Looking for something profound, subtle, sophisticated, haven't had much luck thus far

[Frowzy]

Sorry for "this thread."

I'm looking to purchase my first full bottle of "nice" cologne, in that it would be made of: quality ingredients, unique.

My brief fragrance history:

L'Eau D'Issey pour Homme: a nice summer scent; citrus-y. Not as refined or unique as I'd like.

Burberry Brit: Nice, clean. I'm attracted to the description of oriental, with rose, and tonka bean, but my nose gets clean / powdery more than anything else. I like it, but looking for something a bit more unique and head-turning.

Polo Blue: Nice, but too generic and aquatic.

Decanted:

CS #88: Very disappointed with this one. Incense, rose, powder. Call my nose a simpleton, but this didn't smell dark, profound, classically English, or old-school to my nose. It just didn't "hit me:" not in the opening and not in the dry-down. I really tried to love it. The description of this scent appeals to me very much: profound, unique, sophisticated. I asked multiple people about the scent and even had a friend try it on to see if it would smell better on them. I almost wonder if I got the wrong stuff.

Creed GIT: Wow. Much sexier than I thought it would be. People described this as a stroll through an English valley wearing a tweed coat. Way more modern and sexy than I thought it would be. Smells exceptional, but too sexy in a modern way that turns me off and makes the scent easily mistaken for another by people not familiar with fragrance: "OOhhhh, what are you wearing? Coolwater?" If I were made of money I'd buy it and wear it for specific outings or moods, but if I'm paying Creed prices I want something more unique and sophisticated. I love it but it's not what I'm looking for. Too generic, musky, and sexy. Weird that I'm knocking sexy, but I guess I want more subtlety.

Rive Gauche pour Homme: A very nice scent, but too old-school and barber shop-y for me. I can't disassociate it from wet-shaving. It doesn't grab me.

Blenheim Bouquet: Very nice. Less profound than classic and masculine. Certainly sophisticated in a sense. It wears too close to my skin too quickly, and honestly I need something with a more consistent / powerful silage and longevity. Possibly a bit too alpha-male for me.

Endymion: Less profound and sophisticated than I was hoping for. A bit too sweet for me, although the longevity and dry-down are nice. A bit too glam-rock for me, as a basenoter put it. I like the idea of it, though: a scent for a young dandy. Perhaps written off as "snooty" or pretentious. I'm not trying to be pretentious for pretentiousness' sake, but I'm not against something someone might dismiss as pretentious. Still wearing it and trying to learn to love it.

Racquets: Nice, but not what I'm looking for. Too clean, barbershop, and powdery for me.

I think I've gone through a lot of the usual suspects without having something impress me the way I wanted it to. So I wanted to appeal to some of the scent-philes here and see if my description made any fragrances come to mind. Recommendations are hard, but I'd prefer someone's educated opinion before buying more decants, to avoid more that "Aren't my style." The reason I am different from "Recommend me a stiffy British scent" is that it doesn't have to be unlikable, or elitist (I smell this way because I have taste and yes you are an idiot). Just subtle, sophisticated, profound, different.

My personal style, if it helps, is horn rimmed glasses, classic side-part, medium length, fascist-ly brushed (Mad Men I guess), straight shaver, fountain pen, cardigans, loafers, pea-coat / overcoat, scarves, etc. I dress "nice" and am always clean and "well put together."

I'm 20 and a college student. Double majoring in English / Philosophy. I'm confident but not overly masculine. Maybe "old soul," or "scholar" would describe my style best.

There is a scene in Mad Men where Don Draper meets some eccentric people by a pool. One of the characters says of him "You smell like jasmine" in a broken English accent. I want to smell like that. Understated, fascinating, sophisticated. Maybe something a bit more natural, possibly "green". Don Draper doesn't need to smell like leather or musk. He smells like jasmine. It lets him stand out and say something without uttering a word. I've made this thread more trite by saying "I want to be like Don Draper," but I hope my point has come across.

My current short list of scents to decant (very apt to change):
Vétiver by Creed
Acqua di Parma Colonia by Acqua di Parma

Also apologies for the novel; more information is better than less, I guess.

