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Vintage colognes--what do you own and use regularly.

I have been wearing old-school colognes lately. I much prefer them to todays' designer nonsense being peddled at ridiculous prices. Some of my vintage scents are designer inspired, but I have owned for years and are not the reformulated into tonic water versions. I think the industry has lost their way and can't find home runs which capture our interest anymore. I will mention some that have been getting some use the past few years. British Sterling, English Leather, English Leather Spiced, Shulton Old Spiced Original, Hugo Boss Number One, Quorum, Aramis, Polo, Royale Muske, Jovan Musk, Avon Everest, Jade East, Bill Blass, Lagerfeld, Pierre Cardin, Obsession, Zino Davidoff, Yardley Leather, Yardley Musk, The Baron, Elsha 1776, Chanel Pour Monsieur, Armani Pour Homme. There are others, but they slip my mind right now.
 
I have been wearing old-school colognes lately....
Welcome to the club. :thumbup1:

The majority of my fragrance rotation consists of vintage versions. Too many to mention here - LOL. But suffice to say, I prefer vintage due to a couple of reasons: (1) I appreciate the greater depth/complexity and longevity of vintage versions, and (2) probably nostalgia, especially those from the '70s, as they were the ones from my formative years growing up.

However, I'll be upfront and say that not all reformulations are bad. For instance, I think that Chanel did an admirable job with Antaeus - I have the current bottle as well as a pre-bar code vintage bottle and like both. And I like the current version of Guerlain's Derby just as much as the original version. But with that being said, the resultant reforms (for me) generally boil down to a lacking in longevity. Sometimes, that issue can be overcome by just giving an additional spray to the undershirt.
 

EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
I rotate these - Faberge Brut, Shulton Old Spice, Avon (Windjammer, Spicy, Wild Country, Oland, Wild Spice), Yardley Gold, Yardley Black Label, Shulton Mandate, Shulton Musk For Men, Goya Cedarwood, Givenchy Gentleman, Ralph Lauren Polo, Paco Rabanne Pour Homme.
 
The ones that I still have left from the bottles I bought in the 1980's and early 1990's, I won't even touch. I still have a bit of Azzaro Pour Homme, Halston Catalyst and Chanel Pour Monsieur left along with almost full bottles of Cool Water and a Ralph Lauren Safari gift set (4 oz bottles of the edt and aftershave). I thought I had an almost full bottle of Gucci Envy but sadly most of it is gone (I can't remember if I used most of it or if it impossibly evaporated). I also have about 25% left of one of the strongest fragrances released in the 1980's - Giorgio for Men by Giorgio of Beverly Hills. It was even stronger than Paco Rabanne Pour Homme at the time! Even today, one spray of that vintage Giorgio for Men bottle is incredibly powerful. It's a nuclear blast of oakmoss which is limited today due to IFRA rules.

Few reformulations today are even close to their classic versions. The closest I can think of is Paul Sebastian Fine Cologne and that's probably because Paul Sebastian sold out to French Fragrances decades ago. French Fragrances eventually became EA Fragrances and they bought (and cheapened) many classics. Since they probably used the original formula for Paul Sebastian when they first purchased it, they didn't alter it that much. Paul Sebastian is one of the few classics made by EA Fragrances (maybe the only one) that's still sold in major dept. stores.

Did anyone else ever wear Pierre Cardin Musk? That was terrific as was Lagerfeld Photo and Halston Catalyst. Unilever's reformulation of Photo in the 2000's was weaker and EA Fragrance's version of Catalyst paled in comparison.

I rotate these - Faberge Brut, Shulton Old Spice....Ralph Lauren Polo, Paco Rabanne Pour Homme.

Have you smelled today's version of Polo "Green"? It's putrid and nothing like the original.

I have been wearing old-school colognes lately.... I will mention some that have been getting some use the past few years. British Sterling, English Leather...

British Sterling is still pretty good. English Leather by Mem was my high school scent and that bottle in the wonderful wooden box was in my desk drawer for years. I bought the Dana version a few years ago and it's still pretty good but probably has nowhere near the smoothness or longevity of the original. I'm probably going to buy the 8 oz. aftershave soon. I just hope Dana has changed their policy of manufacturing the oils in the USA and then having it bottled in China.

