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

Do people really hate designer fragrances? I do not think so. Designer fragrances are still what most people know, wear, and enjoy. They are easy to find, usually very wearable, and many of them smell great. I think most of the hate comes from deeper fragrance communities where some people start believing niche automatically means better and designer automatically means basic. That is simply not true. When you look at the fragrance market as a whole, designer fragrances still sell the most by a large margin. Niche comes behind designer, clones, and inspired fragrances continue to grow because of their lower prices, and true small-batch artisan perfumery is probably the smallest category in total sales. Artisan may be the smallest, but it can also be one of the most creative because those perfumers are not always trying to appeal to the largest possible audience. Clone fragrances can appear much bigger than they actually are because of Facebook groups, YouTube, TikTok, influencers, and online fragrance communities. When you are inside a clone-focused group, it can seem like Lattafa, Armaf, DUA, Alexandria, Montagne, and other inspired houses control the fragrance market. In the real world, major designer houses still sell on a completely different level because of department stores, worldwide distribution, advertising, gift sets, airports, and general name recognition. Niche fragrances usually sell fewer bottles than designer fragrances, but they can make more money per bottle because of the higher prices. Artisan houses normally have smaller production, fewer retailers, and less advertising, so they are not competing in volume. They are often selling creativity, craftsmanship, unusual materials, and a more personal vision instead of trying to create something for everyone. Another part of this discussion is where the raw materials and fragrance formulas come from. A relatively small group of major fragrance-and-flavor companies—including Givaudan, DSM-Firmenich, IFF, and Symrise—has enormous influence over the industry. These companies create aroma chemicals, process natural ingredients, develop exclusive captive molecules, employ many of the world’s leading perfumers, and formulate fragrances for major brands. They work across the market, from everyday consumer products to prestige and fine fragrance.

I always thought Naxos would be my first Xerjoff pick up but when i saw this at a great price i said “nuh-uh”. So here it is. Stuffs stronger in the bottle than the sample. And luckily it suits my skin chem. I love how they put effort into little things and details. Love when a company puts effort into things like this. To me its a sign of appreciation and valuing their customers. Unlike some other brands (cough cough Bond no.9 cough). Usually i chuck boxes in the bin but ill be keeping this.