...Loved by the Snobs. Hated by the people.

[Picasso2014]

Gucci Guilty Absolute, poster child.

Peesonally. This smells like farenheight to me, but has something in it that sublety differentiates it. I despise farenheiggt, but that added something on gga i can appreciate it

 

[jmac0011]

Kouros
Maybe I was too young in the 80s to notice, and everyone liked it.
Today, it's just a big stinker.

 

[torresongs]

Probably a lot of discontinued stuff. Dior Fahrenheit Absolute comes to mind...

That was a fave of mine back in the 80s. But now it just screams 80s!

 

[Elmor]

Not sure this would qualify. Ralph Lauren original Polo in the green bottle.

Or is this one of those that was adored by the snobs and the people?

I guess I must be considered one of the great unwashed masses because I can’t stand the smell. And I deliberately chose the word smell versus scent.

Or maybe I am just confused, because I could truly appreciate a bee bottle of Guerlain’s Vetiver. Yum!

Several years ago I purchased a bottle of Guerlain’s Du Coq. Not as delightful as their Vetiver, though it does have a charming spritzy attitude.

 

[tessera]

Probably Mancera Red Tobacco. 😂

Oh, yeah, I hate this one on me. There's something nice in there but overall it's loud sharp woody alcohol on my skin!

 

[Tropey]

Creed Royal English Leather:

1. My wife bought it for me.

2. About a year later I was wearing it at home, just one or two sprays, and she threw a fit about it. “Don’t ever wear that around me again,” etc.

3. Last week she said, “I was getting dressed, and tried on one of your colognes. Royal English Leather. I really like it.”

Moral of the story: damn the torpedoes. Wear whatever you like. You can’t please everyone. Naysayers might just be having a bad day.

Better than a bottle of English Leather or even the gift set.

 

[gentel]

Any Amouge 😂

Lyric Man is mass appealing imo, very clean and refreshing rose without any sort of wild oud/smoke/incense/oregano/etc that people find controversial in others like Jubilation XXV Man

 

[dogtoe]

My wife hated or still hates the following:
- Polo Green
- Polo Blue
- Polo Explorer
- Cool Water
- Any fougere excepting ones that are pretty far from the center of the genre like MFK Pluriel or MDCI Invasion Barbare. Any of the others have to be sprayed very lightly so she doesn’t notice them.
- If I put on Eidelantler, she wants to stay in a hotel for the night, that’s how much she hates it.

She’s okay with woods, ouds, roses, citrus, but doesn’t prefer incense other than Amouage Interlude where the vanilla tones it down for her.

 

[cheapimitation]

I think in general oud-y smokey leathery things are loved by aficionados but not so much by the general public.

I was giving LV Nuit de Feu another try at their store and I was enjoying it but the friend I was with said "ew no no no" when he smelled it.

The only other negative comment I can recall was wearing Heeley Vetiver Veritas around my significant other who said something like "what are you wearing?? I really don't like it!"

I always forget that vetiver is such a controversial note since it's in so many fragrances. But a lot of people seem not to like it especially when it's the star note.

 

[buzzley]

Most things mentioned here are either old or esoteric. People in the real world probably don't even know what they are. They just want something that smells nice with little effort to find. Nothing wrong with that, but it is definitely a different world from the Basenotes world.

I did get a compliment once when wearing Costume National Scent Intense, which is pretty out there, so go figure.

 

[bnusr]

Creed Royal English Leather:

1. My wife bought it for me.

2. About a year later I was wearing it at home, just one or two sprays, and she threw a fit about it. “Don’t ever wear that around me again,” etc.

3. Last week she said, “I was getting dressed, and tried on one of your colognes. Royal English Leather. I really like it.”

Moral of the story: damn the torpedoes. Wear whatever you like. You can’t please everyone. Naysayers might just be having a bad day.

True, though for some nay-sayers every day with that frag might be horrible. A case in point: me and Vetiver. I could never stand it, and I had plenty of opportunities to learn to because its wearer used to comb the stuff through his overstuffed coiffure at least daily. I won't subscribe either to 'average Joe' or to 'snob'. Free agent r us. It's just a personal anti-preference. I'd give anything a go; I'd give Gwyneth's pseudo-snatch a go, but I bet it wouldn't be a patch on Kingdom. Defnally damn the torpedoes though. YOLO etc etc. Free agents.

 

[ccdan]

TF Patchouli Absolu

 

[bibo]

Bortnikoff?

