Men's Grooming Tips And Advice

A new fragrance I recently got was Noir by Tom Ford. This is the EDP, which was released in 2012 so is a relatively new scent, but Tom Ford also released an EDT with the same name, Noir in 2013 which I liked, but is a different scent to this. Both bottles are the same style, however the EDP is a black bottle, and the EDT is a frosted clear bottle.

Once you smell Noir you’ll notice it’s a really warm and inviting scent straight away. It’s a very masculine but in a modern way which is not musky like an old classic fragrance. I would definitely recommend this for a night, and would suit any type of situation, whether going to a posh formal night, having a night out with your friends or taking a girl out, this is perfect for any evening.

Top notes: Italian bergamot, verbena, caraway, baie rose (pink pepper), violet flower.

Heart notes: black pepper, nutmeg, Tuscan Iris resin, Egyptian Geranium, Bulgarian Rose, Clary Sage.

Base notes: Opoponax, amber, Indonesian patchouli, vetiver, civet, vanilla

It is a little on the expensive side, but this is an EDP rather than an EDT. That means it’s a stronger in terms that you’ll need to apply less, it will last longer on the night, and it will last longer when you keep it. The cost for a 50ml bottle is around £60, and you can get a 100ml bottle for around £78 which obviously is a better value.

I don’t usually write about deals and offers on one particular product, if I did I would be on all day writing about everything! But you may (or may not) know that The Perfume Shop is doing Boss Bottled Night 200ml for an amazing £39.99! I already own this fragrance, read about Boss Bottled Night here, you’ll see that I love this and have owned it for a few years.

As you can see, I only got the 50ml bottle, which is a standard size you’d expect to buy, and usually cost around £40. Large bottles are usually 100ml and occasionally some brands offer supersize bottles.

Boss Bottled Night is a slightly woody and masculine smell, as the name suggests it’s designed for the night, and you’ll love to wear on a night out. It is a really inviting scent, without being overpowering.

This is likely to be a limited offer, get a 200ml bottle. Perfect for yourself or a gift for Christmas.

Launched earlier this year was a new David Beckham fragrance, David Beckham Classic. It’s just the latest of his collection of fragrances, which has included The Essence, Instinct, Homme, Signature and Intimately Beckham.

It’s said to be a woody citrus type of scent, with an elegant feel.

Heart notes
Cypress Orpur, Nutmeg, Fresh Mint

Top notes
Gin Tonic Accord, Lime, Albanum

Base notes
Texas Cedarwood, Ambermax, Vetiver

Scent – Woody
Feel – Elegant

If you are looking for a new scent to add to your male grooming repertoire, I have tried out a new fragrance from Italian fashion brand Trussardi. It’s called Uomo, and comes in a stylish black bottle trimmed in gold. It’s a real classy and elegant bottle, simple in it’s style with the gold top and writing.

Trussardi say ” Its notes are inspired by leather and Italianity: lemon, bergamot, galbanum, violet, geranium, salvia sclarea, musk, leather, and patchouli”.

What does that smell like? Well it’s a classic, manly smell, a hint of woody musk “man smell” as I call it, but not overpowering. It’s a one for the night, whether you’re out with the boys or with a lady, this works.

If you are looking for a classic men’s EDT and want something different from everyone else, this could be it.

I got the set which includes the shower gel and aftershave balm.

I got a sample of Salvatore Ferragamo Acqua Essenziale to try, and it smells pretty good. First of all I like the little sample bottle, it’s quite amazing how much detail and effort goes into some brands samples, and this is no different.

The smell itself is quite a fresh water, yet woody type of smell. It’s a grown up, refined masculine type of smell, definitely not fruity or any hint of citrus.

Just to show you the size difference in the bottles

I have been looking to get this fragrance for quite a long time. It’s called Santal by Floris London, and I have to say it smells amazing.

If you read my blog then you will know my favourite ever scent is Gucci Envy by Gucci, and they have now discontinued Gucci Envy, in fact they did quite a while ago. That means trying to find a bottle is very hard if not impossible, and when you do they are silly prices. I did some researching online and most people said that Floris Santal was most like it. I read one reviewer who said it was “A more refined Envy“. The problem was that this was not so easy to find either, not in store anyway. I wanted to smell it first before buying since it’s quite an expensive one (£75 for 100ml) and my parents happened to be in London and got me a sample. I loved it and now know why someone called it a “more refined Envy”, because that makes perfect sense.

After smelling it I ordered it online via their official site, and it came quickly, well packaged and with a sample of Night Scented Jasmine for women which I must say smells really good too.

I do love the bottle too, a proper old school bottle, and it’s made by a proper British perfume maker rather than just a fashion label who just happen to have released a fragrance which I also like.

So I think I have found my new #1 favourite scent. I said that I will only buy this from now on, but if you see my collection you probably know I will still buy more for variation 😛

Official Floris site

(p.s. Floris if you are reading, please don’t do a Gucci and discontinue this! )

Other Floris London Fragrances

• Floris 89 & Floris Elite
• Floris Bergamotto Di Positano

So far in this mini series of my fragrances, you have seen my least favourite top 10, my current favourites and now it’s time to wrap it up with my all time favourites.

These include scents which I have had for a long time, and some newer ones which I like. Back when I first starting wearing EDT and aftershave I used to have a tiny collection of only three; CK:One, Tommy Hilfiger and Cerruti. The Cerruti was really strong, and wearing too much meant you would be smelling it for a long time and people could smell you from a good distance, but it was a nice smell 😀 The favourite of those three was probably the Tommy, I wore it the most, but have not worn it since I was around 18 years old.

So, to my all time favourites, and here they are.

10. Vera Wang For Men – I think I got this in 2007 or 2008 and I like it. It’s a woody spicy kind of scent, and has a pleasant aroma.

9. Bleu De Chanel – An elegant typical man’s type of smell, perfect to wear on a night out.

8. BOSS Bottled Night by Hugo Boss – Again another great smell for a night, it has quite a warm smell.

7. Gucci by Gucci – Strong, woody and slightly peppery, but not over-powering. One of my favourites for sure, in fact I bought another 100ml bottle a few weeks ago.

6. D&G The One – Another woody type of smell, but not too strong. Despite being woody, it has a little fresh-ness to it.

5. Narciso Rodriguez For Him – I got this and fell in love with it. It’s spicy, fresh and slightly musky, and I really do like this one.

4. Lacoste Blue – I don’t think you can buy this any more, but I really love it. It now reminds me of the summer of 2006 where I had this and wore it  a lot. A light fresh smell with a hint of spice, great for day or night wear.

3. Armani Code – Another one I have recently just re-bought in a 125ml bottle. A one for the night, it’s smell is inviting and addictive.

2. Bvlgari MAN – Almost my favourite, and it’s the one I currently use the most. The smell that has everything; Manly, woody, spicy and fresh, it’s like an old school classic scent which has been refined for the modern man. I have around 30% of a 50ml bottle left, then bought a brand new 100ml bottle!

1. Gucci Envy For Men – Of course it has to be number 1. I first got it in 2005, and right there and then it was my favourite, and nothing has changed. I used it sparingly, and ran out, then found and bought a bottle in 2009 only for it now to be discontinued. So I am down to the last and only bottle I am likely to have, so rarely use it.

If I had of known that then, I’d of bought a few bottles to keep me going! It’s a fresh, slightly citrus but nice and woody type of smell, and is very inviting. Not only a great smell but brings back great memories, so it has to be my all time number 1 scent.

In the last part of my fragrances I wrote about my least favourite fragrances, and now I will share which my “current favourite” fragrances are at the moment. I define current fragrances as the ones which are quite new or I have just got, and later I will share my all time favourites which I have.

Here are my current top 5 new favourites which I have.

5. Viktor & Rolf Spicebomb – A mix of a slight musk and fruity smell, but not the usual lemon or lime scent, it has a sort of hint of orange. I have only had this since Christmas 2012, but I do like it.

4. YSL La Nuit De L’Homme – I really like this. It’s a musky kind of smell but not too woody, and is great to wear for night, so it lives up to it’s “la nuit” name.

3. Kokorico by Jean Paul Gaultier – It’s in a cool bottle shaped like a head, and it’s quite a warm type of smell, and I like this a lot.

2. Calvin Klein Encounter – Because of the massive successes of scents like CK:One The Calvin Klein aftershaves seem a little less prestigious than other brands. However Encounter is amazing, I got it recently and I really do like it. Perfect for nights and going out, and could be worn through the day if you want to give your daytime a bit of a kick.

