Help me pick a new frag

[Ron R]

A few scents that are very nice to me are Razorock XXX, Fine Fresh vetiver and recently I bought some Ogallala Bay rum & Sandalwood.
Ogallala is a interesting scent because it has Bayrum with a spicy clove scent with Sandal wood put in to sweeten it out nicely as the Aftershave dries down the Sandalwood complements it and not overwhelming to offend anyone. Scents are interesting to figure out for your personal liking & spouse. I do not like over whelming scents and when I do get them I usually dilute them with witch hazel around 4:1 ratio and if that does not work they become air fresheners in the bathroom or given away.
Here is some more information on splashes that might help.

Razorock after shave splashes and other great aftershave splashes.....!

You know when you buy a after shave product on line its hard to determine if you are going to like it. I find that sometimes the retail sites can be more one sided by patrons and can be also accurate if a person has a good experience. Everyone is so different to scent strengths. Italian barber...

www.badgerandblade.com

Have some great shaves! Stay & think safe in these times!

 

[Tirvine]

Alright - I've now tried Guerlain Vetiver as well as Eau Sauvage EDT. (I think the EDT was the one I was supposed to get, right? Lots of options but that seemed like the most popular from what I could see...)

Both of these frags were great suggestions. I'd say that Eau Sauvage is my preference between the two... it's really lovely. At first I thought it would be a bit too straight ahead floral for my nose, but after it dried down a little bit it developed a really lovely sweetness to balance out the floral notes in a way that I found very pleasing. The strength of this scent didn't seem that strong to me... bad in that it probably will take an extra spray or so (and it's not cheap!), but there's nothing worse than a fragrance that's too strong and overpowering IMO. If people are smelling me from across the room I'm doing something very wrong... at least that's how I enjoy scents.

The Guerlain is very nice but compared to the Dior it just seems a little bit flat to me. Just not nearly the same amount of complexity, at least to my (uneducated) nose. I guess that's what I get for comparing scents where one costs double the other . Nothing wrong at all with the Guerlain especially given the price... in fact, I'd be shocked to hear if anyone had an objection to the scent. It's very nice - it just doesn't particularly draw me in and make me want more. I guess that's how I'd describe it. So would I gladly accept it and wear it as a gift? Absolutely. But probably won't be the first frag I run out and buy.

So right now Eau Sauvage is in the lead... although I can't wait to try the others that will be arriving soon.

If you have already tried Eau Sauvage and Guerlain's Vetiver, you have the very two I would have recommended. I am also fond of Penhaligon Fern and of YSL. YSL always reminded me of the now long gone Yardley Black Label.

 

[Badger Bill]

A few scents that are very nice to me are Razorock XXX, Fine Fresh vetiver and recently I bought some Ogallala Bay rum & Sandalwood.
.........................
Have some great shaves! Stay & think safe in these times!

Thanks for the suggestions! I really enjoy the scent of Razorock XXX... never tired Ogallala so I'll have to check that out.

If you have already tried Eau Sauvage and Guerlain's Vetiver, you have the very two I would have recommended. I am also fond of Penhaligon Fern and of YSL. YSL always reminded me of the now long gone Yardley Black Label.

Thank you. I must say, if those are two you would have recommended, you seem to have excellent taste! I'll have to keep an eye out for samples of Penhaligon and YSL next time I place a sample order.

 

[never-stop-learning]

Belcam has a number of EdTs that are clones/versions of well known name brand scents and priced quite reasonably.

They do the trick and my Bride likes it when I wear them.

 

[steffenapelz]

Which discounters have this for $60? The ones I’ve visited charge much more.

OK...wow. I based that statement on my own purchase last year. It looks like it is currently sold out everywhere including at Houbigant...so the only ones who have it are selling it more or less at full retail of $190. Bad time to be looking to buy this I guess. It is an amazing scent though and worth hunting down IMO.

 

[Badger Bill]

OK...wow. I based that statement on my own purchase last year. It looks like it is currently sold out everywhere including at Houbigant...so the only ones who have it are selling it more or less at full retail of $190. Bad time to be looking to buy this I guess. It is an amazing scent though and worth hunting down IMO.

uh oh. I ordered a sample of it. Hopefully it won’t be my favorite or else I’m in trouble haha. We’ll see what happens!!!!

