How to choose a cologne

Okay, here are a few quick math paradoxes.

Let’s take a poll. Ask a small group of people — let’s pick an easy number, let’s say ten — what they think of McDonalds.

Your results will most likely be that eight of those ten will tell you that they never, ever, go to McDonalds — no way. Absolutely not. Gross. And the other two will say they go rarely — once or twice a year, tops.

Yet McDonalds sells 75 hamburgers every second.

So your friends are lying

The same rule applies for cologne. Ask a group of ten men if they wear cologne and you’ll see the same results. Oh, they’ll tell you that they have a bottle, somewhere — I’m not really sure, I never use it — yet Americans spend one billion dollars a year — a slight exaggeration, the real number is 978 Million — on men’s cologne. So either your friends are getting buckets of the stuff as gifts that they are throwing away, or they are also lying.

It’s very common for men to remain in the closet regarding cologne and the main reason for this is that we have been exposed to years of cologne abuse. Men have long used cologne s a substitute for personal hygiene and when we didn’t have time for a shower we would toss a thick coat of Aqua Velva on to hide the funk — and we all have memories of that uncle in the polyester sports jacket that put on a pint of two dollar cologne before he headed out for the day.

But the fact is that scent is an extremely powerful trigger. Animals know this and so do we. A pleasant scent can alter a mood and a bad scent can alter it even faster.

[amazon asin=B008I2IKTA&template=iframe image][amazon asin=B004O24Q8W&template=iframe image][amazon asin=B000JD4N9M&template=iframe image][amazon asin=B002FAWECK&template=iframe image]

Choosing a cologne you like — the industry jargon for this is finding your signature scent — is as important as buying that one good watch or knowing how to tie a Windsor-knot necktie.

SO WHAT IS COLOGNE?

The term cologne refers to the strength of the perfume. Now, there are colognes for women, but women usually prefer a stronger scent or perfume rather than cologne. So the weaker scent — the cologne strength — usually refers to the product for men.

The fragrant strengths of colognes are …

     Eau de cologne — contains up to 5 % perfume oil.

     Eau de toilette — 4 to 8% perfume oil.

     Aftershave — up to 2% perfume oil.

TYPES OF COLOGNE SCENTS:

The typical cologne scents are …

     Floral — This is largely seen more in perfumes than colognes, but there are a few colognes that can be categorized as floral.

     Fruit.  

     Chypre — this describes earthy or woodsy scents

     Fougere — grassy or herbal.

     Aquatic — — light and airy.

HOW TO CHOOSE A COLOGNE.

1. Budget. Unfortunately, in order to get decent cologne you’re going to be anywhere in the $75 to $150 range. This may seem high but with a quality cologne you are actually going to use very little at a time and it will last. Don’t waste your money on ultra cheap colognes or clones — my younger son once bought a bottle of cologne from The Dollar Tree and we received an environmental dumping fine from the EPA. Nasty stuff. And on the other end, most cologne experts will advise colognes over $200 are not a good purchase.

2. Shop alone. Choosing a cologne is not something you do with your girlfriend, your wife or a couple of guys from the office during lunch. There are too many outside influences. Go alone.

3. Choose based on you. This may sound a little touchee-feellee but you want to find a cologne that smells like you, not one that you want to smell like. You are not a sailor or a lumberjack. You’ve never played poker on a paddle boat and you don’t own skis. Chose a scent you like, not what you think others will like to smell on you.

 4. Say no to the spritzers. The salesgirl at Macy’s will tell you that colognes smell different on your body. She’s lying. Have them spray it on test strips and smell it from there.