Proper way to apply cologne?

Originally Posted by teddieriley

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dabbing behind your ears or on your wrists is for chicks.

Why? Don't men have blood pulsing through their wrists and behind their ears?

The reason for applying it there is because it disseminates the fragrance better... i.e. actually projects its sillage as opposed simply to sitting dormant and flat on your chest.

As for me, I spray all over the place. I'm a veritable Fog of Scent.

Originally Posted by Nil

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I do a spray on each wrist and then wipe immediately behind my ear down across the side of my neck.

Originally Posted by rach2jlc

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Why? Don't men have blood pulsing through their wrists and behind their ears?

The reason for applying it there is because it disseminates the fragrance better... i.e. actually projects its sillage as opposed simply to sitting dormant and flat on your chest.

As for me, I spray all over the place. I'm a veritable Fog of Scent.

chicks. [cough]

a dude, unless he has serious B.O., should not have to worry about the best way to optimize the dissemination of the frangrance. the scent should be subtle, a nd I think you achieve that by just walking into a cloud once. that should do it.

but to each his own. i'm not meaning to insult anyone.

^Fair enough... I was being tongue-in-cheek, too...

You are right about subtlety, though. Men tend to overdo it no matter where they spray and they fail to realize that just because their nose turns off after 10 sprays, it doesn't mean that others won't be able to smell them at 1000 yards!

Eau de Cologne and Eau de Toilette, I apply all over my body. Eau de Parfum or perfume, on my pulse points. When I use oud oils, also on pulse points. It also depends, sometimes I layer the same body/shower gel with the same fragrance. I would use Frederic Malle's Vetiver Extraordinaire shower gel and use the VE cologne all over my body after the shower!!

forearms and chest. a spray or two each, depending on strength.

i do a spray in my crotch for good measure.

Originally Posted by Nil

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I do a spray on each wrist and then wipe immediately behind my ear down across the side of my neck.

this was what i used to do until my gf pointed out today that this crushes the scent and is not adviseable

so the whole pulse point thing is not necessary?

There is this one guy at my work who puts on so much cologne it is close to on par of being a violation.
He walks by and the whole office reeks of him and it is to the point where you can know which direction he went, what rooms he's been in.

It is not even a matter of cologne scent anymore moreso a conditioned response to his wretched scent I hold my breath for 30 seconds or so.

So inconsiderate and very vile and can destroy you appetite when trying to have lunch.

depending on the fragrance itself, I would spray my chest and neck then rub the excess on my wrist and rub them together. If it were for a fragrance that lasted longer on my skin, then I would do the same with the exception of the chest spray.

For touch-ups throughout the day, I would spray my neck.

What a painful routine, huh?

Cologne on the neck or wrists....A bad idea! Over the years I've come to learn (the hard way) that putting cologne on your neck is not healthy for shirts... Most cologne is artifically colored and in time that color will definitely stain your shirt collar. It's especially deadly with white shirts. For the longest time I couldn't understand why I was having such a bad, ongoing, ring-around-the-collar problem. Then I switched to a new dry cleaners (who were serious about their profession and really knew what they were doing). After I had dropped off a few loads of shirts the owner took me aside and advised me about the cologne problem with shirt collars and cuffs. Now my cologne only goes on my chest and sometimes behind the ears (depending on the strength of the cologne)...and that's it (wrists are no good either because your cuffs can get stained just as easily as your collar). Dennis

Originally Posted by Osprey Guy

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Cologne on the neck or wrists....A bad idea!


Now my cologne only goes on my chest and sometimes behind the ears (depending on the strength of the cologne)...and that's it (wrists are no good either because your cuffs can get stained just as easily as your collar).


Dennis

so are you spraying directly onto behind your ears?

Originally Posted by Osprey Guy

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Cologne on the neck or wrists....A bad idea!

Over the years I've come to learn (the hard way) that putting cologne on your neck is not healthy for shirts... Most cologne is artifically colored and in time that color will definitely stain your shirt collar. It's especially deadly with white shirts.

For the longest time I couldn't understand why I was having such a bad, ongoing, ring-around-the-collar problem. Then I switched to a new dry cleaners (who were serious about their profession and really knew what they were doing). After I had dropped off a few loads of shirts the owner took me aside and advised me about the cologne problem with shirt collars and cuffs.

Now my cologne only goes on my chest and sometimes behind the ears (depending on the strength of the cologne)...and that's it (wrists are no good either because your cuffs can get stained just as easily as your collar).


Dennis

This is actually a very good point, Dennis, that I hadn't really thought about. I rarely wear a tie, so my shirts are generally away from actual contact with the skin (except on the back of the next, but I don't apply scent there usually).

Nevertheless, my go-to "necktie/suit" dress shirts DO tend to get a problematic ring... probably because of the fragrance. Nevertheless, I'm so hooked to fragrances that probably my ringed shirts will just be a necessary sacrifice to the world of fine parfumery.

I tend to use lighter scents so when I apply I spray it on my chest, neck, and maybe a little on the nape of the neck. But keep in mind we arent talking about strong scents, thats another routine.

One day I was walking down the stairs and there was a small child about 6 feet behind me. They speak their minds (thankfully) and pointed out to the world that he could smell me. I knew right then to change it up, cologne is alot more sexy up close and personal.

so are you spraying directly onto behind your ears?

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Spraying behind the ears can be tricky at best. A couple of my cologne bottles do not use spray dispensers and so they're easy to apply with a dab. For aerosol dispensers, I'll simply spray a little on my fingertips and then apply behind the ear. On a related note... I've lost a lot of weight over the past 6 months (almost 40 pounds...intentionally), and now that I can get into almost all of my older things, I've been revisiting all of my "high-end" clothes from 15-25 yrs ago. Not only is it a fun walk down memory lane, but it's really exciting to once again be able to wear so many extraordinary items that have been hanging undisturbed for all these years. While I was at it, I began to think about the great colognes I used to enjoy, a number of which were still sitting on the top shelf of my medicine cabinet. I know that in theory colognes can go "bad"...but for the most part the bottles were tightly closed and sitting in a relatively cool, dark place (the sink and medicine cabinet are separated from the shower area so there's no steam/moisture issues). So far every bottle of cologne that I've checked seems to have held up just fine, and today I reached for one of my all-time favorites...Bel Ami by Hermes. It's pretty powerful stuff, and perhaps it's just my imagination but it seems to have gotten even more potent over time. It's one of those non-aerosol bottles and just a few dabs was all that was needed. After all these years it's still a terrific scent! Dennis

^I knew, Dennis, you'd have taste in fragrances that matched your great taste in clothes... BelAmi is a true classic. I LOVE it. Amongst 80's powerhouses, it's in my triumverate along with Creed Baie de Genievre and, of course, Antaeus!