If you missed it, Paul’s been experimenting to see how his life will change when he gives it a new scent. But it hasn’t had much effect on the ladies… yet.
The most fun part of this series has been the feedback. I really appreciate the cologne tips and the discussion in the comments. This is what’s great about the Dapppered community – you guys are genuinely supportive and helpful and want to help all of us present ourselves as better men. That’s fantastic.
One question that was reiterated a couple times after Part 2 was about what I thought of Creed Green Irish Tweed
I think it smells good.
So that’s my cologne novice answer. I feel a bit like a guy given his first glass of wine. How’s it taste? It tastes like wine. Dried cherries? Tobacco? Cracked pepper? Sure. But mostly it tastes like wine. Cologne is like that – GIT smells like cologne. There is, however, an entire vocabulary of it once you get past the surface, there are scents you are just not regularly exposed to involved (when’s the last time you held a piece of sandlewood up to your nose?), and the notes are subtle and intermixed and overlapping. It’s a connoisseurs game – there’s a learning curve.
My connoisseur answer is that Green Irish Tweed smells bright and fresh. I define it in my mind mostly through what it is not – it’s not musky, woodsy, or heavy. There’s no citrus to it (to me, but supposedly there are notes of lemon verbena). It’s supposed to smell like a “walk through the Irish countryside,” but I’ve never been to the Irish countryside so I can’t confirm that, nor do I know what season or time of day they were aiming to bottle. It doesn’t smell like Hyde Park in London. It doesn’t smell like the beach in Brighton. That’s as close as I’ve been to Ireland.
Some say it’s supposed to smell like ambergris, an interesting and rare whale product, but I’ve never smelled ambergris straight-up, so I can’t really pick it out in the cologne (nor can I tell if the ambergris is acting alone or only there supporting the other components). Read a bit on the internet, and ambergris starts to sounds almost mythical. Anything, it seems, can be attributed to it, and it’s in GIT … somewhere. I just can’t point to it. Maybe I’m not supposed to be able to point to it. I do keep an eye out for ambergris while walking along the beach (because of this), but I haven’t found any yet. I have walked past a rotting harbor seal on the beach. GIT does not smell like rotting harbor seal.
Here’s the other popular question: Do I smell like I want to smell?
Not really.
I’m not sure if I don’t want to smell like a walk through the Irish countryside or if I just don’t want to smell like Creed’s interpretation of that smell. I do like the smell of dewy summer mornings, but I really like the smell of Colorado’s pine forests. I really like the smell of salty ocean air. I really like the smell of earthy dampness you find in the middle of a rain-soaked forest, and the pollen blast you get in the spring surrounded by almond trees in full bloom. I also like whatever the smell is that happens right when it starts to rain, but before it’s rained too long, in the desert. But I don’t really know if that’s what I want to smell like myself. Maybe I’m just projecting where I’d like to be into my nasal passages.
I want to smell like the best version of me, because that’s the version of me I want to present to the world. I just don’t know what that guy smells like.
I kind of want to smell like K23, the fictional scent from Jitterbug Perfume
Like a lobster with a pearl in its claw, the beet held the jasmine firmly without crushing or obscuring it. Beet lifted jasmine, the way a bullnecked partner lifts a ballerina, and the pair came on stage on citron’s fluty cue. As if jasmine were a collection of beautiful paintings, beet hung in the galleries of the nose, insured it against fire or theft, threw a party to celebrate it. Citron mailed the invitations.
— from Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins
Maybe it’s because of this, but I just can’t get into an application rhythm. Some days I just forget to put it on. Some days I just don’t feel like putting it on. Other days I revert fully and pull out my bar of pine tar soap. I have no idea why I’m fascinated with that scent, but I can tell you this: wearing cologne after lathering up with Grandpa’s is a bust. I’m not sure if it’s the name of the product, but I thought I smelled like a wrinkled-up geriatric all day – a withered old man unable or uninterested in cleaning the smelly grime out of the folds of his body. I should have thrown it in and taken a second shower.
