What are your top 5 'hard to find' or no longer made scents?

[Christoph]

Mine:
1) English Blazer - was out of production for many years but now its back - but I do think its hard to find.
2) Old Spice Musk - I can't find it. Can you?
3) Knize Ten - CAN'T BELIEVE they no longer make one of the greatest scents for men ever!
4) Ralph Lauren Chaps & Ralph Lauren Chaps Musk. Loved the both. Not easy to find either these days
5) Original Aqua Velva - as in the one before "Ice Blue". Never tried it, but I would like to.

 

[Igor01]

I thought about a top 5 and realized that only ouds come to my mind. Here it is, all pure oud oils from Oriscent, I guess I am a hopeless ouddict...

1. Kyara LTD
2. Royal Kinam
3. Kyara Koutan
4. Borneo 3000 (the original from 2003)
5. Oud Royale (the original from 1982)

 

[ZackP]

I always thought the original AquaVelva was the same, just a different color is all. But, I have Chaps locally.

 

[oakeshott]

Mine:
1) English Blazer - was out of production for many years but now its back - but I do think its hard to find.
2) Old Spice Musk - I can't find it. Can you?
3) Knize Ten - CAN'T BELIEVE they no longer make one of the greatest scents for men ever!
4) Ralph Lauren Chaps & Ralph Lauren Chaps Musk. Loved the both. Not easy to find either these days
5) Original Aqua Velva - as in the one before "Ice Blue". Never tried it, but I would like to.

I think they still make Knize 10. I got a bunch of samples at Pasteur's and pif'ed them to some members a few months ago.

 

[CHSeifert]

1. Davidoff Original Pour Homme
2. YSL Jazz Prestige
3. YSL M7 Pour Homme
4. Gucci Pour Homme I
5. Ralph Lauren Polo Sport/Hugo Boss Sport

 

[Evbo]

I thought about a top 5 and realized that only ouds come to my mind. Here it is, all pure oud oils from Oriscent, I guess I am a hopeless ouddict...

1. Kyara LTD
2. Royal Kinam
3. Kyara Koutan
4. Borneo 3000 (the original from 2003)
5. Oud Royale (the original from 1982)

Ah, Igor. Yes indeed.

Never got to smell the original B3K or Oud Royale, so I can't comment on those. But I wholeheartedly agree w/your other choices. I'd add Oud Mostafa to the mix (gotta have a Hindi in there!) along with ASAQ's original Thaqeel. I'd also add that wonderful, all-but-extinct Mysore sandalwood oil that used to be so readily available back in the '70s.

OK, so that's 6, not 5. Sue me.

 

[The Chandos]

Guerlain Atuana
Guerlain Djedi
Guerlain Cuir de Russie
Lubin Cuir de Russie
Les Nez Turtle Vetiver Exercise No. 1

(Is anyone going list Gobin Daude?)

 

[The Knize]

No longer made: the original Aramis Havana; Houbigant Fougere Royale I suppose as close to the 1882 version as possible, but more likely a 1980s version; certainly real Mysore/Floris Sandalwood/Creed Bois de Santal; Creed Cuir de Russie

Hard to find: a Sigilli

 

[Phog Allen]

I really should come up with five but here are two to start.

Enlish Leather. The real stuff fron MEM.

Dunhill 1934. Why did Dunhill discontinue this?


Cheers, Todd

 

[desmoface]

Dunno about top five, but I kick myself for not purchasing the original Messe de Minuit, by Etro, when it was cheap, and available.

Steve

 

[oakeshott]

Ah, Igor. Yes indeed.

Never got to smell the original B3K or Oud Royale, so I can't comment on those. But I wholeheartedly agree w/your other choices. I'd add Oud Mostafa to the mix (gotta have a Hindi in there!) along with ASAQ's original Thaqeel. I'd also add that wonderful, all-but-extinct Mysore sandalwood oil that used to be so readily available back in the '70s.

OK, so that's 6, not 5. Sue me.

You two Oud Gurus (another great, simply fantastic name for a band) should start a thread relating the history of how you got into such a niche fragrance and accumulated what sound like enviable collections. I'd also be interested in hearing when and how you wear them and if that's evolved over the years.

Haven't been doing this long enough to have a "hard to find" fragrance...except for the smell of biscuits that a close family friend's mom used to make when I was a kid. They were the best biscuits ever and if you could put that smell in a bottle, I'd bathe in it.

 

[jva59]

Still made, but for some reason unavailable in the US, Chanel Pour Monsieur (correct me if I'm wrong about this).

 

[SuperChris]

Mine:
1) English Blazer - was out of production for many years but now its back - but I do think its hard to find.
2) Old Spice Musk - I can't find it. Can you?
3) Knize Ten - CAN'T BELIEVE they no longer make one of the greatest scents for men ever!
4) Ralph Lauren Chaps & Ralph Lauren Chaps Musk. Loved the both. Not easy to find either these days
5) Original Aqua Velva - as in the one before "Ice Blue". Never tried it, but I would like to.

I forgot Ralph Lauren Chaps, I used to sneak splashes from my grandpa's bottle when I would go there as a kid, I loved the stuff.

 

[The Knize]

I really should come up with five but here are two to start.

Enlish Leather. The real stuff fron MEM.

Dunhill 1934. Why did Dunhill discontinue this?


Cheers, Todd

I agree with those two, too. Also, pick a vintage Old Spice and I would probably agree. Is Dunhill 1934 hard to find these days, even though discontinued? For a long time it was not so hard to get. I would put the Crown scents on the list, too, but they seem to be fairly available on EBay. Maybe some are not. Spiced Lime would be a particular favorite.

