Scent-o-meter

In the search for a fragrance for The Bloke, we now have three to add to the merit list and a couple scratched from the list entirely.

Contenders in this round included Paul Smith - London, Juicy Couture - Dirty English, Burberry - Burberry London for Men, Hermès - Terre d’Hermès, and Bulgari - Bulgari Black. Here’s how they fared.

Paul Smith - London for Men

Top Notes: Green Mandarin. 
Middle Notes: Violet Leaves. 
Base Notes: Brandy, Sandalwood, Tonka Bean, Amber.

I don’t know why I get a distinct smell of dry grated coconut from this, but I knew immediately that The Bloke wouldn’t like it. It reminds me of suntan lotion. The Bloke couldn’t pick the same coconut whiff that I got, but he said it smells like the cosmetics aisle in the supermarket. We both rated it ‘unsuitable’.

Hermès - Terre d’Hermès

Perfumer: Jean Claude Ellena
Top notes: Grapefruit, Orange, Flint
Middle notes: Pepper, Pink Pepper, Geranium leaves, Patchouli
Base note: Cedar, Vetiver, Benzoin

I found the cedar note overwhelming and I really couldn’t smell much else. It reminded me very much of pyrethrum. To me it was like a full bodied flyspray scent but while it wasn’t sharp or offensive, it just wasn’t very appealing. Rated ‘unsuitable’.

Juicy Couture - Dirty English

Perfumer: Claude Dir
Top Notes: Mandarin, Bergamot, Blue Cypress, Cardamom, Caraway. 
Middle Notes: Marjoram, Black Leather, Sandalwood, Atlas Cedar, Vetiver. 
Base Notes: Amber Musk, Agarwood, Black Moss Absolute, Ebony Wood.

Dirty  English is a deep, warm, smoky, manly scent. This one has definitely made it to the merit list and The Bloke claims he would happily receive a full bottle version if it were gifted to him. I had read some very mixed reviews of this fragrance, with some complaints about grubby unpleasant notes. I didn’t pick up any scents that weren’t appealing, but I can imagine how this more traditional masculine fragrance wouldn’t appeal to the lovers of the the more modern light fruity mens fragrances.

Burberry - Burberry London for Men

Top Notes: Bergamot, Lavender, Cinnamon leaves, Black pepper. 
Middle Notes: Mimosa Flower, Port wine, Leather notes. 
Base Notes: Guaiac wood, Oakmoss, Opoponax, Tobacco leaf.

Another masculine fragrance, although not quite as full-blown as Dirty English, London is warm and manly with a slight powdery note that gives it a soapy-clean aspect. Another fine addition to The Bloke’s merit list and a potential holiday from Cool Water.
Bulgari - Bulgari Black
Perfumer: Annick Menardo

Top Notes: Lapsang Souchang Tea, Bergamot, Jasmine. 

Middle Notes: Cedar, Sandalwood, Leather. 

Base Notes: Amber, Musk, Vanilla.

When I told The Bloke that I had read reviews of Bulgari Black that compared it to a ‘new car smell’ but in a good way, he scoffed that some people take perfumes, and themselves, far too seriously. Black is marketed as a unisex scent, so I was keen to dab a drop on my wrists to see if I would get the alleged rubbery and ‘new car’ notes. There’s a definite vanilla-rubber smell that’s very appealing, and when he tested it himself, The Bloke admitted the comparison to the new car smell was quite accurate. The Bloke noted that he liked it second to Creed’s Green Irish Tweed, so not only has Bulgari Black has made it to the merit list, it’s made it to second place.

Kenzo - Jungle L’Éléphant. This is one of those polarising perfumes that the folks at Basenotes seem to either love or hate, but the notes list has me intrigued enough to really want to have a sniff of this one (or taste it!), and the packaging is quite interesting looking too.

Top notes: Mandarin, cardamom, carnation

Heart notes: Ylang-ylang, liquorice, mango, heliotrope, caraway

Base notes: Patchouli, vanilla, amber 

A sales assistant in DJ’s doused my 7 year old son in CK Euphoria Men this morning, commenting that the girls really love this fragrance. When he offered me his arm to have a sniff, I quite liked it, but now after sitting beside him for an hour in our tiny office, I’ve changed my mind.  There’s nothing warm or mellow about this scent. It seems to me to be far too sweet and difficult to escape from.

If a 7 year old boy should choose to wear a fragrance, I’m not sure what it should smell like but I don’t think it should be Euphoria Men. 

Today I wore a light spritz of Kingdom by Alexander McQueen to work and throughout the day I began to think that maybe I’d been a little too harsh in my initial thoughts on this perfume. When applied lightly it still retains its warmth and its staying power but is more subtle.  

I’m happy to revise my original rating upward to 3.5 / 5 and perhaps even nudging at a 4 / 5 to align it with Missoni, but it’s still the awkward cousin of my superstar Bulgari Omnia. When I arrived home from work, a mini bottle of Omnia was begging to be compared and it was simply no contest. Omnia completely out-shines Kingdom on spiciness, warmth and subtlety. 

