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Signature Scent

Smattayu

Smattayu

"The TSC's Comic Book Savant"
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Anyone have a fragrance or aftershave that is their go-to? The one that, when you can't decide what to splash or spray on, you automatically reach for? Mine generally changes with the season and the addition of new frags to my growing collection. Currently it's this one:

valour_100ml_front_1.1542401787.jpg


Valour by Robert Graham.I received a sample of it quite a while back and fell in love with it right away. It only lists Clary Sage, Coffee, and Amber as it's notes, but they manage to do a lot. Spicy and warm, but not too heavy. Very nice in cooler weather, though I think it could work in every season except maybe Summer. It projects heavily for the first 2-3 hours. I went a couple sprays too many the first time I used it, and people 15 feet away were asking who smelled so good. Longevity is 8-10 hours, which is a lot for me since most frags can barely be smelled after 5-6 hours on my skin. I love everything about this juice, from it's very classy presentation to the very end of it's dry down. There will probably be a new go-to in Spring or Summer, but I've been grabbing this one regularly since Autumn.
 
I guess I have two....with a couple honorable mentions. Between these four, I have a fragrance for any occasion or season. The most versatile are the first two, though.

Acqua di Parma Blu Mediterraneo Fico di Amalfi (Biggest gripe is the performance. It lasts for maybe 5 hours with low to moderate projection..but the scent is simply amazing)
70

Amouage Sunshine Man (Awesome longevity (10-15 hours depending on how heavy you put it on), projection (1 spray will get you about 5 ft), and INCREDIBLE dry down!!!!)
69

The honorable mentions are Penhaligon's Endymion (Awesome scent, not so good performance) and Bond No.9 NY Oud (cooler weather scent ONLY...can get very cloying with notes of Oud, Rose and Vanilla/Tonka Bean)
7172
 
I don’t really have one. I do usually go through periods of scents, where I’ll wear one for a while, then move on. I had a period (usually a year or more) where I used only Old Spice when I was a young teen, then I moved to Michael Jordan, then Very Sexy, then Cityscape. Traditional having has really changed that though, mixing it up every day.

I think my top scents now are AOS Sandalwood types (though I don’t have a frag for it yet), Fine Platinum/Aventus clone, and Fine AB/ Rive Gauche clone (no frag here either yet). I’d rotate these if it were feasible. I invested in Platinum last year, I think AB may be this year. I’ve never smelled these on anyone else as of yet, which bodes well for being a “signature” scent.
 
Agua Brava or PdP No. 63 is what I normally reach for depending on my mood.
 
I like to reach for stuff in the GIT likeness. Lately it has been Stirling Sharp Dressed Man. If you haven't tried Stirling EDT you are missing out.
 
WSP mahogany aftershave and cologne. I don’t think I have smelled anything better in my life. The only problem is my wife is a little below neutral about the scent, so I don’t wear it as much as I want to- which would be everyday. I still haven’t found a scent that we are both head over heels in love with.
 
Wish I did, but I don't. I having been wearing John Varvatos lately which surprising is something I like a lot. All the notes seem to have a lot going on, but the cologne itself has a fresh clean scent to it with a little more sandalwood than you might expect. But it's almost aquatic smelling.

  1. Top Notes
  2. Heart Notes
  3. Base notes
 
Lbkindy said:
Mine are Grey Flannel and Swiss Army Classic.
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I've got some vintage Grey Flannel and love it. I've never tried Swiss Army Classic, but have had it in the cart a couple times. It was usually replaced by an equally priced and better known fragrance, but I'm still curious about it.
Dagwoodz said:
I guess I have two....with a couple honorable mentions. Between these four, I have a fragrance for any occasion or season. The most versatile are the first two, though.

Acqua di Parma Blu Mediterraneo Fico di Amalfi (Biggest gripe is the performance. It lasts for maybe 5 hours with low to moderate projection..but the scent is simply amazing)

Amouage Sunshine Man (Awesome longevity (10-15 hours depending on how heavy you put it on), projection (1 spray will get you about 5 ft), and INCREDIBLE dry down!!!!)

The honorable mentions are Penhaligon's Endymion (Awesome scent, not so good performance) and Bond No.9 NY Oud (cooler weather scent ONLY...can get very cloying with notes of Oud, Rose and Vanilla/Tonka Bean)
Click to expand...

