Passing the Sniff Test: How to Wear Cologne the Right Way
The Keys to Becoming a Well-Scented Man
You need to pick something that's going to be technically solid. Its persistence on the skin has got to last more than one hour, meaning you've got to be able to smell it long after you've applied it. It shouldn't deteriorate.
— Chandler Burr, director and curator of the Department of Olfactory Art at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City
Scientists have long debated the exact role scent plays in the complicated dance of human mating rituals. And while advertisers continue to overstate the influence of deodorant and aftershave lotion on a man's love life -- many a commercial has asserted that with the right body spray, a milquetoast nerd can be instantly transformed into George Clooney ---- there's no doubt that dousing yourself in a bottle of cheap drugstore cologne will repel everyone from your co-worker in the next cubicle to a potential romantic interest.
The Name's the Thing
The first thing to consider when picking your signature smell is that for the majority of bottled scents, the word "cologne" is actually a misnomer.
"Cologne refers to one very specific recipe for a specific scent," says Chandler Burr, director and curator of the Department of Olfactory Art at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. He is the former perfume critic for "The New York Times" and author of "The Emperor of Scent" and "The Perfect Scent." "A cologne is specifically a citrus blend, usually lemon, grapefruit or bitter orange, and/or bergamot with either an aromatic or an herbal."
According to Burr, the reason that Americans think women wear perfume and men wear cologne -- in every other part of the world it's not an issue -- is that the terms are used as a collective marketing device created for one sole reason: to sell scent to American men.
"Calling scent 'cologne' gives psycho-emotional permission to heterosexual American men to wear scent," says Burr.
Choosing What Works
Burr bluntly points out that American men need practice in the proper way of selecting and applying scent. "You need to pick something that's going to be technically solid," he notes. "Its persistence on the skin has got to last more than one hour, meaning you've got to be able to smell it long after you've applied it. It shouldn't deteriorate. Diffusion is also very important -- you need to be able to smell it at a reasonable distance of two or three feet."
Burr suggests recruiting a friend or two to test how well your scent holds up. "If the person has to be an inch away from you to smell it then it's technically garbage," he says. "If the scent isn't there after 10 minutes, then it's trash."
Conversely, if your scent is so overbearing that the person has to plug his nose and escape into the next building, you need to make a few slight modifications.
"You gauge the volume of a scent the same way you would the loudness of the music coming out of your iPod on a train," says Burr. "With an expensive, high-quality scent you only need a little bit. You want the scent to be terrific quality. You do not want to mix your scent with any other scent."
Deciding what scent works best on your skin is often an exercise in trial and error, notes stylist Bernard Jacobs, president of Katy Duds, an image and fashion consulting firm in West Hollywood, California.
"Whenever I go into a store I'll ask for a tester and try on a scent," says Jacobs, who recommends a citrusy smell for summer and a woodsy smell for winter. "I'll wear the tester for a couple of days, and if I like it then I'll go back and buy it."
Placement, Everyone
Equally as important as what you put on is where and how you put it on. "A lot of men take cologne and rub it in, which is the wrong way to do it," says Jacobs. "You spoil the factor by heating up the oil and then it doesn't smell the way it's supposed to. Instead, spray a little bit on your wrist, in the fold of your arm [the elbow], behind your ear, all the hot spots on the body. It keeps the smell going all day long."
Burr recommends creating your personal smell zone: "Put scent on the back of your neck, the tops of your forearms and on the shoulders of your dress shirt on the fabric," he says. "Put a little bit in your hair. It's the single best place to diffuse the scent."
But whatever else you do, don't douse -- and never splash. "Your grandfather splashed, your father splashed," says Burr. "You are not your father. We are not living in 1973 anymore. Welcome to 2011."
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