...Newbie:Hi, I've only recently started applyimg eau de toilette and my problem is that I work a very long day. I've bought some Bulgari Man which is very nice but I find that in order to still smell the fragrance at the end of the day I have to apply between 15 and 20 sprays at the beginning. At this rate I will get through my supply very quickly and I may have to get something cheaper next time. I was thinking about Cerruti 1881 which someone recommended. Does anyone know whether I will have to apply as much of that scent to get me through the day? Also, I smoke heavily and I'm wondering whether this is stopping me smelling the scent, would this be right?Not all cheap (affordable) fragrances need a lot of application, just as not all expensive fragrances perform well with little application. Some affordable fragrances that are good performers in my experience are:- Most Jacques Bogart fragrances (both vintage/discontinued and current offerings); for example One Man Show Gold Edition is known to be an extremely good performer, to the point of being annoying to some, I understand.- Most Ted Lapidus fragrances (both vintage/discontinued and current offerings); for example, Black Extreme. Spray it in this room and they will know in the next room; true story.- Sung Homme (current version; I have not tried the vintage, but I cannot imagine it performing worse.)- Some Cuba-Paris offerings; Gold, Prestige, and Royal, in particular. However, be careful with this house. Not all Cubas are known to be good performers; for example, the ones in the City Collection and Latin Collection. Also, I have seen remarks that recent batches of Gold, Prestige and Royal are less powerful. I am aware that the packaging has changed, which sometimes may signal reformulations.- A range of others, such as Krizia Uomo (current is not as powerful as vintage, but still a good performer), Bijan Men (ditto), CK One Shock ("shockingly" powerful for a CK fragrance).

...Sorceress:Must de CartierAnimaleTabuPersian Wood AvonRare Rubies AvonOpiumMagie NoireShalimarPassion Elizabeth TaylorKnowing Estee LauderHabinitaYes, ET Passion is exquisite. There is an EDT+body lotion gift set, which is excellent value for money. Opium, Obsession, Paloma Picasso and Must de Cartier are other excellent animalics, in my opinion.

...You are welcome; my pleasure, indeed.By the way, I just realized that the forum editor adds links to fragrances if words are put in quotes, such as "sea breeze", which obviously was not my intention. :)

...AromiErotici:Niche releases marketed to men are probably the easier wear for a woman, but as difficult as some of the classic masculines would be to pull off, there are a few off the top of my head that would smell interesting on the female persuasion.Ungaro II and MCM Twenty Four Evening feature a prominent civet note. I think women could wear both of these.Man! I saw the title of this topic, and the first fragrance that lit up inside my head was Ungaro II with its sensual creamy texture. Oh, how delicious that would be on the right woman. (I would say "great minds think alike", but I know better than claiming to be half as great a fragrance mind as AromiEritici. Chapeau, monsieur. )I share Apicius' position that there probably are more masculines that women can successfully carry than those they cannot. And even with those masculines that are unlikely to suit a woman, there are alternatives that are more or less similar, which are suitable for women. So, let me try and push the envelope a little bit here with some "powerhouse" masculines. For example, one masculine that I love, but I can hardly envision on a woman is Quorum; (well maybe Principal Agatha Trunchbull from the movie Matilda is an exception). However, I can imagine women successfully pulling off Sung Homme, which I find to share several characteristics with Quorum. A counter example would be Pierre Cardin pour Monsieur, which I find to share certain aspects with Ungaro II; (front-and-center citruses, and most importantly an inky carnation) . While Ungaro II would be exquisite on a woman, P.Cardin PM on a woman would confuse me to no end. Two other such pairs I would like to mention are Cartier Pasha (OK for women, I would say) vs. VC&A Tsar (not OK, in my opinion), and Rochas Globe (OK) vs. Paco R. Tenere (not quite OK). One common thread I observe in these examples is that the ones I do not find very suitable for women make use of one or more notes in some aggressive way, while their suitable counterparts round off those notes by making use of some counterbalancing aspects. For example, pine and moss in Quorum, orange and carnation in PC PM, patchouli and artemisia in Tenere, and fresh spicy (coriander, etc.) and green notes in Tsar are used aggressively, (pushing the limits, if you will). Whereas, their counterparts in Sung Homme (soapy floral notes), Ungaro II (vanilla, creamy floral notes and civet), Globe (fresh/sweet/spicy floral notes) and Pasha (a more pronounced sandalwood aspect) are smoothed out and rounded off effectively with balancing aspects.As I wrote this post, I realized that while I enjoy Sung Homme, Ungaro II, Pasha and Globe quite a bit, I like Quorum, PC PM, Tsar and Tenere better, respectively, and prefer them for my own use. Interesting. I guess I will reflect a little more on this.

