# Men wearing aftershave / cologne, Y / N? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 16, 2022, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-wearing-aftershave-cologne-y-n/957908 "2022-01-16T22:07:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-wearing-aftershave-cologne-y-n/957908/41 "2022-01-18T15:54:55Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I’m also sensitive to too much (certainly not as much as others) and I usually use this technique: I shower, towel off and then spray the damp towel. Rub the towel over my chest and neck to transfer a little of the fragrance. It keeps from being too much and the towel smells great for the few days I might use it after. If I want an extremely light touch, I might spray the towel, then run the ‘sprayer aperture’ behind my earlobes or across my wrists. My strategy was always to spray a mist in front of me, then walk through it. Never spray directly at the body (although, as you say, once you spray the mist you can rub the end of the spray bottle over your wrists or behind the ears). As stated upthread, though, I don’t regularly use cologne (I don’t own any at the moment) and only use aftershave. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-wearing-aftershave-cologne-y-n/957908/42 "2022-01-18T17:12:06Z")
No. Same goes for women. I hate perfume smells, and those include perfume smells from cologne, candles, air “fresheners”, and the absolute worst, laundry detergent and scent beads. I hate walking through neighborhoods and smelling the toxic gases expelled from dryer vents. 🤮 ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-wearing-aftershave-cologne-y-n/957908/43 "2022-01-18T17:48:01Z")
Big YES. I like fragrance on men and women (in moderation, obviously). It’s weird how I like the aroma of almost any kind of scented products but I hate the smell of a lot, if not most, food 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-wearing-aftershave-cologne-y-n/957908/44 "2022-01-18T18:21:06Z")
There’s an amusing comedy routine, likely a true story, about a long-married man. He suddenly notices his wife has a new lavender scent. He is touched and surprisingly turned on by this detail. He says he had energy he hadn’t felt in years. Then he found out it was not her. The scent was coming from new kitchen sized garbage bags. He wondered how to break this discovery to his wife. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-wearing-aftershave-cologne-y-n/957908/45 "2022-01-18T19:20:15Z")
You can have my Hai Karate when you pry it from my cold, dead hands. 👊 I wouldn’t mind it at all if both women and men stopped wearing perfume/cologne. If you are like most people you are already covered in scents from your detergent, shampoo, deodorant and soap. No need to add more to the mix. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-wearing-aftershave-cologne-y-n/957908/46 "2022-01-18T20:15:25Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > Big YES. This reply, when combined with your avatar, made me audibly guffaw. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-wearing-aftershave-cologne-y-n/957908/47 "2022-01-18T20:27:17Z")
When I was in high school, I had a couple of aunts whose usual Christmas/birthday gift was a bottle of cologne, so I inadvertently acquired a large collection of scents. On the rare occasions when I wore it, I noticed that I got far more favorable compliments from women when I wore cheap supermarket after-shave, than when I wore expensive designer-label colognes. When the occasion requires a suit and tie, I will put some on, but these days, that’s getting more and more rare. I have a bottle of Drakkar Noir that I have been working on for about 30 years, and a bottle of Aqua Velva that I have been working on for at least 10. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-wearing-aftershave-cologne-y-n/957908/48 "2022-01-18T20:36:45Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > No. Same goes for women. > > I hate perfume smells, and those include perfume smells from cologne, candles, air “fresheners”, and the absolute worst, laundry detergent and scent beads. > > I hate walking through neighborhoods and smelling the toxic gases expelled from dryer vents. 🤮 I really wanted to go into that there store, but I could not get past the door. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-wearing-aftershave-cologne-y-n/957908/49 "2022-01-18T22:11:47Z")
👍 > [@eschereal](#): > > I really wanted to go into that there store, but I could not get past the door Not that I ever go to the mall, but there is a store that only sells scented stuff. Double 🤮 🤮 ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-wearing-aftershave-cologne-y-n/957908/50 "2022-01-18T22:41:49Z")
