Perfume / Cologne

i never met antaeus, i'll never forget antaeus.

I’m wearing Alien today, which is still incredible. I know it’s a bit much for some people but it’s always felt perfect to me.

xps @Sluggy, I have the current Jules. Not at all hard to get; I blind-ordered it directly from Dior and it shipped to me in NYC in 2 days. If you're just looking for a sample you might find it on one of those decanting sites or eBay, but I guarantee you're not going to encounter it in an IRL store these days. The online consensus re: current Jules is that it's pretty high quality compared to the original, though as usual there are still some folks out there claiming it's a "shadow of its former self." It smells complex and expensive to me, so I'm in no hurry to get my nose on the vintage. It doesn't hit my pleasure centers as squarely as either Kouros and Antaeus, the other early 80s animalic masculines I'm familiar with, but there's something about it that's more intellectually stimulating than most other perfumes.

I have not smelled Voleur de Roses, but you're definitely right about every niche house doing a rose/patchouli thing. I think Malle's Portrait of a Lady is the modern benchmark for that kind of thing, but Antaeus is enough for me. Also, come to think of it though, I don't really do "layering" but I'll make an exception for Diptyque Eau Rose + Santa Maria Novella Patchouli for another version of that combo.

I wasn't born until 86, and I don't recall ever smelling Antaeus before I got it last year (the biggest olfactory touchstones of my youth are Drakkar Noir, which my dad wore in the early 90s and which I'd frequently steal sprays of, and CK Eternity, which my elementary school best friend's mom wore heavily). It smells less dated than either Jules or Kouros to me, or maybe "outside of time" like some early Guerlains. I just watched the Blondie "Dreaming" video and sprayed some Antaeus in the air, and there's definitely some synergy there. For its reputation as a "masculine powerhouse" Antaeus actually radiates strong feminine energy to my nose. I mean its definitely a man's perfume, but there's a powdery softness to it as it dries down, hence the "dandy" aspect. I don't think you'll be disappointed in the least, but either way I'm excited to hear your thoughts once you finally get ahold of it.

Egoïste, Polge's other towering masculine masterpiece, was my girlfriend's Christmas gift to me last year, so I'll forever associate it with that time of year. Which is appropriate, I think, for its blend of warm sandalwood/watery rose/cinnamon/tobacco. Absolutely beautiful--in theory I think a guy could start and end his collection with Antaeus and Egoïste and be set. That guy is not me, but my bank account definitely wishes it were.

Also, like a proper Chanel, Egoïste has finely calibrated citrus and aldehydes at the top. As good as the drydown is, I'm frequently tempted to re-spray it just to get that opening hit again.

I finally tried Chanel Cologne yesterday, I had no intention of buying it but this was the first place where the tester hadn’t run out! They were sold out of all their stock of it though, just like in the other places I visited. No such stock issue with the other Exclusifs. Anyway it seems pretty great, I’d want to try it a few more times, not sure if buying it is for me though (not that I’ll ever get the chance).

Also tried Petit Fracas which is a younger diffusion scent of the original Fracas - pretty interesting and nice but I’ll stick with the classic.

Btw speaking of Portrait of a Lady I have a voucher I was going to spend on a perfume and I’m torn between that and Monsieur (also Malle). Leaning more towards the latter because I own a lot of very feminine fragrances already but only a couple of more masculine ones and I really like a masculine scent on my skin sometimes (and this one is one of my favourites I’ve tried).

Also also also I really want to try Egoïste now as well

Egoïste is amazing but there’s something poisonous about it, for good or bad. I could imagine someone being turned off by it. Not as challenging perhaps as something like Bulgari Black, but not innocuous.

xp I'd definitely go for Monsieur over Portrait of A Lady too.

Re: Chanel Eau de Cologne I've been meaning to try that, will need to check it out the next time I'm around the Exclusifs. For me the Exclusifs are the epitome of "things I'll smell in the store and gladly accept samples of, but will probably never buy." Maybe one day when I'm in a better situation financially I'll splurge on a bottle of Coromandel or Boy or Cuir de Russie, but right now that's some pipe dream shit.

