drizzt3117
Stylish Dinosaur
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2004
- Messages
- 13,040
- Reaction score
- 14
I don't think you're going to find a "Holy Grail" of colognes, otherwise everyone would be wearing it, and it'd be played out. I don't think of fragrances by their notes, per se, as you'll see from my discussions below, but more by the images or emotions that the scent conveys, to me. This is a personal thing and won't necesssarily hold for everyone, but hopefully my ramblings make some sort of sense. My (slightly more extended) thoughts on some of these fragrances, from light to heavy: Creed Original Vetiver This scent is very light, and very very similar to Thierry Mugler's Cologne, so much so that some people thought it was a rip off of it initially. However, I find it to be a bit more refined, and imply understated elegance. It doesn't last long, and is by necesssity a morning cologne, unless you bring a small bottle to refresh it. I get images of a sunday brunch at the Country Club. If you want something similar, light, but a bit more nautical, Erolfa is a good choice. Creed Green Irish Tweed: Very classic scent originally designed for Cary Grant. Has had a good run, and I quite like this scent. The ambergris gives it a little bit of a kick that not everyone likes, but personally I think this is a pretty fresh, nice scent that has two major drawbacks. 1) It doesn't last at all. An hour after application, this stuff is GONE. For something costing $100+/btl IMO that's unacceptable. 2) Bond No. 9 makes Chez Bond, which is nearly the same scent, but a bit more modern, with more longevity, and IMO all the positive features of GIT. IMO, if you want a scent with the panache of GIT but without its shortlivedness, Chez Bond is a good choice. The other choice that I would recommend if you like this particular cologne is: Creed Millesime Imperial Two scents come to mind when I think of wealth, power, and influence. They are Creed Millesime Imperial, and Chanel Platinum Egoiste. Both have some amount of citrus overtones and are fairly light, but Millesime Imperial has a bit more sophistication and refinement IMO, and is more European nobility than Wall Street. This scent also doesn't last as long as some, but isn't as bad as its relative, Green Irish Tweed, IMO. Yves St. Laurent M7 I've owned, and then sold M7. It's a great scent, and I love some of its attributes, but in the end, it just doesn't work for me. Some of the overtones are great and I love the scent once it has dried down, but the initial scent immediately after spraying just isn't me. However, YSL released (in Europe and Asia) the "summer" version of this scent, which is my all time favorite cologne: YSL M7 Fresh M7 Fresh is basically M7 without some of the heaviness and additional citrus. This makes it a bit lighter when first applied (but not to the degree of something like Acqua di Gio, or Cool Water). It still has a little bit of the muskiness of the initial M7 without being heavy or cloying, and smells similar but not exactly the same as M7 upon drydown. I really love this scent. L'Artisan Timbuktu JC has expressed distaste for this scent and I can understand why. While I wouldn't say it's controversial, I can see why some people wouldn't like it. It's dry and isn't quite as bold as say, Merchant Loup, but IMO it's nice because that makes it a good tweener scent, which has enough longevity to last an evening, but without being overpowering when you might be in close quarters and not open air, read, in a cab, or similar circumstances. L' Artisan claims the scent is inspired by the trade routes of ancient Western Africa and exotic bazzars or some ****, I'm not sure about that, but it's certainly at least somewhat exotic. L' Artisan Merchant Loup Literally translated, I'm told this means Big Bad Wolf, and this scent is more or less that. Powerful and strong, this is certainly a masculine scent, but it is fairly refined as well. I think this scent works quite well with my body chemistry and I use it as an evening scent quite often, as long as I won't be in tight quarters, as it is quite powerful. Lorenzo Villoresi Vetiver This isn't your typical vetiver. In fact, it couldn't be further from Creed's Original Vetiver. Powerful, with some clear vetiver overtones, but also a dark, sullen, presence, that makes it magnetic in the right circumstances (read, open air club) but clearly situational. Lorenzo Villoresi Piper Nigrum Now, this certainly isn't a scent for everyone, especially those shy of strong fragrances. This is very exotic, sort of a kind of smell you might find if you made your way into an African spice market and someone spilled a few pots of frankenscence or myrrh on the ground when you entered. I find this scent to be situational, but potentially very magnetic in the right circumstances.