 

[KWyKJJ]

Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue - wonderful scent, my absolute favorite, sophisticated, clean, popular with the ladies, suitable year round.

Nautica Voyage - fantastic light citrus summer scent you really have to smell it.

Kenneth Cole Reaction - another citrus scent though without the marine undertones of the Nautica, suitable for spring.

Acqua di Gio- masculine, sophisticated, can't go wrong with this one. It's my scent of choice for the colder months.

Go to a local department store and smell them all. Let me know what you think.

-JJ

 

[westpac690]

Double English and Philosophy major?? Shouldn't you be researching what fragrance Karl Marx wore, throwing away all your shaving supplies, and buying a tan/brown tweed jacket? English majors are far too busy pondering the injustices of the world to be concerned with superfluous things such as shaving and choosing cologne.
Or at least that's the impression I got from all the dirty hippie wannabe English majors/professors I encountered while I earned my English and Latin degrees. However, I not only enjoyed kicking their teeth in philosophically but also in pleasuring the women that wouldn't give them the time of day.
Uniqueness is quite subjective, so you're gonna have to sniff test whatever is on the short list. You want green, understated and sophisticated?
I recommend Kenzo Power or 212 Men.

 

[Rudy Vey]

Pen's English Fern!

 

[xriley]

Terre d'Hermes may fit the bill for you.

One of my personal favorites is Floris Santal.

 

[redwoolf]

All three of John Varvatos' scents are sublime. Both profound and sophisticated. The Artisan has fruity and floral notes and works excellent for the summer. The vintage is based on the tones in the original, but wears a bit lighter. And the original....

 

[cvac]

Atkinson's English Lavender.

Very light and understated, natural lavender scent. Not feminine. Not macho either. Doesn't smell like a typical cologne or what everyone else is wearing. Got mine from Cambridge Chemists in NY. Not sure where you could get a sample, but if you don't like it, you could probably sell the bottle easily.

http://www.pharmacyny.com/pc-488-9-atkinsons-of-london-cologne.aspx

http://www.basenotes.net/ID26120568.html

(Note that there are two different versions, the basenotes link shows the newer style version. But other than Cambridge Chem, I'm not sure where else in the USA you would find it and they only have the old-style bottle)

 

[BCatl]

Boucheron pour homme edt or parfum. It's meaningless, or perhaps I should say, it's what you make it.

Try to get a sampler or two to see if you like it, and give it time after you put it on. The great thing is that you can wear it winter or summer.

 

[Steerpike]

Maybe try Trumpers Wild Fern? I think it sounds like you are in for a long journey in search of olfactory nirvana. Good luck!

 

[The Nid Hog]

Double English and Philosophy major?? Shouldn't you be researching what fragrance Karl Marx wore, throwing away all your shaving supplies, and buying a tan/brown tweed jacket? English majors are far too busy pondering the injustices of the world to be concerned with superfluous things such as shaving and choosing cologne.
Or at least that's the impression I got from all the dirty hippie wannabe English majors/professors I encountered while I earned my English and Latin degrees. However, I not only enjoyed kicking their teeth in philosophically but also in pleasuring the women that wouldn't give them the time of day.
Uniqueness is quite subjective, so you're gonna have to sniff test whatever is on the short list. You want green, understated and sophisticated?
I recommend Kenzo Power or 212 Men.

Meow! Sounds like somebody got a D in freshman comp.

 

[richmondesi]

Floris Vetiver. I haven't tried the Creed, but this rocks

 

[Obsessed]

Meow! Sounds like somebody got a D in freshman comp.

 

[StylinLA]

You present a tough challenge. You're young, but mature and very discriminating. You're talking "one bottle," so it needs to be a versatile scent. You've dismissed RGPH which I would think would be a good one, but if you don't like it, you don't like it.

But I'll toss out some to consider if you haven't already...

Terre D'Hermes - Very popular right now. Lives I think in a place that is pretty compatible to what you seek. Not too young; not too old. Good everyday scent. Versatile.

Caron 3rd Man - Pretty elegant, but wearable. Has a strong hit of jasmine I believe. You won't smell like everybody else, that's for sure. But do not blind buy.

