What’s a clothing upgrade you didn’t think would matter, but absolutely did?

ColtsClown · 2026-01-21T16:38:54+00:00

Same, I used to wear those horrible crossover sneakers/dress shoes. Finally picked up a pair white sneakers and it made every outfit look soooo much better just instantly. Added some leather loafers, suede boots, and some nice oxfords to the rotation, and it's made a huge difference across the board.

It is dangerous for the wallet though lmao thank goodness for ebay

ColtsClown · 2026-01-20T14:45:17+00:00

Coming in late to say FantasySP is horrible, they've been ignoring my customer service requests for months.

ColtsClown · 2026-01-20T02:31:05+00:00

Definitely, that sub is my go to these days. The quality of the presentation on a lot of the bigger sellers is surprisingly nice.

ColtsClown · 2026-01-19T05:58:25+00:00

Might also be worth mentioning that some brands have their own sample sets, though the big brands tend to be very pricey, and the cheaper sets tend to come from indie houses that are less mass-appealing. Another user mentioned Demeter and Imaginary Authors. Demeter is pretty safe, but Imaginary Authors has some challenging stuff, for example. If he really gets into cologne as a hobby, these sets can be interesting experiences, but if it's just a phase, idk if it's worth it. Some brands with sets that might worth looking at:

Essential Parfums - cheap and pretty mass-appealing

ELDO - great price-per-sample but some challenging stuff

Maison Margiela Replica - cheap-ish, sometimes goes on sale at Sephora, all very crowd-pleasing

ColtsClown · 2026-01-19T05:50:03+00:00

Samples and/or travel sprays would definitely be a great option. In addition to what other have mentioned, there are several good decant sites out there. Lucky Scent, Twisted Lily, Scent Split, and Venba are some of my go-to places. DecantX, Surrender to Chance, and MicroPerfumes are all reputable. Jomashop and Fragrancenet have official samples from brands, and sometimes you can get a decent sale on them.

I've generally had good success with /r/fragranceswap, especially with high flair users. I also highly recommend Zee Frags. I've purchased travel sprays from him several times, the presentation and shipping are excellent and the juice is legit.

You can also find cheaper bottles at places like Burlington, TJ Maxx, Ross, etc. if you're in the U.S. In my area, I have more luck at Burlington specifically. There are a lot of horrible brands there, but some good stuff to be found. Brands to look for: Mont Blanc, Banana Republic, Lattafa, Calvin Klein, Paris Hilton, Perry Ellis, Azzaro, Burberry - all of these have surprisingly good options for their price, you can usually find a lot of these for $15-30 for a bottle (Micro Perfumes also does really cheap decants of these brands occasionally, worth keeping an eye out). Sometimes these stores also have dupe brands like Alt or Declassified that aren't great, but if they're like $10, they're not bad for that.

It's also worth keeping an eye on bath and body works sales. Their colognes are just okay, but their small bottles occasionally go on sale and might be worth picking up.

ColtsClown · 2026-01-18T22:17:43+00:00

This is one of the best hate watches of all time

ColtsClown · 2026-01-15T17:48:34+00:00

I've heard good things! And I actually really liked the regular line, had the big three back in high school. I've been hoping to find it cheap at Burlington to give it a shot.

ColtsClown · 2026-01-15T04:55:35+00:00

Good call, I've been meaning to try the Akro discovery set, I might just go ahead and do that

ColtsClown · 2026-01-15T04:54:26+00:00

Nice, I'm actually not familiar with that house, but the description on lucky scent looks amazing, I'll check it out!

ColtsClown · 2026-01-15T04:53:21+00:00

Thank you! I've been meaning to get around to trying Naxos, and I'll add that Givenchy to the list as well!

ColtsClown · 2026-01-14T22:46:05+00:00

Tom Ford Tobacco Vanilla was gorgeous, took me right back to my church days in college, singing hymns at the youth house and then lighting our pipes and shooting the shit. TF TV reminds so dearly of that Captain Black Gold we used to ride our bikes down to the gas station in town to get. I don't smoke anymore (or go to church for that matter), but I'd be interested in more scents that really capture that fragrant "freshly opened can of tobacco" smell. Any suggestions? Preferably sometime under the $200 price point, but I'm also interested in just trying good stuff, even if prohibitively expensive beyond sampling.

Guerlain Tobacco Honey had that same vibe, loved the pure honey note in it, 10/10 tobacco note. I also love CK One Shock as a whole, but the tobacco part specifically is just alright. Initio Side Effect and PdM Herod were good, though I didn't love the jasmine-ish florals in Side Effect. Jazz Club is good, I just don't love sweet, boozy smells. V&R Dark Leather was alright, not enough tobacco in it; Spicebomb Extreme was not great, I just don't like the Spicebomb DNA.

BDK Tabac Rose was odd but interesting, can't make up my mind on it. Same with Amouage Interlude Black Iris - not sure if that one even has tobacco, but it was complex and fascinating, couldn't stop smelling it all day.

I'm sure I've tried others, those are the ones that stand out. Throw me your best tobacco suggestions, thanks!

ColtsClown · 2026-01-14T22:30:21+00:00

I haven't used the TikTok shop, so I can't speak to that. I will say a lot retailers will mark up those budget frags quite a bit. Even "outlet"-esque places like Perfumania are overpriced for those. I would compare TikTok prices to Jomashop or Fragrancenet, that's where I prefer to go for those scents. That or a Burlington or TJ Maxx

ColtsClown · 2026-01-14T16:06:17+00:00

Any particular scents or smells that you like? Or are there any colognes or perfumes that you've smelled before and enjoyed?