 

[ultravisitor]

I think in general oud-y smokey leathery things are loved by aficionados but not so much by the general public.

I was giving LV Nuit de Feu another try at their store and I was enjoying it but the friend I was with said "ew no no no" when he smelled it.

Yeah, I've had a lot of mixed reactions to the LV ouds. Some people really love them, and some people really hate them.

 

[hednic]

Some people really love them, and some people really hate them.

My experience also.

 

[GoldWineMemories]

Yeah, I've had a lot of mixed reactions to the LV ouds. Some people really love them, and some people really hate them.

I don't know if it was Nuit de Feu, or the other oud since I wore the samples at the same time, but one of them did have this big fermented Hindi oud accord in it that I could certainly see throwing people off. I'm actually surprised the house is ballsy enough for that direction.

BTW great scent of the day!

 

[Salumbre]

Basenotes isn't united by taste much either, and our population is mostly subdivided by forum or thread.

Best I can answer is:

Short version: We focus on the rare, the weird, the discontinued or forgotten, the exclusive, the expensive, the trophies and unicorns, whatever separates or elevates us from the din of the common. This is really par for any collection hobby, like comics or vinyl records. Collectors are more likely to spin test pressings of Steely Dan than a vinyl issue of Taylor Swift's newest disc. This cuts modern and popular/ubiquitous/socially relevant scents like Sauvage out of the running until they no longer are, then they become considered.

Long version:


-Approximately 50% of us are vintage and discontinued fragrance fans, with a particular focus on masculines from between 1965 and 1990, as this was the era most active BNers were in their teens, twenties, and thirties, plus some of us have 20 year tenures on this site alone, when many of them were still commonly available for purchase. This era is widely recognized as halcyon years of creativity and ingredients access - not just by collectors - but by perfumers as well (e.g. Pierre Bourdon). Batch code and deep vintage provenance checkers tend to fall into this group too even if what they're into isn't necessarily "vintage" yet in age (i.e. Dior Homme fans).

-Approximately 30% of us are Indie and artisanal fragrance fans with a focus on all/mostly natural ingredients and self infusion/tincture/DIY raw materials creation a la Areej le Dore and Bortnikoff; or conversely, there is a strong fan focus on retro styles and unique individualistic styles not beholden to eras of fashion a la Rogue and Tauer. Lastly, there are lovers of quirky upstart brands with tiny one-man distribution like Gray Matter and Clandestine Laboratories. The garden variety niche brand fans (L'Artisan and Montale etc) see some representation here too but it's very selective and usually those selections are older or discontinued (e.g. D'Zing), showing overlap with vintage lovers.

-Approximately 10% of us (and shrinking at least since I started being active) are focused on big status luxury brands that impart some sort of misplaced sense of superiority in the capitalist social darwinism chain, vis à vis people who "flex" their Roja Dove, Xerjoff, Fragrance du Bois, Creed, or Frédéric Malle collections. This group tends to extol "you get what you pay for". Sometimes the oft-lampooned "FragBro" stereotype falls into this category too because status is one of their goals in pursuing fragrance. Once upon a time this was Lutens bell jars or rare Le Art et Maitiere/Parisiens/Parisiennes Guerlains, but that stuff is now falling into vintage jurisdiction.

-Approximately 10% of us still keep a pulse on modern designers and mainstream "masstige" niche brands, and that's where interest in threads like this usually come from (but not always). This segment of the population here is actually growing again after being on the decline for some time (maybe the "snobs" stopped gatekeeping and chasing them away); and even though a lot of what may seem to be banal questions get asked (e.g. is X good for the office), there is an opportunity to commune with "the other side" and share tastes/perspectives. This creates growth for everyone.

Disclaimer: There is also a lot of overlap too, and entire sub-populations of DIY perfumers, oud and attar collectors, wet shaver and drugstore/mailorder scent users, candle and incense/room scent lovers, plus the Aventus fans (still cordoned off) that weren't represented in the above breakdown.

This is a GREAT post.

And also, I guess, there's a maybe one point five percent like me, who is just interested in sh!t that smells good to them...

 

[Redfish365]

My wife said Figment Man smells like garbage and gets mad on the rare occasions I wear it.

I was waiting for Figment Man to be mentioned. It is definitely an acquired taste. My bottle, at the current level of usage, will last til sometime in the 23rd century. It has the most accurate dirt/soil accord I've ever encountered and is overloaded with animalics...it's a tough sell and I understand it's being discontinued.

 

[Redfish365]

The 1980s are to men's perfumery as the 1970s are to movies.

