Anyone got thoughts on these? Bargepole?

[drmoss_ca]

I never did approve of cherry tobacco, which probably makes no sense as my favourites involved a dressing (or 'topping') of vanilla, coconut and tonka bean. Make me an aftershave of Lane Ltd's white label Captain Black and I'd wear it! But never the red, blue or gold label dreck.

Might I add that this thread has undergone a most wonderful turn; it started with scents I hadn't heard of, and in my ignorance I assumed they were modern and likely unmemorable. Then Mr Bargepole came along and taught us all something that Sam evidently already knew. Thank you Sam, and thank you Michael: I love to learn and I owe you for teaching me.

Chris

[Sam]

Chris, I dont know that I knew anything. It is just that my wife loathes, not merely dislikes, old, manly scents and some things I just do not get along well with, such as musty smells, leather, rubber, powder, too much vanilla. Also, as Gordon knows, my sniffer is not all that great. I am 52, and my parents smoked constantly around me. I always loved the eucalyptus and potpourri my grandmother had at her house, and the bed linen sprays. In my teenage and bar-hopping days, I was always looking for the newest scent, the first Calvin Klein, the Eau Savage, Poco Rabanne, etc.

So, I was a member at basenotes maybe around the time I found the Wetshavers. Memphis, Tennessee, is still a small town, and we do not get many of the scents that other mid-sized cities have. We still have no Bloomingdales, Saks or Nordstroms. So we get the traditional designers and a couple of stores (Josephs mainly) carry some of the niche scents.

With my nose, I like to make sure that I smell myself a little bit. Close-to-the-skin scents are not my cup of tea, nor are short-lived ones, unless they are half price, lol. So, for fall and winter, I am looking at stronger scents.

I have tested each of the samples on my hand and most of them a full wearing. Defintely, that Absolue pour le Soir is a monster, and one that like a bad car wreck, you slow down and keep looking at. So far, none of the Kilians are to my liking, though Back to Black is the most persistent as far as sillage. Sweet Redemption is nice enough, a mostly orange and vanilla scent. Straight to Heaven is cedar for the most part, and Cruel Intentions is said to have spice and for the life of me, I get a nice powdery scent. Frapin 1270 is fruit and booze, but light on it, and Caravelle Epicee is a spicy booze-like scent.

My nose has changed from the days when I could not stand Voleur de Roses (that was the Josephs store you called Chris to get it from) and now I can at least appreciate it. I still cant do leather, and wanted to like Diors Leather Oud, or some of the Tom Fords.

Id like to see how Michael opines on the others I have mentioned. I do appreciate the fact that he knows the new stuff as well as the tried-and-true classics and I do appreciate his prose, even if I did not seem to have those same sort of encounters with the fairer sex

[bernards66]

Sam, Well, this thread has, indeed, provided some interesting reading. I have to admit that I am glad my wife seems to like the old traditional scents that I wear. It would be a real problem if she, like your wife, "loathed" them because I've yet to find any of those 'boutique perfumer' scents that I like and I couldn't afford most of them anyway. And as far as the current mass market dept. store stuff is concerned, forget it. I dunno...I'd probably wind up wearing no scent at all under those circumstances, so I'm grateful that I don't have to deal with that dilemma. You certainly seem to be having fun with the whole scent thing and that's what counts.
Regards,
Gordon

[brothers]

Sam, based on your informed observations, I confess I'm interested in Straight to Heaven and Kurkdjian Lumiere, for starters. As I've said, I've never been into the more sophisticated (expensive) fragrances, but I'm naturally curious.

My aversion to fragrances stems from a bad experience in high school with English Leather. Went to an all day conference on something or other, and my mistake was applying EL before leaving the house, I figured there were going to be a lot of girls there, and I was right. Unfortunately, I got a very bad nauseating headache from the EL, and the only remark made to me all day by a girl was to tell me my fly was open. Overall, yes, a very bad day. Got back to school and found out I didn't make the baseball team. Crap!

My interest in the Straight to Heaven fragrance is due to my physical addiction to the fragrance used in Castle Forbes Cedarwood and Sandalwood shaving cream. Yes, smells just like the cedar block you refer to, so naturally, I'm envisioning a bottle of this stuff would surely be heaven on earth. Then you mention the price. Well. . .

Thanks for the great imagery and descriptions.

[Sam]

Had a full wearing of all of them. Of the ones listed, the ones I would consider are the Absolue Pour le Soir, the Lumiere Noire and the Back to Black.

Lumiere is the safest, least projecting. A nice rose, which may not be a true rose. Chris knows I had a problem with the earthiness of Voluer de Roses by L'Artisan but who knows what now, as that was what, 7 years ago? Le Labo was nice except for the cumin and Fluer de Rose Bulgarie by Creed, whoa, rose overload. But I like Tuberose Indiana by Creed on my wife.

Wore Back to Black for the second time. Wife got baby powder, and I agreed and said with some cherry cough drops by Ludens added in. Yeah it was smoother somehow. And I think it had something to do with the fact that wife was burning a candle last night and the nicest vanilla scent, without being too foody, had me thinking comfort. Also, first wearing it was 49 degrees F outside, and today it is 72. This scent is nice, very nice. Maybe it is because I give up too early. Too bad the small sample vials only allow for 2 wearings. If this was not so expensive - $225 for 50ml - I could see me grabbing a bottle. At this price, Id have to look hard at getting Tauer L'Air du Desert Morocain again - $125 for 50ml

Got to revisit Absolue Pour le Soir. Also, got a good reading of Mono d'Oro Vanille - wonder how it projects and lasts compared to these two. Maybe I do need a vanilla to go with my Coromandel

[Squire]

Oh spring for the 50mil bottle Sam. Can't take it with us so we may as well leave smelling good.

[Sam]

Well, wore the Cologne version of the Absolue Pour Le Soir. Not as interesting. that note I refer to as skank actually rounds it out, gives it some depth, something to distinquish it. The Absolue is the winner of this bunch

[fallingwickets]

by a girl was to tell me my fly was open

Great story!
The EL worked and she was checking you out in the right direction....yayyyyyyy

clive

[Bargepole]

The Absolue is the winner of this bunch

Hate to say I told you so... actually, no. Can that. I exult in saying I told you so. Did I tell you so? I'm too tired to check. Wear it in good health. I'm going to take a squirt right now.

[Sam]

Ok, started another thread on a new fall and winter scent, and maybe Bargepole and others will weigh in, but I am torn between the Absolue pour le Soire and a rose scent for fall, say the Lumiere or Le Labo Rose 31.

[drmoss_ca]

Gents,
Please reply to this here.

Chris