Tendre Poison is green and fresh with sweet floral notes. After seeing the notes listed on Basenotes, I was a little concerned that the orange blossom and freesia would make it quite heady and overpowering, but instead it’s a light and delicate fragrance with just a touch of citrus that is not too sharp. It’s neither so light that it disappears nor so heavy and sweet that it’s sickly.  This is a really well balanced, light oriental scent that’s quite delightful and for me, it’s definitely worthy of a full bottle one day.

Perfumer: Edouard Flechier

Top notes: Galbanum, Mandarin, Rosewood, and Bergamot

Middle notes: Freesia, Orange Blossom, Rose, and Tuberose

Base notes: Sandal, Vanilla, Heliotrope, and Musk

My rating: 4.5 / 5

For years, The Bloke’s preferred men’s fragrances have been Davidoff Cool Water and Guerlain Heritage. Personally I’m a bit over Cool Water, but I loved Heritage. Sadly, Heritage isn’t available here and it has apparently been reformulated in recent years to a mere shadow of its former self, so I’ve given up trying to source a supply of this.  

In my search for something new for The Bloke to try, I was recommended Bois du Portugal by Creed and a short list of others. Well, it seems Creed is both very difficult to find in Australia and very expensive. Samples are also rare, however I was able to pick up a sample vial of Creed Green Irish Tweed on eBay. The Bloke loved it! I didn’t mind it but, at around $200 a bottle, the price is more than I am prepared to pay. So, I went to Basnotes forum for suggestions of a more affordable alternative. The answer was Davidoff Cool Water. Arrrgh! 

I’ll be looking more closely at the other recommendations on that list now. I’m hoping I can source samples of M7 by YSL, Yatagan by Caron and maybe Guerlain’s Habit Rouge, while still keeping up the search for a sample of Creed’s Bois du Portugal.

Oh, and for the record, he was not impressed with Lolita Lempicka Au Masculin, so I get to keep that one for myself.

Mmmmmm. Lolita Lempicka is gorgeous. Not too heavy, not too light, not too floral but still quite feminine. The sweet whimsical design of the little bottle is well matched with this fragrance.

Top Notes: Ivy, Anise Seed. 

Middle Notes: Violet, Amarise, Licorice, Amarena. 

Base Notes: Vetiver, Tonka, Vanilla, Musk.

My rating: 4.5 / 5

I got this as a miniature in a ‘his & hers’ set with Lolita Lempicka Au Masculin. I love Au Masculin. It’s similar to the female scent but deeper, warmer and woodsier. I think I would wear this one myself if The Bloke turns his nose up at it. Funny though, as I’m typing this I notice how I keep inadvertently mistyping the name as limpecka - that would be sure to scare the men away from this lovely fragrance!

Ralph Rocks doesn’t really rock at all. At least, not in my book. This perfume is clearly aimed at a consumer much younger than I, and although it’s not offensive to my senses in the same way as Pink Sugar, it’s simply way to sweet and fruity for me.

Perfumer: Annie Buzantian

Top Notes: Passion Fruit, Humid Mist, Kiwi, And Citrus Accord

Middle Notes: Green Palm Leaves, Freesia, Orange Blossom, Heirloom Hyacinth, White Coconut Milk

Base Notes: Sun Bleached Woods, Amber, Indonesian Sandalwood

My rating: 2 / 5

Sport Spirit is another unisex fragrance, but this one is lighter and shallower than Country Weekend. Sport Spirit is unremarkable and lacks staying power. The initial citrus burst is very short lived and it quickly dries down to nothing after about an hour.

Top notes: lavender, mandarin orange and juniper; 

Middle notes: rosemary and sage; 

Base notes: grapefruit, geranium and lemon.

My rating: 2 / 5

Halloween Kiss is not a star performer in my book. A bit too young, a bit too sweet and a bit too nothing much at all. I could clearly smell the cola note, but I didn’t find it attractive.

Perfumer: Christophe Raynaud

Top Notes: Blood Orange, Pear, Red Berries, and Coca-Cola.

Middle Notes: Peach elixir, Peonies, and Orchids

Base Notes: Chocolate Bombón, Vanilla Mousse, and Teakwood.

My rating: 1.5 / 5

V Absolu is v delicious. It starts off with a whiff of summery, fruity alcohol and dries down to a sweet delicious vanilla dessert. While this description probably makes it seem like it would be a fun, casual fragrance, I can only imagine myself wearing this to a wedding or similar occasion. It’s quite strong and I definitely could not wear this as an everyday scent.

Top notes: Grapefruit, Mandarin, Fig, Vodka, and Freesia

Middle notes: Orange Blossom, Frangipani, and Heliotrope

Base notes: Cedarwood, Sandalwood, Amber, Musk, Vanilla.

my rating: 4 / 5

Country Weekend is a unisex fragrance, and the top notes are definitely quite masculine to my untrained nose. Straight out of the bottle it smells strongly of apple and cedar, but once it settles it’s a little more demur.  There’s nothing especially striking or memorable about this perfume but it’s inoffensive and it gets bonus points from me for not being floral.

Top notes: Apple and marigold. 

Middle notes: Bay leaf, jasmine, cinnamon and red wood.

Base notes: Cedar wood, cashmere and nutmeg.

My rating: 3 / 5