Just popping in

I've been so busy writing my shot-n-sweet reviews that I really haven't had time to stop and think about what I'm doing.

I've found some really good new fragrances and of course, many bad ones. I feel like talking about the good ones!

Cool Water and the series. Really, really awesome in my opinion. I didn't wear Cool Water when I was younger nor do I recall smelling it on other people while I was in school. I just may not have been paying attention.

• Cool Water itself is a marvelous aromatic fougere that's sweet and comforting.
• Frozen is really good and feels more solid (aptly named).
• Happy Summer is more sweet and citrus.
• deep smells like an ordinary cologne (not my favorite of the series).
• sea, scents and sun feels salty like an Erolfa and GIT mixture
• Summer Fizz is loads more citrus in the top, less sweet and plain ol' Cool Water drydown
• Game is very different and is that apple top note in KC Reaction everyone likes

All in all, I'm really enjoying this modern classic. I like collecting things and that's why I wanted to try the whole kaboodle. I can see why some people would be all "Give it up already!" with Davidoff and releasing yet another Cool Water Happy Game Wave Summer Sea Fizz.

The Past Month

Much has happened since the last post:

1. I'm almost at 600 reviews on Basenotes

2. Many more new scents have come in the mail since then to bring me to more than 800 fragrances to try.

3. My decanting escapades are quite enjoyable.

4. Creed isn't as bad as I thought, though certain popular scents are not quite as amazing as people set them out to be. eg. Green Irish Tweed, Silver Mountain Water

5. I'm a sucker for marketing, despite being in the industry as a graphic designer/marketer. I must re-evaluate my position.

6. Bond no. 9 is slowly becoming a favorite brand

7. Boscov's, a preferred local retailer, has declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy

8. I've finally received the custom perfume I ordered from Parfums Raffy and it is not as great as I envisioned.

I will be posting more about 6. now....

Reading and visualization are my greatest skills. However, the connect between the visual/reading comprehension sector of my brain and my olfactory snese seems to... lack substantial cohesion. That is: I suck at figuring out in writing what I want in a fragrance.

I had order thus from Raffy:

3-Lavender
3-Forrest Pine
2-Violet
2-clove
2-tobacco
1-melon
1-Egyptian musk
1 - Vanilla
1-Sandalwood

What I received was... chaotic; much like my thinking in ordering. It was $40 for a custom blend... although I did not expect quality or deviation from my request, it came to me uninspired. When I first smelled my "custom blend" it smelled like potpourri. The melon seemed to dominate the fragrance until I relaized it was the combination of clove and pine that gave an illusion of melon which exacerbated its unwarranted presence.

I did this custome blend totally blind. Now I have a fairly good idea how strong Raffy's oils are and what kinds of questions to ask if I ever wish to do another custom blend....

Or to make my own... which sounds fun!


Oh and if you ever want to order decants from me, here is the address:

http://tonightstars.com/decants/decanting.htm

I plan on trying out a new custom blend once I have suffcient funds....

Parfums Raffy

The kind folks at Parfums Raffy offered free samples of their fragrances. Eager to try new things especially when the words FREE pop up, I immediately emailed them and requested them. They immediately responded and said they'll send me samples of two of their fragrances for men: Dragon and Mogul.

I have posted my initial reaction in a Basenotes thread but I will copy them here.

My initial responses to new fragrances are ones of reminders or other things I've smelled. I haven't given them a full wearing yet but here're my first thoughts:

Dragon: soapy herbal lemon, there's ylang-ylang in this I know it but it seems soapy. Doesn't remind me readily to any scents I've smelled. I think it's distinctive enough to warrant praise.

Mogul: spicy woody leather, like a combination of Fahrenheit's leathery sweetness subdued by Lucky Number 6's overt spiciness. I like Lucky Number Six but the problem with it is its longevity and sillage. I hope Mogul lasts a good while on me. Seems promising.

I will be wearing Dragon tomorrow and subsequently Mogul the enxt day unless I happen to really like Dragon or am too confused by it and would have to wear it a second day. At $78 for 100ml, these look very tempting but i've been eying up Ormonde Jayne's Man and Isfarkand.

Right now, I only have the budget for one new fragrance for the month of July so I will have to be careful. I would like to get something I will like as well as others for decanting. At the moment Isfarkand is in the lead, with some Creeds behind (still testing) and now Raffy's offerings racing up a close third. Familiarity would be a better choice so a Creed fragrance just might win (I wore Royal Water today and I loved it).

