The only males I run across anymore who wear scent are teenage boys, old men, and foreigners from wherever the SNL’s Two Wild And Crazy Guys come from.
Bay rum is nice, but not all bay rums are equal. Go with Captain’s Choice or other better brand. Clubman, which is the brand you will typically find at drug stores, smells overwhelmingly of cloves.
#4711 is a nice unisex scent. Lemony. Love it.
First, the basics: wash (with a clean washcloth) ALL of your body parts. Soapy water running down your body is not good enough. cue the dry skin brigade in 3, 2, 1…. Use a clean towel, and wear clean clothes.
Now, for additional scent, my advice is to be cautious. People become nose blind to their own scent, so it’s really easy to go overboard. You might try a scented body lotion or body spray. (NOT Axe, or the like. Something like this Dirty | Body Spray | Lush Cosmetics)
But really, being clean is preferable to most women than wearing scent.
Where is all this emphasis on being clean coming from? We have no indication that the OP doesn’t bathe.
I think a light touch of scent is really nice. One way to go about it is to use a scented body wash. My husband has used several from Bath and Body Works made for men, I have liked them all. Another way is to use a light touch of cologne: Spritz it in the air then walk through it. I think a very nice fresh one is Light Blue for men by Dolce & Gabbana. Try a couple each time you go to a store that has a fragrance department, spritz one on each wrist then do the sniff test after a few minutes. I love trying new scents.
Sephora has a men’s sampler set for $65, and it includes a coupon for a full size bottle so you can get the one you like the best. I just checked and it has Light Blue, plus other “fresh” types that I think are particularly nice.
This has occurred to me as a possibility and prompted me, in part, to start this thread. Do others agree with this statement?
Username/post combo of the day.
mmm
Second or thirding that Irish Spring and 4711 are great scents on a guy.
There’s also Olbas, which I’d never heard of until recently. There are a lot of Olbas products but apparently you can use the bubblebath stuff as a liquid soap. It has a very clean scent.
Because I think we’ve all run into multiple examples of people, more often men than women in my experience, who think that dumping stinkum on themselves will somehow magically overcome an unwashed body odor, dirty clothes, cigarette smoke, alcohol sweats and whatever other issues might be present. Nobody’s saying the OP is one of these people, but just in case posters are taking care to set the OP up for success by heading off common mistakes many make when trying to “smell nicer.”
We are giving our opinion to men that the best “scent” for a man for many of us is that clean slightly soapy smell of freshly washed. As opposed to cologne etc. Many men I know don’t shower enough, wear deodorant enough or wash their hair enough. (or their clothes enough) They like to wear some grungy baseball hat that they have been sweating in for years. And as someone mentioned above they are nose-blind to their own smell. there is nothing worse than a strong scent with an undertone of funk. except major funk.
I think women are more sensitive to this but they can also drown themselves in scent. Perfume counters really push the layering of scent so they can sell more. Scented soap, lotion, powder, and cologne is way too much.
Me too. People spend fortunes on scents that never smell as good as a simple citrus or pine.
Not. Axe. Dear Og in heaven, No!
My advice: Along with the above advice about hygiene, also wash your shirts/sweaters/pants after every wearing. And don’t use a cedar closet. To many people, the smell of cedar is the smell of cleaning out our guinea pig’s (or hamster’s) urine-soaked cage.
Many folks think that they can wear clothes over and over without that, and it may be true. But as we age we put off different odors, and you are probably not there yet, but it’s time to start building preventative habits.
Nothing with musk or patchouli or sandalwood. Those all smell like the hind-end of an ox. They are the opposite of “fresh.”
There are a lot of commercial scents that really are irritating to the noses of a lot of folks. For reasons I don’t understand, the more expensive the scent, the more likely it is to give somebody else a headache. But straight essential oils from food-related sources are safe and yummy. Try mixing tangerine and vanilla, or lime with pineapple.