However, I still believe my hypothesis has a chance. I think the right cologne can alter my life. Re-reading Jitterbug Perfume has helped steel my resolve. And if you’re a fragrance-freak, you really should give it a read
‘Fragrance is a conduit for our earliest memories, on the one hand; on the other, it may accompany us as we enter the next life. In between, it creates mood, stimulates fantasy, shapes thought, and modifies behavior. It is our strongest link to the past, our closest fellow traveler to the future … Fragrance may well be the signature of eternity.’
— Marcel “Bunny” LeFever in Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins
I guess what I’m saying is this: I’m looking for a second cologne … but I really don’t want to go on a sniff marathon at the department store. I am not a huge fan of that section – there’s just too much going on in the air, too many salespeople ready to squirt. As a novice, it’s just too much. It’s overwhelming. I can barely discern the fragrances alone, without those competing in the cloud chorus distracting me. I need better advice. Got any?
I’m one click away from just pulling the trigger on some Creed Aventus
But first, I’ve got a plane to catch and an upgrade to score. Green Irish Tweed, this is your last chance.
Coming up:
- Is Green Irish Tweed more powerful than a pile of airline miles at the airport?
- Will wifey warm up to a new scent?
- What have my friends said about my new aroma?
Last call for recommendations: Any ideas why all the sampler packs seem to be sold out outline? Is it worth creating a custom grab-bag with Aventus and Spice and Wood and maybe a few others? Or do I need to break-down and dive in at the department store? And is Tom Robbins full of shit?
“I’m one click away from just pulling the trigger on some Creed Aventus.”
DO IT !
note that aventus, for me at least works best in the warmer months of the year.
you mentioned Spice and Wood, a scent i recently tried for the first time. I liked it so much i bought a decant online the day after i tried the sample. Its the perfect comfort scent for the cooler months of the year.
Another good winter scent would be Guerlain L’Instant de Guerlain Extreme. The best cocoa scent out there.
GIT was my first niche fragrance i bought, aventus followed, then came MI and now mostly recently Spice and Wood. They are a great fragrance house, no doubt about it.
I cant wait to try Royal Oud!
I went through a similar thing, except I decided cologne was too much work. I opted for a good smelling soap. Because I also need to use soap, so its easy and not too much of an added expense.
After wasting much time a drug stores and mid level grocery stores I finally found what I wanted at the “fancy” grocery store. A French soap maker called Pre De Provence and the scent is sage. It smells like sage and I guess that was what I wanted. Similar to wood but clean. In the summer I switch to sunflower by the same soap maker.
It didnt change my life, but I never have to pay $90/oz and I never worry if I used too much soap. So I got one less problem. which is nice
There I have admitted to it. I like to smell nice and I am not very much ashamed by it… most of the time…
Buy samples, you have to WEAR them for a day, not smell the opening notes on a card in a room with 50 other scents being sprayed at the same time.
http://theperfumedcourt.com/ Don’t blind buy the Aventus, spend the cost of a burger and fries to find out if you like it first.
I’d recommend sampling a range of scents.
A vetiver- I like Guerlain Vetiver and Tom Ford Grey Vetiver
A spicy tobacco- Dolce Gabbana One is nice, Serge Luten Chergui or Five o’clock Gingembre are more daring
An aquatic- Acqua di Gio is the standard but is common, Kenzo pour Homme is more daring
Favorite colognes include:
True Religion Cologne
Ralph Lauren Polo Black
Stetson
“I really like the smell of Colorado’s pine forests. I really like the smell of salty ocean air. I really like the smell of earthy dampness you find in the middle of a rain-soaked forest”
How about this? https://secure.huckberry.com/store/huckberry-essentials-grooming/cologne-winter-redwood–2
Have to say that after about 10 years of wearing cologne on and off, I found my signature scent in Bvlgari Blv. Great scent.
Please do not “blind buy” Aventus or any cologne over $50 bucks. Its way too much money to blow over something you may not like. There are a ton of sites that sell you samples like the perfumed court and lucky scents. You can get a small sample and wear it for 2-3 days straight which should be enough to conduct your experiment at an affordable price point. You can get as many samples as you want and avoid having to deal with pushy sales people at the same time. If you go into an upscale store like Neiman Marcus where they have all the creeds for you to sample and tell them you are ok on your own, most of them will let you be.
