Fragrances
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I’ve been enjoying my CDG samples and have to agree with @derek111 that 2 Man, Wonderwood and Blackpepper are my favorites of the bunch. 2 Man kind of surprised me because I didn’t love it until I wore it. Wife liked that one too. Have not worn the HWYL yet but smells great in the bottle.
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Man, tried the Aesop HWYL today and love it. Woodsy, earthy (best descriptors I can come up with)…right up my alley. Thanks for the recommendation @meatmarketdenim1 will try to get some of this and the CDG 2 Man
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@SKT
Sick man, glad you liked the rec. it was the gateway drug(fragrance) for me lol. Ive been rocking it every other day. Me and my wife, got a couples hang next weekend, and besides self edge, ministry of scent was the next top spot. Going try not get anything from self edge(next to impossible but do able) but for sure wanna get a new fragrance. It’s part of my morning ritual now. -
@meatmarketdenim1 that sounds like a good time. Good luck at both stops and please report if you make any cool scent discoveries
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So I decided a somewhat empirical approach. I did some reading at Fragrantica (mainly using their database on which notes are present in different fragrances notes, and ordered some samples.
It was a good move, I’ve figured out some trings I like and some I don’t. For instance I generally like the smell of Bleu de Chanel, but it’s too sweet for me. My wife - who has an excellent sense of smell (she spots faulty wines from across the table) - noticed the sweetness before anything else.
Oud wood was a hit - as I was drawn into this endeavor by trying Ombre Leather I decided to sample a few Tom Fords - and to my surprise Oud Wood suited me much better than Grey Vetiver. Oud wood will definitely get a place in my closet, and it’ll be more versatile than I expected.
I also liked Aqua du Gio Parfum - and as I came by it at a very nice discount (I literally walked by it on a stall in the street) I bought a bottle of it. The parfum is a little bit more mature than the edp I’ve used for years. It’ll be a daily driver during the summer, a very fresh and clean smell without being soapy.
And then there is the joker: I asked Chat GPT for a recommendation based on a description of me. And it suggested Herod by Parfums de Marley. And objectively that smell is too sweet, but I found myself liking it a lot anyway. And to my surprise my wife felt exactly the same way, going “this is too sweet - but, wait a minute - pretty nice anyway.” And that is where it gets fun - realizing that I can’t just put notes in a spreadsheet.
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I ordered a handful of samples recently — haven’t gone through them all yet, but I’ve really dug Naomi Goodsir Bois d’Ascesce (super smoky, kind of a peaty whisky thing with a bit of leather) and also her Corpus Equus. The latter is WILD — I wouldn’t buy a bottle but it was insanely nostalgic to me, smelled like an old barn or horse stable with hay, leather, and cigarette smoke. Like I said, a bit nuts, but I admire the creativity.
Also checked out a few from this company I like called Wienerblut (translates to Vienna or Viennese Blood, I think). Really loved Palais Nizam and Klubwasswer. The first is very incense-y, spicy, leathery, feels like old books. The second is super green at first, strongly leafy and herbal, and dries to a beautiful powdery scent. Both feel very classy and a bit old school in some ways — they’d go with any clothing, but I feel like they’d go especially well with a nice suit. Definitely would be up for buying either.
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Not cologne but falls under this category - been trying out a new incense each week(ish) for the office. Goodhood have about 100 scents. Sandalwood is the latest on the block, might just be my favourite so far.
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Tom Ford ombré leather and Abercrombie Fierce are my favs
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I've been stuck on Le Labo's Santal 33 for so long. Their Hinoki body cream is my favorite though. Wish I could find a scent to match!
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Came across a London based fragrance house recently named Roja. Have their Elysium which is my daily now. Very wearable.
God has blessed you richly, so get down on your knees and thank him. Don’t forget the less fortunate or God will personally kick your ass. I’d love to do it for him, but I can’t be everywhere. Willie Nelson
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I picked up a dozen or so samples recently, mostly those discussed in this thread. Some of my favorites:
CDG Black Pepper. Very wearable. Pepper is strong and then everything sweetens after the dry down. Picked up a full bottle for daily wear.
CDG Conrcete. Similar to black pepper, but more "milky" if that makes sense. Still in sample mode. Pairs great with black pepper.
CDG Copper. I call this the fuck you fragrance. Super in your face copper scent but dries down to something totally unique. Projection is big time. I went through 2 samples and bought a decant because F you.
19-29 Chronic. This one smells great after the dry down. Might get a bottle eventually. I think its musky. Someone more knowledgeable could describe it better.
19-29 Purple Haze. My dad wore something like this all my childhood. I don't recall the dominant scent, but it goes really well with the chronic when you combine them
CDG Celluloid Garabanum. Soapy smell. I really like it. Might get a decant. Ive paired it with copper and it works well together. An F U fragrance.
CDG Odeur 71. Reminds me of copper, the base notes are similar. dust on a lightbulb is a good way to describe the scent. -
@jdwaid some great recommendations and appreciate your take on all of these. I got the CDG sampler a while ago and after spending time with all the scents the one I keep coming back to now is Black Pepper. As you said, it’s very wearable. Need to try some of the others you mentioned
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@SKT appreciate the feedback
Luckyscent was where I went to find the samples. They are $4 each and a very low risk way to explore the full range. Fragrantica offers some 10-30ml decants of a few of these, which is great if you find something you want to explore further but not ready to commit to a full bottle. -
As @Chap says, Roja Elysium is so so good. You have to pay for the privilege though
at the other end of the price spectrum the Lalique Encre Noir range is brilliant - dark, earthy, dry and woody. Very masculine and niche quality fragrance for next to nothing price wise. Roundabout £30 for 100ml here in the UK.
For the obsessive compulsives among us (I’m thinking that may be a few) the Parfumo app is great, keep track of decants you’ve tried, leave yourself notes on each, create a wish list etc. I understand that this is next level geekery but yeah whatever. Enjoy
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Encre Noir is really great. I couldn't believe how cheap it was when I came across it — no idea what's going on there but I'm not complaining haha...
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