Sight may be your first opportunity to form a good first impression but your sent will linger long after that and cologne is one of the trademarks of a gentleman so do choose wisely. We’ve complied our list of what we believe to be the best scents to sit on your dressing table or sink. Spoiler alert; not all of them are trending or new colognes.

Now there are some rules of thumb that should be followed, but unfortunately more myths than anything else and we don’t have the time to go through them all here. But we will go through the checklist of what we know to be true and will provide you with a solid base to build from and I know we’ll drop some knowledge that you didn’t know before.

Firstly, the biggest mistake we still see constantly is applying too much. If your choice, your sent, still lingers after you’ve left a given space (God forbid a room!) then you’ve applied way too much. The saying goes “if anyone other than your significant other can smell it, then you’ve got too much on” may go a little too far but to be precise, use the 1-foot radius rule. No one outside of that distance should be able to pick up your scent. Myth: spraying cologne into the air then walking under it prevents you from putting on too much. Wrong. It just lands on your clothes, not on your body and makes for an awful dry cleaning bill. Moreover, what happens when you change colognes between cleaning your suit? Rules for application: 1-2 spritzes or daps should suffice to get you through the day depending on how much you sweat. Keep in mind you can always ‘touch up’ later in the day which is better than coming on strong early in the morning. Apply to one wrist then rub together and a slight rub behind the ears (great for when you get hugs!) Also, these places usually will allow your bodies natural heat to refresh the sent when you heat up. I also read about applying to all pulse points like behind the knee but unless some is crawling up to you, I just don’t see how that’s applicable.

Before we get into choosing a fragrance let’s quickly go through the dictionary of terms so you know the difference. Believe me after this brief refresher course you’ll know more than 75% of the men out there. Now obviously there is a huge French influence but you should know what you’re looking for when you approach the fragrance counter and they will often be written on the bottle.

Parfum:

This simply means perfume and has the largest percentage of oils (>20%), lasting up to 6 hours

Eau de Parfum:

This is quite literally a slightly watered down perfume, as “eau” means water in French. This has 10-20% oil and lasts 4-5 hours

Eau de Toilette:

A lightly scented fragrance that is used more as a skin freshener, containing 7-12% oil and lasting 3-4 hours

Eau de Cologne:

The lightest of the fragrances, this type only contains 2-7% oil and lasts 2-3 hours

Pour Homme:

This phrase is often found on colognes and means “for men”

Now, that you’re ready to choose one that’s right for you one last thing to remember. Some fragrances are better for daytime and some for evening. Once again, the rule is that during the day you are usually in situations where a strong presence breaks protocol, like being in an office or a classroom for those of you still in school. So go with a lighter fragrance, some of terms for this are ‘floral’ or ‘fresh’. Some of our favorites are:

Chrome by Azzaro – $47 – 3.4 oz. Just a great choice for daytime. Clean, not overpowering, and it gives off the subliminal ora of fresh, ready, and polished. This is not a newer scent as it has been around for a while but it has some staying power. Also, you’re not going to come across five guys that are wearing the same thing by lunchtime.

 

 

 

Aqva Marine – by Bvlgari – $52 – 5oz. It’s on the lighter side for you guys that don’t like wearing scents to begin with, but Bvlgari masterfully blended scents of pine needles, cedar wood, and citrus to create a refined and refreshing fragrance.

 

 

 

back later with your evening choices……….