The men's grooming tips which will make sure you look and feel great. Learn what you need for the complete men's grooming routine, including skincare, hair, fragrance and guide on keeping yourself looking fresh.
One of my old fragrances I have is Z Zegna by Ermenegildo Zegna. It’s a few years old now, but I have been using it again for a week or so, and I really love it 😀
As you will know if you read my blog I have so many fragrances, so wearing the same one a lot does not happen much, and I usually wear my favourite 10-15 all the time. That’s a big number, so when there are 50 or 60 more in my collection it’s really hard to decide which to wear and most of the time I just keep referring back to my favourites.
I decided on giving Z another chance, I remembered it was a pretty nice scent, so went back to it, and of course it is. It’s a refined, warm and inviting scent, probably best to wear at night, but works equally if you want to wear it through the day, a great choice for the office. It’s a classic masculine style of scent, not too woody but more of a fresh, youthful type of scent.
It’s definitely something I’d recommend, and if you want an individual smell which nobody else will be wearing, this is a great choice. It’s quite a few years old now, but still a great choice.
Floris had their winter sale recently, so I decided to pick up a few bottles to see what they have to offer. My first experience with Floris was Santal. I was looking for a replacement for my beloved Gucci Envy, heard about Santal, got a sample, loved it, and bought a big bottle. I love Santal, it’s one of my favourite scents now that I can’t get Gucci Envy anymore, so I though I’d see the others Floris has to offer.
The Floris sale contains their fragrances which are bottled in their older packaging, so they sell them off cheaper. I got No.89 and Elite, which were £17.50 each, for 30ml bottles, the perfect size for just trying a scent out.
This is their older packaging, but I have to say I quite like it. I like the way you can take the box apart, and have the bottle sitting in the bottom half of the box, I think it looks pretty nice if you have your bottles out on display.
Top Notes: bergamot, cedar leaf, grapefruit, juniper berry, lemon, petitgrain Heart Notes: bay, fir balsam, lavender Base Notes: amber, cedarwood, leather, moss, musk, patchouli, vetiver
Both scents are actually quite similar, with No.89 being the more citrus and Elite being a little more woody. Elite is very citrus when you first put it on, but on the dry down it calms down and turns into a more refined woody smell. No.89 retains more of the citrus smell, with a hint of freshness.
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.
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 😛
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.
