foxandhound
Well-Known Member
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These are the four I have at the moment. Whilst I'm definitely not a heavyweight or have the refined sense of smell compared to some others on here, all four of them I could recommend.
Serge Lutens - L'Orpheline : I think nearly all of them are marketed as unisex fragrances, however I would contend that this is definitely a manly scent. It's easily the longest lasting of the four with Acqua Di Parma and Creed giving a pretty good account for themselves this would outlast both considerably. Which is a little surprising as I've also just finished the bottle of Daim Blond by Serge Lutens and whilst I like the suede scent that dominates, I felt it was rather weak. I tend to use this in colder months and to me it has a woody and smoky essence that would go well when you're stuck inside in front of a fireplace with a nice whisky in tow. A rather polarisising fragrance so I'd urge you to try before you buy but for a brand that seems somewhat overlooked, if you have the chance, I'd suggest trying to get hold of some samples from Serge Lutens.
Penhaligon's - Opus 1870: The projection falls away pretty quickly, but it does hang around, so it's pretty good for an inoffensive fragrance. I don't think it justifies its price tag, but I quite like the mix of citrus and cedar coupled with a peppery base. A decent all-rounder fragrance. I have also recently killed off Quercus by them which isn't a bad substitute for Acqua Di Parma that I'll talk about soon. Juniper Sling is another that I've owned which is worth checking out and as a replacement for the Serge Lutens I have, I'm thinking of trying out Halfeti which is full of spice and could be a good winter scent.
Acqua Di Parma - Colonia Intenza: I went back and forth on deciding upon this one. (Hats off to
Grand Potentate
for compiling his list at the start of the thread as due to that and his reviews of this brand, I'd been put onto this. Although I can't remember if it's him or another that favours this over the original or whether it's Absoluta he prefers) I was almost swayed to go with the original on this but the powdery notes of the original, which are its strengths actually counted against it for me. For me, the Intenza strikes the perfect balance and the leathery notes to this just made it seem a little younger to the nose. I don't know if you'll put any stock in what she said but I had my girlfriend with me when I bought this and her take on the two was this "Colonia is the scent of a good looking older guy who's out at a nice restaurant with his wife on the Friday and the same restaurant the next evening with his mistress. Intenza is the scent of the guy who isn't married yet so he also doesn't have a mistress yet." I then asked her who she'd rather sleep with if she were single and she said either or if they looked good and smelt that good so take from that what you will. I like the way she categorised fragrances by type of person who would wear it, rather than the notes it'd give off and I guess what she was getting at is the age of the man who'd wear that particular cologne. It makes for a much more interesting take on aftershaves. Anyway, for me, Intenza was slightly less powdery and more masculine so that's why I went with it. I'm 30, so it seemed like a better fit. However, I did pick up the Colonia shower gel and love it for that clean "just out of the shower" citrus vibe it gives off.Creed - Aventus: Ridiculously farkin overpriced but I recently had a birthday and got a horrible and horribly overpriced tie that I exchanged for store credit so that allowed me to indulge. This stuff is pure catnip I swear down. I usually despise any compliments from the man in the street as I feel it usually shows you're doing something wrong (fashionwise) to get noticed (arrogant snobby little piece of shit that I am) however when wearing this, I'm accosted on a regular basis by women wanting to know what the hell it is. I must say, it's a stroke to the ego that doesn't get old. I took careful consideration when choosing this amongst Creed's line up but this was easily the superior scent for me. The fruity and woody notes are great for a summer fragrance and so far I've found the longevity great (there seems to be a lot of conjecture about different batches but to me it seems like a bunch of fuckers wanting to indulge in a lot of semantics for the sake of it). I'd be really interested in hearing the forum's conjecture.on this as I haven't seen any mention of it on this thread yet but it's easily my favourite cologne I've ever owned although I've heard that it has several imitators out there.
Anyway, compared to some of the expertise I've read on this thread, I'm definitely a layman when it comes to this stuff. I'd seriously be interested in some of the heavy hitters weighing in and commenting on what I've currently got in my line up. I'd appreciate if someone pointed out if I have a "type" or something else I might be interested in, given the current line up I have.
To conclude, I live in a land of fuckers, who despite 80% humidity seem to sweat very little and even if they do, lack the gene that produces any body odour. Because of that I'm extra concious of the fact that I'm a sweaty bastard that has to deal with clients on a regular basis so the way I'm smelling/stinking is of some importance. Any extra recommendations would be most welcome. For all the rave reviews, I must say that my initial impression of Tom Ford wasn't that great. Any particular fragrances in his line up I should be aiming for? Also, I seem to recall one classic YSL fragrance that's been brought up a few times that I should check out? If anyone can weigh in, it'd be greatly appreciated. Cheers.
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