You want to be the type of guy that everyone talks about how good you smell. People should know you’ve entered a room before they even turn around. This is the power of having a signature scent.

Fragrance is a personal statement, as it’s all about how the scent smells on you specifically and how it’s perceived by others. Finding your signature scent can make you turn heads and make a lasting impression that says “I have arrived”.

In this article, we’re going to go through some fragrance rules, types of fragrances, how to select your signature scents and much more.

Table of contents

Rules For Fragrances
Types Of Fragrances
How To Wear Cologne
Finding Your Signature Scent
List of Fragrances

Rules For Fragrances

Let’s go through some fragrance rules that should never be broken.

Hygiene comes first. Fragrance is what you add to your body after it’s been cleaned. It’s not a method of covering up
B.O. You will only ever apply fragrance on a clean body!
Not every occasion requires fragrance. No scent is still a good scent. If you work in a tight space in a cubicle or in the medical
field, wearing a strong scent is a quick way to become hated by everyone around you.
Never overspray. If you’re buying quality fragrances, less is always more. Stick to 1 or 2 sprays for daytime/worktime hours and
3-4 sprays for the evening or going out at night.
Expensive isn’t always better. There are plenty of amazing fragrances for guys on a budget. If your taste is more luxurious you can always
find ddiscounted perfumes from reputable sellers on eBay or FragranceNet.

Types of Fragrances

Different types of scents come off differently based on the compositions of their notes. Keep in mind most fragrances aren’t locked into a single scent group.

Most perfumes and fragrances are gendered; while these are imaginary, most people associate certain scents with femininity, like flowers, vanilla, and sugar; and masculinity, like wood, leather, and smoke.

I recommend wearing more unisex and lighter masculine scents during the day while you’re at work or school.

Fresh fragrances are usually citrusy and oceanic and have hints of green – they are typically refreshing and vibrant smells and sometimes herbal and leafy scents.

Floral scents vary widely based on the floral composition. Soliflores are single-flower fragrances like pure rose or pure jasmine.

Oriental fragrances are often warm, sweet, and sometimes a little spicy. They usually are considered more luxurious and sophisticated scents.

Gourmand scents are a newer category and are considered very “edible” smelling. They are taking inspiration from the decadence of food to create rich scents.

Woody fragrances are a little more androgynous and heavier, with leather and amber scents combined. These earthy fragrances are popular among aftershaves.

How To Wear Cologne

Layering

Layering your fragrances is a really cool way to experiment and create a whole new scent that no one else has. This doesn’t mean just mixing different colognes together,

for example if you use a peppermint body wash, mixing it with a vanilla based fragrance can create a scent that really works great together. You get the idea.

Where To Spray

When applying cologne, you should spray it on pulse points, which are areas where the blood vessels are closest to the skin’s surface.

This allows the fragrance to mix with your body’s natural oils and radiate throughout the day.

Common pulse points include:

Wrists: Spray a small amount of cologne on your wrists and then rub them together.

Neck: Apply cologne to the sides and back of your neck.

Chest: Spritz a small amount of cologne on your chest, just below your neck.

Inner elbows: Apply cologne to the crease on the inside of your elbows.

Remember, you don’t need to use a lot of cologne to make an impression. A little goes a long way, so use it sparingly. You can always reapply throughout the day if needed.

How To Find Your Signature Scent

The more often you wear a scent, the more others will associate that scent uniquely with you. This doesn’t mean wearing one fragrance all the time though.

At the most minimal, three signature scents usually suffice, one for the office, one for daytime/weekends/vacations, and one for evenings.

Now when finding you signature scent, this takes a lot of experimentation.

There are 2 types of guys when it comes to buying fragrances. The guy that will spray it on himself first with a tester at a shop, smell it for a bit, wait a few minutes to see how it settles, ask for opinions and in general is just very methodical and particular when buying a new fragrance.

BUT you also have the blind buy gigachad. This is the camp I fall into. If I see a fragrance online with a catchy name and a cool design, I blind buy it. Sometimes it works out great and other times it doesn’t.

The thing about fragrances is they smell different on everybody, and sometimes you will hate the fragrance at first but come to eventually love it.

I’m a blind buyer and this just works for me. Through my experience I have found 3 fragrance houses that I really like.

Tom Ford

Tom Ford fragrances are usually very expensive but they have extremly unique scents and they’re very high quality in terms of both ingredients and lasting power.

Byerdo

I’ve never smelled a Byerdo scent I didn’t like. They’re very light and fresh fragrances and work great if you want a more subtle fragrance.

Maison Margiela

An absolutely amazing line of fragrances that are both unique in terms of scent and have suprisingly long lasting power for the price point. This is the best of both worlds.

Of course there are many more amazing fragrance lines, but these are my current favorites.

Create a Fragrance Wardrobe

Everyone has a different way of creating their fragrance wardrobe.

Your fragrance should add to the overall vibe you’re going for. If you’re dressed up in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts and have a summer vibe going on, you want a fresh and light fragrance.

If you’re dressed more formal and are going for dinner late at night, you want a more masculine woody scent. You get the idea.

I like to match my fragrance with my outfits. (Credit to ITSKINGKENNETH).

Full Fragrance List: