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Fragrance: Spring Top Favorites

rach2jlc

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The SOTD thread is great, and obviously I've contributed dozens (hundreds?) of posts in it... but it's unwieldy for most light users. Fragrance fans, let's post our recommendations for the upcoming spring. Please post the name, house, availability, price, and why you are recommending it. Give a quick blurb of what's going on in the scent, too, if you don't mind. I'll start:

1. Monsieur Givenchy: Hesperides magnifique. I had an original bottle that founds its way into T's collection (Thomas) but i then got another and began to appreciate it more. Citrus start, a bit of powder, and a wonderful dry down perfect for meetings or office day wear. Don't wear at night.

2. Givenchy III: Chypre magnifique. Lighter than the other "big" chypres like Mitsouko or Miss Dior, and more unisex. Light florals, a lovely oakmoss/patchouli blend, this one is great in warm spring weather, but not good for summer heat. Available on ebay easily, the Mythiques bottle is fine, but vintage is better. (wait a minute... Thomas also got a bottle of my III as well. )

3. Parfums nicolai cologne sologne: Just try it. Perhaps the best "cologne" made. Luckyscent has it available... woods and citrus, light and friendly.

4. Eau de dior: Bright, sparkling, sweet, crisp. Only good in the hottest of weather.

5. Eau de lalique: I've recommended this one dozens of times here. My favorite summer scent. Sweet, fresh, clean, but not boring. Love it, and everything it does.

6. Chanel Cristalle eau de toilette: the classic summer powerhouse. Harsh, sharp, in your face. All that Chanel fragrances do best, in a summer scent. It's love it or hate it, with nothing in between. In hot, hot, hot weather, I love the way it blends.

Discontinued or harder to find, but available on ebay:

Ungaro II: Jicky with orange. Stinky, sexy, and rich, but light enough for warm weather. I always get so many compliments on this one, which I don't get with $300+ pure parfums/extraits. Try it and be happy.

D'orsay Tilleul: bright and fresh citrus, with some lovely florals that keep it happy and rich.

Guerlain Flora Neroli: One from the aqua allegoria series... another floral with citrus. You may think it's too "girly" at first, but watch it develop on your skin in warm weather.

L'occitane Eau des 4 voleurs: spicey, floral, citrus, cologne. warm, rich, fresh, and crisp. Commands unbelievable prices on the 'bay. If you can find it, go for it. Wonderful in spring/summer and sadly discontinued. :(

Diorissimo eau de cologne (vintage.) The best jasmine/lily on the market, but the greatest nose (Roudnitska.) Sweet, fresh, floral, and stinky at the same time. Sexy and crisp. You will think it's "girly" until you wear it on your own skin.

Now... what about yours?
 
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why

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I liked Burberry Summer but I don't think it's available anymore (I still have some though).

There's some japanese rosey one I forgot the name of. I'll check and try to remember to edit this post when I get home.
 

Thomas

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Ah. the summer herd: (Rach, I don't think I got your G III, I sampled it though and liked it well enough)

The classics:

Chanel Pour Monsieur: light enough for summer but substantial enough to stick around.

Guerlain Vetiver: easily available, crisp, green scent that is pleasant enough for everyday. Office-friendly

Burt's Bees Bay Rum (still available?): As a genre, Bay Rum is classic, masculine, usually dry and therefore great for summer. Versatile enough to go from boardroom to BBQ.

Signoricci: my favorite lemon-based scent, I think it's still available but you should be able to score a bottle cheap.

More recent, less-talked about:

Chanel Sycomore: dry peppery-vetiver, should play well in the summertime

YSL Live Jazz: Clean and fresh, slightly-minty, wonderful (also see Kouros Sport Cologne for a slightly-stinkier treatment)

Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Pampelune: Best grapefruit note I've ever smelled, quite durable and doesn't go sulfurous on me. Light on the cat-pee note.

Aramis New West: the opening salvo of the Calone scents, still crisp and fresh and wonderful.