 

[Badger Bill]

Alright folks... so far I've tried the following samples, and I prefer them in this order:

1. Dior Eau Sauvage / Floris Santal (these are both really lovely to my nose at least and I'm having a hard time picking which I prefer over the other)
2. Floris Elite (and interesting scent... I strongly disliked it at first, but it really grew on me as the day progressed. At first it smelled to me like someone who had been smoking and put some woodsy fragrance on over the top, but as it dried down, it got more and more woodsy/mossy with a hint of sweetness in a way that was really nice. I went from strongly disliking it at first to loving it by the end of the day.)
3. Guerlain Vetiver (really nice scent.... not as complex as the others to my nose, but still very pleasing. I'm not super drawn in by it, but it's quite pleasant.)
4. Parfums de Nicolai Cologne Sologne (really, really incredible up front, but gets a bit too floral for my personal preference and bit less citrusy to my nose at least as it dries down. A real shame because I absolutely adored it for the first few minutes after application but became more and more so-so as the day went on)
5. Floris JF (really not a fan of this one. Reminds me of dryer sheets or detergent to be quite honest, though I'm sure many would love it and find it to be a fantastic scent)

So.... still left to try is Houbigant Fougere Royale. Where will it fall in the rankings? I don't know... we'll see tomorrow!!! Can't wait.

And again a big thank you to @steffenapelz for so many of these great suggestions. This has been really fun.

 

[Bhugo]

Alright folks... so far I've tried the following samples, and I prefer them in this order:

1. Dior Eau Sauvage / Floris Santal (these are both really lovely to my nose at least and I'm having a hard time picking which I prefer over the other)
2. Floris Elite (and interesting scent... I strongly disliked it at first, but it really grew on me as the day progressed. At first it smelled to me like someone who had been smoking and put some woodsy fragrance on over the top, but as it dried down, it got more and more woodsy/mossy with a hint of sweetness in a way that was really nice. I went from strongly disliking it at first to loving it by the end of the day.)
3. Guerlain Vetiver (really nice scent.... not as complex as the others to my nose, but still very pleasing. I'm not super drawn in by it, but it's quite pleasant.)
4. Parfums de Nicolai Cologne Sologne (really, really incredible up front, but gets a bit too floral for my personal preference and bit less citrusy to my nose at least as it dries down. A real shame because I absolutely adored it for the first few minutes after application but became more and more so-so as the day went on)
5. Floris JF (really not a fan of this one. Reminds me of dryer sheets or detergent to be quite honest, though I'm sure many would love it and find it to be a fantastic scent)

So.... still left to try is Houbigant Fougere Royale. Where will it fall in the rankings? I don't know... we'll see tomorrow!!! Can't wait.

And again a big thank you to @steffenapelz for so many of these great suggestions. This has been really fun.

Eau Sauvage has no longevity in my experience. Otherwise a spectacular scent.

GV is a favorite of mine. It’s not complex. It is a wonderful simple vetiver to compare others against. Vetiver goes with rainy cool days for me. The longevity of GV is very good.

From what you are saying in your reviews, it seems to me that you dislike some fresh and floral notes but enjoy woody notes. That may help to narrow down some future samples.

I enjoy reading this thread. Good luck.

 

[steffenapelz]

Alright folks... so far I've tried the following samples, and I prefer them in this order:

1. Dior Eau Sauvage / Floris Santal (these are both really lovely to my nose at least and I'm having a hard time picking which I prefer over the other)
2. Floris Elite (and interesting scent... I strongly disliked it at first, but it really grew on me as the day progressed. At first it smelled to me like someone who had been smoking and put some woodsy fragrance on over the top, but as it dried down, it got more and more woodsy/mossy with a hint of sweetness in a way that was really nice. I went from strongly disliking it at first to loving it by the end of the day.)
3. Guerlain Vetiver (really nice scent.... not as complex as the others to my nose, but still very pleasing. I'm not super drawn in by it, but it's quite pleasant.)
4. Parfums de Nicolai Cologne Sologne (really, really incredible up front, but gets a bit too floral for my personal preference and bit less citrusy to my nose at least as it dries down. A real shame because I absolutely adored it for the first few minutes after application but became more and more so-so as the day went on)
5. Floris JF (really not a fan of this one. Reminds me of dryer sheets or detergent to be quite honest, though I'm sure many would love it and find it to be a fantastic scent)

So.... still left to try is Houbigant Fougere Royale. Where will it fall in the rankings? I don't know... we'll see tomorrow!!! Can't wait.

