Can You Recommend A Cologne For The "Sophisticated" Man

I threw my hat in the Creed Green Irish Tweed ring about ten years ago and have never looked back. I held on to some Hermes scents and a few odds and ends but finally threw them all away a few years ago having never had want for anything other than GIT.

That said, i understand why people would use multiple scents for different situations. Green Irish Tweed, as mentioned before, has little longevity. And for those reasons, is a very expensive mistress. The ladies seem to like it a lot and it's a very classic scent.

Unless, i've misread the earlier, it sounds like you're looking for something muskier?

Originally Posted by Rolo

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A*Men in Europe. Angel Men in US, Canada & UAE. B*Men everywhere.

maybe officially, but it's still referred to as A*Men here.

I have learned a valuable lesson today when it comes to cologne. You can't ask for the definitive cologne that fits certain requirements such as style, class, sophistication and hipness - because each person will give you a different answer.

I know that cologne is obviously subjective to the person who wears it - but I assumed like many other definitive things on this Earth, there were a few cologne brands that can't really be argued against. Like a cuban cigar or the fanciest champagne - not too many people are going to say that stuff is crap. I was just looking for same in a cologne.

I will check out some of the ones recommended and take it from there. Thanks to everyone who has responded so far.

E. Tage,

Well I don't know if you would classify it as muskier, but whatever is the opposite of the fresh and clean smell of Aqua Di Gio, Nautica, etc. More masculine and sophisticated.

you know what, after rereading some of your responses i think you should try the GIT or maybe as someone pointed out the Bond 9 Central Park (i havent tried it). As for longevity of GIT, i can smell it on me at the end of the day, its light but i dont like when people can smell me more than a a foot away or so. I want a girl to just catch a light whiff of GIT when she gets close or when were dancing, not when im approaching from 10 feet away. I had a guy who came to my bar a few nights ago (very good looking guy) who i could smell almost 15 feet away, now interestingly enough at least a few girls instantly turned and commented on how great he smelled. Now I think he could get away with it cause of his confidence and attractiveness. As a male at the bar i found it obnoxious but hey, the ladies wernt oozing over me either. Ive read many times that girls dont want to smell you unless they are close to you but my social observation was that this was opposite the case, or maybe he was just good looking enough that it didnt matter. so...i donno

B

Aqua di Parma.
A scent for men.

For those of you who have responded in this thread already, (and I am not suggesting this to the OP) what do you think of Gucci PH? I have it, I love the smell of it, but I fear smelling like it may be incongruous as I have no chest hair, no gold chains, well I do have driving gloves, but no Porsche, my tan is weak, etc. I wear it anyway sometimes because I don't really care that much, but I don't wear it to anything I do care about.

I also have Envy, but that's one that I only wear at nights, when I am already sure of how the night is going to go down. And only in cold weather.

It is easier to find or recommend a fragrance if you know which family or notes you are interested in. You mentioned that you already have a "fresh and clean" scent that you like but you don't like 'musky' scents . This would eliminate the scents associated with soft Orientals. Now, you're ready for an adventure! The fragrance wheel is divided into four families or notes : 1.) Fresh 2.) Floral 3.) Oriental and 4.) Woody notes. Each notes progresses to a sub- catergory as it turns around the fragrance wheel like soft oriental, floral oriental, woody oriental, mossy woods, etc. I would recommend that you get acquainted with the wheel. You can get one at Sephora, free of charge. You mentioned M7, which is a woody oriental and fragrances in this category would include Creed's Bois du Portugal ( very sophisticated IMHO ), Fumerie Turque by Serge Lutens, Bois D' Argent by Christian Dior, Egoiste by Chanel, Roma Uomo by Laura Biagotti just to name a few. I hope this sheds some light in finding the 'right' fragrance for you at the moment. I'm also a member of Basenotes and also a fragrance enthusiast. Explore and enjoy the world of fragrances: -)

Maharlika,

It isn't that I don't like musky scents - I just assumed that musky would be the opposite of the fresh and clean cologne. I am still trying to understand the whole notes factor. Certainly if there is a musky cologne that is fantastic and recommended - I would be willing to try it.

It seems like everyone really likes GIT, so I am looking forward to trying it - but if this cologne was invented for Cary Grant so many years ago and every sophisticated man on the planet has probably tried it, has the scent become as common as Old Spice? What cologne would George Clooney wear? LOL.

I think because I am new to this, I should probably try the "name" brands that I know of - before venturing into brands that while may be better, are probably beyond my price range and not as easily found at say Sears for example for the purpose of trying it.

As I can't really test 20 colognes at one time, I assume this is probably a good place to start from what has been recommeded:

Creed: GIT
YSL: M7 Fresh or just the M7
Armani: Mania
Davidoff:Cool Water
Bond No. 9: Central Park
Armani: Emporio Armani

Maybe this would make things easier if we broke it down into catagories:

What cologne would you wear for extremely important business meetings, where you must give that good first impression?

What cologne would you wear to job interviews?

What cologne would you wear on a hot date?

Looking forward to these answers.

Originally Posted by Hey Man

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Maybe this would make things easier if we broke it down into catagories:

What cologne would you wear for extremely important business meetings, where you must give that good first impression?

