There is a men’s cologne out there that smells like the flea spray we used to put on our dog. Whenever we got the bottle out she would start barking. I know two men who use this cologne. Here’s a clue: flea spray is not attractive! In general, I think men should not wear cologne. Just bathe and wear anti-perspirant. Am I alone on this?
I like cologne. I like to wear it and to smell it. But there are limits.
[ol]
[li]Amount. Just because your nose gets used to the scent after a while does not mean that it’s fading. Please spray once, twice, or three times at most. No more.[/li]
[li]Patchouli. Unless you are truly a stoner trying to cover up the smell of bud, do not use patchouli. It smells like potting soil. Potting soil is not sexy. Thank you.[/li]
[li]Opal. Hi.[/ol][/li]
That said, I love moderate amounts of most colognes. Cheap cologne can be good. It can be bad. It’s mostly bad. Expensive cologne can be good. It can be bad. It’s mostly good.
Usually it’s the cheap colognes that smell like Raid. The need to substitute synthetic fragrances for the more expensive ingredients as well as the use of a cheaper (and usually more volatile) vehicle for the aromatics tends to make cheap cologne smell much more “chemical”. This goes for women’s fragrances, as well.
jayjay
{fixed code --Gaudere}
Moderator’s Note: Wafting this thread on over to IMHO.
I have the olafactory sense of a bloodhound. I can smell milk about to turn in my neighbor’s fridge.
I like nice cologne and perfume. I love my wife’s perfume (Narcisse, by Cloe, if anyone’s interested). Her method of application is to squirt the tiniest puff into the air and then walk through it. When she picks me up at work, I can smell if she’s wearing it before she opens the car door. I can smell it on her clothes after they’ve been washed.
Please, people: have mercy on those of us with sensitive sniffers. If you must wear scent, please don’t bathe in it. A tiny $75 bottle of L’Air Du Stenche ought to last years. Please don’t apply it with a paint sprayer. Please don’t use it to cover up that not-so-fresh feeling. I can tolerate B.O. I can’t abide the acrid pong of a cologne cloud so thick it makes eyes ache and my sinuses want to collapse from sensory overload.
IMHO, your cologne is only meant to be smelled by someone near enough to touch you. It shouldn’t trail behind you like the exhaust from a Space Shuttle launch.
I like cologne, but I’m terribly self conscious about wearing it. I usually end up spraying a tiny amount on - the very minimum that I can possibly get out of the bottle - but I’m still very aware of it. Am I being silly? How noticeable would the scent be after a few hours?
(FTR, it’s Hugo Boss (purple stuff in a grey bottle) or Calvin Klein Eternity. Both were gifts. I’d feel even sillier wearing the stuff if I had bought it.)
You are not alone.
I would read this thread but I can’t stop sneezing, my eyes are watering, and I think I may throw up…
Welcome, Lilith Fair and congratulations on having your first post moved!
I personally like a little cologne on a man, but just a hint…I don’t want to smell it until I get in close.
Currently there is a young man who works at a jewelry counter outside my store. He fancies himself a ladies’ man and is constantly coming into our store accompanied by a huge cloud of cologne fumes that remove all the oxygen from our tiny store. He is new to this country and always asking us questions and advice about American life and women. Is there any polite way to tell him that his use of cologne is excessive? Aside from waving a hand in front of my face and saying “whew, Sid, you sure bathed in it today…I could smell you from outside the door!”
I personally don’t wear it. My wife is rather sensitive to it and I’d rather be close to her than smell like a rainforest. Back in my single days I would occasionally wear it, but I always felt like it was just another sign of my desperation.
I work with a guy who I swear bathes in Polo every morning. It really is possible to follow this guy’s scent trail a good couple of minutes after he’s walked by.
This is what I do, and I never wear anything when I’m going out to eat or where I’ll be very close to strangers for extended periods of time, like at the movies. When I’m sitting down to eat my chicken milanais, the last thing I want is a lung full of CK.
Okay, y’all know I’m talking about cologne, right?
You shoulda let our minds wander.