Try applying the scent on your knees or ankles instead of up on your neck. That way it’s just in the periphery, but not assaulting anyone.
hth
I completely agree. The subtle smell the OP is referring to is otherwise known as “clean”, which has its own subtle scents of soap, shampoo, and perhaps a quiet (aromatically speaking) deodorant. The only substance a man should apply to himself that has an intentionally formulated scent – and only when absolutely necessary – is insect repellent, which, oddly enough, many colognes resemble, and they probably do repel a lot of living things!
Hey! I like my vast collection of baseball caps, some of which might be slightly grungy! :o
I’d rather wear a baseball cap than some fancy-pants straw boater that would require only a cane to make me look like the opening act in a vaudeville show.
Where do you live that you actually see any non-zero quantity of men wearing boaters?
I would pay real money to see that act!
It would be grim, since I can’t sing worth a shit and can’t tap-dance at all. Most of the entertainment value would come from seeing The Hook. 
In my opinion, it is really a low class move to use a brick and mortar store to browse, and then order online elsewhere. If you use a store’s services to choose a product, buy from them.
Bullshit. They have counters to help folks. It’s kinda why they’re there. I would never buy a expensive perfume or cologne the first time I smell it. You can never know how it’s gonna work on you with just a sniff. I would never order a scent online that I havent tried before, either. Low class, meh? Nothing wrong with getting a good deal.
I think the commercial colognes are over-powering.
So, I make my own. The base is Witch Hazel. I buy the Target brand as it has no scent. Then I add drops of essential oil. I like pine, clove, patchouli, sage, cinnamon, but there are many oils. I put the witch hazel in a three ounce spray mist jar. Then add drops of the essential oils. Experiment with the dose. And you can combine different oils. Some of them I may use 100 drops. Give it a shake before use, as the oils sink to the bottom. Mostly I use it as an after shave.
People notice it and like it. Always asking where do you get it?
Uh, they have counters to help folks decide which of their products they want to buy so that they can sell more products. If you’re thinking they have those counters just as an altruistic service to pamper customers rather than as a deliberate sales-boosting move for their own store, you are kidding yourself.
Especially given that AFAIK most store cosmetics-counter salespeople work partly or entirely on commission, rather than solely for an hourly wage. If you are taking up a commission-compensated employee’s time and attention to decide which product you want, and then leaving her with no commission by walking out and buying your preferred product elsewhere? Yeah, kind of a dick move.
Not saying you have to. The point is just that once you do know which expensive product you want, it seems only fair to buy it from the people who spent their time and labor helping you choose it, especially if their wages depend partly on the sales they make.
No, but there’s something kinda wrong with getting that good deal by taking advantage of free services intended to boost sales and then making your purchase somewhere else because it’s cheaper. You took the labor of the store’s employees for free and then gave their competitor the profit from your purchase.
Of the various things I think about that particular consumer choice, “gee how smart and thrifty of Beckdawrek to get such a good deal” is not super high on the list.
I’m not getting into the ethics of utilizing a sales person’s time: I’ve certainly bought things from a department store salesperson, but I’ve not purchased from them on every occasion I’ve asked them to do something. Which is another advantage of sephora: the perfume bottles for sampling are self serve. So too are the ones at saks or Neiman’s, in theory. Ask questions. The idea is that you will build a relationship with the merchant, and they can add value by pointing out fragrances that in their opinion you might like, that you wouldn’t have known to try. This expertise is not without cost though, and the vast majority of the time it will be cheaper to purchase the good online. But then you won’t get anymore help or samples, will you?
That’s not why I posted though. I posted to point out that if you wanted to try fragrance without either feeling guilty for wasting a sales hack’s time, or without buying some redonkulously expensive bottle you’re not sure you’ll even like, you can buy sample vials at places like Ebay or fragrance.net. Persian/Arabian Gulf sellers on Ebay with high feedback are usually reputable.
This way, if you wish to try, e.g., Creed’s Green Irish Tweed fragrance, you can try it for 3.50 or so for a sample, and not 400 or so for a bottle. It’s a bit like starting wine appreciation, except there are additional considerations like silage, drydown, and layering. Fun hobby.
The sephora touchscreen, along with an aroma wheel, is a great place to start.