What cologne would you wear to job interviews?

What cologne would you wear on a hot date?

Looking forward to these answers.

For a big meeting, I'd think a spray or two of Green Irish Tweed would be ok. Don't overdo it though, less is more in this situation. Nothing punchy, you want subtle. Others which make me feel "professional" are Bulgari Pour Homme, Gendarme , Dunhill (2003) and L'Artisan Navegar.


The conventional wisdom for job interviews is to wear absolutely nothing. There are a lot of people with negative associations w/r/t men's fragrance, and you want to give the impession of consummate professionalism, so its best to smell like nothing but soap. Also, you never know who is allergic to what, or whose cheating exhusband used to wear what. It's just a risk not worth taking. If you MUST wear something, go for one spray of those "barely there" skin musks that don't project worth a damn: Gendarme or CkBE (which is actually a surprisingly nice peachy, fuzzy musk) Its the same reasoning behind people saying "no paisley pocket squares and tan suede ankleboots to job interviews"

Like Drizzt, my wardrobe contains more than 50 different bottles, so there's no one cologne I wear for hot dates. That said, I usually reach for L'Artisan Dzing, Gucci Envy, YSL Rive Gauche, Helmut Lang Cuiron, john varvatos, DK Fuel, Rochas Man, Guerlain L'Instant, Dior Homme & Bulgari Black. These are all night-time ones for me, as they are too rich for sunlight (except rive gauche, which works anytime on me)

Originally Posted by j

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For those of you who have responded in this thread already, (and I am not suggesting this to the OP) what do you think of Gucci PH? I have it, I love the smell of it, but I fear smelling like it may be incongruous as I have no chest hair, no gold chains, well I do have driving gloves, but no Porsche, my tan is weak, etc. I wear it anyway sometimes because I don't really care that much, but I don't wear it to anything I do care about.

I also have Envy, but that's one that I only wear at nights, when I am already sure of how the night is going to go down. And only in cold weather.

J-
Gucci PH is pretty great, actually. When Tom Ford helmed Gucci's frags, he seemed to be really into woody scents (Gucci Rush is even woodier than PH, earning the nickname "ol' hamstercage") and I find Gucci PH fascinating because it has this intense, punchy woodiness (the "freshly sharpened pencil" topnotes) followed by an almost preternaturally crystalline cleanliness. Its weird, so mulchy and organic on top and then almost chrome-like and polished underneath. Very very good stuff, and easily one of the best bottles in recent memory. Everyone should have it on their dresser, even if they never spray it, that's how handsome the flacon is.

Also, I'm with you on envy: On a summer's day, I'd find it waay to overpowering. Its almost exclusinvely a fall scent for me.

Originally Posted by Hey Man

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Creed: GIT
YSL: M7 Fresh or just the M7
Armani: Mania
Davidoff:Cool Water
Bond No. 9: Central Park
Armani: Emporio Armani

FYI, M7 can be tricky to find in stores, because it sold so poorly in the states (due in large part to this NSFW ad campaign). If you are in the states, you will also not be able to find m7 fresh anywhere, as distribtuion was pulled after just one season (YSL figured that since m7 was such a flop, there was no market for the flanker). Its now available only in Europe & Asia.

Armani Mania and Emporio (usually called "he") can be found at any Macys

to find Creeds & Bonds you'll have to go upmarket, to Nordstroms et al.

Davidoff Cool Water can be found at your local minimart.

Originally Posted by j

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For those of you who have responded in this thread already, (and I am not suggesting this to the OP) what do you think of Gucci PH? I have it, I love the smell of it, but I fear smelling like it may be incongruous as I have no chest hair

Hope lies here:

http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/Chest...ub_20for_20Men

Originally Posted by Rolo

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Knize Ten is what I wear whenever I put on my tux.

It was released in the 1920s and is a leathery, tobaccoy scent with some significant floral/citrus notes. To my mind it's sort of an Errol Flynn meets Bauhaus scent.

I also like the Green Irish Tweed recommendation. To me this is a casual-sophisticated scent: Old library, tweed jacket kind of thing.

For some things that you might find at a decent department store in the "opposite of Acqua di Gio" front:

Bulgari Black - This is a weird one, but I love it. Vanilla and tires. It smells much better than it sounds.

Angel Men (Thierry Mugler) - This one is also unique. It reminds me of dessert. Chocolaty and spicy. I go hot & cold on this one, but it always seems to elicit a positive reaction from those around me.


Bulgari black is great... i love it. Head gets stuck sometimes though. Dior homme is great too.

Originally Posted by Hey Man

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Creed: GIT
YSL: M7 Fresh or just the M7
Armani: Mania
Davidoff:Cool Water
Bond No. 9: Central Park
Armani: Emporio Armani

Cool Water is analogous to Acqua di Gio. Fresh, clean, light, and used by every 18 y/o HS student. I'd pass.

Add MI to your Creed sampling list, and that should be OK.

The reason that most people don't use Creed colognes even though they've been around for a long time is because they cost $200-250 a bottle at retail. You can buy them online for about $100/btl but they're still very expensive.