I give the scented candle store a wide berth. And i try to avoid the cosmetics lady who wants to spritz me with a “free sample”. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-wearing-aftershave-cologne-y-n/957908/51 "2022-01-18T22:47:59Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > there is a store that only sells scented stuff Fine, but the store I was referring to _specifically_ (or stores) carried a variety of objects, many of them (apart from being the store) not scented. I recall hearing a story on npr about stores cultivating the olfactory version of muzak. Those are the stores I studiously avoid. I want the store to smell like nothing in particular. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-wearing-aftershave-cologne-y-n/957908/52 "2022-01-18T22:52:42Z")
I hadn’t heard about this but it sounds horrible. And I really don’t go to many stores these days so haven’t experienced this. It’s mainly grocery stores, hardware stores, bike shops, and outdoors products stores that I ever enter. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-wearing-aftershave-cologne-y-n/957908/53 "2022-01-19T00:31:48Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Let’s take it for granted that aftershave smells better than B.O. Then there’s the combination of long-unwashed bodies, diesel fuel, lavatory stink and cologne common to U-boats on long patrols (crews tried to cover up malodors with scent, not very successfully). I avoid fragrance and try to distance myself from others who indulge. Fortunately I’ve encountered few men who douse themselves as much as certain women whose perfume stench lingers in the corridor for minutes after they’ve passed by. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-wearing-aftershave-cologne-y-n/957908/54 "2022-01-19T02:24:41Z")
Hypocrite here for cheering wearing a little fragrance sometimes but those grocery store Christmas scented pinecones just nauseate me in a unique way. Unavoidable through the produce section, right after you grab a cart. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-wearing-aftershave-cologne-y-n/957908/55 "2022-01-19T14:44:48Z")
I agree! I can’t stand the smell of meat frying, onions and green peppers frying, and many other foods. I light a scented candle to get rid of the odor! ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-wearing-aftershave-cologne-y-n/957908/56 "2022-01-19T17:11:54Z")
I wear cologne because my wife likes it. She and my daughters usually give me a bottle annually of different fragrances they like. One spritz after my shower in the morning. I probably have about 12-15 different fragrances on my side of the bathroom vanity. They could stop buying it and I’d be good for the next 10-15 years. I don’t smell it on me after about 1 minute of applying it. I do get frequent complements from women at work. As an aside, about 10 years ago our house was broken into while we were on vacation. The burglars took every single bottle on my side of the bathroom vanity (about 10 different bottles at varying levels) and didn’t touch my wife’s much more expensive perfurmes. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-wearing-aftershave-cologne-y-n/957908/57 "2022-01-19T17:15:19Z")
I wear Lagerfeld. Not every day, but definitely when I’m stepping out. Here’s what I wrote about it nearly 17 years ago: > [@Recommend some cologne for my hubby](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-cologne-for-my-hubby/314596/42): > > [Lagerfeld](http://www.fragrancenet.com/f/net/mf_items.html?cat=01422&cur_letter=L&gs_gen=m) > > It smells like money that’s been rolled around in sex while Barry White tunes played in the background. Chicks dig it. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-wearing-aftershave-cologne-y-n/957908/58 "2022-01-19T21:13:55Z")
Once about every 10 - 15 years, I notice a wonderful scent on a guy. Most guys around here don’t wear scent, cologne or aftershave. I absolutely HATE the smell of stuff from a drugstore. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2022, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-wearing-aftershave-cologne-y-n/957908/59 "2022-01-19T22:15:58Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > I don’t smell it on me after about 1 minute of applying it. I do get frequent complements from women at work. This is a good illustration of how we don’t realize how strong the scent we wear is. _You_ don’t smell it 1 minute after applying it, yet people in your workplace are able to smell it on you, presumably some significant length of time after you applied it and at some distance away from your body. You may have some women complimenting you, but you don’t know how many other people find it irritating and don’t speak up. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-wearing-aftershave-cologne-y-n/957908/60 "2022-01-20T16:01:57Z")
I have never been exposed to a scent that smells better than natural body odor. Most fragrances, for men or women, are very irritating even in small doses. Some of the more popular ones could be classed as chemical weapons. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-wearing-aftershave-cologne-y-n/957908.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/men-wearing-aftershave-cologne-y-n/957908.md?page=4)