On the cheap side ultra masculine fragrances that still smell excellent?

[eponymous]

What an excellent thread. By way of contribution (I can't make any original contributions, really), here is a sorted compilation of the fragrances mentioned so far (I think I got them all):

Abercrombie & Fitch Woods
Aigues Vives
Al Rehab Dakar
Aqua Velva
Aramis
Aramis 900
Aramis Havana
Aramis Heritage
Aramis Tuscany
Avon Oland
Azzaro Pour Homme
Azzaro Pour Homme L’eau
Baldessarini Baldessarini EdC
Bogart OMS Oud Edition
Bogart One Man Show
Bogart Signature
Boucheron pour Homme EDP
Cade by L’Occitane
Cartier Roadster Sport
Chevignon Brand for Men
CK One Shock for Men
Club de Nuit Intense Man - Armaf
Compte De Galimard
Creed - Green Irish Tweed
Cuba Black
Dolce & Gabbana The One EDP
Drakkar Noir
Dunhill Edition
Dunhill for Men
English Leather Cologne
Esencia pour Homme - Loewe
Flibustier
Florida Water Men’s Cologne by Murray & Lanman
Gianfranco Ferre L'Uomo
Ginepro Nero by l'Erbolario
Giorgio Beverley Hills for Men
Guerlain Heritage
Guerlain Vetiver
Halston 1-12
Ho Hang Club by Balenciaga
House of Aramis
House of Bay Rum
Jaguar Jaguar for Men
Jaipur Homme EDP
Lalique Homme EDP
Lalique White
Lapidus pour Homme
Michael Kors for Men
Montana Black Edition.
Montblanc Explorer
Narciso for Him Bleu Noir - Narciso Rodriguez
Old Spice
Open Black by Roger & Gallet
Or Black - Pascal Morabito
Oscar de la Renta Pour Lui
Oscar Pour Lui
Paco Rabanne Pour Homme
Pasha Cartier
Patrick by Fragrances of Ireland
Pinaud Clubman Classic Vanilla
Pinaud Clubman Original
Pinuad Clubman Special Reserve
Ralph Lauren Polo Green
Salvador Dali Pour Homme.
Stetson Cologne
Tabac EDT
Vermeil pour homme
Woods of Windsor for Men
Yatagan Caron
Zino - Davidoff

 

[Zizzy]

Carven L'eau Intense
Yves Rocher Cuir Vetiver
Galimard Aventure EdP

 

[The Colognnoisseur]

Halston Z-14

 

[Danny Mitchell]

I would also add Kenneth Cole Signature (that's the one with the wooden cap, right?)
Montblanc Legend Night
John Varvatos
John Varvatos Vintage

 

[deltasun]

What about Milano Cento for Him EDT for $55 retail?

 

[Zgb]

So we're talking cheap as really cheap?

Right off the bat, Maurer and Writz Tabac Man Firepower, a cheap but very good clone of Gucci Envy for Men! Second that comes to my mind when we're talking about cheap but quite ok, good even, would be Bruno Banani Magic Man. Also I tried Police To Be quite recently, it was quite ok-ish.

As per cheap but also classics: Azzaro Pour Homme, Davidoff Cool Water, Guerlain Vetiver, CK Obsession for Men, Karl Lagerfeld Classic, Joop! Homme. Be noted that some of mentioned might be a bit dated to one's nose.

 

[DeathArrow]

Any Aramis, Bogart, Ted Lapidus, Lalique.

 

[gentel]

Montagne Parfums L'Epice de Mer - $40/100ml clone of Creed Viking and is the definition of an ultra-masculine fragrance

 

[hednic]

Any Bogart, Ted Lapidus, Lalique.

I would agree.

 

[Black Cloud]

Rapport by Eden Classics is an old-school (originally released 1988) masculine cheapie which is well worth checking out.

Eden Classics - Rapport cologne

Rapport perfume information, consumer reviews, where to buy, perfume notes and more... Rapport is a men's fragrance launched in 1988 by Eden Classics

basenotes.com

My Basenotes review:

"Rapport is a very satisfying traditional aromatic scent. It has a vaguely similar vibe to other old-school masculine fragrances like Worth Pour Homme, Paco Rabanne Pour Homme, etc. - but Rapport has a strong, enticingly spicy cinnamon-like note that really gives it its own character. Great smell, great performance and great value for money, with a 50ml bottle typically costing around £5."

 

[Varanis Ridari]

A bottle of Sir Irisch Moos in EdT form should do it too. Very masculine. Aftershave is nice too.

 

[Zgb]

You just can't go wrong with Azzaro pour Homme. Worth to the last cent.

 

[Renato]

Just looking through this old thread and the suggestions that were given, leads me to opine that we really have a diversity of opinion as to what the word "cheap" means.

To me, cheap means around A$20 to A$30 (US$14 to US$21) - and I'm very fond of such scents. But a majority of those suggested above wouldn''t come down to that range down here, unless under weird clearance circumstances (like when I bought a gift set of Azzaro PH at K-Mart for A$14 - though I'm not that fond of it).

I'm puzzled because when I was in the USA east and west coasts back in 2016, I can't say I saw many cheap bargains in shops of the type I could find back home. And the prices in every place I've been to in Europe seemed much dearer than in the USA and back at home.

Would I be wrong in presuming that the alleged cheap scents referred to above are in the main coming from big internet fragrance stores in the USA?
Regards,
Renato

 

[Hugh V.]

For me, on the cheap side is $40 and under.

Last time I bought Aramis about 3 years ago, it was excellent and "ultra masculine." I never knew the vintage, but there's nothing cheap or poor quality about the reformation.

