Fragrance Thread

[gimmegimme]

wait. is that a picture of whale sperm or whale puke? I'm willing to believe either answer.

Its puke...well, technically, sperm whales eat crayfish and shit, and they can't digest the shells or sumthin, and then they cough up a big furball of fishguts and seaweed and shit, and then it floats away, and then the when it washes onto shore, the sun dries it and it turns into a big blob that smells of amber and shit.

[gimmegimme]

This got wierd.

Perfume ingredients are gross. Civet is the anal secretion of a cat, Castoreum is beaver juice, and musk is a hairy pod inside a deer (or rat).

[broneck]

that's why musk is so sexy. furball secretion from dead rats is what the ladies love.

[malsponge]

no wonder the women want men to just smell like flowers.

[tangerine]

Muscs Koublaï Khän contains civet, castoreum and ambergris, and it smells like flowers.

If only they had put some musk in it!

[kyledunn]

Don't know if this has been posted yet, but I'm not reading 70 pages to find out.

I went to Kiehls the other day and came across their Original Musk. Smells amazing and it's only like $40.

[gimmegimme]

Muscs Koublaï Khän contains civet, castoreum and ambergris, and it smells like flowers.

If only they had put some musk in it!

I think you evaporate the musk somehow...I smell like a rotten cootch when I wear it. :eek:

Don't know if this has been posted yet, but I'm not reading 70 pages to find out.

I went to Kiehls the other day and came across their Original Musk. Smells amazing and it's only like $40.

I've always been a big Kiehl's Musk fan...its cheap, smells great...I don't think I've found a better musk yet (not that I'll ever stop looking). Good shower gel too.

ps - reading the 70 pages in this thread will allow you access into my truly fucked up mind. :cool:

[polishmike]

ps - reading the 70 pages in this thread will allow you access into my truly fucked up mind. :cool:

i read the whole thing few months ago, i'm not doing it again. you talked about so much already that stuff is getting repeated.

(i also have my view options set up so it's only like 36 pages)

[gimmegimme]

i read the whole thing few months ago, i'm not doing it again. you talked about so much already that stuff is getting repeated.

(i also have my view options set up so it's only like 36 pages)

People tend to ask the same questions over and over again....and I also forget what I wrote about and repeat myself. Oh well.

My next quest is to not talk about CDG...:eek:

[malsponge]

Do any of the recs you have been making fall into the family of Chypre? I am trying to learn families so that when I read "a typical whatever" I know kind of what it might smell like. The Chypre sounds like a masculine type scent family that I would like to further investigate.

I own Sequoia and Vettiveru. Do these fall into any of the families? Is the families thing just a bunch of BS?

THANKS YO

[gimmegimme]

Do any of the recs you have been making fall into the family of Chypre? I am trying to learn families so that when I read "a typical whatever" I know kind of what it might smell like. The Chypre sounds like a masculine type scent family that I would like to further investigate.

I own Sequoia and Vettiveru. Do these fall into any of the families? Is the families thing just a bunch of BS?

THANKS YO

Oh boy...things are about to get confusing...are you ready? (Tangerine, please comment)

Technically, a chypre is something composed of (a) bergamot, ( labdanum, and © oakmoss (typically, they also contain patchouli and rose as well). Oakmoss has recently been placed on the list of restricted ingredients for perfume due to allergies, so that complicates things a bit now.

The name originates from Coty (yes, Coty used to make the best fragrances). The scent itself was of course called Chypre (which I think is a reference to Cyprus). The proper Chypre (1917) has long since been discontinued and now Coty makes crap (soon to change).

Chypres are broken down into several sub-categories - floral, fruity, green, leather, etc. This can make things much more confusing, and difficult to pick out what would be classified as a chypre and what would not. Chypres are more often found in women's perfume, but there are a few for men.

The best for men, and allegedely closest to the original Chypre would be Chanel's Pour Monsiuer. The best for women (these are my opinions btw) would be Mitsouko by Guerlain, who took Coty's original formula and bettered it by adding a synthetic peach note. Although its classified as a women's scent, its quite unisex and bodereds on masculine. I wear it all the time (try the Eau de Toilette concentration). Another great men's chypre is Habit Rouge by Guerlain.

Another women's chypre that works well on a man would be Chanel's Cuir de Russie, which can only be purchased at Chanel's boutiques. It would be classified as a leather-chypre.

The easiest way to tell if something is a chypre is to determine if the beginning notes of the scent are drastically different than the end/basenotes of the scent. Typically a citrus opening, and a mossy/woody base.

Neither Sequoia or Vettiveru would technically be a chypre. Generally, its difficult to predict if you're going to like something based on a fragrance-family. Its easier to focus on listed ingredients and online reviews.

[tangerine]

Haha, I thought about trying to answer this, but once I started trying to compose an answer I decided I would let you answer it!

I agree that it is difficult to tell if you will like a fragrance based on its family. I like many leather chypres, some green ones, few floral or fruity ones. Some of them straddle the subdivisions, as well, IMO.

This chart (pdf) may help in giving a general idea... gimme, do you hate this chart? :eek:

...Its easier to focus on listed ingredients and online reviews.

I definitely agree with this statement.

[broneck]

Do any of the recs you have been making fall into the family of Chypre?

anytime i hear "chyrpe" i think of vice's russian issue, which begs the question...which colognes are best to consume in order to get drunk?

