And that's why I started this thread. maybe I'm just not a frag guy.

That being said, I am awaiting samples in the mail for my last ditch attempt at this. If I can't find anything else worthwhile, I think I'm just gonna stick with Terre D'Hermes and TF Ombre Leather. With many thanks for the suggestions offered by all of you kind people, here is what is coming:

Acqua Di Parma Colonia
Acqua di Parma Blu Mediterraneo - Fico di Amalfi
Carthusia Mediterraneo
Carthusia Numero Uno
Creed Virgin Island Water
Dior Eau Sauvage EDT
Dior Eau Sauvage Parfum
Les Indemodables Chypre Azural
Les Indemodables Escale en Indonesie
Les Indemodables Vanille Havane
Nicolai New York
Parfums De Marly Herod
Penhaligon Blenheim Bouquet
Penhaligon Sartorial

I won't get to trying them until May, as this is actually birthday present. Let's hope my birthday is a successful one!

 

[steffenapelz]

If I had to bet...I would bet you'll dislike the 2 Diors and the PDM...those are as synthetic as any synthetic fragrance I have ever smelled. You'll probably dislike several others, but I think there are some winners in that batch of samples. I didn't recommend AdP, but I am a big fan of the OG AdP...subtle but oh so good. If you end up liking that one, you could branch out into Santa Maria Novella...

 

[user9]

Thinking about it, some of the "special purpose" colognes I have seem to qualify as the understated types of cologne for people who eschew notes distinctive to popular fragrances.

Nautica Classic leaves a sandalwood vibe that's low-key. It's what I wear to church and on Easter and Christmas since when I was a kid that's one thing I distinctly remember about getting dragged to Mass, the sandalwood scent of the chapel.

Ho Hang Club sounds like one of those room-clearing 80s bombs but it's really not. It starts out kind of herbal and citrusy then goes through a floral stage and settles into a smorgasboard of base notes that to me amount to a fairly powdery drydown. That's for weddings.

Nautical Voyage is what I wear when I travel, soft apple/cucumber/cedar notes.

We have a "fragrance free" workplace so that's where I wear my ouds and honey-patchouli bombs. If anyone complains I'll just say I use a fabric softener that's made in Dubai.

 

[Barley]

I have received all my samples, but can't open them until my birthday in May. Until then, whenever I pass the local Sephora store, I sneak in and sample a fragrance or two. Yesterday was Armani Code (no thank you) and Spicebomb Extreme (I liked it A LOT. Nice comforting smell. But I got a HARD NO from the SO).

I actually have high hopes for ADP Colonia. I hope it works out. In fact, I just made a batch of hand soap using the ADP fragrance notes. It's curing right now but looks and smells promising