How to Choose (and Wear) the Right Aftershave

Some men swear by aftershave. And no, not just to sort out the razor rash after they’ve had a shave. Some guys wouldn’t dream of leaving the house, whether for work or pleasure, without a splash of their favourite cologne.

 

Similarly, there are plenty of women who would just as soon leave the house without their clothes on as not spritz themselves with perfume. Male or female, people who love their fragrances say smelling good boosts their confidence and puts an extra spring in their step.

 

Yet fewer men report wearing fragrances on a day-to-day basis than women - not the fancy stuff anyway, your high quality colognes and perfumes. Perhaps it’s a legacy of the ‘Lynx effect’, with a whole generation of men growing up to rely on cheap body sprays. But some figures suggest less than a quarter of men wear aftershave ‘all the time’, with 40% only having one bottle at home. 

So have men fallen out of the habit of wearing aftershave? One thing is for sure, a good quality cologne will smell better (and for a lot longer) than a budget deodorant. So what’s holding so many back? Could it be that a lot of guys are simply not confident when it comes to buying aftershaves and colognes?

 

That makes sense. Good quality fragrances are an investment. They don’t always come cheap so you want to be sure you are making the right choice before parting with your money.

 

So how do you choose an aftershave that has the power to make you walk that little bit taller and put a smile on your face day in, day out? Here are some tips to get started.

Shop for your own aftershave

Are you the kind of guy that relies on getting bought aftershave as birthday or Christmas presents? Then that could explain why you struggle to bond with the fragrances you have. Choosing the scents you like is a very personal thing, and science has an explanation for why. Studies have shown that people instinctively pick out fragrances that best complement their natural body odour.

 

So although your partner or whoever else buying you aftershave might think they’re buying you a nice-smelling fragrance (or have their own preference for what they want you to smell like), it’s unlikely to be the best match for you. You are best placed to know what the right fragrance for you is.

Try some out

There is a right way and a wrong way to try fragrances. The wrong way unfortunately happens to be what most people do - go into a store, spray several products on themselves, or else dab a few on blotter cards and then walk away.

 

The problem with covering yourself in several scents is that they all start to mix and you can’t really tell which one you are smelling after a while. The problem with a blotter card is that you only get first impressions. Fragrances are complex, multi-layered things. Some aromas (or ‘notes’) hit you quickly but then fade away, while others are longer lasting and come to the fore after you’ve been wearing them for a while.

 

The right way to try a fragrance is to wear just one at a time, for several hours at a time, and therefore get the full experience. The best way to do this is to buy men’s aftershave samples online. They are low cost and come in small sample-sized bottles. Pick a handful at a time and have fun experimenting!

Stock up for different occasions

Another advantage of trialling lots of different fragrances is that you will no doubt find that there are many out there that you really like and which really suit you. That’s great, because why should you be confined to just one bottle of fragrance? Do you wear just the one outfit all the time for work, for meeting friends, for big events? 

 

Of course not. Likewise, having a selection of fragrances means you can choose different scents for different occasions, different moods, different seasons. 

Learn how to wear aftershave

This might seem like an odd one to finish on. Surely you can’t get splashing on a bit of cologne wrong? Actually, you’d be surprised.

 

First of all, dosage is important. It’s very easy to overdo it, and even the most pleasant fragrances become cloying and overpowering if you aren’t careful. It’s important here to understand that different types of fragrance have different strengths. A cologne, for example, is actually a light to moderate fragrance that you can afford to be pretty liberal with.

 

However, more expensive eau de parfum or even an extrait de parfum - the really top end stuff - is much, much stronger. These are designed so a little goes a long way, and you literally only need a dab.

 

Also, where you wear your fragrance matters. With an aftershave, of course, you will often splash it over your face to counter razor burn. But this isn’t really recommended for genuine colognes, and especially not stronger parfums. They are likely to sting considerably, and the effect on your own nose and eyes will likely be unpleasant.

 

While we live in an age where it’s normal to spray half a can of deodorant over your entire body from head to toe, with the very best fragrances, just a dab on the neck or on your wrists will do.