Well-written.
“Bay Rum” Lt. Col. Frank Slade
I’ve been pretty happy with Burberry Sport. I don’t apply much and it has a clean, crisp scent.
Not an expensive cologne by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m been wearing Liz Claiborne Sport for almost 15 years, and my wife’s a fan. Seems pretty highly rated around the web too, which surprised me since I originally got it back when I knew very little about anything.
I know this will probably be flamed heavily because of how generic it is. But if you really love that pine tar masculine smell, just buy a small bottle of Polo Green and give it a shot. It reminds me of something Rock Hudson or Cary Grant would wear, woody, pine, fresh, a little musky, very manly.
Also, if you have the cojones go for good original Dolce and Gabbana for men, it’s just such an incredibly unique cologne. A very timeless cologne.
Douglas – You know much about Encre Noire by Lalique? Great deal on it on Amazon and I’ve heard its one of the better vetivers. How does it compare to Guerlains? I wish I could find somewhere nearby that carries these to check them out.
I’ll just leave this here…. http://www.basenotes.net/threads/212334-Which-scent-gets-you-the-most-female-compliments?p=2786979&viewfull=1#post2786979
I got scared off by this message, but I’ll give the site a fair shot:
“We are fixing a glitch with our online shipping system, where the information for some shipped packages was not entered into our main database. These orders are not being charged again or shipped again. If you receive a shipping notification for an order you have already received, please disregard it. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
I like this idea …
Vial. Aventus is officially on the samples-to-buy list.
Awesome.
Tempting. Thanks for the ideas.
Does it count if I wish I were in Paris?
Whoa. Cool.
I have worn GIT exclusively for 20yrs now. Received as a gift from a female friend who worked as a buyer for Neiman. It routinely gets compliments. I tried Guerlain Vetiver and others through the years but always went back to the “tweed”. Chicks dig it.
Ahhh Aventus. I still have a very large bottle after picking this one up last year. I bought it mainly because of I liked the smell (pineapples and smoke, reminds me of island life) and the hype.
Stopped wearing it because of a comment from a woman; “what’s that chemical-y smell?” I thought she was talking about the Creed, so I wore it less frequently and in smaller doses (one spray to the chest. done). But I should have figured it was because we were in an auto garage showroom. Dropped that and started wearing more Tom Ford and YSL.
Starting wearing it again this fall and winter and the comments haven’t stopped falling. The last one was from a rather fashionable woman; “You smell amazing!” Sometimes, while waiting in line at Boudin’s ladies will actually stand closer in the line and tell me. (More than twice.) I’m glad they haven’t asked me what it was yet. Even at the end of the day, after more than 12 hours on my feet, it’s still very refreshing to get a few last whiffs while undressing. Amazing!
The French sure know how to make perfume. It won’t change your life, but it’s like sugar for the senses.
Mont Blanc Presence
I like stocking up on different scents from Zephora. The samples, that is. This way I get to try colognes in different arenas (going out for dinner versus going to work, subtle. Versus bold, etc).
Comedy. A bunch of men trying to smell of what they like, and then garner confidence from that. What most of us like is the scent of a woman, but we can’t wear their smells. Men’s scents are mostly made and marketed to attract women. So, figure out what they like on you!
Smelling like what you prefer is not going to gain you confidence. Find out the top few scents your favorite woman likes on you, and then use those. If there is one you don’t like, discard it, there is no need to box yourself into one scent. When you get a compliment from someone else, it is just a bonus that will reinforce your confidence.
You can even have a special one that lets her know what is on your mind.
Go to Sephora.
I love the Perfumed Court (except they take forever to ship!) but honestly, you don’t need to take that route yet. You need to start by figuring out what kinds of smells you actually like. Go to Sephora. Smell stuff. Figure out what you actually like. Nordstrom is good too, but Sephora will make you free samples so you can try wearing something you liked for a few days.
+1: Aventus is by far the most compliment-getter of my collection, too. Amazing juice! And it has BEAST longevity. Sometimes it fools you into thinking it’s gone, but then either others still notice it late into the day, or you get a reminder waft of the amazing scent yourself. Great stuff!