1. Chanel Allure Homme Sport Eau: Extreme – It’s a mouthful to say, but if you have the chance to get this then you should. Just the right mix of spice, woody and musk types of flavours, perfect for your night out.

If you are a regular reader of my blog you will know that I love scents, fragrances and all things EDT and in between. I buy quite a few a year, and have collected so many over the years, some which I love, and some I am not too fond of. I would not like to say I don’t like a scent, there are one or two which I just did not like, but most of the time they are simply my “least favourite”, i.e. I like many others more so use these less.

This is part I which has my least favourites, parts II and III you will see my all time faves and current faves which I have only recently got.

So, in reverse order…

10. Gucci Guilty – I first got this and thought it was OK, it was not a bad smell and something different from a fresh or musk smell, so I got it. However I have not used it so much, and it’s nowhere near as nice as Gucci by Gucci or Gucci Envy.

9. Armani Diamond For Men – Quite a fresh and citrus smell, it’s actually decent, but it’s just not something which I wear much.

8. Prada Infusions – A very fresh type of smell, probably best worn in the day, it just didn’t have that stand out smell.

7. D&G Masculine – This has a very pungent tangy scent, very citrus like. I associate masculine with a woody type of smell, this is not that, as you’d expect from it’s yellow/greenish colour.

6. 212 MEN by Carolina Herrera – I got 212 Sexy MEN and I loved it, so I got this. It’s definitely different. Whereas Sexy 212 in the brown bottle i’d wear on a night, this is more of a fresh day time smell.

5. YSL Pour Homme – Again this is a very citrus like smell, and the smell of lemon hits you straight away. As you can see in the image above, I have used very little of this!

4. Juicy Couture Old English – You can see from the name and the colour that this is going to be a woody musky smell; And it is. It’s a little too woody for my liking, but if you like that kind of strong musk smell this would be great for you.

3. Paco Rabanne Ultraviolet MAN – It has the most odd smell, a sort of flower smell. The front is purple, and if purple had a smell, it would be this! 😛 I do love the bottle though.

2. Thierry Mugler A*MEN – I have to say I am disappointed with this. I got a tester and it seemed to be fine, but after using a real bottle I am not a fan. This is one of my newest scents I got for Christmas 2012, but I don’t like it. It has a very tangy smell when you first spray it, but it does tone down later. I think I have to give this more of a try, but I don’t think it will make my top fragrances any time soon.

1. Marc Jacobs – BANG! – We are at the #1 “least favourite” smell, and it’s this. I can describe this in one word: Pepper. It smells so much like pepper, and I have to say it’s probably the only scent I have which I would say I do not like. I bought this without sampling it, and I wish I did because I’d almost certainly not have got it. I got “Bang Bang” the follow-up scent (in the blue bottle) which I actually like, and is a much nicer scent.

I did get some brand new EDT’s and fragrances for Christmas, but I wanted to get some old favourites, but not any old bottles, I wanted the large bottles.

I usually buy 50ml bottles, and I have loads of them, I actually don’t know the number since I got new ones, but its somewhere more than 50. Since I have so many, and I wear different ones, I rarely run out of the same one, even my favourites. I recently bought a large Gucci by Gucci 100ml bottle, and have decided that I will buy my favourites in the larger bottles, to ensure I don’t run out.

Bvlgari MAN is one of my favourites, and I got it a couple of years ago, more or less when it was released. It’s such a really nice smell, and even though I have half a bottle left, I decided to get a large 100ml bottle.

I got Armani Code in about 2005 and loved it. It’s a real evening kind of smell, and when I smell it, it reminds me of going out, probably because I did wear this a lot 😀 It’s one of the few bottles I have which I actually ran out of, and I had not bought a new bottle, so have not had it since about 2007. I never ever got around to buying it again, since I wanted to try new scents, I love it but there are loads more out there. So, years later, I decided that I would re-live the past and get a bottle. Armani Code comes in an even bigger bottle, this is their biggest and is 125ml.

Large bottles do not come cheap, not for these anyway. the 100ml Bvlgari MAN was £58 and the Armani Code 125ml was £65. The girl on the counter said I had expensive taste 😉