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Your Latest Fragrance Purchase

Big day yesterday, three new fragrances, I'll start with this one.

Gucci Guilty Absolute pour Homme
Gucci, what a house, having made some of the greatest masculines, e.g. pour Homme, and then turning to pretty pedestrian releases in the Guilty series. Not that there's a problem with that, but not every guy wants to smell like the ocean or a candy shop.

Well, when they changed creative directors a few years back, they seemed to be willing to take a risk, and released Guilty Absolute, a complete outlier in the series. A total commercial flop, but an outstanding niche level concoction.

The brown color of the fluid gives a hint, a leather opening, with vetiver dropping into the mix as it moves to the base, which gives it an almost band aid note, up close, it smells like a new baseball glove on dry down, and I also get just a nice barbershop feel from it at times. Really lovely, linear but multi-faceted scent, and an outstanding value for the quality of the juice.

Sadly, being a commercial flop, it's discontinued, but bottles are out there on the cheap now, that won't last long and in a year this stuff will be fetching stupid prices on EBay.

I just got lucky, in that a discussion about it came up recently, otherwise, I wouldn't have even registered the stuff. Glad it did, leather is one of my favorite scent categories, can't have enough, and glad to have this wonderful easy wearing juice in my collection, 150 ml for half or less of what a niche house would charge, great value.

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Scuttlesoap said:
I somehow missed the updates to this for a while - I’m intrigued! What’s this like?
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It's very good stuff! I don't think it's for every one, but IMO a masterpiece. Floral geranium/lavender opening that totally transforms to an strong and outstanding oak mossy base.

This and Patchouli intense are neck and neck for best from the house, and neither smell like what you expect from the note listings, you just have to try them. Totally worth seeking out samples.

How do you like it @MarkB ?
 
HMan said:
I've got to cut Mr Smelly a lot of slack, he's clearly into the masculine classics, and isn't trying to be anybody other than himself. Glad you like the frags!
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He is one of my favorite frag-com reviewers. I tend to share his opinions on most fragrances, so if it is something that he likes I am probably going to like it also. The old-school classics are some of the best smelling fragrances out there.

So, while blind buying bottles that retail for over $100 is not a good idea normally, I wasn't afraid to blind buy both of these. I am not at all disappointed with either fragrance. They are excellent. And if you like the old-school classics, you should try both of these.
 
HMan said:
It's very good stuff! I don't think it's for every one, but IMO a masterpiece. Floral geranium/lavender opening that totally transforms to an strong and outstanding oak mossy base.

This and Patchouli intense are neck and neck for best from the house, and neither smell like what you expect from the note listings, you just have to try them. Totally worth seeking out samples.

How do you like it @MarkB ?
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I like it a lot. To me it's actually less "intense" than the original New York ironically.. The original smacks you right in the face on first spray whereas the "Intense" is a more gradual evolution. Cole was spot-on with the scent description.
 
HMan said:
It's very good stuff! I don't think it's for every one, but IMO a masterpiece. Floral geranium/lavender opening that totally transforms to an strong and outstanding oak mossy base.

This and Patchouli intense are neck and neck for best from the house, and neither smell like what you expect from the note listings, you just have to try them. Totally worth seeking out samples.

How do you like it @MarkB ?
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I think the artemisia is no quite as forward in the "Intense" version.
 
Any of our illustrious frag brethren have experience with Dior Sauvage Elixir? I hear that it’s powerful and you either love it or hate it…
 
Etat Libre d'Orange - Eloge du Traitre

This was a Christmas present from my daughter and son.
A rough and ready take on a barbershop fougere, opens with a musty, earthy dark green pine accord which sticks around as the barbershop mossyness comes in. You get that mossy barbershop as wafts in the air, and the mustiness up close. The opposite of dandified fougere, this one is ready for gritty action, I think you need hair on your chest, if not on your face for this.
I love it, and with it often compared to Caron Yatagan, it makes me want to give that a try as well.

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Tom Ford - Beau de Jour

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Modernized version of a lavender / benzoin Fougere.
The modern comes from the somewhat synthetic feel of the lavender, but there's no doubt it is lavender unlike some of the candied, almost teen age girl variants out there now.
This is that retro Blade Runner type of modern, and IMO it works quite well.
Opens with what some describe as insect repellent Lavender, I jus think it's very cool and aromatic.
Benzoin and ambers come in soon and the lavender benzoin accord pretty much dominates the rest of the lifespan.

I was able to pick this up on Black Friday special, and at the price I paid, I'm really happy with it. I'd have been less happy at the regular retail though. Well, it's Tom Ford, you know what to expect.
 
I purchased this Aftershave. Have any of you Guy’s Tried this.

Grey flannel by Geoffrey Beene after shave lotion 4 oz
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ED3054 said:
I purchased this Aftershave. Have any of you Guy’s Tried this.

Grey flannel by Geoffrey Beene after shave lotion 4 oz
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I havent tried the aftershave, but the Eau De Grey Flannel and Grey Flannel (orig) EdC are quite different. I like Eau much better. It is a simple freshy, and easy to wear.
 
Le Galion - Cuir
Another in my Christmas haul.
A strong IBQ leather, combined with ambergris, musks and sandalwood.
Opening has citrus overtones, but the ambergris isn't far behind and dominates the fragrance, giving it a fairly linear feel.
Overall, it's a great leather, for me it's just the leather I was looking for, classed up with the addition the funky notes, always makes me think of a high quality English Leather, which was always my favorite as a youngster.

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Caron - Yatagan
Brown/Green herbal machismo in a bottle.

This stuff is the exact opposite of most fragrances coming out today, which, at least for me is a shame, as this is just in my comfort zone.
TBH, I don't find it overly macho, in the sense that it's loud or assertive, it just smells like it suits someone who does more than just sit at a desk saying yes sir no sir all day long. It smells connected to something real, something you have to put in hard grift for. It's a scent for someone who had to work for it, and is all the human, humane, and humble for it. And I think the world needs more like this!

@Scuttlesoap I know you'd mentioned wanting ELdO Eloge du Traitore, I picked this up due to the comparisons. They are in the same ball park, both are great IF this is your kind of frag. It'snot everyone's. But if you liked that Bay Rum soap I sent you I think these two are both in your wheelhouse.
The ELdO imo is better, but costs more too. I got this so I would feel free to spray to my heart's content.
This is slightly more terpenic with a tiny vanilla twinge (it's a Caron after all) however it's not sweet and not knowing vintage, I don't get some sense of it being a shadow of it's former self.
In the US you can get this dirt cheap on the grey market.

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