Does Creed Windsor count? It is hard to get.

No one has mentioned the original Creed Tabarome. I am disappointed that so many Creeds show up on my list. I do not think of myself as being a Creed fan boy. Of course, Creed does have a propensity for restricting access to or discontinuing its best products.

Not on my list, but I am sure Floris Vetiver is on many folks'. Guerlain Vetiver EDC.

But probably more than anything, real Mysore sandalwood. Such a shame to wipe out those trees, like wiping out the buffalo. Like the guy on Easter Island sawing down that last palm tree. (The latter is probably a myth, of course. Not clear at all what happened to the Easter Islanders. A great metaphor, though. And wiping out the buffalo, it seems, was an intentional policy, not a "gosh, darn, we nearly wiped out all of the buffalo," but still.

For discontinued scents, Gucci "Rush," for sure. Also, the original feminine Donna Karan "Chaos." The re-release does not seem the same to me, although I am less familiar with it than I am many scents, so I could be wrong.

 

[cryhavoc]

Ralph Lauren Original Chaps, that new stuff ain't Chaps
Geoffrey Beene Bowling Green
MEM English Leather
?

 

[Phog Allen]

Hi Rob. I am not sure about the availability of Dunhill 1934 in the market. I have not really looked for it. eBay and other outlets are too dodgy for me to trust buying it there. I couldn't be sure I was getting the real stuff. I became interested in it about the time it was discontinued a few years ago. I think in those days you could buy it for much less than $40 per bottle. Snooze and lose.

Cheers, Todd

Edit: I did a quick Google search for it and there is some debate at Basenotes as to whether it is actually gone or made in one form or another in Germany and possibly sold under the name Dunhill for Men. Different packaging as well. Now you know anything spouted at Basenotes is fact, right? And check out Dunhillfragrance Why do all these designer fragrances seem to think there needs to be an "accord" of some sort when describing their fragrances? Most of the fragrances do not even list individual essences. What a hoot.

 

[The Knize]

Hi Rob. I am not sure about the availability of Dunhill 1934 in the market. I have not really looked for it. eBay and other outlets are too dodgy for me to trust buying it there. I couldn't be sure I was getting the real stuff. I became interested in it about the time it was discontinued a few years ago. I think in those days you could buy it for much less than $40 per bottle. Snooze and lose.

Cheers, Todd

Edit: I did a quick Google search for it and there is some debate at Basenotes as to whether it is actually gone or made in one form or another in Germany and possibly sold under the name Dunhill for Men. Different packaging as well. Now you know anything spouted at Basenotes is fact, right?

Well, you are not going to see me vouching for Ebay or Basenotes! In fact, for the longest time, I tried not to say anything about any vintage frags on this forum for fear that I would encourage someone to get involved in the risk, expense, and potential disappointment of tracking them down!

 

[john parker]

Only ever had a sample (generously provided by Jakespoppy), but Floris Vetiver was wonderful! And sadly gone!!

 

[rushchairman]

I can only think of one - Mostly Men by The Body Shop. Apparently their "White Musk" is similar but I've yet to sample it. I miss this frag, yo.

 

[Phog Allen]

Hey, I was just at an antique shop today and I bought a couple of full old cologne bottles (Russian Leather and Hero). They also had a bottle of English leather there. How can I tell if it's the original version? Because I can go back and look if you like and maybe pick it up for you

Hi Regularfella. Very nice of you to offer. First thing I would do is take a digital camera and snap a shot or two to compare. Now mind, if this is somewhere out of your way then go to no trouble.

The main differences that are easy to spot are packaging. Many of the MEM versions came in a two piece wooden display box. Both the box and the bottles would have nicely printed labels glued to them. The later Dana product has an image directly on the glass bottles. Also, the label will have MEM Company printed right on the front. It can cause confusion because for some time after Dana bought the scent it was the same as the MEM product. So there is definitely overlap.

Scent and colour will be the two big things that give away vintage. The MEM cologne was kind of a bourbon type colour while the aftershave was a yellow/gold colour. The newer reformulations are MUCH lighter in colour. The cologne is more like the colour of the old aftershave and the new aftershave is much ligther. Almost like a pink-ish/grey colour. The photos will show the difference.

Scent is different too. At least as far as the newer lighter coloured stuff goes. The original was more like a Spanish Leather scent. Citrus notes like orange were in there and the leather was more like the compounds used to cure leateher(just like most "leather" scents) that was kind of sweet but not cloying if you didn't pour it on. And the thing that gives it away is this sort of honey type note in the background. This is where the dividing line is between those who think it is too sweet and those of us who don't.

The newer cologne, which I have not used, is allegedly closer to the old stuff but not exactly the same. The newer a/s is NOTHING like the old stuff. It is much drier, woodier, scent with a VERY soapy note to it right out of the bottle and particularly upon application. I actually like it and it is very great a/s but it is NOT English Leather. Not to me. This was my Da's go to product when I was a little boy in the mid 1960's. It smelled better on him than anyone I can remember. And it was a popular scent. Remember, if this stuff has been sitting in a sunlit window or someone's 125 degree attic these last twenty years it may have gone off. Vintage English Leather would NEVER have a musky, dank, dirty, or old book odour to it. If that emanates from it pass it by. And sad to say but there are those who will take the new cologne and fill old a/s bottles with it and pass it off as vintage. If the seller is not making a big deal about the bottle I suspect there is no danger of that. Thanks again and lets hear about what you find. Dang it. Right now I cannot attach pics. I will add them later.

Cheers, Todd