Looking to expand my cologne collection

[matt_wren]

Hello All,

I currently have 3 colognes I cycle through on any given day: Encounter, Nautica Voyage, and Yatagan. I have built up a fairly decent aftershave inventory but I'm trying to build up my cologne one as well.

I love the Encounter. It is my usual go-to-cologne and the the Nautica is very summery and clean. The Yatagan was strange to me at first. I got it in August and I didn't care much for the scent. But now that the weather is cooling down and fall is coming I figured I'd try it again. I like it quite a bit now and it honestly lasts throughout the day.

I am looking for suggestions for other brands of cologne and expand my collection and options. I was suggested Acteur and Aramis but I'd like to hear what everyone else suggests or uses! Especially for the Fall/Winter time.

 

[grendel]

Colognes are very much a 'YMWV' item, and are very subjective. You're really better off to discover a scent (or 12) for yourself.

Best possible thing to do is this..
- Skip wearing cologne on a given day, and plan an outing like so:
- Go to Starbucks and order a tall Americano (just make sure you don't drink it all yet)
- Then head for the closest department store with a fragrance counter.
- Pick a section, and spray a tester on one of the sample papers they will have available.
- Wave it a couple times to let the alcohol evaporate a bit, then sniff the test paper.
- Think about it, considering that you're looking for something that will WOW you, not just smell good (you'll go broke if you just buy what smells good... LOTS of those)
- Sniff your Americano (this helps to reset your sniffer between different colognes)
- Move to the next sampler and repeat.

As far as suggestions that I personally enjoy and rotate through when it's cooler out, good starters might be:
- Gentlemen Only by Givenchy
- Spicebomb by Viktor and Rolf
- Black by Kenneth Cole
- London by Burberry

 

[ScentFreak]

Hello Matt.
Fragrances are like clothing. You cannot wear certain fragrances in certain types of weather. well, maybe you can but it would be like walking out with a sweater on a hot summer day or wearing shorts in the winter.

for the time of the year, as we go in the cooler months, I recommend trying out or getting samples of lalique encre noire, l'occitane eau des baux, dior homme or dior homme intense, pure havane and maybe even one million by paco robbane.
if you wan to discover some of the more expensive scents, you can try chergui, tom ford tobbaco vanille, creed original santal and montale dark aoud.

 

[Cheapshot]

I would second Burberry London. Great winter scent.
Azzaro PH
YSL Rive Gauche
L'Occitane Eau de baux
...all great for cooler times

 

[Beftus]

Colognes are very much a 'YMWV' item, and are very subjective. You're really better off to discover a scent (or 12) for yourself.

Best possible thing to do is this..
- Skip wearing cologne on a given day, and plan an outing like so:
- Go to Starbucks and order a tall Americano (just make sure you don't drink it all yet)
- Then head for the closest department store with a fragrance counter.
- Pick a section, and spray a tester on one of the sample papers they will have available.
- Wave it a couple times to let the alcohol evaporate a bit, then sniff the test paper.
- Think about it, considering that you're looking for something that will WOW you, not just smell good (you'll go broke if you just buy what smells good... LOTS of those)
- Sniff your Americano (this helps to reset your sniffer between different colognes)
- Move to the next sampler and repeat.

Good advice.

My two cents: never try to smell a whole slew of fragrances. Try to limit it to 3 or 4. Smell too much stuff and your nose loses the ability to make meaning of the stuff. As soon as you have your tester stips (bring a pen and scribble the names on it!) run for the door and head outside where the air is fragrance free. Ever noticed all fragrance departments smell alike? Yep, because you're smelling everything but the kitchen sink in there. (I haven't smelled it but can guesstimate what this smells like: http://www.refinery29.com/2013/03/43775/everything-perfume-lernert-sander).

While outside take your time to smell the tester strips. FWIW I would treat a scent that initially WOWs you with some suspicion. Try smelling it 10-20 minutes later and again after an hour. Does it still WOW you after two hours? Do you still smell it 4 hours later or is it almost gone? Has it changed in character? I took home Carbone by Balmain on a tester strip. Smelled good right after spraying, by the time I got home it had taken a sweet turn. I didn't like its sweetness. Don't buy on an impulse. Some stuff needs to grow on you, just like Yatagan.

Check out Dior's Eau Sauvage Parfum or if you can locate it Jules, also by Dior.

Happy hunting!

 

[grendel]

Dior's Eau Sauvage Parfum

Ahhhh, my absolute favorite!

 

[Johnny Boy]

Some great advice. Must admit I have been guilty once or twice of just trying too many samples.
I too have written names down on the paper strips, personally though I prefer to spray a sample onto my skin as I don't feel you fully get to understand a fragrance otherwise.

 

[Chadao]

Yatagan is my favorite. I also like Azarro Pour Homme.

 

[matt_wren]

Thanks everyone! All incredibly useful and great advice!

 

[rearviewmirror]

Encre Noire....$30 for a frag that would cost $200 if it came in a different bottle.

 

[Puig]

Try also buying some samples from places like the Perfumed Court or Surrender to Chance, they often have groups of samples like "10 great work scents", etc., it's a good way to try stuff you aren't likely to find in a local dept store, which usually are stocked with the same old generic aqautics. I pretty much wear nothing that's currently on store shelves, prefer more classic stuff that's harder to find. Bravo on liking Yatagan, still working on that myself, it's a tough one to love. Do check out Rive Gauche Pour Homme, Azarro Pour Homme, Eau Sauvage, Habit Rouge and some other classics.

 

[PDman]

Try also buying some samples from places like the Perfumed Court or Surrender to Chance, ...

Great suggestion. I am new to Fragrances (Thanks to Scentfreak who started me down this path of obsession with Tobacco Vanille). I've discovered that buying decants is the only way to truly try a new fragrance. The test strip just doesn't cut it for me. Did a blind buy once based on reviews and was lucky enough to sell it to another member here. There is way too much of a YMMV with fragrances. Now I buy the 2 ml size decant and get more than enough use out if it to wear a new fragrance and see how it works for me. I prefer surrender to chance. Their 2ml decants are glass bottles.

 

[ScentFreak]

tobacco vanille is good stuff.
i think they all have 2ml glass sprays. I like surrender to chance because they have massive selection.
decantshop is good too. infact one of our members here does reviews for them i think. i came across his sample episodes on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AAslAGOiPc

 

[u2u]

If you have a good shave or fragrance shop in your area they should be willing to provide you with an assortment of samples. In my area if you go into a shop and demonstrate some interest and knowledge about their products they are very accommodating. I have been offered so many samples I have trouble getting around to them.

Checking scents out, in store, is a high risk task. Too many scents in the air in a typical store that will confound you. All too often, if I take a sample out of the shop and smell it after a few minutes in fresh air, I get a totally different impression from what I had in the shop. Good sales staff will recognize this issue and assist you by providing samples and no pressure sales techniques.

This week I finally had time to consider some samples given to me in May. The shop had been very generous and helpful. Months later, when it suited my schedule and needs, they were rewarded with six sales. Scents are so personally unique you really need to work with samples to make an informed decision.

In selecting new scents I lean towards the niche products wet shavers would hear about and try to minimize selecting mainstream goods. More recent choices were from Floris and Penhaligon's.

Basenotes is a good source of fragrance information. Good luck with your research.