Not sure I’d recommend a BLIND buy, Paul; simply because of the batch variations. IMO (and many others’ too), the pineapple/apple-heavy batches are the best. Mine is X02, but I’m contemplating snagging a bottle of Z01 that I found recently too. Both pretty highly regarded and sought-after batches/lots of Aventus.
Paul, as long as you get a fruity-blast-up-top batch, I think you’ll be pleasantly and fragrantly surprised. Sample or buy a decant, if possible first. It’s too much dough to blow on something you may not like. Just make sure, if you sample and like it, to try to get the same batch/lot if you buy a bottle or decant of it.
How about you, calan.reyes? Do you put much into the batch differences? And if so, which one are you rockin’? (if ya don’t mind me asking)
Encre Noire is a great vetiver scent. It is quite a bit different than the classic Guerlain Vetiver in that it’s not spicy citrusy fresh. I own both and while I consider them both vetiver scents I don’t find too much that overlaps other than that.
It has a much more smokey, incensey body to it thanks to a large dose of Iso-E Super, a scent chemical used in other widely known fragrances such as Terre d’Hermes and Gucci Pour Homme (the old one, brown juice). Both of those are available at Sephora for you to try. If you can spot the similarities between those two very different scents you’ll have found Iso-E Super and hopefully that should help give you an idea of what to expect with Encre Noire.
I’m very wary of telling people to pull the trigger on buying without trying first, but if you like vetiver and you like rich somewhat incensey scents I’d say it would be a safe buy for you. Runs about $30 to $35 shipped with periodic sales from some places.
Agreed with Sephora.
Perfumes can grow on you over time, but if your first reaction to GIT is “this doesn’t quite fit me”, don’t try to force it to work. Get your nose out there and smell as much as you can. Sephora is great because you can handle the bottles and try at your own pace without a sales rep breathing down your neck, and when you’re done take home two or three sample sprays (they fill fresh for you on the spot) that contain enough to try for around 7 days each.
Fair enough, but for those of us (me) who live an hour+ from a Sephora, theperfumedcourt seems like it could potentially be a better choice. Grabbing samples of some of the top reviewed scents seems like a pretty safe bet. Might miss on a few, but you’d only be out a few bucks vs the gas and time cost it would take to get to and from Sephora. I suppose it depends on how you think about it.
Even just going to Macy’s or Nordstrom is wiser than ordering tiny vials online. Many of the vials from the Perfumed Court aren’t going to have sprayers, which means they’ll wear differently on your skin. Also, are you really going to sample more than just a few from the Perfumed Court? Probably not. At Macy’s, you can spray a ton of different ones and figure out where your tastes are.
I realize you’re intimidated since cologne is out of your comfort zone. I think we’ve all been there. But you’re constantly trying on clothes in store. Why wouldn’t you try on cologne?
If a commenter suggested the way to buy a first pair of dress shoes was to order a pair from name brand online, surely, you’d correct them and suggest a list he needs to try on in store based on what he needs the shoes for and what his style is. I mean this with the utmost respect, it’s clear the author of this article needs that advice from us.
For the record, this advice isn’t really mine. It’s the advice someone gave to me years ago, and I’m so glad I decided to get over my insecurities and sample in store. Cologne is an element of a man’s style. One size (one name from the internet) does not fit all.
I’d take that list with a Dead Sea sized grain of salt, Old spice came in at 106 out of 516.
Yeah I think Doc chopped it really well, but on top of his suggestion robes08 who I consider one of the foremost cologne reviewers on Youtube–has Encre Noire in his top 5 of colognes of all time. That ranking coming from a guy who mostly lives in the niche fragrance market.
I’ve never tried that one, I’d have to buy a sample to find out. There are ton’s of vetivers and a bunch of them are good. The only one I found to be repellant was Royall Vetiver
I use the “all the above” approach. But I must WEAR it to decide.
I smell the bottle or spray a card to see if I’m even interested. Then I see if I can get a sample, if not I’ll spray my wrist. If someone recommends something that I can’t find, I’ll get a sample from perfumed court.
