I make this post partially humorous but also to seriously ask you what your biggest pet peeves that beginners or people not as invested in this hobby as us are. I say outsiders carefully as not to say it in a clique kind of sense. Because I’ve unlocked a pet peeve that’s so weirdly specific, to anyone outside of the bubble, I look psycho! So asking you guys, what are yours? And do any of you relate to this specific one that I have? My biggest, most frustrating issue is so irritating to me because of how ridiculously widespread it is, and it comes with the misconception of cologne, perfume, and gendered fragrances. It strikes a positively DISSONANT chord within me when someone refers to all men’s fragrance as “cologne”. Makes me like unreasonably irritated. Crazy right! But hear me out. One of the biggest misconceptions in fragrance is the idea of A), gendered fragrance, and B), men’s fragrance is all “cologne”. Traditionally, cologne is a concentration of alcohol to oil, and actually one of the weakest concentrations. Most fragrances nowadays for men aren’t colognes at all but Eau de toilettes and Eau de parfums! They don’t wear cologne! They wear perfume! Gendered fragrance in and of itself is a western marketing construct used by companies to get men to start wearing it, to make the market less intimidating and fit in with the stigmas and social values at the time. Along with that, the word “perfume” had a largely feminine connotation, and men at the time did not feel comfortable wearing something with the name of something that sounded so well… feminine. Considering there WERE popular men’s fragrances that were cologne concentrations like from Acqua di Parma, and the word “cologne” sounded rugged, masculine, and less feminine, so it became synonymous with all men’s fragrance. Now as to why this particular stereotype and misconception bothers me so much, I’ll get into that. A), I hate the word cologne. Always have. When I bought my first Versace my girlfriend at the time was like “how’s the cologne?” And bro it bothered me. I wasn’t mad at her or anything lol, but I associate the word with the absolutely terrible chemical bomb my dad would wear with his axe body spray. So when I hear “cologne”, I think of that. Even I look at my older posts and see myself use that word and I criiiiiiinge

This has been my go to here lately. I originally started with the original TDH but this one is much more appealing, especially during the opening notes. With the heat and humidity of Georgia, this lighter scent is a great way to go. The top notes are much lighter and less offensive than the original TDH, which has a more bitter orange/cigarette smell. The base notes or both are amazing, thought the protection is fairly limited. But the smell on your skin and clothes is great. Maybe not the most compliment getting but a delightful one for myself.

How many of you share your fragrances with your children?

So I was working the Ed Sheeran concert in Denver last night and it was pretty hot even though we got a bit of rain. Funny enough, I've never been a fan of gin or juniper berries and even though it garners quite a bit of compliments, D&G light blue isn't my favorite. Then I purchased a decant of Eau Givreé and it was life changing! It's a photorealistic citron with juniper and Timut pepper with a woody mineralic base. Only lasts 4-5 hours on my skin, so I had to reapply. Outstanding fragrance either way!! Thoughts?

Good evening gentlemen. Hope everyone had a great 4th. Very hot here. Inside under the A/C. Five hours then skin scent on me. This punches well above its weight. Masculine, slight sweetness and a nice patchouli touch to it. Had not worn this in a minute. Have a good evening everyone. •Top Notes: Lavender, Cardamom, and Bergamot - Middle Notes: Orange Blossom, Guaiac Wood, and Cedar - Base Notes: Vanilla, Sandalwood, and Patchouli [1, 2, 3, 5]