Would be curious to try Petit Fracas too. I think the original is the best women's perfume ever made, and to me it smells remarkably un-dated for something from 1948. What about Petit Fracas makes it "younger"?

i finally smelled the tf beau de jour and i agree. it's modern-day old-school. it reminded me of something i couldn't place and then i thought zino and when i looked it up on fragrantica zino was first on the smell-a-like list. i awarded myself points for that. still, bdj is kinda its own thing and a step in the right direction.

you'd think the clone houses like alexandria fragrances would do rive gauche. if anyone asks, tell them to do that, they'd make hella bank.

I haven't tried it, but "River Fougere" by Dua is supposedly a decent Rive Gauche clone.

Really like Miller Harris "smells" - particularly Etui Noir but also Feuilles de Tabac and Vetiver Insolent. I like the "Miller Harris-y"ness, which I can't quite define but something to do with it seeming to hang around ... but becoming slightly immune to it. Used to wear Musgo Real's Orange Amber but haven't for a while. Anything obvious (or otherwise) to explore?

I'm completely unfamiliar with both Miller Harris and Musgo Real, but you've piqued my interest; the note breakdown of Etui Noir in particular = WOW

all in your mind perfumery: the indie fragrance house that doesn't exist.

first offering: in between days. i proffered this ages ago, but this didn't not really exist until now. cold, so cold, and ozonic, so there's probably some violet leaf in there. narcisco rodriguez for him is supposed to be wan and grey, but i find it too rich, too perfumey. also this smells of dead flowers. not like potpourri, but florals + decay. so much decay. and coldness.

true faith: i also said this before, but i didn't say what it was. this shit pops so hard. engrams and synapses: gone. natural's not in it. it's the most synthetic thing you could imagine in the most beautiful way you've ever experienced. brighter than a million suns. you're welcome.

love is a stranger: trust me, you don't want this. it'll take you in and drive you so far away.

smells like teen spirit: smells like teen spirit. not everything we do is transportative.

blood and roses: great song, but as a fragrance, eww.

mary's prayer: you forgot you had this and put in the back of your shelf of fragrances but every time you come across it and decide this is a good day to wear it it breaks your heart with the realization of how fragile the condition of being a sentient being with real emotions is. i dunno, maybe there's jasmine or magnolia in there.

transmission: electrical fire. we have to have some difficult scents or we wouldn't be an indie house.

i'm being totally facetious but you just ordered the sample set and you forgot you did and then remembered five days later and you checked the mail and there it was and you took it inside and opened it up and your partner said the typeface on the box looked like it was some peter saville shit and you said i think that's elegant-grotesk but i'll have to look it up but you never did. you couldn't decide what to try first so you picked the true faith and it was just a lot of bergamot with some pepper and you thought this isn't bad but i was kind of expecting something awesome and then you had some friends over later and forgot to bring it up even though evan and fiona are also into fragrances and would have had opinions.

Lol does Smells Like Teen Spirit smell like Teen Spirit soap? Can't believe that hasn't been done before. Comme des Garçons Odeur 71 definitely has electrical fire vibes.

I finally got a bottle of Jicky EDP (2021 reform) after smelling it in-store a few months ago. I don't wanna say "the search ends here" but for now this is all I wanna smell forever. It's in large part lavender, vanilla, and aromatic herbs, but it hits my receptors like a pastel kaleidoscope of absinthe, Coca-Cola, lemon pound cake, etc, permeating the air in a humid spa. I can't say how it compares to previous formulations, but I've read that Thierry Wasser et al. spent years developing a new sandalwood musk base to bring it closer to the 1889 original. And maybe the civet is toned down, because there's nothing off-putting about it to my nose. I can't imagine anyone reacting with the disgust of the Dr Sex Dracula, M.D. quoted upthread. I just hope everyone on earth gets a chance to smell this and decide for themselves.

odd question maybe but do people have any unconventional application spots ?

prompted by my experience with DS & durga's "debaser", which dried down to a moderately nice woody/cinnamon when applied on the wrist but retained much more of its very alluring fig/green/petitgrain when applied to forearms. seems bizarre but assume this is either partially because the forearm airs capture the oils in the scent better than the skin and/or the top of the forearms come into contact less with other surfaces (e.g. pulse points on wrists frequently touch laptop when typing)

I do mine on wrists and Ralph Fiennes voice the suprasternal notch. Have never tried crook of arm but I will I get home and shower. I know some people do a little bit behind the ears.