Aramis Tuscany: dated? doesn't button the shirt high enough? perhaps. Still a good scent, and should be found pretty cheap these days.
 

rach2jlc

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^Good calls, T, especially Signoricci. I was trying to think of some that we hadn't talked about a million times, and glad to see you added a few new ones to the list. That's one problem with scent discussions (and part of the reason why I think a site like Basenotes forums never lasts as long, or has maintained the membership, like SF) is that after a while, even after having/sampling/owning hundreds or even thousands of scents, you'll eventually just get back to discussing the same 25 that you consistently reach for and wear. :lol:

I'll balance your Signoricci lemon rec with Balmain Monsieur, and your Aramis Tuscany with Aramis Havana. The latter may be a little heavy for the hottest of summer, but in the evening especially I love it. Cartier Pasha may be a good alternative as well. BUT, all are good choices.

There are also the Roudnitska classics Rochas Moustache (wonderful Lime/woods/civet scent), Eau d'hermes (citrus/leather/horse stink), Eau Sauvage (needs no intro!), and Diorella (less 'dry' than sauvage but in the same universe).
 
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Thomas

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^^ I've never tried Havana, not in the old or re-issued versions. I probably ought to, someday.

What's odd is that I have two Guerlains on my list. Odd, because I generally detest Guerlain as a house, and have an uneasy peace with the majority of their scents - at least, those I decided to keep for now.
 
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rach2jlc

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^^
What's odd is that I have two Guerlains on my list. Odd, because I generally detest Guerlain as a house, and have an uneasy peace with the majority of their scents - at least, those I decided to keep for now.


I almost said something, wondering what happened to my safe and time-tested, Guerlain hating T. But, I refrained for the sake of peace. :lol:

I think you'd love Havana, but given all the Aramis you have, might be less impressed by it than by somebody who'd come to it from a lifetime of "fresh, clean" ozonic scents. It's sort of a darker, smokier Tuscany.

Three more quick ones are the Caron "Eaux" series... Eau Forte, Eau Fraiche, and Eau Pure. They didn't have the impact I like in a scent, even a fresh one (meaning, they didn't stink appropriately enough) but several of my non-diehard fragrance friends quite liked them. They are available on the cheap and much better than the Aqua di Gio's of the world.
 
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Thomas

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I almost said something, wondering what happened to my safe and time-tested, Guerlain hating T. But, I refrained for the sake of peace. :lol:
I think you'd love Havana, but given all the Aramis you have, might be less impressed by it than by somebody who'd come to it from a lifetime of "fresh, clean" ozonic scents. It's sort of a darker, smokier Tuscany.
Three more quick ones are the Caron "Eaux" series... Eau Forte, Eau Fraiche, and Eau Pure. They didn't have the impact I like in a scent, even a fresh one (meaning, they didn't stink appropriately enough) but several of my non-diehard fragrance friends quite liked them. They are available on the cheap and much better than the Aqua di Gio's of the world.


Hmm, I might have to check out those Eaux. If they're reasonable enough they might make a decent standby for the young man.

But yeah, I tried with the Guerlains, I really did. On the wrong day, I'm about to toss them all into a box, ship them back to France and demand an apology from Jean-Paul himself. Vetiver and Pampelune are nice because they're not really Guerlain creations. And, since I'm already on my soapbox, I truly, vigorously detest their continued spiral upwards into new areas of exclusivity and price-gouging.
 

L'Incandescent

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Great thread, rach. I'll go ahead and my two cents.

1. La Tulipe--Byredo. This is a clean, sweet, fresh floral that's absolutely perfect for spring. To my nose, the primary floral note is freesia. But there's also some rhubarb that adds just a touch of tartness to the mix. It's a light scent, but the longevity is very good. Projection is moderate. It definitely leans feminine, for anyone who's concerned with that sort of thing. It's $145 for 50 ml.

2. Prelude to Love--by Kilian. This is bright, vibrant, and full of life. The opening is quite citrusy, featuring bergamot and amalfi lemon. (It's the amalfi lemon that's the best part of the opening.) As it dries down, it becomes a cooler iris-dominated floral, but with some extra kick provided by ginger and pepper. It's not an especially complex fragrance, but it's wonderfully pleasant. $225 for 50 ml.

3. En Passant--Frederic Malle. What's more springy than lilacs? This is a cool lilac dominated scent with a remarkable note of fresh-baked bread. If you enjoy lilac, you can't not like this. If I were selling this, I'd price it at $10 so all the people of the world could enjoy it. In the actual market, however, this goes for $140 for 50 ml.

