So im thinking about picking up some fragrances now that im comfortable with wet shaving, however...i have no idea where to start. Can you guys recommend me some good fragrances to start with that wont break the bank? Also, what is the difference between cologne, edt, and edp?
Stepping into the realm of fragrances...
- Thread starter hermy65
- Start date
Welcome to the most dangerous forum in The Badger & Blade.
You are sure to get lots of advice. My one bit is: buy decants and samples, not whole bottles.
Decants are available from several sources. Try to sample before you even buy decants.
Do you have any experience with colognes or aftershaves at all? There are stores with great fragrance sections, but not everywhere. I am not too familiar with the retail landscape in SD.
You are sure to get lots of advice. My one bit is: buy decants and samples, not whole bottles.
Decants are available from several sources. Try to sample before you even buy decants.
Do you have any experience with colognes or aftershaves at all? There are stores with great fragrance sections, but not everywhere. I am not too familiar with the retail landscape in SD.
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Agreed with everything he said.
To offer you some suggestions we'd need to know what kind of scents you like (leather, woody, aquatic, etc...). Stopping by a department store and just smelling some scents would be a good first step.
- Thread starter
- #4
The only colognes I've ever used for a long period if time were
Dolce & gabbana - light blue
Alfred sung - hei
nautica - sunset voyage (i think)
Hugo
The light blue is my favorite...not sure if this helps you at all.
Dolce & gabbana - light blue
Alfred sung - hei
nautica - sunset voyage (i think)
Hugo
The light blue is my favorite...not sure if this helps you at all.
Strong +1 on samples. Buy as many as you can until you find something that really strikes your chord. Then think about buying a larger decant or a FB.
Just reading this board you will find several very quickly that you want to try.
Popular places to get samples:
1. Direct from the manufacturer. I have not had the best luck doing this, but there have been a select few that will oblige. I pretty much gave up on this and just purchase the samples I want. The pro to this approach is that the samples are generally sent to you free of charge.
2. Lucky Scent: Hard to find, niche fragrances. They don't sell anything cheap, and they don't sell anything you will find at your typical department store. This place is dangerous. The samples are pretty cheap, but they don't send you much juice. http://www.luckyscent.com/
3. The Perfumed Court: They have just about everything, but they are not the most efficient place, nor are they the cheapest (by a long shot). I usually hit them up as a last resort, because you can pretty much guarantee they are going to have it if you want to try it. http://theperfumedcourt.com/
4. Mudassir (The Crystal Flacon): I haven't used him, but I know several do. He doesn't have the largest inventory, but it is pretty decent and his prices are fair. http://flacon.ambaric.net/viewtopic.php?p=530&highlight=#530
5. Colonial Drug: The more you buy, the more generous they become with samples. You can email or call them and request a Castle Forbes sampler which contains samples of all of their creams, ASB, and colognes for free. They also have a other wetshaving products and a pretty good fragrance selection. Email: [email protected]
6. Truefitt & Hill: They sell a sampler with their creams, ASBs, and their colognes for $19. Not a bad deal for all you get to try. http://www.truefittandhill.com/detail_10106__37.html
7. Trumpers: They also sell a sampler. You get 7 colognes and 6 shaving cream samples for £ 6.00. You don't get to try all of their colognes in one sampler as they have more than 7, so you might have to order more than one to get to try them all. You can specify which colognes you want to try in the order notes. http://www.trumpers.com/product_detail.cfm?ProductID=111547656
There are other places around, but those are the main ones I have used and use. Good luck and learn to hide your credit card from yourself.
Just reading this board you will find several very quickly that you want to try.
Popular places to get samples:
1. Direct from the manufacturer. I have not had the best luck doing this, but there have been a select few that will oblige. I pretty much gave up on this and just purchase the samples I want. The pro to this approach is that the samples are generally sent to you free of charge.
2. Lucky Scent: Hard to find, niche fragrances. They don't sell anything cheap, and they don't sell anything you will find at your typical department store. This place is dangerous. The samples are pretty cheap, but they don't send you much juice. http://www.luckyscent.com/
3. The Perfumed Court: They have just about everything, but they are not the most efficient place, nor are they the cheapest (by a long shot). I usually hit them up as a last resort, because you can pretty much guarantee they are going to have it if you want to try it. http://theperfumedcourt.com/
4. Mudassir (The Crystal Flacon): I haven't used him, but I know several do. He doesn't have the largest inventory, but it is pretty decent and his prices are fair. http://flacon.ambaric.net/viewtopic.php?p=530&highlight=#530
5. Colonial Drug: The more you buy, the more generous they become with samples. You can email or call them and request a Castle Forbes sampler which contains samples of all of their creams, ASB, and colognes for free. They also have a other wetshaving products and a pretty good fragrance selection. Email: [email protected]
6. Truefitt & Hill: They sell a sampler with their creams, ASBs, and their colognes for $19. Not a bad deal for all you get to try. http://www.truefittandhill.com/detail_10106__37.html
7. Trumpers: They also sell a sampler. You get 7 colognes and 6 shaving cream samples for £ 6.00. You don't get to try all of their colognes in one sampler as they have more than 7, so you might have to order more than one to get to try them all. You can specify which colognes you want to try in the order notes. http://www.trumpers.com/product_detail.cfm?ProductID=111547656
There are other places around, but those are the main ones I have used and use. Good luck and learn to hide your credit card from yourself.
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Agreed with everything he said.
To offer you some suggestions we'd need to know what kind of scents you like (leather, woody, aquatic, etc...). Stopping by a department store and just smelling some scents would be a good first step.
+1. There are many knowledgeable enablers around here that can help you find specific fragrance types that you might be looking for. If you hit the department store, make sure you spray it on yourself as well as take along a card.
