Your Top 5 Colognes

[rjman]

Is anyone a fan of Bel Ami? I used to wear it, and read the Maupassant novel because of it.

I'm also curious if anyone is a fan of the various Cuir de Russie colognes, or of a perfume entitled "Escrimeur".

[iammatt]

Is anyone a fan of Bel Ami? I used to wear it, and read the Maupassant novel because of it.

I'm also curious if anyone is a fan of the various Cuir de Russie colognes, or of a perfume entitled "Escrimeur".

My wife is so fond of it that she has purchased it for me three times without realizing that it is the same cologne. I fear the duplicate shoes that I might find were I to look in her closet. I like it, but do not love it.

[alden]

RJ,

Here is Luca Turin's review of Cuir de Russie in French. I am sure you will be able to translate it for the group!

Ce legendaire parfum a ete reedite; tout en l’attendant avec trepidation, on pouvait craindre qu’il ne fut reduit a l’ombre de son ancienne majeste. Eh bien, il n’en est rien: ce cuir somptueux, balsamique et clair, san compromis doucereux reprend sa place au sommet de cette categorie, au cotes du plus jovial Tabac Blond (Caron.)

Les cuirs sont le quator a cordes de la parfumerie: les compositeurs tendent a leur reserver leurs meilleures inspirations et le resultat est souvent tres abstrait, a la fois cerebral et charnel, parfaitement androgyne. Cuir de Russie est un saisissant hologramme d’un faste revolu: en le sentant, on croit caresser de la main la banquette gris perle d’une Isotta Fraschini tandis que les forets de bouleaux defilent en silence.

Relativement peu tenace, a utiliser sur les vetements plutot que sur la peau. Choissisez l’extrait, don’t il serait dommage de se priver.


The best frangrances of this type are Tabac Blond, Cuir de Russie, Knize 10 and Habit Rouge. Get some to spray on your handkerchief, to survivi some of the rude odors the big city can inflict.

Cheers

[uppercase]

Somehow, it's comforting to read that a scent 'pleases women'.

Should I care?

Because, afterall, I may like a particular juice but how the hell do I know how it smells to others!

Is such thinking wrong headed and could it lead me down the wrong path?

Where I have been before.

[iammatt]

Somehow, it's comforting to read that a scent 'pleases women'.

Should I care?

Because, afterall, I may like a particular juice but how the hell do I know how it smells to others!

Is such thinking wrong headed and could it lead me down the wrong path?

Where I have been before.

I think that it matters. I would not wear something just because it pleased my wife, but I hnk that it would be pretty inconsiderate to wear something that she disliked. Her perfume pleases me and when she wears one that does not, I let her know.

That being said, I would certainly not wear something that I did not love. It really is a balancing act. Why don't you pick a couple that you like and then ask your wife which ones she prefers. Remember, you are the one who told me that the reason we have wives is to have somebody to laugh at us.

[uppercase]

Disclaimer: iammatt: I never said that. I would never even Think that.

I had an interesting few experiences recently on vacation related to women's sense of smell. Which I find uncanny and unsettlling unpredictable.

I usually throw into my kit a cologne when traveling. This time I had with me Terre de Hermes by Hermes.

A nice enough scent, but not one with the usual manly smells of leather, tobacco, wood and grease. It's sort of floral, smells like grapefruit.

But the women seem to love it. More than 3-4 times, in different situations, I've had women start sniffing the air, from long distances even, trying to identify the source. It was a little spooky.

Then approach and say, you smell good, Really good. And they meant it; they weren't interested in me, certainly, but were genuinely very curious about the scent.

If I was quicker on the uptake, I would have taken advantage of matters but, anyway, just a thought here that women may like something quite different then men.

Maybe more florals and less leather.

There must be a science to this business of what juice attracts women, as a distinct species, although I haven't found any worthwhile literature on this matter, just this:

http://basenotes.net/columnists/drbasenotes-dec02.html

[Jackson]

A nice enough scent, but not one with the usual manly smells of leather, tobacco, wood and grease. It's sort of floral, smells like grapefruit.

But the women seem to love it. More than 3-4 times, in different situations, I've had women start sniffing the air, from long distances even, trying to identify the source. It was a little spooky.

Then approach and say, you smell good, Really good. And they meant it; they weren't interested in me, certainly, but were genuinely very curious about the scent.

I've had similiar experiences with Terre d'Hermes. I have gotten by far the strongest positive reactions from women to a fragrance that I've ever encountered. It catches their nose and draws them in. Jean-Claude Ellena was on to something when the team at Hermes came up with this one.

[uppercase]

Well, then based on our overwhelming collective empirical evidence , there must be something unusual going on with Terre.