...and music!

 

[ToughCool]

Not sure this would qualify. Ralph Lauren original Polo in the green bottle.

Or is this one of those that was adored by the snobs and the people?

I guess I must be considered one of the great unwashed masses because I can’t stand the smell. And I deliberately chose the word smell versus scent.

Or maybe I am just confused, because I could truly appreciate a bee bottle of Guerlain’s Vetiver. Yum!

Several years ago I purchased a bottle of Guerlain’s Du Coq. Not as delightful as their Vetiver, though it does have a charming spritzy attitude.

You’ll have to split Polo Green into decades. It was mostly adored by all in the late 70s, 80s and 90s. Most young boys/teens started on it and it was glorious.

I do think the last 20 years it’s morphed into a love/hate with what I wouldn’t call snobs but aficionados liking it more than the public. It still has a similar drydown in part but getting there has gotten way tougher in my book.

 

[FiveoaksBouquet]

You’ll have to split Polo Green into decades. It was mostly adored by all in the late 70s, 80s and 90s. Most young boys/teens started on it and it was glorious.

I do think the last 20 years it’s morphed into a love/hate with what I wouldn’t call snobs but aficionados liking it more than the public. It still has a similar drydown in part but getting there has gotten way tougher in my book.

I recall Polo Green being launched; it was in a local small-town drugstore in the U.S. It seems to have come a long way among aficionados. Good for Polo! 😊

 

[ChuckW]

I recall Polo Green being launched; it was in a local small-town drugstore in the U.S. It seems to have come a long way among aficionados. Good for Polo! 😊

It was the first cologne that knocked my socks off. I smelled it on a guy at a baseball field, asked what it was, and then I had to have a bottle. That was in the mid-80's. It was not cheap...no longer was I dealing with Avon Black Suede! Little did I suspect the path ahead. Although I will say that when I find things I really love, I never stop at one (other than my wife)!

 

[enframing]

I love a good "tipping the sacred cow" thread.

I'll add Clinique Calyx. Terrible stuff.

Tried Sauvage (multiple formulations) the other day. Zzzzzzzz. Not bad, just did nothing for me.

 

[Salumbre]

Oh—and I once wore JAR Jardinia to a seminar. When I sat down the lady sitting next to me got up and moved to a table halfway across the room, glaring at me to make sure I got the message. 😄

This happened to me while wearing Uomo? Moschino, not a particularly challenging fragrance, IMHO.

Some people just don't want you to wear ANY fragrance.

 

[ChuckW]

I recall Polo Green being launched; it was in a local small-town drugstore in the U.S. It seems to have come a long way among aficionados. Good for Polo! 😊

I find myself missing those simpler times.

 

[Dealt_It]

I had an ex-girlfriend tell me Après l’Ondée smelled like “granny panties.” In hindsight, that was the beginning of the end…

I’m not a small person so unless they have something nice to say, people don’t generally say anything at all. Which is a shame, because I appreciate frankness and I’d love to know what they really hate 🤔

 

[SixCats]

Notewise, almost anything with civet.

Fragrancewise, probably Kouros.

Genderwise, guys wearing women's fragrances.

Hi Sheik, I agree with you for the most part however, there are many vintage (so called Woman Fragrances) that are waaaay more Manly than many of today's Male Fragrances. Examples (l like) would be BANDIT Rocha "Femme", Guerlain Mitsouko EDP and Guerlain Shalimar, Guerlain Jicky, vintage Norell, vintage Lanvin and so many many other (especially vintage) Fragrances.

SixCats!

 

[FiveoaksBouquet]

I find myself missing those simpler times.

(Sigh…) Indeed…picture a teenager, going downtown to the drugstore after school to sniff perfume…

 

[FMilan]

This is a complex train of thought. There's some "universal" issues and some "generational" ones. Not to mention the terms of the market - money talks. Loudly. And it often defines what the average wearer likes or dislikes.

Oud is something of a local taste that went abroad and, with good marketing, got other enthusiasts, but not the "average" wearer.
Civet had and has it's share (the average wearer - women or men - is out there, but not here. but they exist).
Big florals, big musks, hard leathers, cumin, vetiver and oakmoss often touch the generational aspect.
Calone depends on "biological" aspects - it's well accepted, but a lot of people are annoyed depending on the concentration.
Same with ambrox.

