Father's Day Special: Top Fragrances for Dads

We tend to view mothers as the primary caregivers in the family (and they usually are), but the role of the father is perhaps even more pivotal taking things into the long shot: for little boys he's their superhero, their early model and their mischievous truant collaborator (and what greatest sharing is there but partaking in guilt?); for little girls he's their harbor, their prototype, the man who teaches them how to love men for the rest of their lives, their perennial confidence boost. A loving father goes a long way and simple things, like the memory of their aura, their warmth, their grooming routine in front of the mirror, is the fascination of many a wide-eyed child for a reason.

My own beloved father used to wear the original, leathery Trussardi Uomo fragrance in that black-croc dressed bottle that looked like a million bucks and smelled as solid as a Roman temple pillar. You could lean on this elegant man's graceful frame, physical and mental both, and his scent only served to ascertain that. His prolonged flirt with Xeryus (Givenchy) or Habit Rouge (Guerlain) and his love of citruses only revealed other facets of his artistic personality. Dad's fragrances, more than my mother's which were constant love affairs, became snapshots of certain periods in his life and they continue to fascinate me with their mercurial nature and the way he plays with them.

Fragrances easily available in department stores:

Caron Pour Un Homme: The trusty tryst of vanilla and lavender produced this classic of classics many moons ago (but still very relevant). Cuddly and freshly scrubbed at the same time, it was Serge Gainsbourg's favorite, a controversial dad if there ever was one.

Dior Homme: A fragrance that defies the odds and sets its own rules with a note of iris that feels like the coolness of body talc. For modern dads who appreciate subtlety, elegance, a hint of sweetness.

Aramis Aramis 900: The masculine equivalent of the ultra-mossy, forest-fresh Aromatics Elixir (Clinique) for women, it is nothing short but distinctive, powerful, enveloping, captivating.

Hermes Equipage: A more conservative choice for dyed in the wool classicists who know best. The pairing of the spicy carnation amidst warm citrus and deep, earthy notes makes for a fragrance to be noticed.

Hermes Terre d'Hermes: The best-selling cologne for men since its creation some years ago, it's up there for a reason. A flinty-earthy impression under the exhilarating scent of bergamot citrus, it's super fresh and at the same time super lasting.

Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche pour Homme: The classic grooming scent of the barbershop, all soap and cologne and inedible scents, becomes an interpretation for a contemporary man with an eye to detail.

Viktor & Rolf Spicebomb: A liquid confectionary, a sweet tobacco & rum fantasy fragrance for dads with a sweet tooth. Among the better masculine releases in the last few seasons.

Source: Uploaded by user via Perfume on Pinterest

A little harder to track, but very worthwhile:

Aqua di Parma Blue Mediterraneo Myrto di Panarea: A new take on luminosity, removed from the usual fern-like fragrance "notes" or of sea-evoking fragrances, it takes the unusual scent of the myrtle tree, poised between oleaginous and spicy fresh, to hint at a Mediterranean escapade. For easy-going, casual style dads.

Les Parfums de Rosine Rose d'Homme: When rose gets bastardized via deep, leafy notes of pungent patchouli the result is a surprising elegance that is all its own. A little daring.

Hermessence Poivre Samarkande (Hermes boutique & online exclusive): Freshness in the form of a peppery scent? Yes, indeed. The spiciness is bracing but refreshing at the same time, like a lightning in the sky bringing eagerly anticipated rain.

Chanel Les Exclusifs Sycomore (Chanel boutique & online exclusive): If you like the smell of vetiver root (an eastern grass with a potently cooling, green like freshly turned earth aroma) Sycomore is among its most beautiful representations, with a hint of smoke and a touch of cocoa dust. Even if your dad isn't that handsome to begin with, he will seem incredibly so when wearing this.

Penhaligon's Castile: Sometimes you want him to smell clean, you know? Like you're again a child nuzzling at your freshly showered dad's neck. Castile is based on orange blossom and imparts a soapy, lathered feeling.

Tauer Perfumes L'Air du Desert Marocain: Dads with an adventurous, hippy disposition will appreciate this orientalized, resinous, mystical fragrance based on ancient rites of incense. Sumptuous, dry and unlike anything else.

Guerlain Mouchoir de Monsieur: If you like the idea of Caron pour un Homme (a sweetish, cuddly lavender), but want to go more unusual, opt for this one. It has a background ambience constructed by a note that used to come from an animal source (but is now ethically recreated in the lab), namely civet, which gives a lived-in sexiness underneath the proper gentleman atop. It used to be the favorite scent of King Carlos of Spain, if that says anything.

Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle Angeliques sous la Pluie: Cool, vibrant, melancholic sometimes, with a note of gin and tonic. A very refined choice for introspective dads who don't wear their hearts on their sleeves; he will say all he has to say through deeds.

Whatever you do this coming Father's Day, don't forget to honor the most important thing: his love for you and the love you have for him. And if you're further apart, it's never too late to forgive and forget and build those bridges anew.

Bonus (mental) points to anyone who recognizes the film stills in this post ;-)

Father's Day Guide: Masculine Fragrance Recs for the First Guy in Your Life

With Father's Day around the corner, we're rethinking our fragrant gifts, opting for elegance, quiet sophistication and a sense of fun. Why shouldn't dads share in our appreciation of smelling good? After all, as we were growing up, they formed our perception of how males should smell like (I know it happened to me). With that in mind, here's a brief guide of fragrance suggestions for dads and beyond by Perfume Shrine: By no means conclusive, and pliable to inspire classical-leaning boyfriends and adventurous daughters, stealing a spritz or two in a gender-bender game, like when they were little ones.

• For the Traditional Dad

Hermès Equipage 
It's hard to do a more elegant, more traditionally classical composition than this fragrance, originally created by legendary perfumer Guy Robert for Hermès in 1970. A scent of single-malt scotch; rich, warm, with a pungent leathery undercurrent, yet never heavy, it speaks of a lost kind of elegance. Even the modern, reformulated version by Jean Claude Ellena is excellent.  

Aqua di Parma Colonia Assoluta Eau de Cologne
Fresh, sensual and vibrant, Colonia Assoluta comprises crisp notes of hesperidia (Sicilian bitter orange, bergamot and sweet orange) with warmer spicy notes of cardamom, pink peppercorns and paprika, resulting in a hearty, sunny melange that feels reassuringly graceful and dependable.

• For the Trend-Savvy Dad

Dior Homme 
Never mind it's everywhere, this is one of the most interesting masculine releases of the last decade, because it brings a most unusual iris root note, halfway between face powder and dusty dried flowers, into an otherwise masculine formula.

Le Labo Santal33 
Santal 33, a butch, ruggedly woody scent from a hip brand, develops in roughly two main stages, not wildly opposed: The opening is full of the roughened up dry woodiness, as much due to Australian sandalwood as to cedarwood and its synth conspirators, with that characteristic duet which makes its appearence in masculine perfumery to great aplomb. Cardamom makes a welcome respite, although nowhere as prominent as in Cartier's Déclaration. The woods are fanned on copious amounts of ionones from the violet & iris "note" listed. The latter stage includes an amplifying of the ambery-woody tonalities due to the marked presence of Ambrox. As trendy as it gets and very "macho".

• For the Outdoors-Loving Dad

DSquared2 He Wood
Wood is by nature a solid and reassuring substance, but also aromatic reminiscence, personal refuge, vibrant sensation... The creative duo behind fashion brand DSquared2, Dean and Dan, were inspired by their native place, Canada, and designed the bottle of He Wood to be framed by Canadian Red Alder. The scent is among the nicer woody fougères* to come out in recent seasons, cool and warm at the same time.

Annick Goutal Eau de Sud
Less well-known than Eau d'Hadrien, but with a mossier, more dusky feel, it evokes summers in Provence and Tuscany: the freshness of the breeze coming from the groves, the mist of summer sprays and the aromatic herbs off the garden and the warmth of the sun. Citrusy on top but with a peppery middle due to basil Eau de Sud (Water of the South) dries to a mossy-patchouli-leafy scent that lasts rather long.

• For the Sophisticated Dad

Chanel Sycomore
Chanel is synonymous with style and restrained elegance. Sycomore is perhaps its most graceful specimen in their boutique exclusive line Les Exclusifs. Sycomore emphasizes the aristocratic dryness of vetiver's humble origins with a tangy grapefruit opening and subtly cooling, clean muguet notes that complement the Haitian vetiver variety, also used in Guerlain Vétiver. Almost simultaneously it allows soft impressions of a warm incense cloud slowly setting upon evergreen needles, woodfire smoke and rooty dirt to uplift you into a wistful and introspective contemplation.

Amouage Epic Man 
Amouage Epic for Men is luxurious in every sense of the word: It recalls an old-fashioned leathery ~due to castoreum~ fougère* (a little reminiscent of Bel Ami or even Jules), with spicy accents and a light oud/aoud note throughout which is pleasing to me as the dense mustiness of oud usually leaves me with sensory overload unable to smell anything else. The spices, of the cool type, such as prominent cardamom, mace and nutmeg, meddle along with the tea note. The musky drydown phase of Epic Man is sprinkled with incense, in an interplay of animalic with more austere elements.