I wonder if the other similar Hermes scents - Un Jardin sur le Nil and Un Jardin en Mediterranee - work as well?

[iammatt]

I began to feel that my Angeliques Sous la Pluie was too summery for the winter. I would not think to drink a gin and tonic this time of year, so I do not think that I want to smell like one. Recently, I picked up a bottle of Habit Rouge and it is, fromthis day forth, the fragrance that I like to wear during the fall and winter. It has the characteristic of smelling like a better version of the person who wears it, rather than a different person altogether. That is exactly what I look for.

[uppercase]

Habit Rouge will no doubt make you a better person.

Bring out all of your considerable virtues and minimize your shortcomings.

You don't drink G&T anymore this time of year?; what's the temps in SF now?

What's your daily poison now?

I had the chance to visit the perfume section in Bergdorfs a while back; they havethe advantage of carrying many of the classics , which are really hard to find in NYC, andmany of your favorities mentioned above.

They have a nice looking salesgirl and she sold me the Knize 10 and am waiting for snow , expected soon, to wear it.

[andrei67]

I wonder whether the changes in Guerlain management have affected their scent formulas - Habit Rouge and Heritage in particular seem to be not that rich as before, or maybe I'm just wrong...

[King Arthur]

I enjoy reading your preferrences for scents, I'm impressed.
No one could mistake you to be anything but Gentlemen.
I especially admire uppercase's organization in selection.
Right now, I'm trying out Ralph Lauren's Black to see how I like it.
Has anyone else tried it?

[iammatt]

Habit Rouge will no doubt make you a better person.

Bring out all of your considerable virtues and minimize your shortcomings.

You don't drink G&T anymore this time of year?; what's the temps in SF now?

What's your daily poison now?

Well, Habit Rouge has a lot ot do in my case, so it better get to work.

Right now, right now Habit Rouge is my daily. In spring and summer I will go back to Angeliques.

G&T for me is a rite of Summer. I have a hard time drinking it in the colder months. I am not much of a drinker overall, but I had a couple of scotches yesterday and enjoyed them. My soft spot is for Champagne.

Don't hold your breath waiting for snow over there. The Knize is nice and becomes nicer once you have stepped foot in the shop. It is a little stronger than I can wear, or perhaps it is just a touch discordant with my own body.

[Swann]

Dear andrei67,

here is an except from Luca Turin`s monthly column „Duftnote“ about Guerlain, that you might find interesting:

Faithful readers will recall a Duftnote a year ago expressing alarm at the impending “modernization” of the Guerlain classics to bring them in line with EU regulations. Things have moved on since then: instead of a callow youth to oversee the job, Guerlain relented and hired the great Edouard Fléchier. Fléchier, a wonderfully inventive perfumer (Poison, Une Rose, etc. ) and Grasse veteran with more experience of naturals than just about anyone alive, has been at it for a year. To date, there is no sign of any planned release of new-and-improved fragrances. Guerlain’s attitude also seems to have changed, from secretive to openly defensive. I recently gave a lecture in Paris to an audience of perfumers and, during the questions, made an offhand remark about Guerlain’s Chamade and Chant d’Arômes having been changed long ago. Days later I got a phone call from Fléchier himself asking me to account for my words. I explained what I meant (Chamade less powdery, Chant d’Aromes less peachy, nothing to do with his work) and the conversation took an unexpected turn.

Guerlain, it seems, feels unfairly singled out for criticism, at a time when everyone is messing with their old formulae to either cheapen them or bring them in line with regulations. True, Guerlain are getting a lot of flak, but only in proportion to the importance of the masterpieces in their safekeeping. Which would you most worry about: the Uffizi hosing down its Botticellis, or the Hirshhorn Museum scrubbing its Julian Schnabels down to the bare velvet? Fléchier insisted that they were working very hard at making sure no damage would be done, and I believe him.

But can they do it ? I’ll bet oakmoss, birch tar etc. simply cannot be replaced. What then ? Plenty, as a matter of fact. For a start, be more open about the whole process. I suggested to Fléchier, and later to Guerlain’s head of PR that they (at long last) explain to their customers what the problem is, and humbly let them decide: Mitsouko with a health warning, or Mitsouko after plastic surgery ? For that matter, why not both ? For example, the Parfum in each line could be the original, with the EdT and EdP revised and “safe”. I think the best course of action would be for Guerlain to invite every perfume journalist on earth to visit the works, let Fléchier explain the problem, have the regulatory people explain the options, and see what King Customer decrees. Welcome to the modern world.

Best regards,

Swann

p.s.: This is my first post here, I am pleased to meet everbody.

[uppercase]

What is the issue here with EU regulations and the perfumeurs?

Safe EdC and EdP? What does this mean? Perfume is not safe now?!