Scent suggestions

Charlie

My wife recently mentioned smell is a factor in arousal for her. She likes cologne, and I wear it on occasion, but it aggravates my allergies most of the time. Plus I just don't like the smell; perfumes either. What other options do you folks suggest? Aftershave (I've never used them)? I love scented lotions on women, like the Victoria's Secret products - are there similar products for men? So what do you folks suggest for cologne alternatives? 

Angeline

I think it was one of the guys who isn't here much any more. He had a badger for his profile pic I think? Pretty sure we saved the shaving thread, which is where that stuff was discussed. 

Tennee

Dominica Bay Rum.  No, it's not the kind you mix in a Coke.  Great, clean smelling stuff.  J. Peterman sold it for a while, bet it's on Amazon....

JellyBean

Burt's Bees has a bay rum line of soap, shaving cream, aftershave, and others. 

HowlAtTheMoon

I knew a guy in college who used plain sandalwood oil and he smelled reeeaaaally good.

seriously

Dove+Men has aftershave lotion, hair gel/pommade, deodorant, and other products have decent smells.  The aftershave lotion I have is similar to a light Obsession for Men.  The wife is a fan.

frillyfun

A clean man smells really good to me.  They do make scented body wash, and stuff like that.  It might be easier to start with something more subtle like that rather than having cologne wafting at you all day.

You might be able to find a scented lotion for men at the drugstore.  They don't seem to have them in the higher end fragrances for men though.  They're actually easy enough to make at home if you want though.  Just grab a fragrance oil concentrate from eBay, and add it to a bottle of lotion (I recommend 1-2%).  

Tennee

@HowlAtTheMoon said:

I knew a guy in college who used plain sandalwood oil and he smelled reeeaaaally good.

My shave soap and aftershave are sandalwood based.  Nice, clean, non-perfumy, masculine scent.  W seems to like anyway.  I hate fruity, prefumy, overwhelming stuff. 

Ben

I'm going to take it in the other direction: go completely unscented for a couple weeks before trying anything new.  Think of everything that goes on your body that has a scent-- laundry detergent and dryer sheets on your clothes, shaving cream, aftershave, shampoo, body wash, deodorant, any other lotions or soaps-- and get the dye-free / perfume-free version of it.

If you're like most people, you've currently got at least three or four scents on your body all fighting each other.  Your wife has likely never smelled your unadulterated natural odor.  Heck, YOU probably haven't since you were a small child.

After a couple of weeks of getting reacquainted with what YOU smell like, then go ahead and choose just one of the above and try a scented version to see if you like the way it interacts with your natural smell.  Remember, you're not trying to cover it up, but complement it.

I'm a big fan of Taylor of Old Bond Street sandalwood shaving cream myself; I wear a beard so I only shave once or twice a week, but I'll rub the tiniest bit of it on my shirt collar on days that I don't shave.  It might be a bit much for you if your allergies make you sensitive to scents, though; it's quite potent.

JellyBean

I love the smell of sandalwood. Mmm. I'm also a hippy so I like the smell of sandalwood with patchouli. 

I HOPE MY HUSBAND SEES THIS THREAD!

Mr_Brown

JellyBean said:

I love the smell of sandalwood. Mmm. I'm also a hippy so I like the smell of sandalwood with patchouli. 

I HOPE MY HUSBAND SEES THIS THREAD!

Art of shaving has the best sandlewood scent. This is just a baby starter set to see if you like it... 

http://www.theartofshaving.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-TAOS-Site/default/mProduct-Show?pid=PG_00670535980377&start=9&cgid=sandalwood

Katt

I would recommend reading up on endocrine disruptors in synthetic fragrances and researching your safest options (essential oils, naturally derived scents, etc).  Many commercial fragrances have chemicals that mimic estrogen in the body.

As far as actual scent goes, I like clean, rugged, and uncomplicated on men.  Nothing perfumy.   And not overpowering.   I don't like to get hit in the face with a wall of cologne when I get within 10 feet of a guy.   And, along the lines of what Ben suggested, I am quite fond of Eau D' Mr. Katt.  Not the after he spent the afternoon playing pickup basketball out in the Florida heat scent or anything, but his first thing in the morning or after a standard (non sweaty) day.  And also, keep in mind that fragrances react with people's own body chemistry so what smells good on one person might not smell so good on another, and what something smells like in the bottle is not what it will smell like when it's on your skin.

Angeline

Strong second to what @Katt said. I will leave my little foray into this here just as an FYI. I was super excited and enthusiastic about getting Cdr. Awesome some of the shaving and scent stuff talked about on the forum, but I not only didn't like many of them, I couldn't even stand having the containers in the bathroom. Thank heaven I didn't spend a LOT of money to find that out, but I did waste some.

Then again, I'm one of those heathens who can't stand cilantro either, so YMMV.

r9stone

Angeline said:

Then again, I'm one of those heathens who can't stand cilantro either

That's the last straw, we aren't internet friends anymore 

RebuildingHusband

Chief_TC said:

That must be what hell is, every pull up that you don't complete, the devil shoves a tablespoon of cilantro in your throat.

You can only hope it will be cilantro. 

HildaCorners

I'm with Katt and Angeline ... men should smell like men.

Aside from what Ben and Katt said above, the chemicals (natural and synthetic both) are low level irritants and will eventually damage skin. And the damage won't be slow if there's alcohol, lavender or mint in the mix ... all are quite irritating. The worst thing a man can do is slap menthol, high alcohol after shave onto slightly raw skin after shaving.

Al that aside, my ideal fragrance might be named First Day Backpacker. Pine woods, sun-warmed earth, and just a hint of sweaty man. Third Day Backpacker = "Go shower immediately, and pound me silly afterwards".

HowlAtTheMoon

I find after backpacker day five, the reek threshold is reached and he simply doesn't get any smellier. And he still smells better than cheap cologne. Or any of those frat guys covered in that nasty axe body spray crap. 

That said, I buy him cologne every year. It takes me many months to figure out which to get though. I usually get a sample at the perfume counter and carry it around, setting it next to his b.o. ridden shirts to see how the smells mingle, etc. 

MrGrimm

Where do you put the cologne?  I saw a video once where it was said the optimum place to put it is your hair.  It will last longer, and it's in a spot where the smell is in a good place for those around you to smell it, but it's not right under your nose (I don't know if it's just the smell that gives you a reaction?).  Just a thought.  I've been trying it, especially with spray colognes because the video mentioned how it can last for days in your clothes, so if you use multiple colognes they can mix on your clothing and not smell so good.

As far as other scents, I just read some interesting examples in Mens Journal.   Ah, found it. I want to try the Deep Woods beard oil. There's even one on the list for @HildaCorners backpacking fetish .

http://www.mensjournal.com/expert-advice/the-best-all-natural-colognes-20150420

Charlie

Hmmm ... I always just put it on my neck, which is basically right under my nose. Maybe I'll experiment with different places.

RangerJohn

My wife likes Old Spice Swagger shampoo, wash and Cologne. I've had compliments on cologne when it was just OS Swagger deoderant I had on.

Charlie

I tried a few different options like scented body wash, body spray, which the wife liked. She doesn't seem to bee too discriminating.  There was one thing we both liked. I took one of the colognes she bought for me years ago and mixed a little into some scent-free body lotion. I apply that where her nose is when we're close - my neck and chest.  She likes the smell obviously, as she picked it out. And I don't mind it.  Mixing a little in with lotion mutes it a bit and it doesn't trigger my allergies like spraying the cologne on. So seems like a win-win.