Cologne, Aftershave, Eau de Toilette, Eau de Parfum, etc.

[Bee]

That sounds fantastic! With it being so close to the holidays, I may have to add this to my birthday/festivus list.

ith:

hahaha A festivus for the rest of us!

[Jay]

Clubman Bay Rum

[Ancienne Alliance]

I had Grey Flannel offered to me in the 80's.
I really enjoyed it.


Best,

Robert

[Schiehallion]

Cool Water by Davidoff. .... and often complimented when wearing it.

[Bugbear]

The olfactory sense was actually the first sense developed in the biological world, except back then it was a simple primitive reflex of retraction or flight from certain noxious and potentially harmful chemicals or an attraction to other chemicals which might signal either food or mating. Virtually all multicelled species that precede humans in evolution have a far greater developed sense of smell than we possess. Olfactory sense is very primitive which preceded the closely related sense of taste, then tactile, auditory, visual senses which developed as the evolutionary advancement occurred into higher organisms. However, those olfactory senses still retain their primitive connections and relations to our more base and primitive neurological responses, and as well to stronger memories. This is why certain smells strike us with such visceral strength, and why we often have very strong memories stimulated by certain smells, in comparison to our other senses. Our senses developed evolutionarily first to assess our immediate nearby environment (initially chemical---smell then taste), followed by physical stimulus (tactile sense) with further sense development allowing higher organisms to evaluate their environment at ever greater distances from the primary organism (hearing and sight/light response). At the same time those later developed senses became more prominent and necessary in species survival, required more complicated neurological apparatus, and thus took over ever more and more of our brain capacity, at the detriment of the more primitive sense of smell, which becomes progressively less sensitive and less utilized in higher organisms (who has the better smeller, a dog or a human?). But those base primitive neurological connections are still there, which is why smells can evoke some pretty profound responses in most people (think how people react to manure, vomit, rotting or burnt flesh and you will get the idea).

Mr Science signing off.

Ya, what he said. Except, I would add kin selection, and perhaps the most powerful of all, sexual selection (Darwinian terms not mine) to this, which is probably a bit of what we are talking about in this thread, as being a driving factor in the olfactory evolution of the more complex organisms, as well as, some of the posts in the thread.

* Edit: looking again, ForresterModern wrote "food or mating," so he brought it up first.

[Macman]

Great thread! Dad mostly wore Old Spice when I was a kid; I remember watching him put it on every morning. I grew into Brut when that was popular. I've learned the hard way not to have too big a collection because they go off faster than I could use them. I used Kanon for years, but they've changed the scent and I don't like it as much now. My current favourite is Safari by Ralph Lauren, but right now I'm using an Avon product that was given to me as a gift.
Like Glen, there are some scents that trigger migraines for me. My wife is always in on the decision what to buy because she has to like it. I agree that moderation is key.

[English Bloke]

I had Grey Flannel offered to me in the 80's.
I really enjoyed it.


Best,

Robert

I've got a Grey Flannel... well when I say that, it's actually a cream coloured flannel but I've had it rather a long time.

[Gingerpose]

My personal favourites are Czech & Speake No. 88, and Alt Innsbruck. Both worn purely because I love the smell of them both, and they don't seem to offend anyone, in particular she who must smell them on me.

I tend not to wear anything other than anti-perspirant at work, because my line of work is malodorous by nature and it would be a waste of scent to wear cologne.

[Inchessi]

The important thing is that Cologne and perfume are a secret, people should not be able to smell them unless they are close.

[rtc872]

Nowadays I'm afraid that being scented makes one a bit of a pariah much like smoking does. The problem is that many people really overdo it and it's just impossible to be anywhere near them. Also, there are many who are very allergic to scents, some quite seriously so. A good friend of mine is so extremely allergic that merely walking by him while wearing cologne or perfume can (and often does) land him in the hospital, in shock. He has an epi-pen with which he can be jabbed to save his life if need be. And he has used it on many occasions. Before meeting him I literally have to shower with scent-free soap, use scent-free anti-persperant, and have washed all my clothes with scent-free laundry detergent.

Having said that however, I was recently given a bottle of "Samourai" that I like very much and wear daily, hopefully in moderation.

The first thing I noticed when coming back to Australia was the amount of "scented" people.

My wife always told me not to wear deodorant or not much when working because Japanese people don't wear it so much. I think because mostly the Japanese don't seem to have such bad body odour as compared to us red meat eating foreigners.