The fragrance market is driving me insane.

As a man, since I started exploring this world a few years ago, it’s been a massive struggle to find my favorite olfactory profile. 

The typical fragrances labeled as "panty droppers" or "authentically masculine" do nothing for me. In fact, wearing some of them felt torturous, but everyone insisted they were the best—divine scents. I tried the best Aventus clone, supposedly 95% similar, and...what the **** is this horrible synthetic smell? I tried another famous one, Sauvage...dear God, the ambroxan. Another highly recommended woody fragrance? A bomb of Iso E Super, which I hate with all my heart because it smells like wood furniture polish to me. I tried the “blue” fragrances, and it was more of the same. The party fragrances—those sugar, vanilla bombs? Nope, not for me either. I like gourmand and vanilla notes, but not when they scream in your face. (I’m looking at you, Jean Paul Gaultier.) Am I the only person in the world who doesn’t enjoy perfumes?

But little by little, I’ve started to find perfumes I actually like:

Guerlain L’Homme Idéal Cologne: It’s summery, creamy, and refreshing at the same time. I love its citrus notes, the almond, and the sandalwood. I want to make it my go-to scent for spring/summer, and...discontinued.

Bvlgari Aqva Marine: I love it. It’s very aquatic and citrusy, and unlike most summer fragrances, it has excellent longevity and projection. And...discontinued.

Narciso Rodriguez for Him: I tried it in a store—what a wonder. It’s dark and intriguing, melancholic. I love the violet leaf, unlike in Fahrenheit, which makes me queasy. I plan to buy it in a few months, and...discontinued.

Cartier Déclaration d’un Soir: My favorite fragrance out of all I’ve tried so far. I adore the rose note and its powdery/creamy nature. It’s an incredible masterpiece that...has been discontinued. I have an almost full bottle that I keep in a special place because there are earthquakes where I live, and I’m afraid it might break. I even use it sparingly because I don’t want to run out.

Dior Homme line: I discover I love iris-based perfumes, and they’re slowly replacing the entire line with horrendous versions that, according to reviews on Fragrantica from my country, are “amazing and very masculine, unlike the previous ones that were for girls. All my MALE coworkers tell me how good I smell, and...” I seriously don’t get it.

I feel like the market is constantly pushing me to buy perfumes I don’t like while discontinuing everything I do. Over time, I’ve realized I enjoy floral and citrus notes, as well as certain woods like sandalwood, powdery/creamy scents, and sweet fragrances (but not overly sweet). I also like fresher perfumes, depending on the time of year. I think what’s happening is that I prefer unisex perfumes or even those that lean slightly feminine. I’ve even tried some of my mom’s perfumes when visiting her (Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Intense performs incredibly on me, and I tried something entirely feminine like Coco Mademoiselle—while it felt too feminine, I enjoyed it). This is in stark contrast to 80% of the masculine fragrances I’ve tried.

Why not try niche/indie/private line fragrances? L'Homme À la Rose is a fantastic option for a fresh masculine rose, another is Dom Rosa. Iris Torréfié does a lipsticky iris better than anything in the Dior Homme line imo, another great option is Animalique. You might like some of Dior's private line options like Gris Dior Eau de Parfum or Sakura; Sakura in particular really surprised me when I smelled it in the store a few months ago - fresh cherry blossoms with light almond. Santal majuscule is an amazing powdery/creamy sandalwood scent that is available for cheap from discounters.

I second you @Omnipotato, Sakura would smell incredible on a man.

And maybe you'd find something interesting in Les Exclusifs de Chanel collection.

Also what about something with a geranium note? like Rose & Cuir (no rose despite its name) or Geranium pour Monsieur. At my opinion, geranium has a citrusy vibe.

i want to add that there is nothing more attractive than a man who is not afraid of feminine perfumes.

Dude you have to get your nose on the Maison Crivelli discovery set. The eau de parfum one that is. It has Iris Malikhân which is an iris bomb! I love it so much. Think Dior Homme Intense, it’s powdery like that but at the same deep and buttery. Truly beautiful.

The set also has some fresher samples like Absinthe Boréale that might suit you well. If you like one, you’ll get a voucher and get back the money you spent on the set.

I love iris as well! Especially with myrrh or tobacco.

You might like "Bois d'Argent | Dior" which is kind of a canonical iris myrrh perfume, a classic for men and not a typical blue or super woody scent. I personally like Ching Shih which has iris and myrrh with the addition of osmanthus, and gunpowder. It's a very unisex scent, very lightly sweet and metallic, with an air of danger. Or Iris Cendré - it's a very smoky opening tobacco iris. Or Nightclubbing - another tobacco, resinous iris which is not overdone.

Also I think a very good option for the office with iris is Gentleman Givenchy Eau de Toilette - a nice fresh lavender vanilla iris, sweet but not too sweet, and will not annoy anyone.

Marketing trends either speak to you or they don't. I'm happy with what's out there some years and others not so much. I buy perfume for my brother, he is an omnivore like me. I try to find him perfumes that have a some fresh florals (they smell fantastic on him) and have interesting notes. The ones he liked over the years that were mostly marketed to women were:

Dune Eau de Toilette has gone through 2 bottles

A Scent

Paris - Paris

Samsara Eau de Parfum

Strawberry Eau de Parfum

"Eau Parfumée au Thé Blanc | Bvlgari" has gone through 2 bottles

Snow Flower has gone through 2 bottles

B. Balenciaga Intense

Champs-Élysées Eau de Toilette

Connemara has gone through 3 bottles

The so called manly ones he has liked:

Tempo

Apple Brandy on the Rocks

Jaïpur Homme Eau de Toilette

Hommage à l'Homme Eau de Toilette

good luck to you on finding your favorites.

A lot of the more classic perfumes that were (are) marketed towards women, would now be marketed towards both genders, so don't worry about gender too much, wear what you like and sample first to avoid disappointments. I don't like many of the 'mainstream', modern perfumes either and sampling is the way to go.

Good luck!

I read your demonstration-sense of resentment forum piece and sympathize. You are damn right. I tried Creed Aventus, Sauvage, Spice Bomb, Le male parfum etc and found them either boring or appalling. What a misfortune to disrupt Declaration d'un soir, loved it too. Dior homme parfum and replace it with cheap crap at the same price! Quickly search for last bottles of Guerlain Heritage edt pour homme before they disrupt this too. Try also Coco Noir by CHANEL . I find Chanel no 5 nauseating! It' s got a very vintage animalic jasmin that smells vintage but very bad vintage!

I feel like I could have written this exact post. I agree with you on basically all points. I also have wondered if I even like fragrance. It seems that even in most of my favorite fragrances there is something that makes it less than perfect for my nose. 

I've found that Prada L'homme (lots of iris!) is the most usable daily fragrance for me. Even classics like Platinum Egoiste, which I truly enjoy usually have something "imperfect" to my nose. 

i have also learned that I like florals. I don't want to smell like a woman but I certainly like the more masculine florals. Also very green fragrances like Banana Republic Vintage Green or fig leaf accords really appeal to me. D.S.&Durga Debaser is a weird one that I ended up really liking. 

My best advice is to dive into lesser known brands and niches with accords you like and try a bunch of decants. I've spent a good amount on decants but it's saved me thousands on bottles that I would have hated if I blind bought them based on hype either external or self induced.