Has The Perfumed Dandy mentioned that since starting out on his amazing adventure in the Wicked Wild West that is the World of Women’s Perfume he has amassed from dear readers an astonishing array of now over 500 suggestions of once forbidden ‘female fragrances’ that you consider fit for a gentleman to wear?
Well, The Dandy has most certainly mentioned it now!
Being ever one to share both the love and the wisdom, I have taken it upon myself to spread cognisance of these suggested scents far and wide each Saturday (this week Easter arrived and so the post has been delayed until now).
Such is the premise of our weekly peek inside the The Perfume Dandy’s Library Catalogue.
What follows is the seventh installment of ’20 scents one never knew a man could wear’ that may tickle either your fancy or your funny bone…
If you would like to further the cause of one of the fragrances, getting it a step closer to the dizzying heights of The Perfumed Dandy’s Hit Parade kindly respondez-vous to this post.
Alternatively if you believe you have the perfect perfume for The Dandy but can’t see it listed below simply visit ‘Suggest a new scent or recommend an old one’ to put the name forward.
Allons-y!!
1. DSQUARED² She Wood
The original She Wood from a brand that seems to inspire almost religious devotion among some.
Violet, heliotrope and cedar, is it as straightfowardly lovely as it sounds?
2. Dior Cruise Collection Escale a Portofino
The Dandy has heard people speak of the Cruise Collection in hallowed terms, and the perfume they always point to as the fines seems to be this one.
Reading like a complex cologne formulation bordering on an aromatic, this one reads like a light but intriguing beauty, is it?
3. Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Laurier Reglisse
A true cologne based on bay, bergamot and galbanum.
But is it a perfume fit for a laureate?
4. Guerlain Eau de Cologne Imperiale
Really? The Dandy has a real question as to whether this can be regarded as even marketed to the ‘fairer sex’.
Unisex, no?
Any thoughts?
5. Calvin Klein Secret Obsession
Is The Dandy alone in finding this flacon strangely wondrous? Like a decidedly lovely relic of the 1970s.
Please, please let the contents be better than those of the current version of this personality disorder of a perfume!
6. Elizabeth Arden Blue Grass
Did you know this is apparently one of Queen Elizabeth II’s standbys? Surreal, but The Dandy has it on good authority to be true.
Is it my patriotic duty to give this aldehydic near fougere curiosity a spray?
7. Givenchy L`Interdit
An all time classic one is always led to believe.
A favourite of one of the most beautiful women who has ever lived.
Any reason why it’s now to be avoided?
8. Bill Blass Basic Black
The Dandy knows a certain someone who is often to be found on these parts who can’t stand this… is the feeling universal?
9. Jean-Louis Scherrer Jean-Louis Scherrer
A greener than green, oakmoss heavy, aldehyde. My this sounds divine.
Why had The Dandy never heard of this before? Had you?
10. Joop! Joop! Le Bain
An 80s floriental powerhouse that goes heavy on the vanilla.
Will someone save The Dandy from this fate?
11. Tom Ford White Patchouli
White flowers and patchouli, though apparently not overpoweringly so.
The Dandy really can;t get excited about this, is there any reason why he should?
12. Cristobal Balenciaga Rumba
Honeyed leather married with oakmoss and array of fruits and flowers, mostly a prominent plum
It sounds intriguing, but equally as though it could go terribly awry.. Good? Bad? Ugly?
13. Kenzo Flower by Kenzo Oriental
The amazing success of the original flower led to a whole bouquet of flanks, with blooms of variable quality.
Is this a stunning stem or drooping head?
14. Fifi Chachnil Fifi Chachnil
Putting appearances aside, this seems to have all the makings of a scent to cross the gender divide.
Does, in fact, the central tobacco note render this one too ‘macho’ for many a modern woman?
15. Guerlain Insolence
Guerlain‘s “need” to “go after the younger market” is well documented and exemplified ably in La Petite Robe Noire.
Before that there was Insolence, is it really the act of desecration its name would suggest?
16. Gucci Gucci Rush
My goodness, this was just everywhere in the 1990s and The Dandy remember quite a few men wearing both this and the white “male” one…
Has the rush passed with the first flush of youth or has this stood the test of time?
17. Thierry Mugler The Taste of Fragrance Womanity
From the house of a 1001 flankers…
Can one even be bothered? Should one even be bothered?
18. Thierry Mugler The Taste of Fragrance Angel
This one, apparently, adds more chocolate to the original…
Why?