And again a big thank you to @steffenapelz for so many of these great suggestions. This has been really fun.

Glad to hear you are finding things you like. I think DES is fantastic and I am wearing it today myself. Really a great fall fragrance too, thanks to the woodsy notes. Santal is simply class in a bottle. And your impression of Elite mirrors mine...here's my Fragrantica review:

"Tried from a sample. Opens really weird with a scent of sour gummies and dirty green accords. The dry-down produces a certain urinal cake scent that doesn't at all seem natural. For me, the magic is in the base notes. After 15-30 minutes, this settles into a lavender, bay, conifer and juniper berry base that actually smells very natural and pleasant. If I could skip straight to the base notes, this would be a FB buy for me...but I don't know if I can ever get past the sour gummi, dirty green urinal cake opening. That is harsh."

Guerlain Vetiver is one that I am wearing increasingly rarely...I find it hard to identify the right circumstance to wear this in. And Cologne Sologne has a nearly PURE musk base note...so if you don't like the musk, you'll note love Sologne after the first 30 minutes. And agreed on Floris JF...soapy but not very special.

Based on what you like so far, I suspect you will LOVE Fougere Royale. It is a MUCH BETTER fougere than Floris Elite IMO and has a hint of sweetness like Eau Sauvage and is slightly less herbaceous than Elite. Let us know how it goes.

 

[steffenapelz]

Eau Sauvage has no longevity in my experience. Otherwise a spectacular scent.

I would say that CDES is really meant to be a skin scent and it succeeds in being a very discreet fragrance. If you like more fragrances that project fairly heavily, CDES is not really a good choice as you said. GV is indeed a great performer, but that comes at the cost of smelling more artificial IMO.

 

[Herman Melville]

Agreed that samples are ideally where you start. I have tested over 100 I believe and bought only about 20. You'll have 8-9 out of 10 you won't like. I buy my samples at Surrender to Chance and Luckyscent. Both have a great reputation for the quality of their samples.

Now...you have a dilemma IMO. Most inexpensive scents are inexpensive because they use synthetic ingredients (=cheap ingredients). That pretty much captures all the designer fragrances out there. The frags that tend to smell natural, are usually niche productions with high-quality natural ingredients and are usually more expensive than what you are looking to spend.

That said...there are a few fragrances and perfumers that buck that trend that I can recommend.

In your price range:

- Guerlain in general: they make good scents and most can be had for well below $50. I own Vetiver and it is just as relevant today as it was in the 1960s when it was launched.

- DR Harris is another good option: I own Arlington and love it. The 50ml spray is under $50. Classic men's scent.

- Parfums de Nicolai Cologne Sologne: This is an EdC but it performs more like an EdT. 100ml is right about $50 and it is one of the finest citrus colognes I have ever smelled.

- Givenchy Les Parfums Mythiques: I don't like the newer Givenchy creations, but the (relatively) recently re-released versions of their old school classics are fantastic. I love LPM Monsieur de Givenchy and Xeryus (not to be confused with Givenchy Gentleman which I despise). These run between $30-$40.

Having shown you those, there are lots of perfumes that are slightly above your price range but that I think are worth considering to splurge on:

- Floris: This London perfumer has been around forever and makes fantastic niche products. I personally own several. Many will be under $90 from the discounters. Given what I have heard from you, I would recommend you try Special 127, Santal, JF, and Elite. Do not try No89 because that one has heavy powder. These are fantastic natural smelling scents way below normal niche prices.