Sephora is a good place to sample some designer fragrances and they will always give you samples to take home if you ask.
Tehtimmeh gave you some good advice. I'll add that Barclay Crocker has several sampler packages that can get you started.including Trumpers, Truefitt and Hill and a Bay Rum package.
I'll also add that your wallet will thank you if you simply drop this crazy idea of expanding your wet shaving experience with fragrances. Pretend like they don't exist and walk away. It's not too late...
yet
I'll also add that your wallet will thank you if you simply drop this crazy idea of expanding your wet shaving experience with fragrances. Pretend like they don't exist and walk away. It's not too late...
yet
Welcome to our world of fragrances. I agree with all the great advice that the other gents here have provided except BillC's advice to walk away. You're already here; it's too late!
One other suggestion I'll add is, whenever it's possible, get a sample in a small spray bottle, and if that isn't possible ask for a tube. You will get a much better idea of what the fragrance smells like if you have enough to put some on and wear it.
This does three things that a sample sprayed on a piece of paper can't do:
First, it lets you see how the cologne smells ON YOU. Colognes mix with your body chemistry, and you need to see how they smell when you wear them, not when a piece of paper wears them.
Second, it lets you see how the cologne smells throughout it's wearing. It's important to realize that, while some colognes are very linear and smell the same from beginning to end during the day, many colognes evolve throughout the day, which is one of the fascinating aspects of colognes. You may have heard, or will hear, folks talk about the "opening" of a cologne, and the "drydown". Many colognes have some lighter scent notes, typically citrus, that catch your attention when you first spray them. These are stronger smelling, but evaporate quickly during the first 15 to 30 minutes, when you then start smelling other scents in the cologne. You may only smell the opening if you spray on a card, sniff and move on.
Third, a sample, if enough, let's you apply the cologne on at least two different days to see if you smell something different on the second test. It's not uncommon to get a different impression the second time around.
Finally, I encourage you to simply enjoy the process of exploring this new (to you) world. Don't pressure yourself to hurry and find the "right" cologne. Take your time and enjoy looking (or sniffing).
One other suggestion I'll add is, whenever it's possible, get a sample in a small spray bottle, and if that isn't possible ask for a tube. You will get a much better idea of what the fragrance smells like if you have enough to put some on and wear it.
This does three things that a sample sprayed on a piece of paper can't do:
First, it lets you see how the cologne smells ON YOU. Colognes mix with your body chemistry, and you need to see how they smell when you wear them, not when a piece of paper wears them.
Second, it lets you see how the cologne smells throughout it's wearing. It's important to realize that, while some colognes are very linear and smell the same from beginning to end during the day, many colognes evolve throughout the day, which is one of the fascinating aspects of colognes. You may have heard, or will hear, folks talk about the "opening" of a cologne, and the "drydown". Many colognes have some lighter scent notes, typically citrus, that catch your attention when you first spray them. These are stronger smelling, but evaporate quickly during the first 15 to 30 minutes, when you then start smelling other scents in the cologne. You may only smell the opening if you spray on a card, sniff and move on.
Third, a sample, if enough, let's you apply the cologne on at least two different days to see if you smell something different on the second test. It's not uncommon to get a different impression the second time around.
Finally, I encourage you to simply enjoy the process of exploring this new (to you) world. Don't pressure yourself to hurry and find the "right" cologne. Take your time and enjoy looking (or sniffing).
Welcome to the MOST EXPENSIVE of all the AD's. There are some very nice fragrances for not much money that you would enjoy. Read the fragrance reviews and then search out samples. There is nothing more personal than fragrance so do not buy blind regardless of how good a review of a product is.
Excellent point, Dave. Hermy65, don't be surprised if you don't like something that nearly everyone else loves. As Dave says, it's purely personal preference. Nearly everyone else around here loves Grey Flannel, but I can't stand it. I know it's good stuff because of all the love it gets, it's just not for me. Think of fragrance preferences as being like food preferences. Just because "everyone else" likes it doesn't mean you will. Find what you like.
L'Artisan Parfumeur, Hermes, and Divine will send samples, L'Artisan is very generous. A lot of department stores have most of the designer fragrances available to sample. When I go to the stores I like to smell the fragrance on paper first. If I like it I will then try it on myself to see how it smells on me. Good luck and smell everything.
There are other threads here that break down the differences between cologne, edt etc.
For the most part, the majority of what gets discussed here are Eau de Toilette EdT strength. The overwhelming majority of mens scents are in this category. These are meant to be worn on shoulders, neck, wrists or chest, but not splashed on face. The offerings you see in department stores like Macys are almost all EdT.
A lot of people are suggesting sampling because there are many bargains to be had online, and the only way to know if you're going to like something is to sample wear it.
We don't know enough about you and your tastes yet to start flinging many suggestions. Maybe go into our reviews section and look at some of the reviews on scents there to get an idea of what kind of scents you might like.
Tossing out a few for you to research a bit. You haven't really defined what "break the bank" is, so I've listed some that are considered pretty reasonably priced by the standards of many in this section of forum ($30-$60):
YSL Rive Gauche Pour Homme - a great wet shaver scent. Smells a bit like spicey Barbasol. Classic and contemporary at the same time. Good for old or young. Can be found online for $30-$40.
Caron Pour un Homme- Lavender and vanilla. A very old scent (1934) that nevertheless is timeless.
Knize Ten- Another classic scent from the 1920's. But it holds up well. Probably more mature than RG or CPuH.
PS by Paul Sebastian- Kind of like a stronger EdT version of Old Spice. Doesn't smell exactly like it, but it's in that same vein.
Prada Infusion d'Homme- Modern iris scent, which may sound weird. Don't get hung up on what "iris" smells like- it wears very clean and soapy.
Terre d'Hermes- One of the most highly regarded "designer" scents in the past few years.
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