Sunshine Man is the only one of those I haven't at least gotten a sample or decant of, but the others are amazing scents.
GearNoir said:
I don’t really have one. I do usually go through periods of scents, where I’ll wear one for a while, then move on. I had a period (usually a year or more) where I used only Old Spice when I was a young teen, then I moved to Michael Jordan, then Very Sexy, then Cityscape. Traditional having has really changed that though, mixing it up every day.

I think my top scents now are AOS Sandalwood types (though I don’t have a frag for it yet), Fine Platinum/Aventus clone, and Fine AB/ Rive Gauche clone (no frag here either yet). I’d rotate these if it were feasible. I invested in Platinum last year, I think AB may be this year. I’ve never smelled these on anyone else as of yet, which bodes well for being a “signature” scent.
Click to expand...

I just got a bottle of Fine AB EDT. It is very similar to the fragrance it's cloned from, which is good since I am resistant to ever using my bottle of Rive Gauche. Once it's gone, it's gone forever.
Spider said:
Agua Brava or PdP No. 63 is what I normally reach for depending on my mood.
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I really need to get a bottle of PdP No. 63. I love the scent of the aftershave.
Cvargo said:
I like to reach for stuff in the GIT likeness. Lately it has been Stirling Sharp Dressed Man. If you haven't tried Stirling EDT you are missing out.
Click to expand...
Stirling EDT's are a great bang for the buck, and smell awesome. I haven't tried Sharp Dressed Man yet. I've got a bottle of WSP Gaelic Tweed, which gives me my GIT fix lol.
August West said:
DR Harris Sandalwood Aftershave

Knize Ten Eau de Toilette
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nice!
Jellodancer said:
WSP mahogany aftershave and cologne. I don’t think I have smelled anything better in my life. The only problem is my wife is a little below neutral about the scent, so I don’t wear it as much as I want to- which would be everyday. I still haven’t found a scent that we are both head over heels in love with.
Click to expand...
I've got Mahogany in shaving soap and aftershave. WSP's aftershaves might as well be EDT's. They last longer than any other aftershave I've ever used. Love that scent as well.
dangerousdon said:
Wish I did, but I don't. I having been wearing John Varvatos lately which surprising is something I like a lot. All the notes seem to have a lot going on, but the cologne itself has a fresh clean scent to it with a little more sandalwood than you might expect. But it's almost aquatic smelling.

  1. Top Notes
  2. Heart Notes
  3. Base notes
Click to expand...

Varvatos scents are really impressive. I don't think I've smelled one I don't like. They usually don't last long on my skin, but are still more than worth the price IMO.
 
Smattayu said:
I just got a bottle of Fine AB EDT. It is very similar to the fragrance it's cloned from, which is good since I am resistant to ever using my bottle of Rive Gauche. Once it's gone, it's gone forever.
Click to expand...
That’s nice to hear, the similarity. I want to try RR’s version too.

I’d love to get my hands on a bottle of RG frag. Almost had one this Christmas, but ended up being a no go. AB has me curious though. I was thinking nothing was going to top Platinum for me, but I’d say AB does it ever so slightly.
 
Man, I'd love to get into the frag game, but sadly it's such a huge and expensive area, that I'd only ever be able to get one or two top drawer frags, and if it's anything like aftershave, that's just a silly notion to me.

Anyway, my low budget fav might be APR Suitably Attired Summer
but I also love most any Floid or Myrsol scent, and lowly Williams Aqua Velva may be my favorite AS of all.

Still since we're talking Signature Scent, my fantasy signature that I haven't discovered yet would have to be some sort of incensey thing. (And totally open for suggestions, it's that sandalwood hit on the APR that makes it a winner for me.)
 
HMan said:
Still since we're talking Signature Scent, my fantasy signature that I haven't discovered yet would have to be some sort of incensey thing. (And totally open for suggestions, it's that sandalwood hit on the APR that makes it a winner for me.)
Click to expand...

If you're looking for a high end fragrance, check out Amouage fragrances. They are admittedly expensive, being a niche fragrance house, but most of them have a very distinct incense mid or base note. There should be some that they have which combine Sandalwood and incense. A couple worth looking at:

Fate Man
Interlude Man
Epic Man
Memoir Man
Gold Man

All have notes of incense or frankincense as well as sandalwood.
 
One thing I forgot to mention...

Take advantage of samples that are available. They are a great way to check out a high end fragrance, see if it smells like you thought, works well with your skin chemistry, and is SWMBO or significant other approved. A 2ml sample should be enough for 2-4 uses. You can find samples either at the makers' websites or on that auction website.
 
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