Why Is Cologne Made for Men?
Throughout history, men have enjoyed perfuming themselves. However, most men prefer fragrances that are less sweet or floral than traditional women's perfumes. Because of this, for hundreds of years perfumers have designed scents specifically intended for men. Does this Spark an idea?
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Features
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Colognes are much more diluted than perfumes, which contain strong concentrations of fragrance. Men's colognes tend to contain notes of wood, musk and citrus, while women's perfumes contain a much broader range of scents.
Types
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Men's colognes usually fall into the following fragrance families: ambers (fragrances which contain spicy and musky scents); woods (fragrances which contain scents like sandalwood and cedarwood); leathers (fragrances which smell like honey, tobacco, leather and wood tars); chypres (fragrances which smell like oakmoss, citrus, patchouli and musk); fougeres (fragrances which smell of lavender, coumarin and oakmoss); and aquatics (a new fragrance family containing clean, oceanic scents.)
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History
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Over time, standards for men's colognes have changed. At one time, all men's colognes were expected to smell very "manly." Today, men are comfortable wearing a wide range of scents, including colognes that contain notes of violet and vanilla.
Considerations
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Cologne categories are not based on hard rules. A woman may choose to wear a cologne intended for men, and vice versa. Some scents are specifically formulated to be unisex, meaning they may be worn by both genders. CK One is one of the most famous unisex fragrances.
Warning
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Colognes smell differently on different people. This is because fragrances react to your skin. Make sure to test cologne on yourself before purchasing it.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Neal Fowler
