Retro Smells

hando

hando

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as of late i've been trawling the 'bay for all things good in the scent world from the past
Shulton Old Spice, Blue Stratos, Insignia
Faberge Brut etc
i found a site that mentions all the so called old school classics
http://www.retrosmells.com/SmellsList.php
so while i was dragged round xmas shopping today i popped of to the perfume shop for a good old sniff

it's maybe me but boy what a let down that turned out to be
Paco Rabanne, Fahrenheit, Aramis, Polo, Drakkar Noir (none of which i've ever had) all pretty rank:s

so into Debenhams i went and even the ones i used to wear as a 20 something didn't do it for me anymore - Eternity, Escape, Kouros, Joop
absolutely no memories are conjoured up, unlike what i get from from OS etc
the only thing that did was Polo Sport
Mrs H wanted to get me something so i got RL Safari which smells like T&H Grafton and the 007 juice, which is also nice

so, is it me or have the rest of you found this as well?
i did want to smell Jazz (apparantly like De Vergulde Hand) but there was no tester:icon_rolleyes:
 
hando said:
as of late i've been trawling the 'bay for all things good in the scent world from the past
Shulton Old Spice, Blue Stratos, Insignia
Faberge Brut etc
i found a site that mentions all the so called old school classics
http://www.retrosmells.com/SmellsList.php
so while i was dragged round xmas shopping today i popped of to the perfume shop for a good old sniff

it's maybe me but boy what a let down that turned out to be
Paco Rabanne, Fahrenheit, Aramis, Polo, Drakkar Noir (none of which i've ever had) all pretty rank:s
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Hi there,

Well, you have to keep on mind that many older frags have been tweaked over the years...sometimes severely. For one reason or another, ingredients have sometimes been removed and substituted for, which makes for a different scent than the original versions.

I have a small selection of vintage frags and have sometimes been able to compare em with the currently made juice. In some cases they definitely are different, and others not so much.

You can find plenty of info on reformulated fragrances. There's a good reason vintage is often more expensive than the new stuff. The reason is because it can sometimes smell better. I'm even talking about stuff that could be 30 years old or more. In many cases there's still plenty of pop left in those bottles.

As an example, I really love this fragrance called Xeryus. Having done some reading it turns out this stuff has probably been changed over the years, but having only sniffed the older version I can't say myself.

Anyway, when I ran out, the old black bottle (the one I had) was what I ordered. Cost more than the current stuff, but I knew what I was getting. http://www.basenotes.net/ID26121713.html

Good luck free falling down this rabbit hole,

Martin
 
I do like Old Spice (especially vintage Shulton, eh Marvin?) but remember Insignia as rank. Had a bottle of Fahrenheit years ago and loved it but can't remember the scent at all.
 
Fahrenheit was a lovely smell. I had a few bottles of that. Kouros smelt nice too, and Paco Rabanne was OK. Also like Polo Sport.

However, we are talking 20 years ago so I'm sure they've changed since.
 
I buy quite a bit from www.scentfromheavenonline.com - they do a lot very good copies of the scents you describe. I have tried Kim's Aramis alongside the real Aramis and it's very close and about £3 for 50ml EDT sprays. As I've said elsewhere her shaving soaps are excellent. I've also tried her versions of Xyreus, Live Jazz, Escape and 212 but I haven't smelt the real versions of these. I know there's a bay rum and Old Spice-type scent. Plenty more there to choose from.
She also does a large range of essential and fragrance oils and any scent she does can go in any of her mens' products (she does a lot of makeup and womanly wares, too). I have a 500ml bottle of Aramis-style shower gel (£8), several shaving soaps (£2 each) and 60ml moisturiser (£4)

I'm not affiliated in any way, just a happy customer.
 
i love all the older frags - my nose isn't so sophisticated to know the difference between the old and the new formulations but right now i'm building a nice collection of the old powerhouses - drakkar noir, quorum, obsession. i think i'll be copying NTS and getting some aramis style products from scentfromheavenonline (the wallet only stretches so far).

i only have one modern aquatic edt - the quicksilver and i do like it but i think i prefer the older more distinctive edts that aren't so popular right now.

i'm also trying some of the high end frags mostly from jaycey's posh fragrances thread which i am enjoying - there are some interesting and complex scents and completely new to my nose. my wife thinks i've gone mad - first razors and soaps, now frags!
 
I still wear Aramis 900, Kouros and Antaeus - all scents from my school days - and when I do, good memories come flooding back.

I've re-visted a LOT of stuff over the years but with one or two exceptions (Issey Miyake & Obsession) I've not been as bowled over as I was when I first smelled them.

@Hando: If you like Superdrug's Forest Fresh, then I think you will like YSL Jazz - but try it first. My local co-op very often has it at a ridiculously marked down price (£15 for 50ml or something like that).
 
"Retro smells" are great ... Bay rum + old spice are my choice nowdays.

I shaved yesterday and went to visit my grandmother after putting bayrum on. She said the scent reminded her of her visits to the dentist in the old days when they would use oil with the same scent for some "tooth work".

I find it's very cool when a scent brings back memories...
 
not so much a cologne but retro all the same id love to get my hand on some slazenger sport deoderant stickks i used when i was younger

now they were nice
 
It was the age of 'drugs, sex, and rock & roll'. Other than that it was a dank time where the main stay was 'Right Guard'. On special occasions you had Canoe and Old Spice!
God it was great!
 
Al H said:
not so much a cologne but retro all the same id love to get my hand on some slazenger sport deoderant stickks i used when i was younger

now they were nice
Click to expand...

Now there's a blast from the past which I had completely forgotten about.

I used all things Insignia, back in the day, Lynx Oriental, oh and as It's nearly Christmas, what about those Hai Karate gift packs?
 
undertherazor said:
"Retro smells" are great ... Bay rum + old spice are my choice nowdays.

I shaved yesterday and went to visit my grandmother after putting bayrum on. She said the scent reminded her of her visits to the dentist in the old days when they would use oil with the same scent for some "tooth work".

I find it's very cool when a scent brings back memories...

I'm guessing the lady was referring to oil of cloves, a great cure for tooth ache and pretty prominent in many Bay Rums.

All the best

Kevin
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