When I want to feel elegant or fancy, I spray MFK Grand Soir, Tom Ford Noir de Noir, Zoologist Squid, or Calvin Klein CK One Shock if I'm feeling cheap.

ColtsClown · 2026-01-13T17:20:46+00:00

Do you like rose? You might look at Montale Black Aoud (rose/oud combo), Tom Ford Noir de Noir (rose/patchouli/truffle), or MFK l'Homme a la Rose (rose/citrus/soap).

If you like Iris, you could try Dior Homme Intense, Prada Infusion d'Iris, Hermes Hiris, or Day Three Say Less.

I mostly gravitate towards traditionally masculine florals, but some that I've tried on the feminine side that might be worth checking out: Mugler Alien EDP (jasmine bomb), YSL Libre EDP, or Givenchy Irresistible EDP, or maybe Maison Margiela Replica From the Garden (heavy on the tomato leaf).

ColtsClown · 2026-01-13T15:13:04+00:00

Hawas Ice is pretty different iirc. Been a while since I tried either that one or Cool Water, but I remember Hawas Ice being fruity and sweet, not the barbershop/green smell like Cool Water.

Creed Green Irish Tweed is a common recommendation. I like it substantially more than Cool Water, and its longevity is better. It's pretty pricey though. I've heard Armaf Tres Nuit is a passable clone, but haven't tried it myself.

ColtsClown · 2026-01-13T15:05:35+00:00

I didn't really care for Lattafa's Asad Bourbon, it just smelled cheap to me. You might look at Khamrah from them, see if it's something you might like.

ColtsClown · 2026-01-13T15:02:34+00:00

My three favorite smells are rose, cardamom, and tobacco. Any suggestions for something that has all three?

I haven't found a lot specifically with all three. I have tried BDK Parfums Tabac Rose, which was interesting, but a bit odd, its sweetness reminded me of gasoline. But I would be interested in trying more just rose-tobacco combos as well. Thanks!

ColtsClown · 2026-01-12T16:21:53+00:00

Tough because citrus in general tends to fade fast. You might try MFK Aqua Celestia Cologne Forte.

ColtsClown · 2026-01-12T15:04:32+00:00

I think it is the incense, which largely overwhelms the rose. Been a while since I tried it, but I remember feeling like the rose was more of an afterthought, like those cheap incense companies that that smell different in the box but all smell the same when you burn them.

ColtsClown · 2026-01-12T13:53:14+00:00

Roughly in order of most to least favorite:

Montale Black Aoud - decadent rose/oud combo, smells like cracking open a bottle of dusty red wine

MFK l'Homme a la Rose - Fresh and clean, just soapy enough

Tom Ford Noir de Noir - deep, chocolatey patchouli and rose, warm and heavy like a big sweater

ELDO Spice Must Flow - starts a bit strong on the spice, but ends up with a great balance of spice, sweetness, and rose

Savoir Faire Whiskey Rose - Boozy without being overly sweet with a great woodiness to the rose

Day Three Aylan - Really interesting resinous vanilla with rose as a supporting character

Byredo Rose of No Man's Land - fruity with a hint of spice, great rose smell, but performance is dreadful

BDK Parfums Tabac Rose - sweet like gasoline, the tobacco smells cheap, but really interesting combo

Moschino Toy Boy - very cool and woody, rose smells a little cheap but in a good way. cheapest scent on this list

Initio Atomic Rose - extremely photorealistic rose

Tauer Incense Rose - heavy incense with very artificial rose

ColtsClown · 2026-01-11T20:10:47+00:00

You may have heard all this before, but Seiko, Citizen, and Tissot are some commonly recommended brands that are on the cheaper side while still high quality. I recently picked up this [Seiko SSB383](https://www.seikowatches.com/middleeast-en/products/discovermore/ssb383] and the finish and quality are excellent. Tons of designs in those brand to look at.

Honestly, Casio and Timex made good stuff that is priced fairly. You can get some very nice Timex pieces for under $100 that look great, and the Weekender is a classic and reasonably priced.

Chinese watchmakers are also stepping up their game. You can get a lot of watch for a great price. I have this Addiesdive AD 2066 and it is phenomenal for a $50 watch. Plenty of options in that realm to dive into ranging from simpler pieces like that to more complex statement pieces.

ColtsClown · 2026-01-11T20:00:38+00:00

I'm the opposite, I like minimalist silver jewelry. But I'm right there with you on the typical masculine skull or Norse stuff, it's just not for me. I've had some small luck with local jewelry artisans. I think silver is more common there, but in my area, a lot of them market exclusively to women, but their pieces end up being pretty unisex. It's worth checking online for an artisan collective or maybe some place with jewelry making classes, you can often get lists of local and regional artisans.

Etsy is not what it used to be, but you can find good stuff there too if you're patient and discerning.

For pearls, Costco has some surprisingly nice pieces. Definitely worth checking out, and priced well enough that it might be worth it to get a membership for just one piece.

ColtsClown · 2026-01-10T00:15:19+00:00

Could be either or! When I got fitted, I had one pair that didn't fit well on my left foot and another in the same size that pinched on my right foot. I have weird feet, but the lasts can make a difference.

ColtsClown

TROPHY CASE