Finally its here! My mini guide on cologne and everything you need to know about it. Lets start with 10 things one should know:
10. Different Class of Perfumes
Colognes are usually made up of the fragrance itself and alcohol. The more fragrance, the strong the smell(duh~)
Extrait Perfume>Eau de Parfum>Eau de Toilette>Eau de Cologne>Eau de Solide.
9. Some Vocab!
a. Sillage - The trail of scent that one leaves behind
b. Longevity - How long the cologne lasts on you
8. Olfactory breakdown of a cologne
There are 3 main smells in a cologne:
Top note - This is the scent upon your first application. Lasts for around 5 min
Middle note - After which, the scent would change to this and stays for about 15 min
Bass note - The scent that lingers and stays with you after the first 15 min till the time it wears off
7. Variety of scent groups
What makes every cologne unique is their combination of ingredients but generally they can be classified into the following:
Woody/Aquatic/Floral/Aromatic/Fougere/Oriental
Combination of scent groups are quite common e.g. Woody aquatic or Aromatic aquatic. So choosing the right one for yourself is an more of an art than a science~
6. Application instructions
Believe is or not, the secret is not to apply too much. At most 2-3 sprays or risk choking everyone around you with your cologne! Point to note: Your nose will get used to the scent therefore your cologne is actually stronger than it seems(smells)!
Apply it on places where your pulse points are(but not all of them!)
-Wrists. Spray on one of your wrist and rub or tap your wrists together
-Neck. Just one spray here would do
-Chest. Are there any bigger pulse points than this?
-Back. Some say this will create a better sillage
-Behind your ears. After spraying on your wrists, rub them behind your ears
Spraying on your clothes will only stain them and it won't last long
5. Increasing Longevity
For better longevity, apply the cologne after you have dried yourself from a shower
Do not put your cologne after using a different fragrance smelling shower gel. It might weaken or worse still, cancel out your cologne
4. Body Chemistry
You might notice that the same cologne one person sometimes smells differently when on another person will smell. This is because everyone's body chemistry is unique and reacts differently with the cologne.
Also, the strength and longevity depends heavily on each person's chemistry with the Cologne.
3. Varying your cologne
Change your cologne according to the various times of the day or the occasion to suit the mood or risk being known by that scent only.
After all, there are so many fantastic fragrances around, why do you have to settle for only one?
2. Storage
In order ensure that you well chosen bottle of cologne lasts for as long as possible, one must know how to take care of it.
Put it in a cool and dry place, away from the sunlight and places where it experiences temperature changes. Placing it in the toilet is not advisable.
1. Dare to try
Lastly, take that leap of faith and pluck up your courage to go the counter and try out different types of cologne.
Don't be too paiseh to pick up a bottle and spray on yourself or the piece of paper provided. A whole new world awaits you when you open that door!
If this post is popular, I may consider writing another post on "How to choose a cologne."Hope it was useful information for everyone!Comments anyone??
-Mark-
7/15/2010 10:25:00 am