- Houbigant Fougere Royale: This one is green and appropriate everywhere and at all times of the year. Probably my favorite true Fougere. Around $60 from reputable discounters.

- Dior Eau Sauvage: An absolute classic that works everywhere all the time and costs under $80.

Last words of advice...don't be tempted to buy perfumes from Amazon and eBay. SO many fakes. I have bought only from one discounter, namely Fragrancenet.com but I understand Fragrancex is also in the same ballpark.

ANNND...I am not a big fan of it, but I know many people love Creed Aventus and Green Irish Tweed. Creed, in general, has been heavily cloned and there are tons of them available that smell 95% similar under your budget. Cool Water is even cheaper than Floris JF and WAY cheaper than Creed GIT, but all three are very similar. Armaf Club de Nuit Intense is virtually identical to Aventus for well under your budget. Don't be afraid to experiment.

Great answer! I didn't ask the question, but I am going to take your advice on several of these.

 

[steffenapelz]

Great answer! I didn't ask the question, but I am going to take your advice on several of these.

Thanks. If you have any particular things you like, I may be able to customize some suggestions for you. The suggestions for badger Bill were based on his budget and scent preferences. If yours are different, feel free to let me know and I can take a stab at it.

 

[Badger Bill]

Alright... Fougere Royale was a really interesting fragrance. I definitely enjoyed it very much. On the overall rankings, I'd place it just about even with Floris Elite (which might sound strange at first... I know...). Reason is, the scent of FR is really lovely, start to finish. BUT, it doesn't draw me in and make me want more and more and more. The cinnamon and woodsy/fern notes are beautiful, but it's not, I guess, overly alluring to me. It's a gorgeous, refined scent - that's for sure. Here's the thing, if I owned a whole bunch of fragrances, I'd gladly add FR to my collection and wear it and enjoy it. But as I'm starting out, I don't think it's the one for me when I only am going to have two or three max fragrances in my collection (at least at first). Maybe one day I'll get a full bottle. But honestly, particularly given it's price point, I just don't think it's worth it because I don't enjoy it a whole lot more than some of these others and it is a fair bit more expensive. So if it drew me in more, OR if it were cheaper, it might be a real winner.

Floris elite on the other hand is disgusting to me up front as I've already said , but after it dries way down, I enjoy it more than the notes that I get from FR through the entire life of that fragrance. So that's why I rate them about even.

But truthfully I might buy a bottle of the elite before I buy FR. I just need to try the Elite sample a couple more times to see if I can get past the gross first period of time before it dries down.

In any event, this has been a very fun journey. And I have a feeling it will lead me to try more and more.... uh oh.... what have I done

 

[steffenapelz]

Alright... Fougere Royale was a really interesting fragrance. I definitely enjoyed it very much. On the overall rankings, I'd place it just about even with Floris Elite (which might sound strange at first... I know...). Reason is, the scent of FR is really lovely, start to finish. BUT, it doesn't draw me in and make me want more and more and more. The cinnamon and woodsy/fern notes are beautiful, but it's not, I guess, overly alluring to me. It's a gorgeous, refined scent - that's for sure. Here's the thing, if I owned a whole bunch of fragrances, I'd gladly add FR to my collection and wear it and enjoy it. But as I'm starting out, I don't think it's the one for me when I only am going to have two or three max fragrances in my collection (at least at first). Maybe one day I'll get a full bottle. But honestly, particularly given it's price point, I just don't think it's worth it because I don't enjoy it a whole lot more than some of these others and it is a fair bit more expensive. So if it drew me in more, OR if it were cheaper, it might be a real winner.

Floris elite on the other hand is disgusting to me up front as I've already said , but after it dries way down, I enjoy it more than the notes that I get from FR through the entire life of that fragrance. So that's why I rate them about even.

But truthfully I might buy a bottle of the elite before I buy FR. I just need to try the Elite sample a couple more times to see if I can get past the gross first period of time before it dries down.

In any event, this has been a very fun journey. And I have a feeling it will lead me to try more and more.... uh oh.... what have I done

If you expand your budget, let us know...I can corrupt you further with some more expensive options. Lol.