What next? Sands to Arabia?
19. Arquiste Flor y Canto
Technicolor tuberose in a surround screen floral experience.
Not so much a bouquet of blooms as a floriculturalist’s fantasy.
Is The Dandy man enough for this one?
20. Etat Libre d`Orange Tilda Swinton Like This
Long before Herr Lagerfeld clutched Tilda to his betweeded breast, The Dandy was an enormous fan of this great Scottish icon.
Surely nothing that Tilda likes could possibly be anything less than brilliant?
What a wonderful niche note to end our selection on.
Now, I know I’m repeating myself but… If you would like to further the cause of one of the fragrances, getting it a step closer the dizzying heights of The Perfumed Dandy’s Hit Parade kindly respondez-vous to this post.
Alternatively if you believe you have the perfect perfume for The Dandy but can’t see it listed below simply visit ‘Suggest a new scent or recommend an old one’ to put the name forward.
Yours ever
The Perfumed Dandy.
The Perfumed Dandy. 
Dear Dandy,
I wear both Tilda and Escale a Portofino (for very different reasons and occasions though) so I would love to hear your thoughts about them for that reason. To see if our impressions differ in some interesting ways for example.
With velvet and silk,
S.
Thank you Dearest Sylvia
Your support is noted in the purple leather ledger.
With taffeta and satins.
Yours ever
The Perfumed Dandy
I love to spray myself like Mae West going to town on the perfume atomizer with the Guerlain Cologne Imperiale when I get out of the bath. Pure delight. The perfect short lived after bath scent and in an hour you can put on the serious scent.
I am dying to test L’Interdit…… ” Honestly darling instead of camping, couldn’t we stay at the Ritz in Monte Caaarlo?”
And as far at that Bill Blass Basic Black goes….have you ever seen a Twister?
Mr Lanier
The image of you in a Mae West corset immediately after bathing is too much for The Dandy to bare!!
Hahaha…
An excellent suggestion and isn’t it time for a little bit of Miss Hepburn?
Your excellent warning on Bill Blass has been well heeded!!
Yours ever
The Perfumed Dandy
I’ll try anything once. Twice if I like it and three times to make sure.
Mae West
Guerlain Eau de Cologne Imperiale – could this bottle be any more wonderful? I love it!
Dear Gripping
How right you are.
Guerlain’s bee bottles are just gorgeous, pure and not at all simple!!
Yours ever
The Perfumed Dandy
I adore Secret Obsession. I think that one is not appreciated enough in the perfume community. It is so easily wearable and likeable (one of the few bottles I own that I almost finished myself).
As for Like This, my experience so far has showed many men liking it and wanting to wear it. 🙂
Dear Ines
I’m just fascinated by the Secret Obsession flacon, I’ve never even seen one in the flesh (as ’twere) for the release seems to have been very limited…
Like This… well if it’s good enough for Tilda it’s good enough for The Dandy!
Yours ever
The Perfumed Dandy
Blue Grass – if it is good enough for the Queen it is a must try!
Dearest Misty
Isn’t that a surprising choice for her Majesty? A cheappie from EA?
It goes to show that if you’re royal you’re above snobbery!
Yours ever
The Perfumed Dandy
I vote for Portofino, L’Interdit, and Tllda Swinton Like This.
Dearest Lily
Excellent choices as ever…
Tilda is proving very popular!
Yours ever
The Perfumed Dandy
Dear Mr Dandy,
I’m a sucker for a good hesperide so I will vote for Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Laurier Reglisse. I am also intrigued by Secret Obsession and it’s 70s lamp base bottle.
How on earth could they add more chocolate to Angel? It’s like Death by Easter Egg already. I shall do you the favour of not voting for that one.
I also like the sound of Jean-Lous Scherrer. That sounds right up my street.
Oh and I’d be interested in your views on the classic Blue Grass. i keep mine in the fridge in summer for cleavage spraying. Marvellous. Like ice cold Palmolive.
Your friend
IScent
Dearest Iscent
A fair clutch of support for fragrances that have all caught my eye too!
Thank you kindly for that.
On Angel, I’m with you… more chocolate? C’est pas possible!
I’m laughing too at your proposed use of Blue Grass.. would Her Majesty approve I wonder?
Yours ever
The Perfumed Dandy
I think you should wear whatever you love, and makes you feel good 😉 A pox on labels!! Thanks for the delightful read 😀
Amanda aka Absinthe Dragonfly