Understanding My Obsession

I had recently had some friends over to my place whom haven't been by in a few months. One of them I had... well, warned about my new hobby. I don't know why but I feel a kind of oddness with this hobby. I'm not shy about it, I'm just really unsure how people would take it.

Another of my friends that came by had openly rejected the idea of spending over $120 on a bottle of cologne. That was back in February when I had visited SAK's 5th Ave for the first time and I bought a bottle of Creed's Original Santal which was my favorite of the four fragrances the SA suggested.

The friend I had "warned" simply said, "Eh, it's something to do." He's a cool guy and he understand the collector's mindset. He has a stack of video games that reaches his ceiling! Honestly at first I thought he was wasting his money but now I realize if it's something you like doing, it's a great distraction from the world. He doesn't livein a fantasy and he knows what the world is like and he never let's the fantasy of video games ruin his view on the world.

The other friend who happened to be with me at SAK's saw my perfume collection just looked and shrugged his shoulders and we all proceeded to go our usual hanging out routine of browsing the Internet and playing video games. Now that I think about it, it was a relief that nothing else was said. It was like, "There it is, I have a collection of perfumes. " The End.

I suppose I just needed some... real world acceptance.

Decanting

I now offer decants of all my colognes I have. I highly recommend many of them but read and decide for yourself. :)

I have set up a page here

I have a thread on SomethingAwful's Forums where I sell in the marketplaces as well.

You can post here, email me at the email in the website, post or PM in the SomethingAwful thread, PM via Basenotes.

Decanting! Reviewing! Sampling!

Firstly, I will soon be entering the wonderful world of decanting! I've been so impressed by other who do this and sell their fragrances they have that I just had to try it out myself. Of course, I'll be doing it as not-for-profit as I can but I'd like to see how it goes first. I'll be offering 2, 2.5, 5 and 10ml sprays in plastic and/or glass sprays for reasonable prices AKA at my cost. I have a lot of "strange" stuff to offer and I don't know where exactly I'm allowed to sell them but I'll try. It sounds fun! I'll post a link to a list some time soon.

Secondly, I'd like to post more reviews and thoughts here but I've been using the Basenotes review System too much and have been posting reviews of all the samples I've tried there. According to Basenotes, I have submitted over 200 reviews. I'm not that great of a writer and most of them are short and to the point but they are there. If a fragrance intrigues me (or upsets me) enough I'd probably write more or make note of other external things.

For instance, I emailed Ormonde Jayne about Isfarkand and they sent me a spray sample along with Ormonde Man. That was really cool. Customer service is a HUGE plus for me. If you treat me like I'm either your only customer or as a new customer who actually genuinely interested (which I am) then I'll treat you kindly right back; just like with Penhaligons' which incidentally is also a Brist fragrance house/designer/ I even liked Isfarkand so much I'm thinking about getting a bottle (I need cash first! The dollar sucks!). Also I've been spending money on another hobby: wine, which is fascinating as well but that's a whole other story (which my sense of smell helps a lot).

Sunburn

I learned a hard fact today. After being out in the sun for four hours, the first in a long while, I got sunburned. I did wear sunblock everywhere but I still got it bad in some areas.

After sweating for four hours I went home and showered to get ready for some shopping. I had received a generous amount of decants in the mail that morning an I wanted to try out Eau d'Italie. It's very green and spicy. I kinda like it. It was a roll-on.

I rolled it on my arms and neck. Where I did so on my arms I now have a nice rash on the pulse points (wrists and inside elbow) but nothing on my neck. I'm not sure if it's a reaction to the perfume itself or my skin's just more sensitive right now due to the sunburn.

Too Much Junk

I really should be typing up my thoughts and reviews of fragrances here but I've become obsessed with receiving samples.

If anyone happens to read this blog I have many samples to swap. If you are a member of Basenotes, look me up there and send me a message.

Too Many Samples!

Over the past two weeks I decided to spend my extra cash on nothing but samples. I got them where I could, anywhere really. LuckyScent and BeautyHabit for niche, FragranceNet.com and other like it for designer carded samples and swapping with fellow Basenoters.

Swapping is a fun experience. I've swapped with two people from Canada and one from Sweden! They couldn't've been any nicer about it, too.