Halston Z-14 is also extremely masculine smelling, and the current is not too different to the Jeff Gordon, oakmoss versions...at least in the dry down. For that purpose, I think it still holds up remarkably well. You're just missing out on a really great opening and the transition to the heart.

Brut Special Reserve is masculine in a vanilla/tonka/powdery babershop way. More gourmand-like, imo. But last I checked it was actually pretty good, and of a higher quality than the plastic bottle stuff that has a bad smelling note in the dry down.

 

[Dandydude]

five that immediately come to mind
Azzaro pour homme
lalique Pour Homme
Ungaro L’Homme III
Tabac Original
Cool Water

3 ulta, ultra, cheap
Pinaud Clubman
Old Spice
Virgin Island Bay Rum

 

[SculptureOfSoul]

Lots of great suggestions.

For classic old-school masculine I totally agree with Yatagan, Dali Homme, Azzaro Homme, loewe esencia, Yatagan and others.

If you want something more modern and also Uber masculine, but in a fresh/spicy/woody way (think TDH but more masculine) I highly recommend 1920 the origin by Tous. Incredible cardamom, citrus+ cumin over cedar.

 

[The Cologne Cabinet]

Something old and something new…both are around $20 each.


Remy Latour Cigar



Tabac Craftsman EDT

 

[DeathArrow]

Would I be wrong in presuming that the alleged cheap scents referred to above are in the main coming from big internet fragrance stores in the USA?

There are online stores in EU that have a big discount over prices in physical stores. I can get Grey Flannel for 13.5 EUR or Azzaro pour Homme for 29 EUR.

It's normal that different persons have different understandings of cheap. Maybe an upper limit like $50 would make more sense for a thread.

 

[DeathArrow]

loewe esencia,

Esencia is about $100 or €100. Not exactly cheap.

 

[Varanis Ridari]

Just looking through this old thread and the suggestions that were given, leads me to opine that we really have a diversity of opinion as to what the word "cheap" means.

To me, cheap means around A$20 to A$30 (US$14 to US$21) - and I'm very fond of such scents. But a majority of those suggested above wouldn''t come down to that range down here, unless under weird clearance circumstances (like when I bought a gift set of Azzaro PH at K-Mart for A$14 - though I'm not that fond of it).

I'm puzzled because when I was in the USA east and west coasts back in 2016, I can't say I saw many cheap bargains in shops of the type I could find back home. And the prices in every place I've been to in Europe seemed much dearer than in the USA and back at home.

Would I be wrong in presuming that the alleged cheap scents referred to above are in the main coming from big internet fragrance stores in the USA?
Regards,
Renato

Prices have been dramatically rising in general across the US so today's $30-$40 was $20-$30 pre-pandemic (for most things).

With brands pulling out of the US and discount selection dwindling in physical format (Ross & TJMaxx barely have anything), online is becoming more the way of things here for anything not sold at retail prices.

 

[rum]

Came here to mention Azzaro Pour Homme EdT, but I see there are plenty of thumbs up for it already. I have a recent bottle which I wear every week. Just as I was thinking about it being reformulated, I got told by an innocent 5 year old that it "smells really strong". Clearly, others might not agree with us freaks on reformulations!

In any case I have to +1 for Tabac (cologne). Classic Aramis isn't half bad either.

 

[Brooks Otterlake]

Prices have been dramatically rising in general across the US so today's $30-$40 was $20-$30 pre-pandemic (for most things).

Yup (unfortunately).

 

[Renato]

There are online stores in EU that have a big discount over prices in physical stores. I can get Grey Flannel for 13.5 EUR or Azzaro pour Homme for 29 EUR.

It's normal that different persons have different understandings of cheap. Maybe an upper limit like $50 would make more sense for a thread.

Thanks for the information. I've only ever used Italian Amazon - I did find a few good prices there, but a lot of those scents were cheaper down here.

Grey Flannel can be gotten for that price down here, but Azzaro PH is around A$20 more at the moment. Some of the newer Azzaros can be gotten cheaper than that.

US$50 seems kind of expensive to me to be called cheap. But I guess it's what one is used to.
Cheers,
REnato

 

[Renato]

Prices have been dramatically rising in general across the US so today's $30-$40 was $20-$30 pre-pandemic (for most things).

With brands pulling out of the US and discount selection dwindling in physical format (Ross & TJMaxx barely have anything), online is becoming more the way of things here for anything not sold at retail prices.

Thanks for that update.

T.K.Max (our version of T.J Max, but still owned by the same people) has never had any scents sold in their stores down here when I've visited them.

Our inflation rate is close to that of the US rate, but I can't honestly say that local discount fragrance prices have gone up all that much, if at all.
Cheers,
Renato

 

[DeathArrow]

US$50 seems kind of expensive to me to be called cheap. But I guess it's what one is used to.

The idea is to have an upper limit, it shouldn't be $50, it can be $30 or $25.

 

[slpfrsly]

Where to start? There are so many.

Lalique White in Black
Lalique Pour Homme
Lalique Encre Noir/Extreme
Davidoff Cool Water/various flankers
Carven Homme/Extreme
Joop Homme
Salvatore Ferragamo Urban Feel
Michael Kors for Men
Vera Wang for Men

Just off the top of my head. All can be had for around £20 or less.

 

[bigsteve]

@_@ 👍

Got some Roger & Gallet Open on the way!

Hope you like it. I liked the scent well enough, but the lasting power was zero. Good sprayer, though.

 

[DeathArrow]

I also plan to get Open by Roger & Gallet. Another cheap one I heard good things of is Arrogance Pour Homme. I want to get that one, also.

Basile Uomo is a good fresh fragrance. I got it the other week and I can't wait for the summer to come so I can wear it.