Men's Fragrances in the LA Times

[Cities]

Er... LA Times Magazine. I think a few B&B members would enjoy this read. The article mentions quite a few frags that I've been wanting to try.

http://www.latimesmagazine.com/2010/12/something-in-the-air.html

 

[StylinLA]

Thanks for posting that. Good article with suggestions aplenty.

I drive by the Scent Bar twice a day and met owner Franco Wright last week when I was buying Knize 10. Nice guy. Now I'm horribly tempted to stop in again. It's hell or heaven depending on your point of view and your control over ADs.

Glad to see they author gave props to Odori Tobacco. A favorite of mine and underrated and under appreciated in Basenotes. It's pricey shyt, and the Odori line hasn't charmed many Basenoters at that price point. Their scents are rock solid, but they don't seem to "stand out" as "different enough" for that much money my guess. I don't know that I'd say it's the manliest scent in the store, but is very evocative of bourbon and cigars to me. Very gentleman's clubish.

Funny comments on Kouros. I can see the author put in a little research time.

Black Afgano another odd scent she referenced. Smells iike bong water. (Uhmmm, so I've heard.)

 

[vertigo12314]

Malle Vetiver Extraordinaire has been the manliest I've smelled so far but I'll wait until my Creed Vintage Tabarome sample arrives.

From that article I'm dying to try Acqua di Sale.

 

[StylinLA]

Malle Vetiver Extraordinaire has been the manliest I've smelled so far but I'll wait until my Creed Vintage Tabarome sample arrives.

From that article I'm dying to try Acqua di Sale.

VT will knock out VE I'd say.

Sample that Acqua di Sale. I see some good and some horrible comments about it. I have Profumum's Antico Caruso and like it a lot. They make pricey scents, but you can tell they're using top notch ingredients. Antico Caruso is almost oily when applied.

I'll make a note to sample AdS next time I'm in Scent Bar. From comments I've read, not sure I want to smell THAT much like the ocean.

 

[tehtimmeh]

+1 on Stylin's Odori Tabacco and VT > VE comments. Hell, +1 on just about anything he says really. This gentleman knows his shyte.

Odori Tabacco is bar none the most realistic impression of a pipe tobacco on the market (pretty sure I've sampled just about everything) and quickly became a favorite of mine thanks to StylinLA's recommendation. Go get it. Now.

As far as VT goes, my advice is give it time. I didn't like it at first. Keep going back to it. It is one of my absolute favorite frags of all time, but admittedly I struggled with it before I became swooned. It is a masterpiece.

VE is also a masterpiece in my opinion, but I love vetivers. If you love vetivers, you will like this one no doubt.

All 3 of these are full bottle worthy imo and probably occupy slots in my top 10 frag choices of all time.

 

[StylinLA]

+1 on Stylin's Odori Tabacco and VT > VE comments. Hell, +1 on just about anything he says really. This gentleman knows his shyte.

Thank you, I'm very flattered. You've got some impressive tastes yourself I've noticed.

I'm just another weird old wet shaver/Basenoter in a city filled with fragrance options, so I get to try a lot of stuff soon I after I read about it. I've always been sort of into men's grooming but until I stumbled in here and into Basenotes, I never had a way to research and learn so much. I can't analyze fragrances, but I tend to focus on their "personality." How wearable and appropriate are they for a mature fellow like me, and/or many of you.

Though I don't feel like I wear it that often, I've noticed my Odori Tobacco bottle is the most depleted of all my 100ml bottles. Even Luca Turin gave it high marks, but his review in the Pefume Guide is not under Odori- it's under the name of the mother company which is Profumo di Firenze (they also do the Bois line). I don't think they had developed/released the full Odori line when he wrote it. It's funny to me too that I love the Odori bottles. Guerlain put out two new men's releases in similar wood framed bottles and the Guerlain traditionalists at Basenotes are stark raving livid about it.

 

[tehtimmeh]

I'm just another weird old wet shaver/Basenoter in a city filled with fragrance options, so I get to try a lot of stuff soon I after I read about it. I've always been sort of into men's grooming but until I stumbled in here and into Basenotes, I never had a way to research and learn so much. I can't analyze fragrances, but I tend to focus on their "personality." How wearable and appropriate are they for a mature fellow like me, and/or many of you.

I'd be in big trouble if I lived in the LA area with lucky scent et al. at my beck and call. Unfortunately, here in Austin I don't have much outside of Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth which are very small stores and don't carry the full fragrance lines that most larger stores of their own type carry.

There is a L'Occitane here which I ventured into once. Nothing over there jumped out at me. Everything was pretty decent, but nothing really wowed me. I need to make another trip to check things out as my nose evolves.

I understand what you mean about this great online community regarding fragrances and men's grooming. I only recently discovered that this community exists and have been having a lot of fun and learning even more. I found B&B not too long ago while researching wet shaving and only very recently found Basenotes. I created an account over there but I haven't participated in the forums much as of yet. WIP.

 

[p.m.a.]

That's a great article. I was unaware of a general surge in interest among males, but completely understand it's growing role among creative types. Thanks for sharing. I must admit that I was intrigued by the description of Black Afgano, and I thank Stylin' for adding some persepective on that one

 

[BRuhling]

I really liked the article. Thanks to the OP!

I'm intrigued now by the Lumiere Noir pour Homme. Anyone try it?

 

[StylinLA]

That's a great article. I was unaware of a general surge in interest among males, but completely understand it's growing role among creative types. Thanks for sharing. I must admit that I was intrigued by the description of Black Afgano, and I thank Stylin' for adding some persepective on that one

It probably dries down to a pretty "normal" masculine scent overall. But man, those opening notes are loaded with a hashish thing that will take many back to the early 70s. It kind of wigged out the old guy in me, much the way patchouly makes some guys think only of hippies. Those Duro scents are very strong stuff.

It is interesting to visit the Scent Bar and see who comes in while you're there. They are in a nice location, but is not a location condusive to many, if any, casual "walk ins." Most customers are there very much on purpose. Basenotes and forums like this seem to drive a fair number of people there.
It's a tiny, intimate store. Maybe like 300 square feet.

I think most other customers in Los Angeles run into someone wearing a scent they love and find out it's only available at Scent Bar (at the brick and mortar level).

I drove past it for many years thinking it was some sort of mom and pop scented candles and soaps store.

BRuhling: I have tried the Lumiere Noir Pour Homme. It's very nice. But I have a pretty dense nose and found it wore very lightly on me. I get my male rose fix from some other heavier scents like DC 1913 or Le Labo Rose 31. It's a very refined, elegant and modern scent. I didn't find it feminine, but too light weight in a small (and perhaps unfair) test wear. If it intrigues you, you might want to sample. It has some people at Basenotes quite enchanted. I hope some others here have tried it and weigh in.