Yves St Laurent - Best Mainstream Office Scent Cologne for Men

Clean, and non-invasive, yet head-turning. People will notice you smell good and want to be near you.

Fragrance Profile
Name: L'Homme
Aromas: Apple, Clean Sophistication
Cost: $$
Perfume Line: Yves St. Laurent
Creator: Dominique Ropion  

If You Like This Scent, Try These Too:

• Morrocan Mint Tea by Ava Luxe, a scent of mint tea with a sandalwood dry down.
• Rivertown Road by Liz Zorn of SOIVOIHLE Perfumesa fourge scent of lavender and honey

5 Smoke Inspired Colognes for Men

While I like smelling a camp fire of burning logs while I am out camping and hiking, I don't usually want to smell this way during the daytime hours. But evening and night is a different thing altogether. (Que the sound of a wolf howling at the moon!)

Best Niche Winter Cologne For Men

Winter Woods by Sonoma Scent Studio. This scent turns heads. Compliments and questions of "What scent are you wearing." The aroma reminds me of sitting near a fireplace sipping cider and smelling cedar wood. Creates a sensual animalic and masculine atmosphere.

Fragrance Profile
Name: Winter Woods
Aromas: Cedar, Baked Apple Pie
Cost: $
Perfume Line: Sonoma Scent Studio
Creator: Laurie Erickson  

If You Like This Scent, Try These Too:

• December by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz of DSH Perfumes, a nice scent of fir trees, a hint of apple, and cozy sugar cookies.
• Keni by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz of DSH Perfumes a long lasting cinnamon scent that wafts off the skin for hours.

The Perfect Scent, A Year Inside The Perfume Industry

Randomly picked up "The Perfect Scent" by Chandler Burr. The book delves into the world of perfumers giving a very artistic, yet well-rounded with science, look into the luxury world of scent. It follows two perfumes: Lovely being created in New York City by the perfumers at Coty under the creative direction of Sarah Jessica Parker (famed Sex & The City star), & Jardin Su De Nil being created by Ellena in Paris for the luxury brand Hermes.

Author Chandler Burr does a bang-up great job of blending together the art & science of perfumery while taking us through the not-often-seen parts of what it takes to create a perfume recipe. I had to put the book down several times to look up fragrances that he was describing because I wanted to see the bottles they came in and get a better visual idea of what they each were. 

My appreciation for perfumers has sky-rocketed after reading this book. If you are into cologne and perfume, are kinda geeky with science, this is a great read.

Beyond Paradise - Mens Green Aquatic Scent

The 3.4 oz. bottle is one of the most mesmerizing I've seen. A curved glass design, which if it were all chrome would make me think of a sleek flask. The colored glass begins at the top in tones of turquoise fading to ultramarine blue and ends on a base that glints with a subtle ruby tone. The bottle designer did a bang up job of invoking a look of tropical depths of water & endless horizons.

Fragrance Profile
Name: Beyond Paradise for Men
Aromas: Green Aquatic, Pineapple
Cost: $$
Perfume Line: Estee Lauder
Creator: Calice Asancheyev-Becker 

Beyond Paradise for Men was launched in 2004 by Estee Lauder. The perfumer that dreamed up this tropical escape is Calice Asancheyev-Becker. This scent has some similarities to the 1997 scent What About Adam created by Calice for the perfume house Joop! But this one is so much better. It's a clean aquatic aroma with some awesome fruit and florals blended in. I'd tag it as a green aquatic. Around the aquatic base I gets hints of pineapple & fruit. Which makes me a very happy man. 

I find myself sniffing my wrists and getting a big grin when wearing this. Certainly a beachy Summer scent that's aptly named. 

While it is classified as an aquatic, it hasn't gone overboard (pun intended) with the sillage or saltiness. Not at all like the in-your-face famed aquatic cologne Aqua Di Gio.

The price point is good for Beyond Paradise too. A 3.4 oz. bottle can be found for around $50.  

I am thinking I need to check out some more of perfumer Calice's work. I see that of late she's been doing work with By Killian.

If You Like This Scent, Try These Too:

• Set Sail South Seas by Tommy Bahama, a simple recipe of three ingredients- Mandarin, Violet, and Rum. I always get people at the beach asking me what I am wearing.
• Eau de Rem by Reminiscence, a beach scent, with hints of vanilla, rosemary and bergamont.