The Secrets of Choosing The Perfect Cologne

How to Choose a Good Cologne

A good cologne, signature to you, is like an accessory; one of the few things that can define a man, compliment the person, and express your style. The right cologne should not just fit, but fit you perfectly.

Just as that wallet, watch, or belt, the cologne works with your personality, your appearance, and additionally (special to this accessory) your natural chemicals. What you spray or dab onto your skin will convey who you are, and a certain message you are trying to send. And with these soon to be tips, you’ll learn just how to do that.

Some of the messages that a cologne (or perfume) might convey include: sexy, daring, abstract, professional, sporty, manly, sleek, chic, young, blatant, and cheap. There are obviously as many different adjectives as there are cologne and people’s personality. Before you jump to choosing the exact intent of the cologne, you’ll want to think about several other factors first. Such as where you’ll be wearing it.

Initially you need to think of the setting; depending on where you are should determine what you should be wearing. You could find an overall scent that works in any location and for any occasion. Or you could choose to narrow it down and wear something specific for the season and the atmosphere. For example: in the summer people should wear lighter, airier scents. In the winter, to complement the depth of the season, going with a heavier scent is a good decision. In professional locations you want low-key scents; and if it is a nightclub, a date, or any other unprofessional location, it is okay to go with a more bold smell.

Now that you’ve decided where you plan on wearing your new cologne, it’s time to find the right scent. It isn’t as easy as 1…2…3…choice! You have to take into account other things. Like skin types and personal habits. All of these do have a “say” towards the appropriate cologne choice:

Oily Skin: Oily skin enhances and amplifies your cologne. You will want to go with a lighter feeling and less strong cologne to balance the natural odors and the scent.

Dry skin: If you have dry skin, it won’t hold the scent as long. So more is not the answer, but something a little heavier is. Choosing a “Parfum” over an “Eau De Toilette” might be a solution as well. It has a higher concentration of the oils, and less alcohol.

Sensitive skin: For sensitive skin you need to wear things with natural ingredients or basic fragrances like mint, lemon, vanilla, lavender, etc. Also, go with something like a body mist or spray that has minimal alcohol; this will prevent the alcohol from irritating, but it also has minimal oils, so it will limit reactions.

Your personal habits and lifestyle also matters. What you consume and absorb into your body reflects through odor and natural oil secretion. Foods, alcohols, cigarettes, beverages, hormone levels; these all take a part in the natural odor your body has, and these will all effect what the fragrance actually smells like.

However, there are two odors your body produces. The natural pheromones and body chemicals I spoke of above, and then there is also body odor. This is one that doesn’t have a relevancy to cologne choice. Body odor is not something that cologne is supposed to work with, and the cologne is certainly not supposed to cover it up. For that you need to find a good deodorant and antiperspirant that works with the cologne, or is faint enough so it does not interfere. The worst thing is finding a great cologne that your deodorant ruins.

Additionally, if you do decide that cologne will be a normal part of your routine, or something you enjoy wearing often, you need to avoid high scented body wash. Those “8 hour scented” ones, Axe body wash, pretty much anything that has a strong smell. If you put that on, it will only interfere with the cologne; and who knows what you’ll end up smelling like.

None of this really matters until you start testing though. That is when you’ll take all these things into account to find what works with and for you. You might be thinking that going out to find that cologne is as simple as heading to the mall and talking with the 40 year old clerk at the department store chain. Trusting them to find the cologne will not help you; using their advice to point you in the right direction won’t hurt though. The other person you shouldn’t bring is a family member. They like to reinforce people, and, truly, they won’t be in the same mindset as your intended selection of people.

I am very reluctant to say this, but the “cologne routine” is probably your best ally for a stage in this process. That stage will come very shortly. For now, at this point, it doesn’t matter what other people like. It is first and foremost about what you are looking for. What you want to smell like. If it isn’t appealing to you, then why would you wear it? How do you plan on standing the smell? The first step is to find the cologne type that appeals to your nose.

There are many different types of cologne, and if this is the first time putting effort into finding one, you should sample through the broad genres.

-There are colognes in the “Fresh” category. These include the lighter, airier notes like: clean, citrus, aqua, and light greens.

-You also have the “Aromatic” category. This category is a little heavier but still not too dense, including colognes that are (obviously) aromatic, spicy, and fruity.

-The last category of male based scents is the “Woody” category. These are dense and bold fragrances. This sections has mossy colognes, woody bases, dry woods, and oriental.

Cologne is not a simple creature, so you have to invest time, energy, (and eventually) money into this. While browsing at whatever cologne shop you might be in, take different categorized colognes, even randomly, and spray them onto the cards. As I said, this takes time–there is a top note to fragrances, a middle note, and a dry down note. The first two can be discovered in the store.

Spray the cologne onto the card, wave it through the air, and smell it. That is the top note. Now let it dry for five minutes and come back to it. Smell it again; what you are smelling now is the middle note. TIP: Most likely after the first three tests of different colognes you will confuse your nose and possibly irritate yourself. Ask for coffee grounds or bring some with you–it is like “ginger” for your nose. It cleanses the pallet.

After going through however many you want, find the ones you like, get a sample. If the store will only give you a certain amount, go to other stores or make return trips. You don’t want to sacrifice your choices just because you feel like you are inconveniencing them. You need those samples because it takes time to reach that dry down note–this is the note that people will smell an hour later, the note that makes the cologne perfect for you.

Now things will get a little more difficult. You have to narrow it down; from those many that you liked, take it home and deduct down to five or ten different choices. Go out and do the cologne routine, get suggestions from your friends, your significant other, and input from random women. Out of those that you narrowed it down to, you will finally make a single choice. And the great thing is the cologne popularity doesn’t matter. No matter what you choose, it smells different on everyone. You’ve found the glass slipper. Time to wear it!

After you figure out what cologne you want, now comes application. A lot of people make huge mistakes when it comes to where to apply it, how to apply it, and in what amount. To start I’ll talk about the where. It is basic human anatomy–the points where your body heat is concentrated and your natural oils are most active. These points, the pulse points, are scattered everywhere. The ideal places to chose are the ones that are also contacted the most. Some suggestions are the sides of the the neck, the wrists, behind the ears, the chest, and the pelvis.

It will mix quickly with your oils and your natural odor; leading to the scent being pushed outwards rather than being pulled. Also, if you choose to apply it to the chest or pelvis, throughout the day it will seep from the core rather than from your limps. Using the core promotes a much more solid masculine power to the fragrance.

As opposed to one mistake people make–which is spraying the cologne in the air and walking into (or
through) it. Not only does this waste the cologne, but it also doesn’t target the efficient points of the body. Which means you’ll feel you need more because it doesn’t seem powerful enough. On top of that, since your natural oils completely change the cologne scent, and the fragrance on your clothes will stay the same, the two will not mesh and you’ll walk around smelling cheap.

Apply it when you get out of the shower so your pores have a chance to absorb it, and so it dries to the base note before you go out. One squirt, fine. Two squirts, okay. If you go any more than three sprays you’ll probably get into the overbearing zone. Remember that more sprays doesn’t make it stay on your body longer, it just makes it smell more. Once it does dry down, people should not be able to smell the cologne as you walk by.

Cologne is meant to be a part of you, therefore it should be something you share with them when they get close to you. You should still be able to smell it occasionally; but people want to smell you, not the cologne. And by applying it properly, to the right spots, in the right amount, the cologne will become that part of you. Cologne is meant to be your dirty little secret that people want you to whisper, not yell. It’s not a statement, it’s an expression.