Toilette, Bowlette, Parfum, Barfum...

Holy shitake is the rabbit hole deep AF with things to spray on your dermis.

The Wife has set me to task to source two new scents for her and two for me (beside my signature scents of "La Pain de Assé" and "Dickbomb") so I have been googling top ten lists, hitting perfume house websites and then finally the steep curve of the Fragrance subreddit. Have to declare, it is deep and seemingly endless.

To date I have plundered away appx $850 in .5 to 1.5ml "samples"... around 20 for my wife and about 18 for your's truly.

Wife hates everything I've ordered with the exception of a dupe/clone ~ which ironically was the single cheapest purchase so far. And for me, I have vastly disliked all the "popular" "must have" scents and only liked two that I've stumbled across (and those weren't even anywhere near a top 50 listing).

I can say this, beyond the anal-fleecing cost of high end eau de toilettes and even more costly eau de parfums, there are a shit-ton and most hit too hard -- over the top strong.

Collectively as a couple the wife and me have pretty much not be down with anything from Dior, Creed (I did like Green Irish Tweed and Tamberone but the cost is a hard "fυck no") and Yves Saint Laurent: Sauvage (aka: what I've taken to calling "Johnny Depp's Sausage) made my eyes & nose drip more snot than being exposed to mustard gas... and my wife said when I had it on, "You smell like an insecure Bugatti dealer -- go shower or sleep elsewhere."


Besides Old Spice, CK1, Hai Karate and Brut what are some of your favorites?

You’re both very brave.

For what it's worth my two scents of choice are Penhaligons Endymion and Creed Irish Green Tweed. They're not cheap but my problem was finding a scent I liked AND stayed around longer than 5 minutes. It's so individual though - all depends on how it smells on you. Sounds obvious but the same scent changes so much person to person.

You don't know my wife... she tasks me with tasks that are mostly impossible so she can then say "You are failing me, keep trying though" -- similar to my bank account.

Creed Irish Tweed is worth the cost - if you can get it at a discount from a gray market dealer. If you like the scent but don’t want to pay the price, try Davidoff Cool Water. It’s a similar scent profile.

others I like and wear are Bleu de Chanel Parfum and Guerlain l’homme Ideal.

my wife likes old school fragrances - Chanel No. 5 and Guerlain Shalimar. She also likes Tiffany and Co eau de Parfum.

For what it’s worth, I’ve received the most compliments from women when I’ve worn Dior Sauvage. But I’ve gone off it because it’s everywhere.

I'm waiting for The Crüe to arrive and chime in-

@Mad Dog @JwRosenthal @Aroxx @pdxleaf

...I feel like at least two of them wear Love's Baby Soft or Chanel #5 and don't own up to it (yet).

Yep, when I had Johnny's Sausage on me I got many compliments but it not only destroyed my sinuses & annoyed The Wife it felt about as original as being at the mall on Black Friday.

@Donn Chambers ...because I have spent far too much in the Cologne Zone lately I can say (if you're curious)-

try a sample of both ALT Fragrances and Oil Perfumery's "impression" of Irish Tweed... they are insanely ball's accurate for a fraction of the coin.

My go to as well, been wearing it for 10+yrs

Well 9 is an odd number so...

Hoppe's No. 9. For 50-something years now, my choice.


Really, while several mens colognes are kept on hand, I mostly wear Old Spice. I acquired a 1950 vintage full travel size bottle a few years back, from way back in the years Shulton distributed Old Spice. Its fragrance is quite nice, a bit different than the current iteration of Old Spice, which is still acceptable and evokes the same vibes as the older good stuff. Mrs. noelekal likes Old Spice best. Besides, Old Spice goes well with old watches.


She's the one who has chosen the other colognes with which I am armed when froo-froo is required.

Mrs. noelekal has always preferred Joy. She thinks the late vintage Joy is changed from the original formulation. She has a supply of the former though. Joy also goes well with vintage watches.