Now I was thinking why I want these samples. I've already tried almost 300 different scents and now have about 100 more on the way. One reason I came up with is that I dislike it went people talk about a fragrance (or anything for that matter) and I say I've never heard of it or seen it or whatever. Typical response to this is "WHAT NO WAY YOU HAVE TO TRY/HEAR/WATCH IT!" It's like I stabbed them in the heart or something.

YSL RIP

Yves Saint Laurent dies aged 71

Link goes to Basenotes article. I am wearing Rive Gauche pour Homme in his honor (even though I know that the men's version came about after he left the firm in 1998). I didn't have any Kouros to wear.

Here is my review of Rive Gauche:

Beautiful albeit cloying woody fougere with a hint of a babershop that I used to frequent in my youth. Lively and potent, you can't go wrong with this (unless you put on too much and choke yourself). Rich patchouli and cleansing lavender, this one is for the ages. ****

Too Many!

Wow! I must've gone a bit too overboard in ordering samples, decants and swapping my samples because I've now have over 100 fragrances to try. At two per day, one morning one evening that'll take me a while to fully wear these.

I better get crackin'.

First up today is what I think is the reissued Red from Girogio Bevery Hills. I got a sampler pack from FragraceNet.com which included an aftershave.

Tonight's scent is, well, whatever I happen to grab out of the box!

Basenotes Wardrobes Back in Action

The Basenotes directory as been back in action for a few weeks thanks to the admin, Grant. Awesome guy. I remember running a website a few years ago and it was a grueling ambition.

Now, Grant has furthered himself by making the wardrobes finally back online but for supporting members. I happen to have the status of supporting member i.e. I forked over a few dollars to be such but I like donating to good causes. I donate to charities any time I can, a dollar here and there can't hurt, hell... after 9/11 I donated $50 to the Red Cross despite the fact I was a poor college student and couldn't afford the rent every month. I managed but that was then.


Back on point, I'm so happy the Basenotes wardrobe has been put back up. For some reason, I can't keep track of all the fragrances I've tried. If you notice, I really stopped posting after the wardrobes officially went down last year. Now they're back up in a semi-force as they've been. I can add and remove from my collection and one I've tried. But really I was using it to keep track of what I have, want, sampled and reviewed.

Also on the Basenote Forums you can list fragrances that are missing from th directory. I've had a few that havbe been missing for the longest time but was too reluctant to list them. Tonight I made a splurge of them. I hope to not offend Grant (more power to him, it's not urgent to update the directory!).

I thank Basenotes and its administrator. Really great website (which is is why I gave you moneys, haha)

Similiarities, Yet Different

Every time I put on Sander for Man, Gucci pour Homme II or Hugo Dark Blue, I get the sudden feeling I'm wearing the wrong fragrance.

All three feel so alike to me, even their colors are quite similiar. Gucci ph II and Sander are the closest smelling of the three so where does Hugo Dark Blue come in? I have no idea. When I wear Dark Blue I feel like I'm wearing a sweeter Gucci ph II. The only note in common between the three is the olibanum/incense/myrrh type notes.

When I wear Sander for Man, like I am right now, I wish I was wearing Gucci pour Homme II. When I wear Gucci pour Homme II I wish I was wearing Hugo Dark Blue. When I'm wearing Hugo Dark Blue I wish I was wearing Sander for Man. It's quite the circle as I like all three!

As a sidenote, I hope Grant from Basenotes gets the wardrobe feature back in place. I've been and so have others waiting for a couple of months now. It may be a lot of fuss over nothing but I'm getting antsy about it!

Findings at TJ Maxx, Ross and Marshall's

I have a sneaking suspicion that all three of these discount stores are owned by the same company. They all have the same setup inside, systems and products.

Here are the fragrances I have purchased from these three stores over the past couple of months along with a mini review.


GF Ferre Lui - spicy and reminds me of Christmas
Oxygene Homme - fresh and spicy
Spark - honey and booze, synthetic
Paco Rabanne pour Homme - classic lavender and mossy
Drakkar Noir - this is the 80's
Paul Smith Extreme - cool packaging, nice scent
Everlast Original 1910 - the best bargain out of all these
Lacoste (original) - lemon and sandalwood, screams sporty polo shirt
Lucky Number 6 - a competent evening scent that not many have heard about
Azzaro Pure Lavender - ugly as a perfume but great as a room spray
Tumulte pour Homme - cedar, cedar, cedar! get your cedar here! also cool packaging

Most were purchased at $15 or less. I feel as if Everlast Original 1910 is the most interesting of them all. It smells like you're put on cologne after a workout but it's not totally skunky.