[tangerine]

anytime i hear "chyrpe" i think of vice's russian issue, which begs the question...which colognes are best to consume in order to get drunk?

It stands to reason that Eau de Colognes would be the best for getting drunk, as they have the lowest percent of perfume oils (and therefore, presumably, more alcohol by volume.)

An exception might be made for fragrances containing artemisia (wormwood), if you are friends with the green fairy.

[polishmike]

which begs the question...which colognes are best to consume in order to get drunk?

it sounds ridiculous but i've seen people in poland and russia buy cologne at a small grocery stores and drink it right out front. it was a pretty common view. there was a green bottle that was particularly popular in poland in the 80s, i don't remember the name but i can ask my mom. communism was no joke.

[gimmegimme]

Haha, I thought about trying to answer this, but once I started trying to compose an answer I decided I would let you answer it!

I agree that it is difficult to tell if you will like a fragrance based on its family. I like many leather chypres, some green ones, few floral or fruity ones. Some of them straddle the subdivisions, as well, IMO.

This chart (pdf) may help in giving a general idea... gimme, do you hate this chart? :eek:

I definitely agree with this statement.

I've never seen that chart...but its ridiculously inaccurate. I wont even point out all the mistakes...

it sounds ridiculous but i've seen people in poland and russia buy cologne at a small grocery stores and drink it right out front. it was a pretty common view. there was a green bottle that was particularly popular in poland in the 80s, i don't remember the name but i can ask my mom. communism was no joke.

There was a time here when all the Aqua Velva was behind the counter for that same reason.

[broneck]

tasty .

[gimmegimme]

tasty .

All cosmetics contain denatured alcohol...meaning a grain alcohol that has a chemical called Bitrex added. Bitrex tastes like man-gash, thus preventing hobos from drinking Stetson.

If you can get over the taste though...WOOO...dats sum good drunk's yall.

[buzzed]

awesome thread, gimmegimme knows his shit..

i have a little question. i've been thinking of buying cdg(yes i know.......) citrico, which is bout $35 bucks for 125ml. why is it so much cheaper than the other cdg fragrances? is it less concentrated or something? help a noob out.

[tangerine]

You got it, Citrico is a cologne, which has lower concentration of perfume oils.

[JohnnyLaw]

IIRC, eau de cologne is generally 2-3% perfume oils whereas eau de toilette is 5-6% and eau de parfum can be 10% or more. Big difference in longevity and intensity.

[gimmegimme]

Along with the percentage of oil vs. alcohol (as mentioned above), the ingredients also play a factor. Something with a lot of synthetic musks (for example) would generally last longer than something with a lot of citrus (musk molecules weigh more than citrus).

Either way the CDG Cologne series is a good value, but you should look it as more of a 50ml value, as you have to apply more.

[headcoat]

What would this thread be without you, gimmegimme?

[.Legacy]

I really enjoy wearing, TDC - Bois d'Iris and CdG - Sequoia.

I want something summer'ish that also gets noticed.

What should I sample?

[gimmegimme]

What would this thread be without you, gimmegimme?

Probably a lot less active...I talk too much.

I really enjoy wearing, TDC - Bois d'Iris and CdG - Sequoia.

I want something summer'ish that also gets noticed.

What should I sample?

Have you tried Bergamote by TDC? One of my fav's. For other irises - L'Homme de Coeur by Divine, Dzonka by L'Artisan, 28 La Pausa by Chanel...

Sequoia alternatives - Paestum Rose by Eau d'Italie, Guerilla 2 by CDG, Yuzu by Parfums 06130.

[terutt]

Probably a lot less active...I talk too much.

You go ahead and fragrance guru all you want. Personally, I'm waiting for GimmeGimme pour Homme. Shit's gonna be hot.

[Brienneoftarth]

So here is my thing. I've kind of invested in buying some more interesting scents over the past few months. Ordered probably 30 or 40 samples from lucky scent and a 6.4 oz bottle of Philosykos from diptyque......but I'm never that happy with any of the scents, even though they sound great in descriptions and come recommended. So, I was at a friends house a few days ago and he had a big bottle of Old School Polo Sport. I smelled it and it took me back to the nineties right away. I'm seriously thinking of scrapping my attempts at learning about sophisticated scents and going for Polo Sport as my daily driver. Any thoughts?

[gimmegimme]

So here is my thing. I've kind of invested in buying some more interesting scents over the past few months. Ordered probably 30 or 40 samples from lucky scent and a 6.4 oz bottle of Philosykos from diptyque......but I'm never that happy with any of the scents, even though they sound great in descriptions and come recommended. So, I was at a friends house a few days ago and he had a big bottle of Old School Polo Sport. I smelled it and it took me back to the nineties right away. I'm seriously thinking of scrapping my attempts at learning about sophisticated scents and going for Polo Sport as my daily driver. Any thoughts?

Polo Sport is a good scent actually...its a bit dated, but sometimes that's most of the charm. Go for it...contrary to this thread, you don't have to wear cutting edge japanese stuff to smell good....wear what you like.

[masuerte]

Downwithianbrown

I say it's good to match scents with memories but that being said you should try to make some new memories now.

[malsponge]

What are you wearing RIGHT NOW? and why?

I am wearing Sequoia. I love it. Reminds me of home and helps me study.