Dana stopped producing the large bottles of English Leather for a few years and look what happened to the prices on Ebay until they started up production again last year. Remember that this isn't vintage Mem but the Dana version! The price on top is what I paid for the current 8 oz. bottle 4 years ago and the Ebay prices are from 2019.
englishleather_target_ebay.jpg
 
Vintage frags?? Oh yeah, I love vintage frags. These are my favorite although I have a bunch more that I mostly like.

Guerlain Heritage(gold cap)
Chanel Antaeus
Givenchy Gentleman
Giorgio Beverly Hills Giorgio for Men
RL Polo(Cosmair)
Davidoff Zino(all cursive writing)
 

Owen Bawn

Garden party cupcake scented
Between bottles of aftershave and cologne I probably have a gallon of Gillette Sun Up, and at least the same amount of vintage kanøn, probably more. I haven't bought any in several years; the price of both has skyrocketed of late.
 

nemo

Lunatic Fringe
Staff member
Just lately ... Johann Maria Farina Gegenuber Kölnisch Juchten

After the CZU wildfire practically destroyed my house (shop and forest burned to the ground) I decided to stop saving and start wearing. Life is short.
 
Well, mostly Yardley Black Label. Actually what I miss most in today's colognes, EdTs are splash bottles. They're all sprays nowadays and I always preferred splash.
 

Ravenonrock

I shaved the pig
I like the drugstore splashes, Old Spice, Skin Bracer, Aqua Velva, Brut, Stetson. Gillette makes a nice one in a glass bottle. I have one cologne Jovan Musk, prefer the splashes though.
 
Vintage Hermes Equipage. I can't think of a smoother fragrance I've ever encountered. Just beautiful.

I used to wear a lot of other vintage stuff, but chasing backup bottles and coming across plenty whose topnotes were gone got to be a bit tiresome.
 
I have been wearing old-school colognes lately. I much prefer them to todays' designer nonsense being peddled at ridiculous prices. Some of my vintage scents are designer inspired, but I have owned for years and are not the reformulated into tonic water versions. I think the industry has lost their way and can't find home runs which capture our interest anymore.

I agree for the most part. I find most current releases nauseatingly bad on myself. While I don't have or buy true vintage bottles of fragrance, virtually my entire collection is "old-school" fragrances. One side benefit is that they tend to be more masculine and less unisex, too. Here is my "collection" that I actually use in order of release year (those I use most are bolded):

18xx - D.R. Harris Arlington
1890 - Floris Special 127
1902 - Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet
1936 - Creed Royal Mayfair (actually called Windsor originally and re-released as RM in 2015)
1951 - Floris No 89

1961 - Guerlain Vetiver
1989 - Nicolai New York
1989 - Nicolai Cologne Sologne
1998 - Penhaligon's Castile

200x - Barbearia do Bairro Ribeira Douro
2002 - Floris Santal
2003 - Carthusia Mediterraneo

2003 - Diptyque Tam Dao
2006 - Nicolai Cologne Cedrat
2006 - Lalique Encre Noir
2007 - Givenchy Les Parfums Mythiques - Monsieur de Givenchy (re-release of 1959 version)
2007 - Givenchy Les Parfums Mythiques - Xeryus (re-release of 1986 version)

2008 - Commes des Garcons Monocle Hinoki
2010 - Commes des Garcons Monocle Laurel
2010 - Fougere Royale (based on 1882 version)
2014 - Floris Leather Oud

2014 - Barbearia do Bairro Principe Real
2016 - Diptyque Eau des Sens
2017 - Barbearia do Bairro Chiado
 
To be honest, I’m not sure what qualifies as vintage anymore. The early 90’s feel like 10 years ago but Guerlain Vetiver, Polo Green and Eucris are a few personal favorites.
 
I own many (dozens) of the vintage powerhouses. Mostly 60-90s fragrances. Polo green is my favorite. PRPH and Azzaro PH are close seconds. Kouros is one that I like the reformulation better....
 
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