• For the Cosmopolitan Dad

Caron Yuzu Man
Yuzu is named after a Japanese citrus fruit that is renowned for its clean and fresh aroma. It marries vitality with serenity and a feel good factor. In Caron's latest masculine, East meets West in a refined fragrance which also includes Indian verbena and Indonesian basil over the more green, oleaginous notes of Provencal fig and Spanish lentiscus (i.e.lentisque or mastic). The woody basenotes anchor Yin and Yang in this scent bathed in sunshine.

Guerlain Sous le Vent
Technically a chypre, yet poised between that and an aromatic fougère*, Sous le Vent bears no great relation to the mysterious guiles of Guerlain's Mitsouko but instead harkens back to the original inspiration behind it, Chypre de Coty, and another Guerlain thoroughbred ~Jicky. Sous le Vent starts with a rush of subtly medicinal top notes of herbs that smell like lavender, rosemary and tarragon, a full spectrum of Provençal aromata. A tart bergamot note along with what seems like bitterly green galbanum skyrocket the scent into the territory of freshness and a smart "clean". Its next stage encompasses dry accords, soon mollified by the heart chord of a classic chypre composition of dusty moss with sweet tonalities of generous flowers that evoke the banana fruit: ylang ylang notably and jasmine sambac. In the final stages I seem to perceive the dusky foliage of patchouli. Wonderful!


*Fougère is a classic olfactory family -mainly of masculine scents- that relies on a chord of lavender-coumarin-oakmoss

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Summer Fragrances that Last, Top 10 Memorable Masculine Scents

Father's Day Gift Suggestions

If you're stumped while deciding what to get to your father figure for this upcoming Father's Day, we have selected a few aromatically-laced suggestions for you here, with a personal editor's choice element woven in, of course.

• For those looking for something rustically French

Grasse-based perfume factory Molinard is offering a 15% discount on all their wares from 1st till 21st of June to celebrate Father's Day. Their products are fun and good quality, encased in beautiful, sleek packaging. You can find the link here. And if you order 50 euros or more, you will received a complimentary Campus for Him cosmetic product. I'm tempted personally by their discovery set: it would make a cute gift.

• For aesthete types

And if you're really monied (495$ for 1.7oz/50ml! my eyes!), you can look out for The Infidels by Agonist. An art object more than just a perfume, featured at both Luckyscent [code june10 would get you free shipping in the continental US] and Aedes, its intricate crystal presentation respendid with what looks like an antenna is designed by Åsa Jungnelius for Kosta Boda. The Nordic sensibility of the exterior is counterbalanced by the Grasseois content of the interior; we'd like to think, at least...

• For eco-green hunter-gatherers

Roxana Villa of Roxana Illuminated Perfume was the first perfumer to tap into the native Californian woodland known as Chaparral®. This is an organically-made unisex fragrance of all natural essences. Its main fragrance notes are: Bay, Sage, Frankincense and Woods. The evolution on the skin is particularly interesting as it moves from citrus and spice to herb and dry vegetatal wood. Chaparral was conceived as a celebration of the aromatic landscape of the State of California, with an almost incensey scent devoted to the California Native American Indians. The pure parfum extract can be bought on this link. She also offers cute perfume solids in plastic (great when you're on the go) or in metal tins (very handsome looking)

For those of you with a tight schedule (or an olfactory-adventurous father), all-naturals indie perfumer Ayala Moriel suggests their MR. MORIEL COFFRET of 8 bold and distinctive fragrances that are the most popular among the gentlemen who frequent her boutique. If you're looking for a traditional masculine touch, she recommends l’Herbe Rouge or ArbitRary, or the soapy-clean Sabotage, which adds the final touch of after-shower crispness.

• If you want to go mainstream

You can always rely on a dependable classic too, the following choices are quality, trusted to bring a smile on and smell very good indeed: Eau Sauvage or Dior Homme by Dior, and Green Irish Tweed by Creed, for the more traditional guys. For a little more adventurous types John Varvatos or the half-forgotten but still good Jazz by YSL (and while I'm at it, I'm sorely temped by that book!). And if you want to savour the smell whenever you hug your dad as well, get him the now discontinued but still available here Gucci pour Homme in the squat bottle with the square cap. Yummy!
Also a good idea that is a treat for the eyes as well as the nose is the Classico Gift Box by Claus Porto luxury soaps: it contains 5 handsomely wrapped European 7-times milled soaps in Vetyver, Verbena, Pear Sandalwood, Vanilla Orchid and Lime Basil. If he curls up his nose at the Vanilla, grab it for yourself and leave him the rest...

• Finally, for those of you too lazy or very, very busy

To make picking the right thing 100% foolproof, Amazon has Gift Cards for the gift of his choice for 50$ or alternatively for 100$.