Tom Ford / May 2021 / In-Image Max
Here's How to Find the Cologne That Works Best for You
An 8-step plan for picking a fragrance you'll want to wear every damn day.
Searching for a signature scent? Something that, over time, everyone will associate with you and come to recognize as your own unique fragrance? It's an admirable goal. First, though: Take it slow! There are a lot of colognes on the market that smell good—it'd be a waste to settle on something right away.
1. Study the Notes
By knowing the core notes in fragrance, you can then attach those to a specific mood or vibe that you want to emit. Of course, some notes mean different things to different people, but it's still easy to find a universally pleasing one that is especially significant to you.
2. Understand Fragrance Families and Their Seasonality
One of the best ways to understand seasonality and how notes work with certain moods and occasions is Michael Edwards’ Fragrance Wheel, which also happens to be one of the best fragrance discovery scents on the web.
3. Don’t Be Afraid to Ask “What Scent Are You Wearing?”
Just as you might Shazam an unfamiliar but enjoyable song, you should ask people which scent they’re wearing whenever you truly like it. After all, they are wearing that scent for that reason. Not to be asked, per se, but to have people enjoy it. (Just make sure you’re not coming off as creepy and flirtatious—less “you smell amazing” and more “hey, out of curiosity, can I ask you which scent you’re wearing?”)
4. Know the Classics
If you know the best classic scents, then you have the framework from which to pick your own. You also have a killer roster of scents from which to pick.
5. Weigh Mass Appeal Against Niche
If you choose a more mass-market fragrance, you risk smelling like two other guys in your office. The upside is that you're wearing something “safe” in the sense that most people are going to like it, and it probably won’t project itself too loudly. Some people prefer the opposite, however, and want to have a signature scent all to themselves (well, at least in their own social circle).
6. Consider Your Motives
What’s your end goal with a signature scent? What is your personality like, or what alter ego are you projecting? How will it impress itself upon your colleagues, your significant other, your best friends? They’re all going to associate that scent with you, so you need to find something that really suits whatever you're putting out there. Again, it’s an argument for possibly having more than one go-to scent, too, so that you can express these different sides of you equally and appropriately. (You don’t really want to ooze sex appeal around the water cooler.)
7. Use the Internet
There are a few ways to use the web to your advantage when shopping for a signature scent—particularly since it’s important to have a few extra opinions on a scent before you make it your signature.
8. Try Before You Buy
If you’re going to commit to something—and pay some real money for it—then you need to know that it’s a winner. The only way to ensure that is to try it first. Luckily, most brands offer some sort of sample-size tester, if you can’t otherwise find it at retail. (Many also offer entire sample assortments if you want to get to know the scope of an entire brand.)