If You Can't Get B&B Cologne, You Could Try...

[The Nid Hog]

...Well, what could you try?

I was inspired to open this discussion by the interest that many members have shown in the B&B Cologne. If there never will be any more B&B Cologne to be had, what should those who don't have any try?

My recommendation would be Yatagan. I think that there is a certain kinship there. Yatagan lacks the piney intensity of B&B, particularly in its opening. Where B&B has a fruity element to it, Yatagan is herbal. If there is something smokey in the development of B&B, Yatagan will give you a drier, burned note. And yet, if you decided to wear some B&B Cologne the next time you go to a Viking funeral, I think that there's a good chance you would find yourself raising your torch next to a guy wearing Yatagan.

Any other ideas?

 

[Evbo]

Pine & sandalwood are the key notes here, and they're both bridged by that mysterious "fruity" quality. I've never smelled Yatagan. I also don't have an awful lot of experience with traditional men's scents, so I'm probably not very qualified to answer this query. But imho, this is a pretty singular frag. I'd be very interested to hear other, more knowledgeable opinions.

 

[Aberneth]

Who here owns a rotovap?

 

[Austin]

That's a tough one. My first inclination was Santa Maria Novella Potpourri but now that I think about it they are not the same.

 

[joshmpdx]

When i first signed up for B&B there was a lot of press and chat about Blenhiem Bouquet and i thought of that as the scent of B&B.

If the original B&B Cologne is gone, im all for getting nominations up and going.

 

[The Knize]

I do not know of anything that is exactly the same. To me B&B is pine (evergreen might be the better word; I am sure there are woods in there besides pine and probably woods that are note evergreens) overwhelming sandalwood, probably also some cedar or similar in the base, too. I am sure there are other ingrediants, but to me these "two" absolutely predominate, especially the "pine." There may be some patchouli in there providing a bit of sweetness that folks have referenced.

Yatagan may be in a similar spirit somehow, but I do not think it very much smells like B&B. And Yatagan is a full on, well-orchestrated,, whole is greater than the some of its parts, edt of perhaps genius calibre. I love Charles' work, but much of it does not seem to me to come together as a whole so much as to be individual parts that smell great and intense. B&B somehow does not seem to me to me a fully formed cologne, but something that I love, say, my closet to smell like, and that I like to smell like sometimes.

I forget what Pno Silvestre smells like except very piney. If one layered Pino Silvestre heavily over a reasonably good, singular noteish sandalwood, or sandalwood cedar scent, wouldn't it be close to B&B?

 

[bythbook]

well... I have Pino Silvestre AS - it's similar to B&B; maybe the cologne is closer.

Halston 101 is similar but even harder to find than B&B - so that's out....

Darnit, the B&B is singular!

(and don't I wish there was an after shave....)

I am gonna track down some PS cologne and give that a try.

 

[The Knize]

Don't go by my dusty and unreliable memory! I doubt the PS is all that close to the B&B. There is something in the B&B that is heavier and deeper than I remember the PS. Remembe you still need something under the evergreen, too!

well... I have Pino Silvestre AS - it's similar to B&B; maybe the cologne is closer.

Halston 101 is similar but even harder to find than B&B - so that's out....

Darnit, the B&B is singular!

(and don't I wish there was an after shave....)

I am gonna track down some PS cologne and give that a try.

 

[bythbook]

Don't go by my dusty and unreliable memory! I doubt the PS is all that close to the B&B. There is something in the B&B that is heavier and deeper than I remember the PS. Remembe you still need something under the evergreen, too!

hahahha

Clearly there is more to the B&B than the PS... it really is nice, isn't it?

(I might have made a mistake bringing the Halston out for this trial - the 101 is really really good! And I've only seen it once - at a charity sale & I bought it).

 

[The Nid Hog]

I do not know of anything that is exactly the same. To me B&B is pine (evergreen might be the better word; I am sure there are woods in there besides pine and probably woods that are note evergreens) overwhelming sandalwood, probably also some cedar or similar in the base, too. I am sure there are other ingrediants, but to me these "two" absolutely predominate, especially the "pine." There may be some patchouli in there providing a bit of sweetness that folks have referenced.

Yatagan may be in a similar spirit somehow, but I do not think it very much smells like B&B. And Yatagan is a full on, well-orchestrated,, whole is greater than the some of its parts, edt of perhaps genius calibre. I love Charles' work, but much of it does not seem to me to come together as a whole so much as to be individual parts that smell great and intense. B&B somehow does not seem to me to me a fully formed cologne, but something that I love, say, my closet to smell like, and that I like to smell like sometimes.

I forget what Pno Silvestre smells like except very piney. If one layered Pino Silvestre heavily over a reasonably good, singular noteish sandalwood, or sandalwood cedar scent, wouldn't it be close to B&B?

I completely agree with you about the B&B. The individual fragrances are intensely pleasant. Pine, Sandalwood and whatever the fruity note is (it reminds me of the fruitiness of CF's Lonach). But the orchestra is not playing together. For me, it wears like a collection of compelling scents rather than a harmonious fragrance.

I think that Pino Silvestre gets you further away. I like to think of it as the economical shopper's alternative to Blenheim Bouquet.

 

[The Knize]

I completely agree with you about the B&B. The individual fragrances are intensely pleasant. Pine, Sandalwood and whatever the fruity note is (it reminds me of the fruitiness of CF's Lonach). But the orchestra is not playing together. For me, it wears like a collection of compelling scents rather than a harmonious fragrance.

I think that Pino Silvestre gets you further away. I like to think of it as the economical shopper's alternative to Blenheim Bouquet.

Well said! Great catch re the CF Lonach. I think you are on to something there for sure! CFL is a great scent that does not get enough attention to my mind, by the way! On the other hand, I do not end up wearing it either. Maybe it is that sweet note that throws me off re it. Although I do not find the B&B to be as sweet.

Hope we are not killing future B&B sales. I will buy a bottle if it comes back out!

"Maybe" on the PS/BB comparison. I am a huge BB fan and have been for a very long time. PS has never grabbed me at all. It seems kind of one dimensional to me. Not unpleasent at all. Just not complex or that interesting to me. Whereas BB always seems to me to be making a statement. Seemingly simple notes of pine, pepper, and lemon, that seem to me together to be way more than the parts. The orchestra in BB to me is playing together. (I am going to be using that phrase a lot. Sorry to steal, but it too evocative not to use it!) All of my scents are put away due to an air conditioning failure or I would try the PS right now and refresh my recollection!