Just a hint on the Cary Grant voice intercostal clavicle, Susan.

I usually do one spray to each side of the neck and one to the top of each wrist (the hair on that side holds the scent longer than bare skin, good for surreptitious sniffs). Will spray more for weaker-performing scents

I’m very interested in this theory now cos I have some perfumes I love that like evaporate straight away - Cinéma is the worst offender - and I’ll experiment with locations and report back.

report back!

I tried the top-of-wrist method yesterday at noon, using Polo Blue EDP, which usually only lasts a few hours on me. Was still able to detect some scent just now (the following morning). Not enough to where other people would notice it, but still way longer than I usually get with this one. I'll have to try it out with other fragrances.

in related news, I love the green fig note in debaser. their creamy coconut note you associate w/fig scents is also really beautiful and understated

has anyone tried boy smell's "hinoki fantome" edp ? the original candle is very moreish

I finally got a bottle of Jicky EDP (2021 reform)....I can't imagine anyone reacting with the disgust of the Dr Sex Dracula, M.D. quoted upthread. I just hope everyone on earth gets a chance to smell this and decide for themselves.

― J. Sam, Saturday, May 28, 2022 4:17 PM (one week ago) bookmarkflaglink

I need to give this new formulation a sniff. Evidently I'm still scarred from 8 or so years ago, when I took a big whiff of the extrait and reeled, inwardly screaming "TOOTH DECAY and RUBBING ALCOHOL!!!"

I’ve noticed some success with applying Twilly on the outside of my wrists - seems to linger longer definitely.

Weirdly I got three samples of Flowerbomb with something I ordered online and it’s actually really good. I know it’s popular but I had no idea it was so rosy and I’m clearly really into rose-heavy fragrances atm so it was a happy coincidence. I have 3ml of edp so I’ll decide if I buy the actual stuff, but yeah. Love surprises like that.

I'm tempted by a bottle of "de los santos" but fragrance - like so many other things - has become SO expensive. byredo stuff was already expensive at 135£ for 100ml previously... this is up to 182£ (!) now

Yeah. I only ever buy 50ml though, but Liberty has that amount for £127. Do you ever look at FragranceX, found it from being recommended in this very thread and you can authenticate the stuff you buy on there. I bought the husband another bottle of Bulgari Black (everyone should own this one btw). Not much use for Byredo but lots of good stuff is on there.

Where do you get Bulgari Black these days? I've got a bottle, but I want a backup.

Fragrancex like my post just said.

i usually spray the back of one or both hands, because i'm always sniffing during the various stages of drydown to smell whatever i can smell, because i watch youtube fragrance videos and am trying to discern the various notes those ppl say they can smell. that way, in case anyone notices i'm constantly putting my hand up to my face, there's a chance they just might think i have a cocaine habit and am constantly rubbing my nose because of cocaine=related drainage instead of the reality that i'm some fragnerd weirdo who's all the time smelling himself for data retrieval and analysis.

i got my brother the older formulation of dior homme that has the iris note and cacao and also blvgari aqva from the mall kiosk place. the dior is discontinued and is already going for stupid crazy prices and the bvlgari is getting there; i think that's probably discontinued too. we both have the bvlgari aqva marine and don't really need the regular aqva but now that it looks like you won't be able to get it i had to make sure i had it, for archival purposes, you see. the dior i thought was good but too fancy for the way i look and dress but then it was also gone so now i had to make sure we had it.

those mall kiosk ppl don't jack up their prices; the dior i got at the retail price from whenever they originally got it. on the other hand, they can't help themselves from spraying everything within reach on a card and sticking it in my face. give me some space; i'm going too buy something from you anyway.

