When should you use certain fragrances?
By Marcus Mitropoulos
3 minute read
When would you reach for a barbershop scent, an oriental scent and a rose fragrance?
On all of the School of Scent social media pages, Omar preaches a consistent strategy for categorizing fragrances. This strategy encapsulates all of the times in the day and year in which fragrance choice could vary. As well, he mentions that if you’re beginning your collection as a frag head, purchasing one from each category will set you up for success.
But what characteristics place a fragrance in each respective category? Is it projection? Longevity? Or even a fragrance title like Eau de Parfum? In this article, I will set out to explain what makes each category special, and one fragrance that fits each mould.
1 - Date Fragrances
A date might have many objectives. For most, the objective is to swoon the person sitting across from you to become your significant other or simply attend another date with you.
Nonetheless, a date fragrance must be sexy. Some great notes that would stand out in date fragrances might be vanilla, tonka and oud. These are notes that, when done right, can project a sexy scent whilst accompanied with other notes.
The key to a date scent is to have minimal projection. Thus, enticing your date to slowly come towards you in order to continue smelling the scent on your skin.
A great date night fragrance would be Dolce & Gabbana: The One EDP. The one Eau de Parfum is a sexy, masculine fragrance that is perfect for a date. It has a soft projection and lasts 5 hours.
2 - Clubbing
The same general characteristics apply to a clubbing fragrance as they do to a date night fragrance. The goal is to wear something that is sexy, yet different. For every 100 guys wearing Dior Sauvage, there’s one wearing Moschino Toy Boy.
A great clubbing fragrance will have a loud projection and should last upwards of 6-8 hours. This needs to be the case as you will be dancing, moving and brushing against other people throughout the night.
But, be careful as you don’t want your fragrance to overpower your looks and personality. Suffocating someone with bad breath or awful fashion choices is one thing. But, suffocating someone with your scent, is the worst of them all.
As mentioned above, Toy Boy by Moschino is the perfect clubbing fragrance to wear in order to stand out. Its strong rose accord makes for an interesting first smell. The fragrance is not the most masculine of scents but is extremely enticing.
3 - School/Office
A work or office fragrance should be simple. The main goal when wearing a fragrance at work is to be inoffensive and subtle. Shower gel scents are usually the kings of this department as they smell clean and are generally easy to wear.
Longevity in a work scent is everything. If you work a 9-5 job, the last thing that you want to be worried about at 3 Pm is if your fragrance is still projecting to the person beside you. Or worse, wondering if your desk neighbour Nancy has coughed several times because she’s been smoking too much or if your Versace Eros is suffocating her.
Some great shower gel scents are Dior Sauvage, YSL Y EDP or Bleu De Chanel. All of these scents are crowd-pleasers and will ensure that you’re the best-smelling guy in the office.
But, if you want to stand out, try Prada L’Homme. This scent reminds you of your out-of-the-shower blue fragrance, with a playful note of vanilla.
4 - Versatile Signature
This category is the most interesting and is left with the most room for interpretation. Your dumb reach fragrance is a scent that is easily worn in all occasions. The idea is that you’re running late and as you head out you grab something quick and easy to spray on.
These fragrances usually showcase your personality and are one of the reasons why you are memorable to people. Personally, my dumb reach as of recently has been Rasasi Hawas as it is super sweet but has fresh notes and isn’t too punchy when sprayed with the perfect amount.
A few other great ideas would be a blue fragrance as I mentioned above. The new YSL Y Le Parfum is a super interesting and dark take on the fresh and vibrant YSL Y Eau De Parfum.
For a less common and interesting approach for a signature scent, try Bentley for Men Intense. This ultra-masculine fragrance is amazing for the price. The scent features bergamot and leather notes which are continuously pronounced for hours on end.
5 - Seasonal Scents
Of all of the seasons in which fragrances are worn, summer is arguably the most important when thinking about which fragrance to wear. Wintertime comes in at a close second as heavy, spicy fragrances are superstars during this time.
Having seasonal scents are important as fragrances will react differently to temperatures. Summer is the most problematic as the characteristics of fragrances tend to explode and can be overbearing.
When spraying for the high heat, I would recommend blue, fresh or citrus fragrances as these tend to be easy to wear and pleasing to the vast majority of people.
Two great fragrances for this time are Davidoff Cool Water and Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Intense. Cool Water is a very clean and easy-to-wear fragrance but is a little bit outdated.
Light Blue is known as the king of the summer. With notes of seawater and mandarin orange, this scent is your best option for the summer. It is extremely clean and has a perfect balance of sweetness and pronounced citrus.
Conclusion
I hope this list helped you understand the categories of fragrance and maybe the world of scents as a whole. At the end of the day, wear whatever makes you feel confident. That may be a compliment monster or a scent that only you enjoy. Nonetheless, following the categories above will ensure an organized, even collection.
Marcus