4. Rose Ikebana--Hermes. This is a light, crisp, bright, citrusy rose. It also has a touch of rhubarb to add some tartness. (Apparently I experience rhubarb as a springy note.) $235 for 100 ml.

5. No. 5 Eau Premiere by Chanel. This is a younger, brighter, and fresher take on the original. (I'm comparing it to Chanel No. 5 edp, which is the formulation I know best.) It's very much in the spirit of the classic Chanel No. 5: it's still got that recongizable aldehydic top, although the aldehydes are dialed down. And there's the familiar powdery rose and jasmine. $125 for 150 ml.

Finally, a note on Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune: I'm not the first person in the world to say this, but it smells just like cat urine to me. That's a danger in any grapefruit-based fragrance, but man, I really get the cat urine in a big way with this one. For the first 10 minutes or so, it smells like a very realistic grapefruit. And then it smells just like when my cat pees in her litter box and doesn't cover up.
 

rach2jlc

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Great thread, rach. I'll go ahead and my two cents.
Finally, a note on Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune: I'm not the first person in the world to say this, but it smells just like cat urine to me. That's a danger in any grapefruit-based fragrance, but man, I really get the cat urine in a big way with this one. For the first 10 minutes or so, it smells like a very realistic grapefruit. And then it smells just like when my cat pees in her litter box and doesn't cover up.


^Hey, what's wrong with cat pee? YSL made millions off of cat pee (translated in Greek as "Kouros.") :lol:

Great choices, btw. No. 5 eau premiere is often used as a successful counterpart in both marketing and juice to the disastrous 2002 L'interdit reboot. Chanel was smart enough to create a "younger" version, but kept the original available. It also tied the younger juice to the cache of the older. So, it could keep the best of both worlds. LVMH dumbos discontinued the original L'interdit, just released the new, and also didn't keep ANY real silhouette of the original in the new, except some vague strawberry-ness (which was overplayed in the new.)

SO, a "younger" reboot of a classic frag is very possible, when done right. Another done WRONG is MIss Dior cherie, but don't get me started. :)

If one can get a bottle, Guerlain L'instant pour un ete (for men) is a lovely lime-noted, fresher version of L'instant. Another would be M7 Fresh, but that one has gotten impossible to find. :(
 
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HORNS

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Some ones off the top of my head:

Frederic Malle Geranium Pour Monsieur - Minty floral, and I mean MINTY, but it's a very clean scent with a wonderful spicy/floral dry-down.

Dior Eau Sauvage - A classic and excellent choice for people with oily skin because it tends not to last long. Lemony and herbaceous.

Diptyque Olene - This is supposed to be a wisteria scent but is heavy on the jasmine, but it makes it one of the most three-dimensional jasmines out there. A relatively sweet scent considering the fresh ones people associate with warmer weather but it's just so damn beautiful.
 

rach2jlc

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Just thought I'd bump this one up for those looking for spring recs.
Thought I'd add Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Jasmine Neroli to the list. A wonderful citrus with jasmine (as the name would suggest!) Not too floral to be "feminine," but not too citrusy to be too fleeting. A lovely springtime scent that keeps you sniffing. Herba Fresca is also nice (grass, citrus, and mint!)

For Dopey, I'll also recommend TDC Sel Vetiver. I liked it personally, but as I've said before it gets polarized reactions depending on your audience. :)
 
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fungz0r

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Out of everything listed in this thread, I've only tried the Givenchy and Chanel ones, guess I have a lot of testing to do :)
 

kalye

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What I am using these days..

Adidas sport field - $7 cheapie that smells like modern brut.

Salvatore ferragamo Tuscan soul- Unisex cologne

On my try list..

Declaration

L'humaniste

Geranium pour Monsieur
 

rach2jlc

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You manly men will scoff... but try the original "chamade" by guerlain this spring. You'll think it's far too feminine, but trust me. Just try it out. Forget that it's marketed for women. I think you'll love what it does.

You can get it at any Guerlain counter at Saks or Neimans.

Enjoy. :)
 

HORNS

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You manly men will scoff... but try the original "chamade" by guerlain this spring. You'll think it's far too feminine, but trust me. Just try it out. Forget that it's marketed for women. I think you'll love what it does.

You can get it at any Guerlain counter at Saks or Neimans.

Enjoy. :)


rach, is any perfume too feminine for you?
 

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