Cologne?

[colemp]

I'm a 21 year old university student who has lacked the social skills required to have any success with women. I now know about style, confidence, etc. and am shifting towards that lifestyle while staying true to myself (not faking it).

Do you guys have any tips on wearing cologne out, to work, to school? Can you wear it daily? If so, should you change it up throughout the week? I work in a professional setting so I think it would be appropriate.

And since I don't trust Yahoo answer replies, I would appreciate some suggestions that aren't boyish but still attract women in my age group. I don't want to remind them of their dads.

I could be analyzing this too much, but do women relate the cologne you wear to your person? Something like: he's wearing expensive cologne so he must be sophisticated?

[omni]

I've heard great things about Marc Jacobs. I couldn't find it in stores (too old apparently), so I got it from Amazon. I've gotten plenty of compliements, and it's nice having something that not a lot of other guys wear (anymore). I recommend you go to the fragrance counter an spray on a few things. You'll want to know what smells good on your skin and with your body chemistry. Some things are great on your friend but awful on you.

You should definitely use something though (cologne, aftershave, etc.). I've heard woman after woman talk about how they were initially struck by a guy for no other reason than he smelled good.

[Tim]

Women will definitely think better of you for wearing cologne. I don't know if they're going to think you're more sophisticated for it exactly, just that you're a guy who looks after himself and his appearance. Unless the rest of your image goes against that.

I would recommend finding one cologne to wear daily. You can have others but they should be used less frequently, such as when you go out at night. You shouldn't need to spray much on either way. During the day you want a subtle scent, and the sort of scent you want for night should be stronger anyway. Spray a little on the inside of each wrist (don't immediately rub them together, it crushes the perfumes), each armpit, and your upper chest. One spray maximum each area.

I don't wear cologne most days, for various reasons but I wear a roll-on Yves St Laurent deodorant during the day when I do. I wear either Issey Miyake or YSL Rive Gauche Pour Le Homme at night. The latter has a very strong, distinctive scent, and has been a YSL staple for years. I really recommend it. Not all women are going to like it, but the ones who do will love it.

Don't skimp on cologne, ever. Marc Jacobs, YSL, Christian Dior, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Issey Miyake, Armani, D&G, Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren I can recommend. Most of those are expensive brands, but you can get usually find a few near the lower end which are still good. But if you don't overuse it then it should last months or even years, so just think of it as a good investment.

[Edmond Dantès]

I love to wear cologne, after using deodorant and some bodylotion. It actually had also an positive effect on my confidence, because it feels really good to know that you smell great!

[Matty]

I'm somewhat of a fragrance aficionado, so I can help you out. Yes, I think a lot of woman love it when a guy wears a good cologne. As for your age demographic, younger woman seem to respond well to a.) fresh, citrus scents and b.) sweet, scents. Fragrances that are overly spicy or musky tend to be associated with older men. As Tim mentioned, the subtle (fresh and citrus) scents are appropriate for the evening, and the bold (sweet and a bit louder) scents are appropriate for the evening.

With that said, i'll give a list of fragrances I have used or smelt that I can recommend, however, i'll say it with one caveat; make sure you try them on your skin first a few times. When you try them on, pay attention to how long they last, how the smell changes over time, and if that particular fragrance smells good on your skin. The reason for this is that everyones skin chemistry is different, and fragrances smell slightly different on certain people. Also important: when choosing these fragrances, make sure you take weather into account. If your going out on a hot summer night or live in a hot climate, you can still wear a sweeter scent, just make sure it's got a bit of freshness to it. I'll mark the ones I think are appropriate for summer nights with an * to make it easy for you.

As for application, your millage may very, and it'll be different with each fragrance. Best is test it out and get someone you know well to be honest with you if you've put on too much. For me personally, on a regular fragrance, I do one shot the chest, and one to each side of my neck. If it's a stronger fragrance, i'll only do two sprays, or sometimes only one. You just have to test it for yourself.

Daytime Scents: Chanel Allure Homme Sport Cologne, Issey Miyake L'eau d'Issey, Thierry Mugler Cologne, Hugo Boss Bottled, Givenchy Blue Label, Clinique Happy (cheapy but a goody), Blu de Chanel, Guerlain Homme, Versace Eau Fraiche, Yves St. Laurent L'Homme, Guess Man (another cheapy).

Night Out Fragrances: Paco Robanne 1 Million*, John Varvatos (the original one, my personal favourite), Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male, Yves St. Laurent La Nuit de L'Homme*, Dolce and Gabbana Pour Homme*, Givenchy Very Irresistible, Versace the Dreamer (if you try this one, you need to spray it on and give it an hour, because it smells quite harsh in the beginning), Chanel Allure*, and Dolce and Gabbana The One*.

[Matty]

I should have mentioned as well; i'm 25, and prefer younger woman, so i'm basically playing to the same demographic you are, and all these recommendations seem to appeal to woman in the age bracket your going for

[Chaos]

One other piece of advice. Don't change perfumes.

For me at least, once I found the fragrance I really liked (which is Pour Homme Intense by Dior) I always use it (for the weekends and special occasions, I have another (cheaper) one for daily use). The plus side is women associate the smell with me, so I've been complemented with "I love how you always smell" and "the other day I smell that and it remind me of you". Great thing about using always the same cologne is girls will associate the smell with you and it will remind them of you every time they smell it, whereas if you change often then there's no constant for them to hook on to.

[colemp]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm going to look into some of the fragrances you guys recommended. I'm def going with a cheaper one that smells good on me for daily use and a couple nicer colognes for going out.

[Oli]

Thoughts on Hugo Boss Dark Blue?

[FuckMeImFamous]

Only wear a Cologne if you also dress appropriately. Wearing a lame outfit with a designer Cologne will look very fake and unnatural.

[SeXyBaCk]

From my experience only a fraction of females like heavy cologne on a guy so my advice is to go with aftershave, you really only want to be smell-able when someones kissing/hugging/standing real close to you...you're leaning into them. That's when they want to smell you, not sitting across from you on the subway or just being in the same room. Cologne is kinda weird in that way, for some guys they apply lots of aftershave and the scent vanishes right away, for them an eau de toilette makes more sense, basically you need feedback from someone about how much to apply. My skin absorbs quite a lot, but the same amount applied on my brother and i can smell him before i see him.

Because i work close to people I go with a sporty ...fresh scent during the day ... something lemony minty (like boss bottled or armani aqua di gio, davidoff stuff) and then at night or when i go out something more spicy and masculine like allure/hermes. Basically all decent aftershave is 40-50 bucks, eau de toilette, 60-80, but you need to use less of that because it's more intense.

I'd stay away from those cheap body spray things, if it'll hurt your pocket too much to use cologne or aftershave every day i'd just stick to shower wash and body lotion.

IMO less is definitely more. If a woman wants to smell you and knows your smell she should come close and suck in your scent. That can then become a habit. You don't want to be known as the heavy smeller around the office. I guess the point I'm trying to make is only one person should be able to smell you at any given time.

[swizzer2012]

I love cologne before it has light fragrance unlike the perfume that so strong smell.

[TheKaizenWay]

Google up basenote, they have a pretty nifty forum there