...Sleuth:Can anyone tell me what the dry down of "Horizon" by Guy Laroche is like?Should I expect a somewhat synthetic oakmoss + some sharp patchouli?What kind of moss and what kind of patchouli should I expect? How much of each?Let me know :)I like the late stages of Horizon's dry-down quite a bit. It definitely has an 80s type, dark dry-down that is decisively masculine. Horizon is a 80s-to-90s transition fragrance, and I would argue that one aspect of it that is more 80s than 90s is its late dry-down. (By contrast, I find the opening more 90s with the mint and the sea breeze note.) The opening, and in fact the first half of the overall life-cycle, seems to be challenging to some. People variably define it as "medicinal", "synthetic", "confused", "eclectic", "trying to do too many things at once", etc. There are amounts of truth to possibly all of those arguments, but none too grave as to write Horizon off, I think. And none of these points, in my opinion, apply as readily to the second half of the life-cycle as they do to the first.For one things, I do not get anything strikingly synthetic in the late dry-down. Yes, there is moss and patchouli, and some sandalwood for good measure; you know, the usual good stuff that makes up a textbook old-school masculine dry-down. But your questions along the lines of "how much", "what kind" are a bit hard to answer, at least for me. My "too little" may be your "too much" or vice versa. All I can say is, for me there is not much, if anything that is synthetic in the dry down, and neither of moss and patchouli smell either too over the top or too weak. I find it to be a good, solid dry-down. In fact, now that I think more about it, I would say I wear Horizon for the late dry-down, rather than any other phase.

...Sleuth:A different question about "Le Mâle"...I found the Le Mâle deodorant in the bargain bin, so I bought it and I've been using it the past few days. That vanilla just smells so good!!My question is:WHY does the vanilla from Le Mâle smell so good? Normally I don't like vanilla. Is the vanilla maybe combined with another ingredient, that makes it extra appealing?This is quite interesting, Sleuth. I am picky about vanilla, too, and I find almost every incarnation of Le Mâle delightful, including many knock-offs to boot. The reason I can think of why the vanilla in Le Mâle is so good, and does not get cloying or boring, is because the lavender and the mint balance and curb the sweetness of vanilla pretty effectively. I would have suggested that the (relatively) high quality of the ingredients might be a factor, but as I said, I enjoy the Le Mâle concept even in cheap (as in "affordable") knock-offs, and I do not imagine those to have high quality ingredients. So, at least for me, what makes the overall Le Mâle concept quite superb despite the risky premise of having vanilla front-and-center is the excellent balance achieved by the masterful use of lavender and mint.And let me clarify the concept of "cheap knock-offs" a little bit. I have an extremely cheap, (bought from a dollar store for $1, mind you,) Le Mâle knock-off that I use as a car air-freshener, and although I would not imagine using it on my body or clothes, I still find it quite good for the purpose I have assigned to it, and not the least bit cloying or boring. Obviously, there are better knock-offs, such as Cuba Gold, (in which I find the mint to be more pronounced,) and Fujiyama Gentleman (with more pronounced lavender, to my nose), which do not fall flat on their noses, unlike most knock-offs do. Again, I think the vanilla-lavender-mint concept and the balance between the three are so good that it is hard to go wrong with them.