Question:
Hi CuyahogaJoe and michaeld39! Thanks for stopping by.
We do this on the first Saturday of every month. It lets us talk about our favorite fragrances in each olfactive group and also about the entire genre. We are glad that you included some men's fragrances in the discussion.
......
You know, Chypres are a fascinating subject, and a group of perfumes that I cannot live without.
Amid the reformulations and changing definitions of the genre, I am happy that so many knowledgeable people are here making suggestions about which way to go. Thanks, Moondeva, for your insight. This Sniff and Speak was especially interesting to me.
Twolf, I had to laugh in agreement with your statement about your attire being undeserving of your fragrance. That is "me" every day. I smell expensive. But I look like (um...) black jeans and a t-shirt.
I sure hope no one ever messes with my Paloma Picasso. If they ever reformulate that one, I will scream. The honey, the tobacco, the rose and hyacinth. The castoreum.
It screams for awhile. My skin conquors it. And then it purrs for hours.

Answer:
Thanks to everyone for their knowledge, creativity and humor. And of course, a party isn't a party until Moondeva shows up.
BTW, Twolf, I think you should get a black hat so you can pin on a variety of decorations to suit the occasion.

Answer:
Better late than never, eh?
Finally got down to wearing Mitsouko and it's great. I don't know whether my Mitsouko EdP is old stock or not, I got it in a swap a couple of years ago. Whatever version it is, it smells gorgeous: warm, sunny peach (more like dried peach than fresh fruit) lurking from the murky depths of vetiver...

Answer:
As Tigrushka, better late than never. I couldn't miss the chypre sniff 'n speak.
During the day on Saturday, I wore a new chypre favorite - Eau Suave by Parfum D'Empire (2005), inspired by Empress Josephine of France. I generally never set out looking for chypres, but they always find me, which was the case with Eau Suave. After trying a free sample of this, I actually thought it was masculine, and was surprised to see it was feminine, and a chypre. This is a new-type chypre, though I'm not sure what the earthy bottom notes are coming from. Though I haven't seen leather listed as an ingredient, this becomes a dry rose leather on me, and is cerebral and sensual. Since leather is a sub-category of the chypre genre, it's not surprising I would smell leather in this. I noticed some reviews commented or objected to its fruity quality, but I didn't pick that up on my skin.
The ingredient list:
Top note: Coriander; Saffron; Fruity, Spicy and Tea Roses
Middle note: Honeyed Apricot; Peach; Raspberry; Pepper
Base note: Vanilla; White MusK; Wood notes (Cypress)
In the evening, I wore my favorite true chypre (by moondeva's category), Profumo by Acqua Di Parma, created in 1939. This is in the tradition of the warmer, fuller, rounder early chypres having a prominent floral heart, and mildly sweet, mossy floral drydown. I think this one is a class act, and each time I wear it Profumo smells different, which is probably because of it's library of notes. It's description states it contains over 300 ingredients.
The most I could find in the way of an ingredient list was:
Top - bergamot, bitter orange, petitgrain, lavender, sage
Heart - honeysuckle, neroli, jasmine, ylang-ylang, iris, rose, cinnamon, clove, cardamom
Base - amber, sandalwood, oakmoss, frankincense, cedar.
Profumo carries the stamp of the early chypres, and possesses a certain intelligence and largeness of character. It is full, rich, deep, refined yet large. Its drydown doesn't border on woody as many do today. It is, well, a chypre drydown. It also carries another stamp of its time - aldehydes - and brings to mind other great aldehydics of that era. Sometimes I love that aldehydic sillage, and sometimes can't wear it at all because it makes me sneeze too much. When I can wear it well, Profumo is magnificent. When I can't deal with the aldehydes it becomes too much. Fortunately, Saturday evening it was a pleasure to wear and fitting next to the slight smokiness of a wood fire.