Layering Fragrances - An Accidental Experiment

I had received an official spray sample of Cedre by Serge Lutens. It is an excellent scent and it's a very heavy EdP. It's heaviness is much like the other Serge Lutens perfume I have tried, Ambre Sultan. Not sure if this is the signature style of Serge Lutens himself. The only personal account on his part that I've read is from The Emperor of Scent and from that he's very stuck up on high end things but he doesn't like getting attention called to it. (Serge has a red-marble toilet seat, very expensive and when Luca Turnin commented about it Serge's scoffed response was, "Bah, oui...".)

Last evening I was enjoying the Cedre very much so. I had to restrain myself from ordering a bottle or even another small sample of the stuff. My budget's tight already and I have hundreds of other samples to sift through. This stuff is gooood. Would be really awesome had I had this for the cool bleak winter.

Couple of hours later it was time for bed. Usually I grab something soothing to put on with lavender. I'm not a very good sleeper, problems with getting to sleep but staying asleep I'm very good at! I can't remember why but I grabbed my mini of Obsession and sprayed it without thinking. Nothing's calming about that fragrance , I thought. Oh wait I had Cedre on already! Ooops, wait a minute what's that lovely smell? Actually, what are those lovely smells.

Obession (Calvin Klein if you've been living under a rock) and Cedre go together like rum and coke. Both are good separately but when mixed together you get something even more pleasant. I had only sprayed a little bit of Cedre (the rum) and a fair amount of Obession (coke). Hey, it worked, by accident. Sadly, I no longer have anymore Cedre to try this again though maybe in my travels I'll have another opportunity.

February is a Boring Month and the Grey Market

I've always disliked February. It is such a boring month. Not much happening and it's always bitter cold here in Pennsylvania. I got a bit of cabin fever once or twice. It didn't snow much here but I felt run-down a few times.

During this boring month I had swapped, purchased and tested a bunch of fragrances. I've been taking my time with them instead of hastily reviewing them before taking it all in. I've learned a few things.

Those sample vials/phials aren't meant to be dumped on your hands and splashed on. Causes terrible rashes. That may sound like a huge 'duh' but sometimes you never know these things!

Speaking of rashes I got a bad one from some what I believe to be fake Creed Green Irish Tweed. It smelled watery and lacking. Most people have claimed that a fake Creed always smells off but I had nothing to compare the sample I had to. I got it from PerfumeBay which isn't all that great to begin with.

Another thing I learned is the grey market has touched nearly everything in the US. Maybe it's just me but I think it seems like stealing. Basically someone along the line of sellers takes a fragrance, scratches off its serial number and resells it at a discount. I had to return a few bottles I purchased because I didn't trust where they came from. I didn't claim they were fakes and I told them

I started Chandler Burr's book The Emperor of Scent last month and am still reading it. So far it's good. The perfume industry is full of crazy people. Really cutthroat. Most of the book is the science behind Luca Turin's ideas. Most isn't lost on me as I have studied chemistry to a good degree however the biology is somewhat lost on me when they talk of receptors and protein strings. Other than the science, really good book. It's in good humor, too. There's occasional swearing in it which I don't mind since it gives the book a human element to it.

As far as new fragrances that are awesome in my opinion that I've sampled from last month, I've like the entire line of Frank Los Angeles. Also the bottle of 1805 by Truffit & Hill is very pretty.

CK Crave

I'll make this short and sweet. I tried Crave today using a random pick system of my sample I have. Crave is crap and I can see why it was discontinued after a few years on the market. Ugh.

A Few - Nothing of Major Note

Yesterday for work I wore Penhaligon's Douro. For the evening's dinner out and the yearly tradition of going to Home Depot and eating a steak dinner out (father died on Jan. 21st), Rive Gauche.

Today I used the rest of L'eau Par Kenzo, realized I didn't want to wear it again, promply washed it off and wore Platinum Egoiste by Chanel. Strong woodsy fragrance which makes me want to try some Terre D'Hermes. For the evening I randomly pulled out of my 2.5ml decant drawer some Tabarome Millesime by Creed.