The mall doesn’t carry everything. In fact, most of my favorites are not found there, come to think of it… that is kind of a universal truth for me.
Exactly. But in this case, the author is starting from square one.
The problem with Sephora is, you have to hang out in a make up store. Now, I’m as secure in my manhood as one can be, but there is only so much of that I can stand.
Agreed.
Thank you for sharing that – great find for some of us!
Of course take it with a grain of salt!
The ratings are based on how many up votes a scent has received out of overall total votes, but just because you don’t agree with the popularity of a manly classic like Old Spice, doesn’t mean the entire spreadsheet is skewed –It means you have different taste.
As with most raw data, using outside data, applying context and ability to identify anomalies is crucial. To get it to 106th place, Old Spice only needed 12 jokers to stop in and say “yeah, I got a compliment on my Old Spice!” Add 5 more comments (17) and you’d see it sitting in 79th place. Remove 5 and it’d be in 158th place. Additionally, if you scroll over, you’ll see that the votes from the other sites listed are quite low.
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Honestly though, if you’re using this list, you’re probably just looking for a jumping off point or some ideas of where to start. Alternatively, maybe you’re looking for some new ideas. If you’re in either that situation, why would you look lower than 50? That really doesn’t make much sense…
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The point is this: that excel sheet can be taken WITHOUT salt. In fact, I believe it probably is quite helpful for many people. Now should you believe that the ranks are absolute and that you’d rank the colognes exactly as they appear in the table given a chance? No. Would you be an idiot if you thought that? No comment.
With a grain of salt? Well, I don’t know about that. I’d be willing to bet that if you choose 5 from the top 25 and 5 from say #40 – #65 you’d get more female compliments wearing the higher rated ones, all else equal. Maybe I’m wrong, but I doubt it. Point is, this excel sheet has some value and can be a great asset so long as you use rational thinking and logic when approaching it.
No, completely agreed – My “grain of salt” exclamation was in response to Douglas Wylie, beneath, to which you’ve already replied. Cheers.
The ratings are based on how many up votes a scent has received out of overall total votes, but just because you don’t agree with the popularity of a manly classic like Old Spice, doesn’t mean the entire spreadsheet is skewed –It means you have different taste.
I gotcha now. May the scents be with you.
Paul, email me your address and I’ll send you a few samples that I don’t need, sadly I used up the ones I liked best but these aren’t bad and it will get you started for research purposes..
Terre de’ Hermes
Burberry London (I bought a bottle of it)
Guerlain Heritage and Jicky
YSL Rive Gauche and Body Kouros
Chanel Blue. Give it a test next time you’re at the mall.
http://reviews.macys.com/7129/483442/chanel-bleu-de-chanel-fragrance-collection-for-men-reviews/reviews.htm
I recently purchased a bottle of Eau de Baux and I really like it. I also really like Spicebomb.
Well… some Sephoras are plopped right in the middle of a JCP. If you can find one like that, you’ll only have to be comfortable with hanging out in a make up *department*. Not that that’s an easy task either, but hey… there’s usually some nice *decoration* there.
I have never smelled GIT in person, but if it smells like Cool Water, I find CW too sweet for my tastes.
Here is what I like, which I think is on the opposite side of the spectrum from GIT/CW:
Tom Ford (Leathery, but not completely old man smelling or overly musky)
LaCoste Essential (Light but not too sweet, some citrus notes)
The last one, which is a bit off the beaten path is Aveda Pureformance. I use Aveda Pureformance Mens liquid pommade and always thought it smelled great–very fresh and clean–and always got compliments on it (yes people complimented me on how my hair smelled). The EDT tries to recreate that scent with some success, and you need to let it fade a bit after applying before judging how you smell. It’s not overly strong once it sits on you for a few moments, so it may be worth looking into at an aveda store or a salon that sells aveda, and you won’t have to deal with the department store.
when i was reading this 2 scents jumped out to me. DSquared Rocky Mountain Wood for the Colorado Pine Forest vibe and Bvlgari Aqva for the salty ocean air feeling…you should ck those 2 out and the bonus is they are cheap
I am really into Malin Goetz’s synthesized musk right now. A really great scent. They’re really cool, and will hook you up with a few samples if you email them and ask nicely. I would also point out that for those not in proximity to a Sephora or Nordstrom or whatever that you can frequently find small sample size bottles of most colognes on eBay. I bought five sample vials of GIT, and wearing it for about a month was enough to convince me that I really liked it.
