@Duke Wy Lin
Got my 3 of my top 5 in his daily rotation, lol.
I'm not too deep in the game, most of my picks you'll see on a Youtuber list. But these the are the ones I own
and recommend.
So Fall/Winter
1) Spice - think cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, apple pie, stuff like that
- Viktor and Rolf - Spice Bomb Extreme - smells like Thanksgiving to me. Expect your chick to want to go get some Pumpkin Spice Lattes after this - (but Infrared is a good look - smells like a red hot candy)
- Paco Rabanne - One Million Prive - Apple Pie Spice - hard to find the bottle, but you can probably get the decant
- By Kilian - Angel's Share - Apple Pie Spice/Whisky/Honey - This one is not slept on by people into colognes, but I feel like more folks should be up on it.
2) Wood - fresh cut, aged, something you just expect in the cold.
- Givenchy - Gentleman Boisee - I like this whole line. Woody + Lipstick. It's real popular, but I can see folks not feeling it.
- Lalique - Encre Noire - woody, earthy. This is an acquired taste. Even though the full bottle is cheap, cop the sample.
3) Leather - like a good leather jacket
- Tom Ford - Tuscan Leather - It's supposed to be raspberries and leather, smells like an ash tray to me. But it's one of them thing i come back to. It's like you get to the point in your life where you like licorice. Dior's Fahrenheit is in this zone too, but that smells like gasoline.
- Tom Ford - Ombre Leather EDP - a sweet Leather if you can imagine that. The parfum (more oils) smells a lot like it, but not exact
4) Brown Liquor
- BVLGARI - Man in Black - Spices, Rum, Tobacco - but it's got some florals in it, so you could rock it to work
- Mugler - Pure Malt (you can find the decant, good luck finding a bottle) - good Whisky. See Angel's Share above as well.
- Maison Martin Margiela - Jazz Club - Allegedly rum? I rocks with it, but not heavy in the rotation.
5) Tobacco
- Tom Ford - Tobacco Vanille - My #1a of all time, (#1b is Tobacco Oud) - Buying the sample is fine, but this is one your incense man will probably have too. I can't really smell the difference between the 10 dollar oil and the 300 dollar bottle from Nordstrom. - Cigar type tobacco
- D&G - The One EDP - This is nice, but kinda weak on the performance. Perfect for like 2nd-5th date. Chick close enough to lean in on you.
- Le Labo - Tabac 28 - My current #1 stunna. The clones of this are really good. If you can find the decant, cop. - Daddy rolling up some tobacco leaf to put the ganja in type smell.
- Parfums de Marly - Herod - I think this is PDM's best scent, Layton #2, Habdan/Oajan #3a and #3b. But this is a sharp much spicier (pepper?) tobacco. To me this is James Brown about 1969, walking into a pool hall in Harlem.
6) Coffee
- Maison Martin Margiela - Coffee Break - More like Starbucks, not opening a bag of beans. Pleasant
- Halloween - Maybe - Halloween Man X - it's cheap but damn that opening is ROUGH. Dark Roast Coffee
7) Sweet/Caramel/Honey
- Jean Paul Gaultier - Ultramale or Le Male Parfum - The bottle ain't Harlem *pause*. But both are strong and sweet joint. Ultra has more Pear, and the Parfum is just strong. Beware - JPG got like 50 versions of this scent, so it's not a grab and go. Gotta read the label.
- Armani - Stronger With You, SWY Intensely, SWY Absolutely - I've got 80% of this collection (including oud, freeze, and leather), and the chestnut sugar thing is kinda addictive. Absolutely is the hard one to find, but the others are good. too.
- Nishane - Naxos - It's got a lot of stuff in it (tobacco included) , but to me the honey is what I notice
- Parfums De Marly - Layton - I think it has apple at the top. It's good year round, but I think it's really good in the cold.
- Maison Francis Kurkdjian - Baccarat Rouge 540 - It smells like cotton candy. It's been out for 7 years, but it just starting to get mainstream popularity. Girls love it, and girls love it on guys. Own it, use it sparingly. Would not buy a full bottle.
- Rasasi - Tobacco Blaze - It smells like raspberry shisha - so mostly raspberry, some tobacco, and some leather.
- Maison Martin Margiela - By the Fireplace - toasted marshmallow -
8) Powerhouse - Strictly for Live Men, not Freshmen
- Initio Parfums/Lattafa - Oud for Glory/Oud for Greatness - I say just get the 1ml/3ml - cause 5ml might be too much. Oud is generally a strong wood, can go from medicinal, incense-y, to barnyard-y. These were my introductions to Oud, and realized I'm still in the kiddie pool when it comes to the cologne game. Tom Ford's Oud Wood, Versace's Oud Noir, Gucci Guilty Oud, Gucci Intense Oud are also more laid back versions of oud. Acquired taste. I think most people start digging oud (and then oud + rose + saffron) because Oud is talked about A LOT in the community.
- Dior - Sauvage Elixir - Probably mentioned this one 5 times on this thread alone. If you like this at the store off one spray - it STAYS LIKE THAT - the entire day. Can you deal with that 6 hours later?
- Frederick Malle - Musc Ravageur - First niche spray I rocked with and love at first sniff.
Top 5 out of this list, i'd recommend someone just getting into this
- Spicebomb Extreme (16) or Angel's Share (35...)
- Gentleman Boisee (12) - probably the easiest one to wear at work/all the time. But might be too boring for some.
- Tobacco Vanille (27) or Herod (16)
- Ombre Leather EDP (17)
- Stronger with You (16)
~77 - 107 - for about 30 ml. (keep in mind, you can buy 100 ml of 1 scent for ~100 - so they're making their money)
But starting out, I bought too many full bottles of stuff I probably won't wear, because they were "safe" blindbuys.
Eros Flame, One Million Lucky, Voyage, L'Homme Ideal EDP.
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