Polo green was considered dated in the early 90s already. But PRPH is very well accepted to this day.
Fahrenheit is still in production (uninterrupted), I think it's a "darling" for the enthusiasts and the average wearer. Same with Guerlain Vetiver or Jicky.
Heritage seems like an answer to the "dated" effect. But some find it "dated", really "dated". And I can't think of a more modern perfume even today.

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

Notewise, almost anything with civet.

Fragrancewise, probably Kouros.

Genderwise, guys wearing women's fragrances.

Hi Sheik, I agree with you for the most part however, there are many vintage (so called Woman Fragrances) that are waaaay more Manly than many of today's Male Fragrances. Examples (l like) would be BANDIT Rocha "Femme", Guerlain Mitsouko EDP and Guerlain Shalimar, Guerlain Jicky, vintage Norell, vintage Lanvin and so many many other (especially vintage) Fragrances.

SixCats!

I respectfully disagree and I don’t find them particularly masculine or manly.

I am also not an advocate of men wearing women’s fragrances though people are free to wear what they want to.

There are thousands of fragrances to choose from so as a man why do I need to wear a fragrance designed and made for a woman? There are plenty of fragrances made for men that I am more than happy with.

But that wasn’t my original point here. I was answering the thread question when I said “genderwise, men wearing women’s fragrance”.
As in it’s something that is a quirk of certain fragrance “Snobs”, rather than “the People” most of which find the idea at best odd, at worst somewhat profane.

 

[Pippin06]

Gucci Guilty Absolute

 

[Zenwannabee]

I’ve just read through this thread again and enjoyed it very much. On the whole to me it’s more of a generational divide, especially with designer fragrances. There are some fab choices from the 2000s on, but many here are passionate about the weird and (at least slightly obscure) from an earlier era, like:
—Boucheron pour Homme
—Jaipur
—Joop!
—Giorgio for Men
—Quorum
—Davidoff Zino
—Versace L’Homme
—Halston Z-14
—Azzaro PH
—Lauder for Men
—Sung Homme
—Ted Lapidus PH
—Bogart One Man Show

 

[Scentologist]

You’ll have to split Polo Green into decades. It was mostly adored by all in the late 70s, 80s and 90s. Most young boys/teens started on it and it was glorious.

I do think the last 20 years it’s morphed into a love/hate with what I wouldn’t call snobs but aficionados liking it more than the public. It still has a similar drydown in part but getting there has gotten way tougher in my book.

Couldn't agree more. It was so clear, green, aromatic, gorgeous. But now its a stink bomb until way in the dry down and its almost a skin scent at that point 14 hours later. I would think most Amouage would be a hard sell and honestly don't know how most Tom Ford's are on the shelf.

 

[DudeLebowski]

Ganymade

Was told it smelled like windex cleaner.

 

[SixCats]

I respectfully disagree and I don’t find them particularly masculine or manly.

I am also not an advocate of men wearing women’s fragrances though people are free to wear what they want to.

There are thousands of fragrances to choose from so as a man why do I need to wear a fragrance designed and made for a woman? There are plenty of fragrances made for men that I am more than happy with.

But that wasn’t my original point here. I was answering the thread question when I said “genderwise, men wearing women’s fragrance”.
As in it’s something that is a quirk of certain fragrance “Snobs”, rather than “the People” most of which find the idea at best odd, at worst somewhat profane.

Hi Sheik,

To the best of my knowledge (way back in the day) Fragrances (Perfume, Attars, etc.) were just that, Fragrances. That is to say, the entire "Male & Female" distinction was nothing more than Marketing ploy to sell more Fragrances. If memory serves, I'm almost certain this is a correct statement. No doubt at some point, the "Marketing" to/for Woman's Fragrances resulted in more "Flowerly" type scents. That being said, I find "certain" early Woman's Perfumes desirable to add to my collection due to these Fragrances having REAL (now banned) ingredients/notes such as: Musk, Castoreum, Oak Moss, Civet, Ambergris, etc.

Heck Sheik, as I understand, "James Bond/Sean Connery favorite Fragrance was Guerlain "JICKY". I realize Sheik that your are not an advocate of Men wearing (so called) Woman's Fragrances however, I'm willing to bet, if one were to take "certain" (old School) Woman's Perfume and decant that Perfume in a Masculine looking bottle and slap a (non fancy) label on said bottle, one would be hard pressed to identified said Fragrances as a Woman's Fragrance. At any rate Sheik, when I do buy (so called) Women's Perfumes, I attempt to find the "Skanky" ones having the aforementioned natural (now banned) notes. I don't purchase NEW Fragrances marked for Women. Thanks Sheik.