Tabarome is one I'll comment on. I felt rather repulsed by it. It's very sharp and the tobacco (I think it's tobacco) really pushes you away. It's very heavy but does settle down after a while. though the lightness afterwards doesn't bring me back in. It pushes me away and doesn't bring me back not do I want to go back. It's a well rounded fragrance but I don't like it.

Here's an odd thing I've been doing. I have problems sleeping most nights. I have a scent that is mostly lavender and I read somewhere that lavender is a relaxing scent. I've been spritzing some around my bed, not on/in it but around. I've been sleeping a little better. I really like the scent. The kicker is that it's a drug store "cheapo", only $20 a bottle. The culprit is a new release (last year I think) called Mustang complete with the Ford Mustang logo and a nice tin. It's gotten mixed reviews but mostly positive. It's only sold in cologne so no EDT.

A niche, a standard and an aquatic

I wore my first, what they call, niche fragrance today. From what I can tell, niche means "overpriced, limited in quantity and hyped". While I recognize that some niche fragrances are actually better (in terms of longevity and overall "roundness") their less expensive counterparts are just fine. Unless you're trying to impress someone who's in the know, niche fragrances are not worth it. UNless you really like spending $90-$150+ on a bottle or you really, really like the smell, I don't see the worth. I'm a casual wearer so it's academic to wear niche fragrances.

Nonetheless, I have a few samples of some niche fragrances. I will group Penhaligon's in these, too. As much as I like their stuff, I will not spend $90 just yet. Same with Creed and others you can find on websites like Luckyscent or Aedes De Venustas.

Yesterday, without really knowing what it was, I tried Anvers 2 by Ulrich Lang New York. It's a very slow, flowering scent. It may seem ugly to those who are used to designer scents. I don't think the people in my area are accustomed to scents that are structured well. I myself do not know what makes a scent more structured so I may be prejudging this. I don't like this scent. Too perfumey but light. I still have yet to find a flowery fragrance I like. I have a sample of Hei by Alfred Sung and I'm looking forward to trying that.

Later that evening I went out with a group of friends to a Japanese steakhouse in Allentown. I had planned to impress because my friend were bringing their friends along. I was dressed nice yet casual. I premeditated what scent to wear that night because I would not be able to go home before I traveled up to Allentown from Reading and get their on time. For the night, I chose Gucci Envy. What a great choice! Woody and oriental, great for where I was eating. Just plain awesome. Not to mention this fragrance came out the same year I graduated high school (God I'm old!).

Today, for kicks and since I'm hanging around the house today, I'm wearing Desire Blue by Dunhill. Very nice aquatic though I have nothing to compare it to since I haven't tried any other aquatics. Maybe a poor choice for winter but I picked it at random. I have a lot of samples to go through. This has a tonka basenote and I can pick it out. Good.

Been finding fragrances I like. Time to save up some money for a solid wardrobe.

Higher by Dior

This is nothing special. No wonder I got most of these samples for cheap or free. Higher Energy looks promising.

In other news, my local department store, Boscov's, was doing their inventory on Sunday. Maybe they'll have an inventory deduction sale? Or sell off their excess stock to places like TJ Maxx, Ross or Marshall's (my town has all three in a small radius).

Everlast Original 1910

I was a bit leary on this one. Another sample vial. I was surprised and disappointed in some regards but overall it's a decent casual/work fragrance.

I'm not sure what kind of smell this is supposed to be. Some sites say it's a citrus/fruity. I claim it's more oriental with citrus. I know there's tonka bean in there! I like tonka bean for some reason.

Everlast Original 1910 partially doesn't live up to it's name. It doesn't last long on my skin. It comes on strong and dies within 3 hours. I can barely smell it but it's there. A spicy citrus note that's lingering.

The graphic that was on the sample vial card turned me off. A man without his shirt, wit his hairless back showing. Underwear riding a little low to display the Everlast logo on his boxers with a woman's hands down the back of his boxers. Butt squeezing right there. Made me feel uncomfortable. Luckily the scent doesn't reflect this graphic. Everlast is a boxing gear company. The graphic is to reflect that women like men who are strong and beat other men up for sport I guess?

