I am curious about something, how do women want their men to smell? I ask because being new to all of this I might find something that I may like but my wife might find it old man-ish ortoo fruity for a guy, or just plain gross. My wife does not want me smelling like a plant or a flower or some kind of fruit. So, what do the women here want us guys to smell like?
What smells good depends on the individual's body chemsitry. I've yet to meet a guy Aqua Velva didn't smell good on, though. That kind of rules out everything.
I guess what I mean is that my wife does not want me smelling like cherry or a rose. She likes things like Axe, the "for men" bath soaps and gels.
Don't say "Axe" to loudly around here, it's not exactly popular with this crowd. It has a reputation of being overused in high school locker rooms, which is likely the primary reason it's not liked. Whatever you do, don't use Aqua Velva. I hear they had a bad batch of window clean and a bad batch of bug spray, so they mixed them together with a little glycerin and called it aftershave. Of course, I could just be having fun at the expense of the 'velva lovers around here. Maybe... In terms of somthing good and masculine, I'd say go old fashioned. Old fashioned doesn't need to mean old man. I'm fond of Bay Rum scents, and Clubman isn't a bad choice either. These are cheap enough is she doesn't like something you're not out much. Also, if you want to carry the scent for more than an hour you want a cologne not an aftershave. In those cases, either use a very mild aftershave, or use witch hazel as an aftershave, then apply cologne. If you do go for cologne, make sure you don't just judge a scent strip or even the scent on your arm right after applying it. You need to know how your body reacts to the scent. The same cologne can smell totally different on two different people after 30 minutes of wearing it. Cologne samples are good for this and at minimum, try a couple on each wrist at the store and see how the smell to you and your wife immediately, after 10 minutes, and after 1/2 hour or longer. Funny thing, about 6 months ago that last paragraph would have been new information for me. Now I'm just trying to find something that wears as well on me as T&H 1805.
Aqua Velva Rules... THAT IS ALL.... Other then that. you have to wear something to see how it goes. Good luck with that. Fuzzy
Go to the grocery store (or Walgreens, CVB, Rite Aid, what have you). Open and sniff the following, in order: Aqua Velva Ice Blue (yeah baby!) Old Spice Original Brut Old Spice Fresh Clubman Bay Rum You'll probably like one of those. Buy a bottle (less than five bucks for most of 'em). See what SWMBO thinks. My money's on the Aqua Velva.
Then why do you keep saying I stink? Wait a tick.... you were insulting me, not commenting on the scent... How dare you!
:sihns011 I'd probably also add Clubman AS to that list and a decent cologne or two. My bride is very fond of Acqua Di Gio and CK Obsession.
I love bay rum but my wife thinks its to strong, she like subtle scents where as i like the old fashioned scents though as for av she can put up with this!
It has to be something my wife and I both like. She's the only one I try to impress, so what others think don't matter to me. And I won't wear something I don't like. Brut's her favorite. She says it makes me smell like me. Twenty-seven years will do that. (and it's only getting better!) Re-read ChemErik's post.
I can vouch for Old Spice Fresh Brut Original. Those are my favorites by far and I know my GF likes them (not sure if she LOVES them but she said "I like how they smell on you") they are *not* fruity or anything like that at all.
My wife and I were the "bad" Walmart shoppers, sampling stuff while we were in there. I know the smell from the bottle will not be the way it ends up smelling on your skin. It was late and the store was empty so let the fun begin. Smells like and old man: Brut 33 Old Spice English lether Aqua Velva Classic Tolerable But Not Her Favorite: Pinaud Clubman (it might grow on her but not good first impression) Wifey Likes: Gillette Series gel Axe body sprays Power stick body sprays several of the "For Men" products (Sauve body wash, sauve deoderant, etc) That was fun and exciting. I can not wait for the "hate mail". LOL
I more often that not spray my clothes and not my skin with fragrances. Without a doubt, women liked Chanel Allure most on me; I got compliments everywhere when I wore it - this about 5-6 yrs ago, and I used it exclusively after trying it from my roomate's stash. Nowadays, I like scents most women don't: Tabac, Grey Flannel, Quorum, Aramis, etc. Used to lay the Allure on heavy. Anything I use now I use sparingly.
Anyway scent is a very subjective matter. And provided that your body is clean and you haven't overdone it with the cologne it's not a huge priority - IMO.
From your list, I only like two: English Leather and Clubman. My wife doesn't like either, so I feel for you. If you want aftershave, you might look through the scents at TSD store and order a few samples or do something similar over at St. Charles Shave. You wife seems to prefer very artificial scents so maybe try some department store scents as a comprimise. At least to me, most department store colognes are just a higher quality version of AXE and Gillette scents. As I'm typing this I recalles some good deals on decent scents at GAP. None of them really did much for me, but based on your preferences you and your wife might enjoy them.
Over here the Aqua Velva and the Musgo Real are no real favorites to the Lady of the Manor. The La Toja and Proraso receive no complaints. But I only use A/S as an antiseptic........ After that I finish it off with an EdT or Cologne. The Canali (Style & Man) and Davidoff (Adventure) EdT and the Penhaligon's (Raquets Formula) Cologne are truly loved
Here's a thought, got a Dollar Tree nearby? Following the advice in this thread, I picked up a bottle of Brut Revolution for myself, and my oldest son promptly absconded with it because he felt it was a modern scent. :mad:
Ewwwwww this whole thread smells like AV toilet water colorant! Fuzzy! Put that stuff away now, geeezzzz. SWMBO Rules when it comes to scents. If we don't like it, you won't be wearing it. It's soooo simple. Seriously, take Erik's good advice and hit some department store stuff to try out and take her along. Order some cologne samples and try them out. EdTs for gents have really come a long way and some of them smell great! The trip to Wally World sounds like it was probably fun, and a good place to start. AS scents don't hang around long, an EdT is around most the day and even though they are higher priced, the amount you use still makes it worthwhile.
