How does this works? Are there preferred mix’s for different seasons? What is the standard?
The general thinking is
Fall and Winter are for warm/spicy/woody scents.
Spring and Summer are for clean/citrus/marine/oceanic/aquatic scents
Office scents are inoffensive
Date scents smell "good" but sit close to the skin
Club scents are project when you stand still, and leave a trail of cologne when you roll out
Super Popular Examples of the different scent situations.
- F/W - Tom Ford's Extreme Noir, Viktor and Rolf Spicebomb Extreme
- Spring/Summer - Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue Intense, Prada's Luna Rossa Carbon
- Office Scent - Sauvage, Bleu De Chanel, Y by YSL (to me all of these smell like shower gel)
- Date Scent - D&G The One, Armani's Stronger with You
- Club Scents - Versace Eros
Age
Young guys tend to like sweet and fun scents. Invictus and Eros are considered "young".
Older guys tend to like darker/richer scents.
People that are really into this - tend to like more interesting scents that you don't smell anywhere. Like every hobby, the folks that are into it really like obscure stuff as time goes on.
Notes
Personally, I like tobacco, rum, whisky/scotch, tonka bean, vanilla, clove, cinnamon, and leather type scents.
But a lot of people like cacao, grassy, citrusy, earthy (like when rain hits the concrete), patchouli, fruity scents.
"White florals" - things like carnations - are generally considered more feminine. But you'll see that some fragrances are unisex, and folks will argue that something that's marketed feminine is really for men, and vice versa.
Concentrations and Performance
Technically most of these come in different concentrations, from least to most
- Eau de Cologne
- Cologne
- Eau de Toilet
- Eau de Parfum
- Parfum
- Extrait
Colognes are supposed to project more but not last as long as EDTs
EDT's are supposed to project more than EDPs, but last longer.
So logically, the highest concentration of the scent is supposed to last forever but stay close to the skin.
Not always.
Dior's Sauvage (a super popular scent) comes in an EDT, EDP, and an Extrait strength. The EDT and EDP, smell about the same (to my nose), and the EDT projects more but doesn't last as long as the EDP.
But the Extrait (called Sauvage Elixir) on the other hand, which is supposed to be the most concentrated form of the scent - smells absolutely different.
Classification of Cologne Makers
Most folks are familiar with colognes made by Fashion Designers. - Those are called
designer. (Polo, Prada, Hugo Boss) - usually around 100 bucks per bottle. (a bottle should last 9 months, at 5 sprays per day)
Then there are colognes made by people that just make scents - These are called
niche. (Creed, Guerlain, Le Labo)
And then there are up and comers called
Indies (independent small houses trying to become rich niche houses, imo)- Scotch and Porter might be an indie.
And if you're really deep in the game, there are "attars" and stuff out of the Middle East, where they've been dealing with scents for millennia, that basically started the whole French/Italian/English take on it. Incense, Oud, Saffron, Rose, and a whole lot more scents that are
unusual on a man for The West start to show up.
Flankers
When there's a good selling cologne, the maker will put out a new version of the scent with slightly different notes.
Acqua Di Gio by Armani is the best selling cologne of all time. And so there are at least 20 different versions over the years.
Right now Acqua Di Gio Profondo Lights is the popular flanker from that line.
Buying Colognes General Advice
Anyway, if you're just getting into fragrance my advice is to
NEVER buy a full bottle, when you can get a 5ml sample that will last a month of constant use.
Never buy at full retail - And if you want a full bottle, cologne is something that lasts forever and ends up being resold from department stores to grey market resellers. So if it doesn't sell at Macy's, internet outfits and places like Perfumania will buy the dead stock and discount them for everyone else. A lot like sneakers to be honest.
Colognes generally last a long time. Depending on how you wear them - A typical 100 ml bottle of anything should last 9 months at 5 sprays per day - and 5 sprays can be overkill, and most of the time you're not going to wear the same cologne every day. You'll want to switch it up. 3-4 bottles should last 5 years. You'll be bored of the scent before you finish off the bottle. Unless I really like something, I get the sample, then the small bottle, then the large bottle, and if I can't find a clone - that's when I'll pay full retail.
Cost != Quality - And cost of the cologne is not really correlated with how good it smells to you, and to others. In general, most of the cost of any cologne is in the bottle. Much like the rest of fashion - they spend most of their money on marketing not product development. And usually there's a clone of any given popular fragrance that take advantage of this fact.
Scent and Grooming in General
Part of why women are so attractive (aside from genetics, diet, exercise, hygiene, make up, and clothing)
She uses shampoo and conditioner that make her hair smell one way.
Soap, lotions, and deodorant.
Perfume
Moisturizers for her skin
If you get the opportunity to take her in from head to toe, she'll have so many different areas to marvel at. Her toes, calves, her nether regions...you'll taste the products on her neck....
A girl that's well put together will hit you in some many different areas that it's essentially psy-ops/mental warfare.
A chick that knows what she's doing will essentially attack all of your senses.
And that's a good approach for us.
Most dudes could up their "raw score" by focusing on their presentation.
Becoming more conventionally attractive obviously means your game is used less, but in some cases there's a "ticket price" for some chicks. They won't even let you start, if you're not hitting certain notes.
And if you're short, chubby, or anything else - your presentation has to be even better than average.
WIA