PdN New York - Highly regarded niche scent. Very versatile. Seems like a must sample for you.

Tiffany for Men- Thought by many to be a better version of Chanel Pour Monsieur (created by same perfumer). May be too mature for what you seek.

Dior Homme - Pretty popular with guys your age. A modern take on iris. Somewhat sophisticated. It's not "Axe" but may not be mature enough for what you seek.

Amouage Dia for Men- Well, it's $$$$ but it's a good scent. The only thing from this quality house that I deemed versatile enough to wear very often and to work.
Very high quality for sure. Distinctive.

Creed Vetiver (1948) - This one is pretty good one to sample. It's different. Not enough legs for my taste. Heavy hit of ginger and vetiver. I'm not sure about their more recent "Original Vetiver" (Why the F is the one issued in 2004 called "Original?)

Guerlain Habit Rouge - I'm throwing this one out though I have a tough time with it. Sample it. They currently have an EdP version billed as Habit Rouge Beau Cavalier which is a bit smoother than the EdT. It is a classic from the mid 60s. Highly regarded. But it's not for everbody. It may click for you.

Guerlain Vetiver- Another classic. Worth a test. I don't have much experience with it, but it's been around since 1960 or so and is still probably Guerlain's best seller for men. The fact that westpac hates it might make it something you love.

 

[The Nid Hog]

I was going to suggest Habit Rouge too. A young scholar should appreciate that it's name checked by Jean-Patrick Manchette--Situationist fellow-traveler--in one of his crime novels.

For something isn't too hard to find but is still uncommon: Brooks Brothers 1818.

 

[westpac690]

Meow! Sounds like somebody got a D in freshman comp.

Nope. I actually made a B. The professor said, "An "A" mean perfect. You're all human therefore not perfect. No one will make an "A" in my class."
I was accepted into the English Honors Society and graduated with some kinda rope signifying something or other. That professor did end up getting divorced though. I'm sure he wrote a few heart wrenching poems about the ordeal. So it all works out in the end.

 

[Aaron01]

My personal style, if it helps, is horn rimmed glasses, classic side-part, medium length, fascist-ly brushed (Mad Men I guess), straight shaver, fountain pen, cardigans, loafers, pea-coat / overcoat, scarves, etc. I dress "nice" and am always clean and "well put together."

I'm 20

Sounds like me! You should try something from Hermes; Eau d'Hermes, Eau d'Orange Verte (or the Concentre). A couple of the houses I've really been enjoying are Maître Parfumeur et Gantier and the Tom Ford Private Blend; their stuff is always nice, very well put together and they use a lot of quality ingredients.

 

[Frowzy]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys! Ordering a bunch of decants now...

 

[Frowzy]

Double English and Philosophy major?? Shouldn't you be researching what fragrance Karl Marx wore, throwing away all your shaving supplies, and buying a tan/brown tweed jacket? English majors are far too busy pondering the injustices of the world to be concerned with superfluous things such as shaving and choosing cologne.
Or at least that's the impression I got from all the dirty hippie wannabe English majors/professors I encountered while I earned my English and Latin degrees. However, I not only enjoyed kicking their teeth in philosophically but also in pleasuring the women that wouldn't give them the time of day.
Uniqueness is quite subjective, so you're gonna have to sniff test whatever is on the short list. You want green, understated and sophisticated?
I recommend Kenzo Power or 212 Men.

I think English and Philosophy both address vital issues, though quite differently. I think sometimes that English is more concerned with the beautiful, and Philosophy the true. I enjoy both.

 

[Joedy]

Terre d'Hermes may fit the bill for you.

I second this.

Terre has a woodsey, earthly scent that is not overpowering.

It doesn't have much of a sweetness, but rather a subtle tang that is associated with cedar.

At the very least, you won't end up smelling like every other guy on campus who wears colognes from the local mall.

-joedy

 

[warlandsboy]

Just subtle, sophisticated, profound, different.

After trying over 400 fragrances, I would highly recommend Amouage Jubilation XXV as a great choice, as it's subtle, sophisticated, profound, and different. Give it a try!