Fragrances
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@guiltyparty I worked for a store that sold 19-69 a few years ago and I got hooked on the Chinese Tobacco, not many places stocked it back then, now you can find it everywhere.
but yeah they are pretty strong.Purple Haze is also great
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@Jack yeah they are definitely in expansion mode when it comes to retailers
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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.