Don’t we all?
If I was back in Paris, I’d be buying a bottle of Acqua di Parma ‘Colonia’.
Sampled some when we there in December, but never got back to the department store and didn’t see it in Italy (its home), or in the fabulous Dubai Duty Free.
It will be my next purchase though – but I think I’ll have to import (to Australia) to get it at a reasonable price.
Thanks!
Eau de Baux smells like vanilla scented pipe tobacco to me, with a little incense thrown in. I like it in the winter. L’Occitane’s best scent, IMO, is Eau de L’Occitane. It’s the one with the purple label. That is my favorite all time fragrance – it’s a clean spicey/woodsy combination of herbaceous lavender and burnt cedar or sandalwood. Very subtle but smells really good and really natural.
One of the things that bothers me about most designer colognes is that I can smell them on myself through the day and into the night, and by then I’m tired of the smell no matter how nice it is. Eau de L’Occitane fades into the background fairly quickly so I don’t even notice I’m wearing it, but my wife can still smell it on me at the end of the day, so it lasts pretty well. It’s not designer, but is the only scent I can wear every day and never get tired of.
Thank you Paul for this series. It’s funny because just about a month ago, I went on my own scent journey. I had almost an identical experience to yours up to this point – wife and all.
I have been wearing Eternity since I was 15. I’m 33 and thought I should start to smell like a grown man. I wanted a little musk, maybe woodsy scent. I love the way sandlewood and cedar smells. And it should appeal to women.
At Nordstroms I was given a sample of English Laundry’s Signature and Bleu de Chanel. Spraying samples are a great way to try colognes. Wear each for a week (if you like it) and see how you feel after the week and see what others think.
I soon found basenotes and ordered a ton of samples ($80 worth) from Surrender to Chance. I got all of the top recommendations: GIT, Aventus, Dior Homme Intense, Allure Homme Blanche, Hermes Terre D’ Hermes, L’air du Desert Morocain, Tom Ford’s Tabacco Vanille, and YSL La Nuit de L’Homme.
I also picked up more samples from Nordstroms (who will give you a sample of anything they have in the store – for free).
The winner for me? Bleu de Channel. My wife LOVED it. She likes the citrus and cream notes. I feel manly with the cedar and incense notes. Solid projection and lasts all day. The counter girl at Macy’s prefers it. The counter guy at Nordstroms told me it’s his favorite and he wears it daily (when I asked for 3 samples of different colognes). Bleu is just pleasant to men and women alike and inoffensive.
The niche scents are just…well…they appeal to a niche audience. The scents are interesting, complex, they can tell a story. But I don’t think I want that from a daily scent. I just want to smell good and feel confident that people notice.
For what it’s worth.
Seeing how you seem to really like the scent of pine trees and natural outdoorsy type scents, I would recommend checking out the backpackers cologne from Juniper Ridge. In particular Siskiyou scent. Juniper Ridge produces soaps, toiletries, and cologne meant to smell like various places in the American West. In addition, they actually go out to the regions and hand harvest the ingredients and throw them in an antique copper whiskey distiller to extract the oils from the harvested plants to create the scents. I have yet to sniff any of them but I want to buy some for my boyfriend who also doesn’t wear cologne 🙂 Hope that helps! http://juniperridge.com/
Oh and if you do try Juniper Ridge, please review! In addition, Luckyscent.com is an awesome fragrance website dedicated towards niche and independent scents. They allow you to buy samples for most fragrances and each scent comes with a little description or story that’s pretty descriptive. Further, they have user reviews and a whole page dedicated towards top picks in different categories. It’s mostly geared towards women but they have tons of scents for men too! Also keep in mind that each scent is rated on a scale of feminine to masculine so some scents that are rated as being highly masculine are actually “eau de parfums” rather than colognes. Every time you buy samples and/or a whole bottle of a scent, you get free samples!