Looking to dip my toes into the fragrance waters....suggestions requested.

[AETProf]

Interested in picking up a couple fragrances and as I've never really did research prior, I'd like to see what suggestions you may have for a new addition or two.

I'll probably need to go through and get rid of several that I currently have (listed below), as I never wear them or are a decade or more old.

Hugo Boss Hugo - Wife loves this and was the one that originally suggested it. I wear a couple times a week and for date nights.
Polo Black - Another one my wife loves that gets worn in a similar manner
TOBS Jermyn St - Recent acquisition and while I like it, the wife isn't a big fan. Wear to work only and shower off after my afternoon workouts
Burberry London - Had for years and I'll wear in fall/winter a couple days a week. Wife doesn't love it, nor hate it.
TOBS Eton College AS - occasional use, but something I could get rid of, especially since I have most of the bottle remaining
Ralph Lauren Romance - occasional use and had for years. Wife doesn't mind it, but doesn't love it
Bath and Body Works Noir - occasional use in fall/winter. Had for years.
Polo Sport - rarely used, if ever, during summer. Had for a couple decades
CO Bigelow Green Bottle - rarely use anymore, but was a scent I used weekly years ago.


I work as a professor and as I mentioned with afternoon workouts/showers, I can wear two different scents without conflicting with each other. One for work and one for the evening. I live in a rural area without many options to choose from other than going by Belk or JC Penneys.

What should I try samples of first, if I even have access to them?

Thanks for any suggestions for a fragrance newbie!

 

[deruitem]

What type of fragrances do you like?

Sweet or spicy? Any notes you know of or fragrances you already know you dont like?

I would always suggest getting samples and buying online at a discount.

 

[mio_cuggino]

Further to what @deruitem is asking, what are some of your scent preferences?
If you are ever near a Nordstrom, walk in and ask for a few samples of Creed, Tom Ford, and Diptyque. Maybe even some Penhaligons. Then if you find something you like, you can purchase the fragrances on reputable discount sites. However, most of these fragrances are on the expensive side.
However, once you find something you like, you can always purchase a clone. Example Creed Aventus is well cloned by Stirling and Italian Barber.
Let us know your preferences.

 

[ksblazer]

I'll recommend one of my favorites

Terre D'Hermes

Seems to be pretty well liked by everyone.

 

[emwolf]

I always get compliments wearing Issey Myake l'eau d'Issey for men.

 

[dfoulk]

Terre D'Hermes is an excellent woody citrus scent. It's a staple and a must have. You should probably start out by visiting the local Sephora store and grabbing a sample of this one. I like the Parfum version as it has a bit more staying power. While you're there you'll find some niche fragrances there as well. The Replica ones are nice. There policy is to allow you up to three samples per day. So find three that you like and just ask and they'll make samples for you. I do buy some stuff for the wife from there every so often to not take advantage of this but know there are much better places to buy colognes.

If you live by a high end mall they'll have some LeLabo, Tom Ford, Parfum's de Marly there as well. Maybe inside the Nordstroms. Le Labo isn't one you're going to find a deal on but the others you can. While you're at the mall look for a L'Occitane store and pick up a bottle of Eau de Baux as this stuff it great and it's like fifty bucks or so for a 3.5 ounce bottle. Or at least give it a smell or hit up a tester to see if you like it.

Once you find something you like maybe look on fragrancenet or one of the other online fragrance sellers for much better pricing.

When you want to buy some samples Creed makes several that are quite nice. There are too many to list, MDCI, Mancera, Montale, MFK, and the list goes on and on. The problem is that you may love one scent in a line and strongly dislike several others. Once you get started if you can give some examples of the type of scents that you are seeing that you prefer you will get some better recommendations on specifically what to seek out.

Some additional good advice is to not buy a bottle of anything you haven't sampled several times. There are plenty that I like that don't seem to last more than 15 minutes on my skin. There are also plenty that I thought I liked after wearing once or twice after which I realized that I didn't care for them as much as I thought I did. Be very selective and only buy the ones you absolutely love.

What you should find with the higher end colognes is more complexity and more staying power. They shouldn't smell cheap and synthetic like the department store ones do.

 

[deruitem]

TDH is a good staple to have. A good citrus and woody scent. The woody note is kind of a cedar and sandalwood note. Comes from the ISO E Super ingredient.

 

[The Knize]

Advice? Do not go there. There lies madness. There be dragons. This is addiction, and there is no end to the scents you will want to try. The more you try, they more knowledge and experience you acquire, the more you will want to explore. It is endless.

I would try to acquire samples, splits, decants. (But you cannot do it directly/overtly on B&B.) TDH is great. I might suggest a sample pack from Imaginary Authors. Does C&S still offer sample packs? I think Bruno Fazzolari has a nice sample pack. You have sort of been thrown into the deep end of the pool with these three, though.

With all due love and respect, I would stay away from clones.

(Wow, you live in a rural area and you are a professor? Sounds like heaven.)

Sorry not to be more helpful.

 

[The Knize]

You may want to pick up a copy of Luca Turin's Perfumes The Guide. Watch a bunch of You Tube videos on scents. You will find that fragrances are divided up all sorts of ways. Department store scents, designer scents, niche scents, classic scents, younger person/trendy scents, barbershop scents, inexpensive scents, pure ouds and the like, vintage scents.

I am not sure what to recommend for a college professor. I do not know whether to go with something youngish and trendy that might appeal to your students and perhaps make you seem cooler to them, but that runs a risk of seeming not cool to them because you are trying to hard, or picking the wrong scent and being out of date or something like that. Dior Savauge was hugely popular at one point. I do not know whether it is way over worn and greatly out of style now or not. Bleu de Chanel is/was widely liked across the board, and probably not as trendy as some, so not as likely to fall out of fashion. I love Issey and Issey was hugely popular 30 years ago. I got tied of it myself. I would think it would be immediately recognizable by some and thought of as out of style/overplayed.

I would think Guerlian Vetiver would be a classic, completely non-objectionable choice, that would get you cred with folks like me, but not seem utterly stodgey.

I find the Tom Ford scents over-priced and a little too "just so." But they are widely available in department stores and easy enough to try. Very popular. Many love then. I like his Tuscan Leather, but it is very powerful.

Creed is extremely expensive. I love some, especially some vintage ones, and am indifferent to many.

 

[The Knize]

You are not near Charlottesville are you? Too bad London's Bathecary in C-ville went of of business. It was an incredible store for fragrances! I donot know if any store there has take up the baton, so to speak.

In trying scents at brick and mortar stores. I tend to spray a particular something on each arm/wrist and sniff them from time to time. That way you get a sense of what the scent is like over the course of the say on your own skin, not that I am a big believer in scents interacting differently with different skin chemistry.