I'm working on a guy's fragrance (Camo). I got the idea from my guys who were planning on going paint balling this weekend before they got rained out. I used to paint ball when I was younger and it took me back in my memory to those days. And I'd like to try to capture that in a fragrance for men.

I'll tell you my ideas, and you tell me if you think it is good or not and what elements maybe you'd like to see.

So far I'm thinking tea leaves, rain, light citrus, grass, Juniper, and rosewood for the top; magnolia, sage, lavendar, herbs, and light spice for the middle; and agar and other woods, moss, hay, tobacco and rich earth for the base.

I'd like to try to capture that feel of quietly waiting for the battle to begin, out in the elements, and hunkered down in mother nature's bossom. I guess this would be classified as a Fougere.

You guys are the experts... so tell me. Am I missing something? Is there something I should or should not do?

Diane

Anything I would have suggested is already there, like "water" (rain) or "dirt" (rich earth) and so forth.

Sounds like a good mix.

Okay, so should I use high elevation (alpine) lavender or lowland (spike) lavender or a combination? What is preferred in men's fragrances?

Diane

I like the idea of the juniper/lavender/moss combo. Some other things that come to mind when I think of a smell called Camo would be machine oil, canvas as in duffle bag, and the wax smell of camoflage makeup itself. It's not just the smell of nature but the smell of man and his toys invading nature.

Cool ideas, I can't contribute very much as I'm very unfamiliar with scents. Meaning I have no idea what smell is what. I can't even imagine what juniper smells like, even though I'm sure I've smelled it before.

I'm interested in where this goes though, so I'll definitely be keeping an eye out.

I wish I could contribute, but I'm lost as well. When it comes to floral notes, I don't have a clue. Heck, I'm lucky if I can tell the difference between cinnamon and peppermint!

I like darker citrus scents like bergamot and wood EOs such as cedar and pine. Not too wild about floral or sandalwood scents.

(10-16-2009 4:44 PM)Gegogi Wrote:  I like darker citrus scents like bergamot and wood EOs such as cedar and pine. Not too wild about floral or sandalwood scents.

I hear you, Gegogi. Most men's fougeres and chypres have lavender and/or neroli as the floral notes because these are not so sweet. That is why I chose Magnolia. I has a nice deep and smooth scent somewhat in the same scent tonality as neroli, and it works beautifully with lavender, moss, woods, and earthy bases.

Bergamot is one of the scents I love, too. But it is a phototoxic substance at too high a concentration, and is restricted by the IFRA to 0.4% in the final product.

To extend the head notes, I was thinking of paraguay petitgrain (citrus and wood notes), rosewood, and maybe bitter orange, and definitely dark and light tea leaves and other leaves to green it up a little. I'm working on some special dark tea tinctures just for this, also.

Juniper is a type of pine. The berries have just a hint of terpiness, so they won't make this smell like pencil shavings or anything, but will give a pine-like note to the top that isn't too fruity per se. I've just been looking for a really good juniper berry EO. Some of the offerings are a combination of distilled branches and berries, and they are not that good. I think I've found a really good one.

I found a good source of oak moss that is very low in sensitizing agents. It's the best oak moss absolute I've smelled so far, very tonally cool, earthy and wonderful. So this will have real oak moss, and no cedar moss, which is a terrible sensitizer. And no Sandalwood in this one. It's notes are too warm for this blend.

Oh, and Renny, all wood tars are banned by the IFRA, I hate the smell of mechanical oil and face paint. So, thanks for the suggestions, but ... YUCK!

Diane

I really like the tea scents. The darker, richer, stronger the tea scent, the sweeter that the citrus can be. But if it's a really strong tea it will last down into the base notes.

All in all this sounds like a reeeally nice mix.

Don't YUCK at me...you're the one talkin' about paintball cologne.