Penhaligon's Customer Service

I requested samples from Penhaligon's on Friday at 5PM EST (they are in NJ) when everyone usually is trying to go home or wrap up things for the weekend. My experience has told me that it's generally a bad idea to call places around that time because the boss is already gone, people are anxious to leave or some other single-minded reason because they just don't want to be there. I suppose I should shed my old stereotype of crank Friday afternoon workers.

As I said before, when I called the lady one the other end was more than happy to send me some samples. I got these today. I got 8 different kinds, all men's, a few unisex and more than one of my favorites. Once I can spring the cash (and a good reason to sue a British fragrance), I'll gladly purchase a bottle of Endymion. I'll still have to sample the others but it looks like I'll get small bottles of English Fern, Douro or Hammam Bouquet.

Quick comments:

English Fern is clean. Unisex.
Douro is a lovely neroli scent.
Quercus smells just like ck One and is the most modern of the fragrances from Penhaligon's. This one is also unisex.
Hammam Bouquet is a powdery floral uniquely British.
Castile is a rose scent.
Blenheim Bouquet is spicy. (I don't like this one)
Racquets is good for golfing and tennis: the 'uppity' sports.
Endymion, my favorite, is an excellent powdery fragrance with lavender and vetiver.

L'eau par Kenzo

This has a decent citrus opening. Doesn't last long either. Not a favorite. Pales in comparison with Lacoste original with it's "nothing but sandalwood drydown." L'eau par Kenzo is a nice clean fragrance. I think it made today's cold weather even colder.

Speaking of Lacoste original: I figure out if it's been discontinued or just sold in limited quantities. I can only find it in a few online stores and maybe a stray box or two in the stores.

Burberry London is awesome

It wasn't even 2 hours into work and I received more comments on Burberry London than I have on any other cologne I've worn in the past weeks! I heard it was good stuff but not this good.

What an excellent winter fragrance. A perfect blend of lavender and pepper with a tobacco/mossy drydown. This pepper isn't as overbearing as Bvlgari pour Homme was. There's leather in this, too. I don't particularly enjoy leather but this fragrance has it in its heart notes, I don't really smell it.

I got this as a 10ml decant from SomethingAwful. Three spritzes is all I need. Very strong and it carries very well. Once the decant is gone I'm sure to pick up a bottle some time.

UPDATE: 1-15-2007 I decided I absolutely need a bottle and picked one up on the way home. Didn't feel like waiting for a good deal online.

Armani Code and Paco Rabanne XS

Double review time.

I wore Armani Code last night. I'd consider it a double date. Went out to a local pub with my girlfriend, my friend and his girlfriend. It was quite a delightful time. we sampled four different beers from local breweries and had a wonderful dinner. They had the most amazing tasting hot wings. Usually hot wings don't have any taste in my opinion. They just hot but these were a little sour. I swear they used Worcestershire sauce. I need to go back again, it's been a while since the last time.

It's only been maybe a week since I've started to wear cologne again. I haven't really received comments directly. I don't like to but I sometimes force comments from my girlfriend by deliberately holding my wrist in front of her nose when she leasts expects it. She really likes Armani Code. It was recommended as a "romantic" fragrance but I decided to wear it out to a pub.

On the notes there are olive leaves. My girlfriend, her name is Sabrina (so I can now stop calling her 'my girlfriend'), really likes black olives. I'm wondering if her preference for olives was reflected in her fondness for Arnami Code.

To me it smells synthetic. I do like the tonka bean as a base note. It dries nicely down on my skin making it comfortable to wear. I suppose you could call it.... "safe". Despite the fact that women like it, I do not. I would, however, wear it on request but I have other things, better things, to wear. Good thing I only got a small sample.

Next review is on Paco Rabanne XS. There is a men's and women's version so naturally, being a male, I'm reviewing the men's version. I wore this all day today around the house while cleaning and fixing up things. No one was around to comment but I kept getting wafts of it.

There's a mint opening in this. I absolutely despise mint, even in toothpaste and gum. I really dislike its stinging sensation.I still brush my teeth mind you but it's a feeling I do not like (although, the prying open of my wallet when I'm at the dentist isn't that great either). It's drydown is amazing, though and it's definitely a cologne I'd wear again. I've noticed that most of the fragrances I like contain tonka bean, sandalwood and bergamot. This one contains the latter two. Great notes in a fragrance.

