Of course, your masculinity doesn't end with a nice haircut and a cool beard or clean-shaven face. After you get ready in front of the mirror and put on your favorite outfit, there's one more thing waiting for you to feel completely the man. Putting on a nice scent. Besides feeling like a man, you also want to stand out as a man with your own style. Your own footprint in society. A specific scent helps you well in finding your own style.
What do you put on? An aftershave, cologne, eau de toilette or eau de parfum? How complicated it is for men to choose a nice fragrance. Of course, you just want to smell good and preferably as long as possible. We will explain the differences between all types and which one suits your preference.
Choosing a fragrance for men
To immediately clear up a misunderstanding, if you're going to buy a fragrance you generally never choose an aftershave. An aftershave is only meant for after shaving as the name literally says. It closes the pores and instantly disinfects the skin. Yes an aftershave can smell good but contains so few fragrance ingredients that you will soon stop smelling it. And in that sense actually lies immediately the essential difference between all other types, namely the percentage of fragrance ingredients a fragrance contains.
Concentration of perfume makes the difference between cologne, eau de toilette and eau de parfum
Eau de cologne, eau de toilette and eau de parfum all contain perfume. The difference is in the concentration. Each fragrance is made from a perfume and then diluted with water or alcohol. For how much this scent is finally diluted determines the percentage of perfume contained in the fragrance and thus what name is given to it. So a cologne, eau de toilette and a eau de parfum could very well have the same scent but differ in strength.
Cologne
The cologne is the least strong perfume and contains a concentration of 2-3% of perfume. This scent dissipates fairly quickly and is no longer smelling after a maximum of two hours.
A cologne is one of the oldest types of perfumes that in, for example, the 60s and 70s was the only thing men used to smell good. Nowadays, cologne is a lot less known and popular than eau de toilette and eau de parfum.
Eau de toilette
Eau de toilette is very popular and contains 5-10% of perfume. It is already a bit stronger in scent than eau de cologne and also stays smelling a bit longer. Eau de toilette is fairly affordable and therefore very popular. There is a lot of choice for men looking for a fragrance. An eau de toilette you will not keep smelling all day and so will need to be sprayed on a little more often. You will smell an eau de toilette for about three hours. Perfect for men who are looking for a scent but don't like strong perfumes.
Eau de parfum
Generally the strongest variant of regular perfumes. Eau de parfum contains a 10-20% concentration of perfume. Some variants remain noticeable for up to eight hours. It is also the most popular variant. It is often considerably more expensive than eau de toilette because of its higher concentration. You also need less of it to smell good and is therefore more durable depending on how much you use of course.
Perfume
Besides eau de parfum, there is also ordinary perfume. With a concentration of 20-40%, this is the strongest form of fragrance you can get. Consequently, it is also the most expensive variant. It is noticeable for up to 24 hours and cannot be atomized because it is less diluted. Perfume is dripped on the skin. You only need a few drops to smell strong all day.
Structure of fragrances in perfume
Those concentrations of perfume we are talking about are, of course, all mixtures of different fragrances. Every perfume consists of notes that can be divided into three groups:
Top notes
The top notes are the scents you smell when you apply a perfume to your skin. First impression. The scents that set one perfume apart from another for you. These scents dominate for a few minutes and disappear the quickest. Typical top notes are citrus, bergamot, lavender and lemongrass.
Heart notes
You begin to smell the heart notes when the top notes have disappeared. Usually after about 10 minutes. It is considered the most important part of a perfume. Typical heart notes are jasmine, rose, apple, raspberry, cinnamon and pepper.
Base notes
These scents remain last and continue to smell the longest. These notes are the foundation of the fragrance. Typical base notes are cedarwood, vanilla and sandalwood.
Fragrances
Finally, you can categorize all fragrances in the different notes into Floral, Oriental, Fresh and Woody.
How to best use a perfume
Did you know that your skin has a certain pH value and that a perfume smells slightly different on your skin than on someone else's? Your skin also helps determine how long a perfume lasts. Therefore, smelling a perfume on a piece of paper in a store is never the best way to choose a perfume. Chances are it will smell different on your skin.
Of course, you can't change that yourself. Still, you can get the most out of a perfume if you use it in the right way. Here are some tips.
Spray, dab or rub perfume?
Spraying is the answer! Rubbing or dabbing can break down the molecules of the fragrances and therefore the scent disappears. Spray from about 20 centimeters away on your skin. Let the perfume soak in.
Spray perfume in the right place and leave your clothes alone
Perfume is activated by heat and chemical reactions. So spraying it on your clothes is of little use. Moreover, it is bad for your clothes. Spray perfume preferably after showering before getting dressed. Your pores will still be open and the fragrance will be absorbed by the skin. The best places to apply perfume are where you can feel your heartbeat. So the best places are mainly on the temple, behind the earlobe, the throat, the inside of the wrist and the elbow.
Don't use too much perfume
We know, the temptation is great to spray on a little extra perfume. Sometimes you think the perfume is off because you can't smell anything yourself. This is not true. Your brain gets used to the smell so after a while you no longer smell it. Other people can still smell it. So don't spray on too much.
Getting Started
You know the differences between perfumes and how best to use them. By now you must have felt like spraying a nice scent to define your own masculine style. Can't find a suitable fragrance? Or maybe you don't want a familiar perfume used by almost all men at all.
At The Alpha Men we have some very good quality fragrances. Get inspired and choose a fragrance that suits you! Check out the webshop for great fragrances. Choose from Eau de Cologne, Eau de Toilette and Eau de Parfum.