How Many Fragrances Does a Man Need?
3 minute read
Have I developed an obsession? Absolutely.
I remember when I first started collecting fragrances, my first few scents were Hugo Boss Bottled, Montblanc Emblem and CK Euphoria. I had no idea when to wear these or what type of fragrances they were. I, like most people just thought they simply smelled nice and would put them on whenever.
However, like clothing, once you start taking your personal scent more seriously, you realise that there is a time and a place to put on certain colognes.
This blog will cover the five types of colognes to own in order to have a scent specialised for each environment. There is more to the topic of collecting fragrances, but this will set your collection with the correct foundation.
1 - Versatile
The Versatile Swiss Army Knife…
Like a trusty Swiss Army Knife, every fragrance collector should have a jack of all trades, master of none fragrance as their first purchase ideally. These need to be mass-appealing, ‘safe’, long lasting and hopefully garner compliments.
If you had to blind buy this type of scent, I recommend Montblanc Explorer, a smooth Creed Aventus clone, as an affordable option and YSL Y EDP, a sharp and herbaceous ‘shower gel’ scent, for a higher budget.
2 - Date Night
How romantic!
One of the main reasons to wear a fragrance is to instantaneously boost attractiveness and confidence. Your first scent, being versatile, can be used in this scenario but will most likely be your day time scent. To really get yourself in that romantic mood, I recommend you have an evening scent that is not loud…
A safe affordable blind buy is Zara Rich Warm Addictive, a coconut and tobacco fragrance that is one of their few original creations and one of their best scents in general. A mid range budget fragrance to potentially blind buy is Dolce & Gabbana the One Eau de Parfum, one of the most perfectly balanced colognes in the designer realm, this is the definition of safe!
The soft projection of date night scents make them ideal for close encounters…
3 - Professional
Sometimes you need to boss it up at work.
After you have one day time and one evening scent, you should have a fragrance for work as that is where people spend most of their time, even if that’s at home! These fragrances not only get you in to a more productive mood but also impress. Which is what you need in those crucial moments such as important interviews or meetings.
The two safest blind buys for smelling like you mean business are Burberry Touch, an affordable but high quality pepper and musk scent, and Prada Amber pour Homme, a slightly sweet and spicy powdery soap fragrance with excellent performance!
4 - Summer
Oh to be at the beach again…
When its high heat season, your usual scents won’t cut it. Heat activates fragrances, hence high temperatures can make your cologne too intense and overbearing. A summer fragrance should be light but ideally still long lasting…
A great cheap blind buy to consider is Nautica Voyage, an oceanic cucumber fragrance that lasts 6 hours, as well as D&G Light Blue Eau Intense, a moderately priced salt & musk oceanic scent that has excellent performance!
5 - Clubbing
Where’s the social distancing?!
Clubbing/partying fragrances will be your lowest priority these days due to the pandemic! These are evening fragrances, that unlike their date night counterparts, are loud in their projection and are designed to turn heads in environments with a lot of stimuli!
If you wanted an affordable blind buy, I would suggest Rasasi Daarej, a floral and spicy vanilla scent that makes you smell like a playboy. Of course, I’ll have to suggest Versace Eros for anyone who is willing to spend a little bit more for an excellent mint, apple & vanilla fragrance! Eros is currently the safest first clubbing scent to own.
Finishing Thoughts
There are no hard and fast rules to which fragrances you should buy first but this is what makes the most sense at this point in time, this system is designed to make your scent game Smart, in order to make sure you don’t own five date night scents (which is surprisingly common)!
Do you agree with this system for setting up a foundation in your collection? How would you suggest people buy their first handful of scents?
Until next time,
Omar