i'm not going to try to slip an 80s song reference in here by relating it to what i'm saying re: fragrances but fourth of july by x is playing and i'm feeling so wistful; now how soon is now is on so i have to stop and regroup before i can continue. i think the real answer to how soon is now is that it's an existential question and the gen x ppl who took all this to heart should buck up buttercup and get on with it while there's still time left. we're older. but not too old. there was that scene in better things where frankie gave sam the ok, boomer treatment and sam was all like, i'm gen x; we're the coolest generation and i was like, yeah, we are, let's do something about that. i dunno. you used to make art until you got too much into your own head and started wondering what the end-game was; maybe you should try to pick up where you left off, before you're too dead to do anything about it anymore. now i'm just talking to myself.

in the same category of things i was on the fence about until you couldn't get them at decent prices are lanvin avant-guarde, van cleef and arpels midnight in paris, and gualtier kokorico. kokorico i know but not the other two. you can't have everything, because where would you put it?

i also got lacoste booster because the kiosk place had it and they're good with the pressure and it was something the scentland guy on youtube liked. i'm like 85% with him on things he likes. there's like three ppl on youtube who i can align with; if they like it at least i'll find it to be ok if not all that but likely be damn, son, this is just what i needed. i could have bought it online for way cheaper but you gotta support brick and mortar even thought the kiosk place is only renting the brick and mortar from the conglomerate that owns the mall. it has eucalyptus and mint in the opening so it's way green but that dissipates and then there's some florals and i think i'm picking up on the vetiver but it feels off a bit, and i'm not sure if it's in the good way like someone named svarn who lives in stockholm finds this to be a perfectly normal thing because things are different in different places but it's weird to me so i therefore like it or else maybe it's just weird to anyone in which case i'm fooling myself because it's objectively not that great, and it's just a chemical mess. i'm still gonna wear it for the duration of the summer since it's a high-heat type of thing.

guys my 13 yr old son likes girls and apparently this means he feels he needs to cover himself in disgusting deodorant… my wife has just about convinced him that this is bad not good but i can tell he wants to convey something “extra”…. any ideas for something cheap but classy for the teenage boy contingent??

Charcoal-based deodorant ftw

If you’re not picky just hit up some discounters like Nordstrom rack, Ross or Burlington. They usually have pretty good designer colognes for around $20-35.

we live in London so sadly that’s not an option but thanks for the tip!

gentle reminder that people tend to filter out their own smells, so if he can smell his own deodorant all day, it means he's wearing enough that people the next town over are probably noticing it

is he just bathing in lynx?

i can’t remember what it was called, the lovely emma b threw it away with extreme prejudice

non-scented deodorants/antiperspirants for men are the way to go imo, leaving one's chosen scent up to a more personal decision

La Curie has a scent called Incendo, which is comprised of pine, sage, incense and campfire smoke. It is subtle and very nice and is not too expensive in the US, but it may not be available in London. I think a scent with components like those could be good for a teenage boy, as long as it’s not too sweet.

What I've learned from my 13-year old goddaughter though is that kids (at least girls) that age really want to make up their own minds

Yes.

I found the bottle, it's this:

https://www.aiostores.com/products/xo-deodorant-aqua-cool-for-men

yeah, that’s deodorant

keep it to a quick spray under each armpit, tracer jr.

yes but it’s also an, er, odorant, it has a scent

look, I don't rub my solid deodorant stick all over my body

wait, am I doing this wrong?

regardless of how they're described by the manufacturer, those aquatic scents marketed to teenage boys (and adult men) are too strong and are very synthetic-smelling but not appealing

one bad thing about spraying cologne on your wrists is if you lick something off your wrists later you will get cologne on your tongue which doesn't taste good.

I was dipping into Perfumes: The Guide recently (both versions) to see what was said about two things I recently tried, and don’t think Tania Sanchez’s guide to discovering your taste had been posted here:

Stage 1: Mother’s bathroom. Early adventures splashing on Mom’s Shalimar/No. 5/Miss Dior/ Tabu/Your-Memory-Here with the bathroom door shut. Belief that Old Spice/Brut/English Leather is the natural odor that God has caused fathers to emit after shaving.