Ooh Sheik, I just found this article. You might find it of interest.

Are Gender-Neutral Scents The Future Of Fragrance?

Olfactory representations of strict gender roles are taking a back seat as scents beyond the binary shake up the perfume industry.

www.grazia.co.in

Regards,
Tom in Maine

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

Hi Sheik,

To the best of my knowledge (way back in the day) Fragrances (Perfume, Attars, etc.) were just that, Fragrances. That is to say, the entire "Male & Female" distinction was nothing more than Marketing ploy to sell more Fragrances. If memory serves, I'm almost certain this is a correct statement. No doubt at some point, the "Marketing" to/for Woman's Fragrances resulted in more "Flowerly" type scents. That being said, I find "certain" early Woman's Perfumes desirable to add to my collection due to these Fragrances having REAL (now banned) ingredients/notes such as: Musk, Castoreum, Oak Moss, Civet, Ambergris, etc.

Heck Sheik, as I understand, "James Bond/Sean Connery favorite Fragrance was Guerlain "JICKY". I realize Sheik that your are not an advocate of Men wearing (so called) Woman's Fragrances however, I'm willing to bet, if one were to take "certain" (old School) Woman's Perfume and decant that Perfume in a Masculine looking bottle and slap a (non fancy) label on said bottle, one would be hard pressed to identified said Fragrances as a Woman's Fragrance. At any rate Sheik, when I do buy (so called) Women's Perfumes, I attempt to find the "Skanky" ones having the aforementioned natural (now banned) notes. I don't purchase NEW Fragrances marked for Women. Thanks Sheik.

Ooh Sheik, I just found this article. You might find it of interest.

Are Gender-Neutral Scents The Future Of Fragrance?

Olfactory representations of strict gender roles are taking a back seat as scents beyond the binary shake up the perfume industry.

www.grazia.co.in

Regards,
Tom in Maine

Don’t take it personally Sixcats. I’ve had this discussion with many here on the forum in the past. I haven’t found any evidence to counter the assertion made by ‘fragrance experts’ that the distinction between fragrances For Men and fragrances For Women is purely marketing and nothing more.

If we look at the natural world especially relating to mammals, it goes deeper than that. They have their own scent and can identify members of the opposite sex (prospective mates) this way. We aren’t so far removed that this doesn’t apply to us except that we have made every effort to eliminate our natural odour as a species and scrub ourselves scentless. That coupled with the increased toxicity of our environment has all but obscured our ability to perceive our species natural scent and the cues it offers. In a way Men’s and Women’s fragrances in some ways act as surrogate or proxy scents for the loss of our natural species scent cues and certain fragrances mirror that idea more than others. I think there’s more intelligence in the natural world than the limitations of a written language and our subconscious knows that.

You are welcome to search for my various posts on the matter but I have no desire to derail this thread so I’ll try to get it back on track.

To answer the thread question again,

-Skatole.
-Fragrances that smell like moldy, musty, dusty books.

Regards
Sheik

 

[SixCats]

Don’t take it personally Sixcats. I’ve had this discussion with many here on the forum in the past. I haven’t found any evidence to counter the assertion made by ‘fragrance experts’ that the distinction between fragrances For Men and fragrances For Women is purely marketing and nothing more.

If we look at the natural world especially relating to mammals, it goes deeper than that. They have their own scent and can identify members of the opposite sex (prospective mates) this way. We aren’t so far removed that this doesn’t apply to us except that we have made every effort to eliminate our natural odour as a species and scrub ourselves scentless. That coupled with the increased toxicity of our environment has all but obscured our ability to perceive our species natural scent and the cues it offers. In a way Men’s and Women’s fragrances in some ways act as surrogate or proxy scents for the loss of our natural species scent cues and certain fragrances mirror that idea more than others. I think there’s more intelligence in the natural world than the limitations of a written language and our subconscious knows that.

You are welcome to search for my various posts on the matter but I have no desire to derail this thread so I’ll try to get it back on track.

To answer the thread question again,

-Skatole.
-Fragrances that smell like moldy, musty, dusty books.

Regards
Sheik

Interesting Sheik, interesting! Ooh, I was not familiar with the word "Skatole". LOL, Sheik, earlier this week, I ordered JD Jeffery Dame "Juste Filthy".

Ooh, how I LOVE "Animalic" Fragrances! MKK, Marlou, B the V Complex, Oud Assam, Bandit, etc.

SixCats!