As a side note, I called the USA division of Penhaligon's for some samples. The lady was more than happy to send me some. Awesome. I had tried a decant of their Endymion and found it amazing: lavender, "powdery" but not "bathroom talcum powder powdery, and it smells British to me. Refined. I commented on it with the representative and she said she'd see if they'll put in more samples of that in with my request. Now that's customer service. I certainly would love to purchase a bottle of a Penhaligon's sometime for permanent use.

V/S by Versace

Well this one is different. I picked out this sample from my drawer at random, reached in, eyes closed, pulled it out and said, "this one today." And that happened to be V/S by Versace.

The sample vial itself is clever. The V/S logo has a slash through it. The "V" and "S" are imprinted in white on the vial itself and the cap has a stick attached to it, both are black and forms the "/" (slash).

At first this smells very alcoholic and sugary but dries down to a warm, cozy scent. Other than that, it's nothing special. Most people say it's very synthetic. I do like this one, even a little. It's fruity and oriental, but that's just me. Maybe that's why it's called Versus (V/S)?

It's recommended use is all over the place: casual daytime, evening, mature, college. I guess V/S should stand for versatile.

I have nothing to compare it to since I haven't had that many scents sampled yet. It's sillage is over the top, wat too strong for my likes. Apply it conservatively, a little goes a long way.

This fragrance was discontinued. Odd that places still sell samples.

How To Sample Perfumes

I found this great tidbit of info while looking for samples. When you receive samples in vials or any cologne or perfumes from online sellers, put some of the liquid on a card. I have a large supply of unprinted index cards that I've never used and now I have a reason not to throw them out!

I kinda figured putting some of the scent on a paper card is one good way to sample a fragrance. Sales clerks do this very thing when you go to the department stores.

I read about it here. Good prices, too. Some places sell samples at $2.99 or even more depending on the rarity .

Animale Animale

I'm usually a bit leary about things with clever names. Puns and such. I tried Animale Animale by Parlux today.

I don't like gourmands, I've smelled Rochas Man and A*Men and didn't like those. They were sweet smelling. Sometimes I don't want to smell like the coffee shop next door. Animale Animale isn't an overpowering gourmand but it still is but it's spicier, which I like. There are only a few notes so it's isn't too complex but straightforward.

Today, slightly cold, worked all day inside. I received a vial sample of Animale Animale from ScentMonkey.com a week ago. I feel neutral about this one though if there is ever a time or place I absolutely need to wear a gourmand, I'd wear this.

Bvlgari pour Homme

Through the various means in which I have obtained samples, I somehow deemed it necessary to get two samples of Bvlgari pour Homme. I received a 1ml sampler spray vial from Fragrancenet.com and a 2.5ml decant from a seller on SomethingAwful.com (DrBubba, great guy).

This is the first Bvlgari fragrance I've tried. I can recognize the fact that it's well composed. I don't like this because it gave me a massive headache. After reading reviews on Basenotes.net, I learned I'm not the only one. Though I cannot figure out which note in the fragrance could induce such unpleasantness. It also made me very hot. I definitely must have had an allergic reaction.

For the record, I will assume that the predominant pepper note is the culprit. It made everyone around me sneeze. I applied it conservatively; one spritz one the chest, neck and wrists. Maybe that was too much. I tested it on a card before trying it out and I didn't notice any pepper.

It was unusually warm for January today, almost 60 degrees. I could see this fragrance being better in colder weather, but I'm reserving some Burberry London for that. It's winter so I should have plenty of cold weather opportunities.

From the Begining

I've dove head first into the world of men' fragrances. Ten years ago I only had a very small sampling of scents and those were given to me as gifts. I was never really interested in them. The only precursor to fragrances was my parents: father used Old Spice shaving stuff, mother exclusively used Beautiful by Estee Lauder. Even my friends never wore colognes nor did my girlfriends. The only distinctive scent with emotional attachment (other than food) from my youth is Tide detergent.

From what I remember, my first "designer" after shave was Brut. I also had Stetson but I barely remember the scents nor have I tried them since. What I do remember is ck One and smelling it takes me back to junior high school. Drakkar Noir takes me back to high school prom (both of them), all the jocks wore that cologne.

In the course of a month, I've created a large wardrobe of sample vials and decants to try. I've had a few I really like but none really say, "I am your scent. I am for you!"

I wish to share my experiences of men's fragrances in a newbie perspective for both veterans and other newbies alike.