Stage 2: Ambition and naïveté. Either given a perfume by an adult or inspired to buy one at puberty: a sophisticated thing that embodies an unknown world of adult pleasures and/or a cheerful cheap spray to wear happily by the gallon.

Stage 3: Flowers and candy. Phase of belief that feminine perfumes should smell flowery or candy-like and that everything else is an incomprehensible perversion.

Stage 4: First love. Encounter with moving greatness. Wonder and awe. Monogamy.

Stage 5: Decadence. An ideology of taste, either of the heavy-handed or of the barely there. The age of leathers, patchoulis, tobaccos, ambers; or, alternately, the age of pale watercolors in vegetal shades. An obsession with the hard-to-find.

Stage 6: Enlightenment. Absence of ideology. Distrust of the overelaborate, overexpensive, and arcane. Satisfaction in things in themselves.

I’d like to think I’m a stage 6 but maybe I’m more between 5 &6 since I’ve never met a leather or amber or both that I won’t at least try.

Anyway.

Guerlain - L’Heure Bleue

Saw this on one of our bookshelves coming out of the shower last night and put some on, then did the same this morning. Have never knowingly tried this before. Tania S gives this a glowing write up in Perfumes the Guide, but has since said she doesn’t much care for the new formula. I can say based on two wears this is definitely night not day; it’s dense and full of strange ingredients like anise and violet (my two most abiding impressions, anise to start and violet after a couple of hours). The powdery/soapy vibe leaves me cold on a lot of things (mainly no 5) but I didn’t get that here.

Hermes - Galop

This one only came out in 2016 but it’s not routinely sold at concessions at airports (my main source of trying stuff atm), which surprised me. I read a review that was like “it smells like a rich person’s tackroom,” and yeah, maybe? It’s leather and rose but the leather is cool and smooth and the rose is delicate and not overpowering. It seems to stick on me a while but I need another wear to be certain (also for it to come back on fragrancex because it’s expensive).

lately have been wearing montale red vetiver - bought it out of spite bc i thought it would piss off my officemates but it's quite charming and surprisingly light, feels transparent with the vetiver being v newsprint-y and... hollow in a ellena way? and the pepper comes off kinda citrusy so oddly it works for florida summer heat. guess i need to finally pull the trigger on kouros if i want to annoy people lol

have been trying a handful of samples from the zoologist house as well as some cdg frags:

zoologist camel - v rich sweet dried fruits fades to churchy benzoin and v dark smoky oud. might be a full bottle buy, so lovely
"""" civet - not as animalic as i was expecting, smells like a powdery sandalwood and iris that is v comforting
"""" beaver - kind of a weird sickly sweet musk, wears v linearly and kinda made me nauseous after a while
"""" elephant - coconut cream pie. not for me.
"""" rhinoceros - wtf is the opening... smells like a petting zoo for about a minute then dries down to a pleasant woody note. somehow
reminds me of some brand of pencils i used in like 3rd grade.
"""" Macaque - probably my favorite of the bunch, bright fresh yuzu fades to japanese incense and hinoki cypress. smells like if cdg
hinoki had staying power. love love love.

the CDGs:
concrete - a little disappointing as i was hoping it smelled like actual concrete. actually a weirdly gourmandish rose that smells like
turkish delight, with clean musk in the base. leans more femme imo but i enjoyed wearing it.
copper - the opening is a green explosion of galbanum and realistic metallic notes, kind of disconcerting at first but couldn't stop
smelling. fades to a strong woody note kinda like bleu de chanel. lasts for days if you don't wash it off.
amazingreen - watery green tea. not a green fougere like i was hoping. pleasant, but fades in minutes to nothingness.
wonderoud - v powdery oud and sandalwood. kinda linear, but only lasts about a 30 mins before it becomes nearly undetectable.
avignon - frankincense myrrh and benzoin. so nice, wish it lasted longer.
ouarzazate - my favorite of the bunch. surprisingly animalic with some funky spices over a base of leather and amber.

Wow, that Zoologist line looks fascinating