A couple of week’s ago I wrote about Jean Paul Gaultier’s first and most infamous male scent, Le Male. After really enjoying this scent I got Fleur Du Male when it was released in 2007. All the classic JPG trademarks are present; From the torso shaped body to the tin style of box this fragrance comes in.
With this following on from a much loved scent, it had a lot to live up to.
This week’s fragrance review takes a look at something a little older which is still available to buy today; 212 Sexy Men by Carolina Herrera. This scent was released in 2006, and I bought it not soon after. It was in fact the very first fragrance I bought from Carolina Herrera, and a one which I loved.
In the past few weeks I have been writing my fragrance reviews about the new scents which I’ve got over Christmas and this Winter. Now I’m going back in time to something which I’ve owned for a long time, and I’m sure you have too. I am talking about the classic known as Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male.
Issey Miyake Pour Homme is an old scent, with it being released way back in 1994, however it remains a firm favourite with many and is a real classic fragrance. It’s actually the latest Issey Miyake fragrance I’ve got, with L’Eau D’Issey and L’eau Bleue D’Issey being the other ones which I got a while back.
The pour homme came recommended, a lot of people rave about this, so I decided to give it a try, and after sampling it I really enjoyed it, so got a bottle.
Tom Ford Grey Vetiver is the second EDP I’ve had from Tom Ford, with Noir being the first which I got for Christmas in 2013. Grey Vetiver was released in 2009 and the bottle is the same style as some previous Tom Ford bottles from the masculine line.
It’s a flat, ribbed, translucent style with a stylish silver front plate, and is as classy as it smells.
This week’s fragrance review takes a look at a newer scent to the market, Jimmy Choo MAN. I got myself a small bottle of this over the Christmas period after sampling it around the festive period.
I always get a couple of EDT’s for Christmas, but I decided on getting a few others before getting this one.
The same classic scent, wrapped in a collector’s edition body. I recently received a timeless scent which is quite coveted in the world of men’s fragrances, BOSS Bottled. For the 15th year anniversary of this iconic scent, BOSS created a collector’s edition, which is the same exact smell which everyone loves, wrapped in a brand new, dark grey opaque bottle.
As always I got a lot of men’s fragrances and other beauty and style type products, perfect for a style blogger or someone that reviews fragrances…That would be me! 😉 I pretty much have every scent which I want now, yeah, I do have 80+ at last count, but I got some key aftershaves which so many people like, classics which are coveted by many.
I had been looking at getting BOSS Bottled by Hugo Boss for a while, but Christmas was coming up so I held off and asked to get it for the festive season. I was lucky and they were doing a collectors edition so I ended up getting that. I can claim to be a collector, since I have Unlimited, Bottled Sport and Bottled night as well as this, the original albeit in the collection black bottle.
I’m on to my third variation of Issey Miyake too; This time Pour Homme. I do really like it, and I know it’s highly thought of by many. It is really nice, and is as clean as the bottle looks.
I got Noir by Tom Ford last year and I love it, this time round I went for Grey Vetiver and it’s so nice! To round it out I got a new scent, MAN by Jimmy Choo, but just a small bottle. All the scents I got apart from the Jimmy Choo I would describe as lighter day wear scents rather than the musky woody evening ones. I have so many of them I wanted a more rounded collection, so went for these. But make no mistake about it, these are so good, and I will be wearing them often, on nights out, and you can expect a more in depth look at each one in my fragrance reviews which will be coming 🙂
One of my favourite hair products is hair way by Sacha Juan. It’s expensive at £20 a tub, but will last me a while. I don’t use the same one each day, I like to vary it and usually use this one sparingly. It has a slightly buttery/neutral smell to it, non-greasy and works well in short hair.
It wouldn’t be Christmas without a little bit of Dermalogica, and the usual smelly stuff like deodorants and the Soap And Glory Men’s Kit.
Introduction
I have seen a few fragrance buying guides, and they all have something in common; They separate the scents by the type. Most people I know who are casual scent wearers or looking for a gift for someone would not look for fragrances this way, they may not know if an oud would be good for their dad or if something citrus would be suitable for their grandad.
So to make it easier for you, I am going to recommend what scent is best for the type of person you’re buying for 🙂
If you want an in depth look at some of my fragrances, you can check my men’s fragrance reviews. There’s a lot of fragrance tips out there, but something I hate about them is people advise on buying scents which they don’t own or haven’t even tried! ALL of the scents in this guide I either own or have sampled, so these are truly my personal recommendations 🙂
He doesn’t like something really heavy and musky, but likes to smell nice. Something not too sophisticated or expensive, not in your face or offensive. For this kind of dad then you want something which touches on some of the notes and is not particularly heavy especially in woody, musky or dark types of notes. What’s good for this?
YSL Libre – It’s a fresh and soft spicy style, and has quite a green smell to it, light enough to wear through the day. £42.50 @ Debenhams
D&G Anthology No.1 Le Bateleur – It has very slight woody notes, but is mostly aquatic and light. £34.52 Direct from Amazon (not a 3rd party seller!)
Lacoste L.12.12 Blanc – Floral but masculine, light and inviting. It’s clean, fresh and unobtrusive. Buy a little gift set from Debenhams for only £25
Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue – Aquatic and slightly spicy but fresh. John Lewis has it for £38.20
Fragrances can be quite expensive, and depending on your taste and favourite designer, they can be get very expensive indeed.
The few big name retailers on the high street are usually quite expensive, but fortunately we have this little known invention called the Internet which we can use to buy fragrances, aftershaves and the like for ourselves and others.
The biggest problem is the fakes, counterfeits and non-genuine products which are now being sold; Unfortunately we cannot tell from a picture whether or not you’ll end up receiving the real deal or a cheap knock off. So, where is the best place to get cheap fragrances? My top pick is Amazon, but it comes with a big warning!
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