Paco Rabanne and Acqua Di Selva

Mong.

doesn't care for Euro Palmolive
Group Buy Associate
2015 Sabbatical
Joined
Aug 9, 2012
Location
Melbourne
I'm currently in the market for a cologne, an area in which I'm totally ignorant as I've never worn one. I asked my dad what he wears and he suggested Paco Rabanne Pour Homme and Acqua Di Selva as what he would be interested in now. I had a look around the web and the Paco Rabanne gets a reasonably good reception. Does anyone have some experience with either of these? Any advice about how to go about seeking a first cologne would be appreciated too, because it's a potentially expensive mistake if I make a bad choice. My dad is more traditionally inclined I expect, he's seeking a more classic cologne. I have no problem looking for something a bit more modern.

I liked the sound of the Issey Miyake mentioned by RM in the previous thread, and noted that CK One was suggested as a good way to experiment with that kind of fragrance. I've done some reading and if anyone could comment on that too, that would be great. I'm looking for a summer cologne and I enjoy citrusy scents, but the CK One sounds like it might be a bit 'passive' for my taste. Are there any viable alternatives to it that anyone could recommend?
 
I'm currently in the market for a cologne, an area in which I'm totally ignorant as I've never worn one. I asked my dad what he wears and he suggested Paco Rabanne Pour Homme and Acqua Di Selva as what he would be interested in now. I had a look around the web and the Paco Rabanne gets a reasonably good reception. Does anyone have some experience with either of these? Any advice about how to go about seeking a first cologne would be appreciated too, because it's a potentially expensive mistake if I make a bad choice. My dad is more traditionally inclined I expect, he's seeking a more classic cologne. I have no problem looking for something a bit more modern.

I liked the sound of the Issey Miyake mentioned by RM in the previous thread, and noted that CK One was suggested as a good way to experiment with that kind of fragrance. I've done some reading and if anyone could comment on that too, that would be great. I'm looking for a summer cologne and I enjoy citrusy scents, but the CK One sounds like it might be a bit 'passive' for my taste. Are there any viable alternatives to it that anyone could recommend?

How about "Concentrate de Arko"?
 
PRPH can be had for about the $50 mark. Old School 1970's scent but it's not like Brut 33. It is a classic Fougere scent, so much so that it is usually listed as an example of Fougeres. Could be associated as an "old man" smell, Azzarro Pour Homme is usually the modern (lighter) choice. I would be happy to wear it amongst an <25 crowd as they would have little exposure to it. >35 age range will remember it and think of their father.

AdS is another old school scent, but quite refined. Plenty of places have it online relatively cheap, locally will cost you about $90. It is basically a nicer version of Pino Silvestre which is very one dimensional pine. The formula has been changed over the years and many think it lacks something, but it smells okay to me.

These two scents are quite different from the CKone/LdI - these are aquatics. The LdI is much stronger in the aquatic ozoney smell (calone). It also has some other small differences and is not overly citrusy. CKone is even less so but it definitely has a cleaner, lighter scent. By all means, grab a 100ml CKone for $29 and give it a go.
 
WOW, throwback to the good old days!

Haven't smelt these for years.

Hmm, maybe we need a P&C Travelling Box sometime to try some of what is out there...
 
As far as summer and winter colognes go, I suspect there's a reasonable difference in what is appropriate. The way this has played out, it looks like my old man is going to pick up the Paco and ADS for himself so I'll have a good opportunity to try both. Considering that uni is about to finish up, my social schedule will pick up a bit so now seems a good time to pick up a different summer fragrance.

I like the sound of the Azzaro Pour Homme, but would it be appropriate for summer? RM, you've tried the CK One before I assume. My concern with it is that it sounds a bit airy-fairy and insufficiently masculine. Have you tried anything else similar to the LdI that's a bit more dominant than the CK One but in a similar price range? Also, are aquatics generally more suitable for summer?

At the moment, I'm thinking Azzaro for winter and formal occasions.
 
As far as summer and winter colognes go, I suspect there's a reasonable difference in what is appropriate.
Absolutely. I find that the warmer weather makes heavier fragrances to cloying and strong. I am also naturally warm blooded - Im the first person in a room to sweat so anything heavy in summer is a no-no. I tend to look at lighter fragrances for summer and ideally higher quality also. Think your Chanel scents, the YSL branded lighter scents. Guerlain Vetiver, there's heaps.

The way this has played out, it looks like my old man is going to pick up the Paco and ADS for himself so I'll have a good opportunity to try both. Considering that uni is about to finish up, my social schedule will pick up a bit so now seems a good time to pick up a different summer fragrance.
By all means, try your old man's buys. Maybe point him in the direction of StrawberryNet and fragrancex.com which will be much cheaper than local pricing. I expect he would save 40% over the total price, maybe 50%.

Just did a FragranceX cart:
Azzaro by Loris Azzaro 3.4 oz Eau De Toilette Spray (Tester) for Men AU $33.90
Paco Rabanne by Paco Rabanne 3.4 oz Eau De Toilette Spray (Tester) for Men AU $33.07
Aqua Di Selva by Visconte Di Modrone 7 oz Eau De Cologne for Men AU $27.15
Subtotal: AU $94.12
Std International Shipping: AU $17.43
Your Total: AU $111.55

I doubt you could get PRpH and the AdS locally in a shop for that price, let along with the ApH and posted!

I like the sound of the Azzaro Pour Homme, but would it be appropriate for summer?
It's way to heavy on me in summer, it's lighter than the other two. Try Azarro Chrome for the summer scent - it's more in the CKone or LdI area.

RM, you've tried the CK One before I assume. My concern with it is that it sounds a bit airy-fairy and insufficiently masculine. Have you tried anything else similar to the LdI that's a bit more dominant than the CK One but in a similar price range? Also, are aquatics generally more suitable for summer?
I own CKone. Look, for $29 everywhere (Chemist Warehourse etc) for 100ml it is inoffensive. I wear it in summer when I just want to have a scent of some sort.

At the moment, I'm thinking Azzaro for winter and formal occasions.
Azzarro is good, but as I said more 'modern' in quotes, it is still a 1970's fragrance - '78 or '79 so it is as old as I am.

YSL Rive Gauche PH is another good & cheap one, but is 2000's vintage. Body Kouros seems to do well also - again a 2000's scent but it is an oriental - it's a very masculine but modern scent. Only trouble is that it does smell like Vicks when you apply. Let it settle down ;)

You sound pretty young, if you can go for an older, bolder scent and carry it off then well done. The thing that will get you noticed is wearing something other than AdG/1M/LéM so by all means try something different!
 
Thanks very much for the info mate, it was very helpful in making my choices. You are correct, I'm early 20's. Subsequently, I'm not sure I can pull off the bolder scents, but I am a pretty big dude with a deep voice so maybe I'll be right. I'm combining this order with dad to save a bit of cash hopefully, and we agreed that if I organised it, he'd seek some suitable bottles with atomiser heads to allow us to decant some of each others choices and spread them around between us. So, the order list is:

For me:
Azzaro Chrome
Tommy Bahama Set Sail St Barts

For the old fella:
Paco Rabanne Pour Homme
Acqua di Selva

Thanks very much for your help RM, this is a field in which I'm not content to trust the random advice of the internet so I'm grateful for some reliable wisdom. I'll check in again with my impressions when they arrive.

How do traveling boxes usually work? I think it'd be cool to send a few classic barbershop scents around the guys on this forum, but I'm naive as to how it works.
 
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