Saturday 26 May 2001

Pic of the day: A selection of my after shaves and such that populate my bathroom. The character in the mirror is of course my handsome self.

My perfumed history

OK, I guess I have disconcerted you enough for right now. Today I think I will try to remember a less documented part of my (or any other) life, namely a history of my favorite smells, particularly perfumes and such.

When I was a kid, I could not care less about such things. I liked the smell of my favorite foods, which were not all that many, and of flowers. But I did not spend much time and thought on it. I also liked the smell of the river and waterfalls in spring, and for each passing year I grew more aware of it. I also noticed that it smelled vaguely like fresh sweat. I liked the smell of fresh sweat, and I still do. Don't get this wrong, but I really like the smell of a sweaty girl better than many perfumes. Of course, once the sweat grows stale it's another matter. It may be just me, because I grew up with honest work all around me - I was the only one who managed to avoid it...

***

So I was like 17-18 before I started to take an interest in perfumes. Deodorant, after shave and stuff like that. My first after shave was Aqua Velva, Ice Blue. I think that brand was somewhat of a national standard at the time. Norway was still not up to the level of wealth it has today, and you did not choose from an overwhelming number of after shaves. At least not in the countryside.

The first deo I had that I can remember, smelled like bursting leaves in the spring. I don't remember the name, and I am pretty sure they stopped making it after a while. What is worse, they also did so with Irish Spring, though I have lately seen it advertised on the Internet; evidently it still exists somewhere in the world. It also was a very leafy smell, and possibly my lifetime favorite. By some coincidence I managed to secure a couple of deo sticks before they disappeared, and I still have the dried-out remains of one of them. Oh, I love to smell like a leaf! At least when there are no big herbivores around...

I may have been almost 20 when I went to a perfumery (they tend to be small shops in the shopping centra here, not part of a drugstore, though some also exist as part of a large clothes shop such as H&M). I asked them to find me some manly smell that wasn't too musky. A hard task, I guess, but I was not too keen on Brut, the then classic Manly Man smell. Very musky and very easy to identify, often long after you've left the room ... I think this one is what we Norwegian call "harry". It is not a bad smell, but it seems to appeal to people who overdo things. Anyway, the perfumery wench (I don't know their official title) brought me some Givenchy Gentilhomme or some such. (I know I mess up the spelling, it's been over 20 years. I can vaguely recall the smell, though. I liked it for a while. It was indeed non-musky but without the flower component that I find so feminine.

Yes girls, I think sweet but not too heavy flower smells are very feminine. Just in case you did not know. :)

Somewhere around the age of 30, I bought a bottle of Old Spice after shave, which I still have some left off. That's the one in white bottles with a sailing ship on. I am certain they have been around since my childhood, though I think they are always a minority choice. Very manly smell, and strong; a bit too strong for after shave, really. Unless you shave only a small part of your face at a time. :) The same applies to Tabac, another smell from that part of my life. I guess I felt very manly at the time ...

In marked contrast, around the time I started this journal (in my late 30es) I suddenly loved Boss Elements. I think there had been some influence from SuperWoman's family, who all seem to regard Boss as part of the male life. It smells quite good too, but it does not sit quite right on me. Too sweet and fruity, I feel slightly effeminate with it.

Surprisingly, the smell known as Scorpio was found in everyday shops at a reasonable price. It is very spicy, with a hint of musk but without much flower or fruit. Some days I love it, some days not, and I have not found a pattern in it. Perhaps I just get bored with it or something. (Seeing how we males are not ruled by fluctuating hormones, I mean. Heh.)

I bet my non-Norwegian readers won't recognize half of these names. There are probably local variants of all this stuff, but I have no idea what they are called. It is not a topic much discussed in public fora. Perhaps because your choice in perfume reveals so much about you?

I know I wrote a glowing praise for the "Legendary Harley-Davidson" after shave balm. It is the most leathery perfume I have ever used, and I like the smell of leather. (Just don't get any more weird ideas in that direction.) One thing that particularly impressed me was that the leathery smell component was more lasting, so that the smell gradually turned more in that direction during the first couple hours after use. Nifty. Decidedly replete with nift. :)

My current favorite however must be Gucci Rush. It is not the most masculine perfume I have worn - indeed, the fact that there was no after shave indicates that it may not be promoted as a male series at all - but the strong mixed woods smell overlaid with citrus creates a very enjoyable sensation. It also ages very well, that is, the smell grows if anything better when you wear it for a while. Recommended for men who are secure in their masculinity and don't need to shore it up with rodent glands. ;) Besides, I know it is an international brand (distributed in the USA by Intercosmetics Inc). Incidentally, it was also a tad more expensive than my usual style.

So there you have it. A brief history of smells. I started out with the standard young male attitude of liking some things but knowing nothing. Over time I have learned much. I have learned to recognize some of the main smell types blended in modern perfumes: Flowery, fruity, leafy, soapy, wooden, musky, leathery (sorted by ascending masculinity, in my horribly biased opinion). (I'm not sure what the soapy thing is meant to be, it smells kind of chemical and clinical to me.) I have learned that not all perfumes smell the same on all people - the actual smell on your skin may differ from that on a test paper or even on a friend's skin. I have learned that using two good perfumes at the same time can ruin both, even when worn at different parts of the body. And I have learned that some of the best perfumes change while you wear them, as the different smell components evaporate at slightly different rates.

***

Living without female company 355 days a year, I am naturally less informed on their perfumary habits. They also have a forest to hide in where we men have a copse of bushes. Any random perfumery has hundreds of fragrances for women, and a few small shelves for men if at all. But many of the basic components seem to recur, only in different blends. So I can recognize them, and associate them with the various personality types. Well, as seen in my highly biased opinion and based on all too few samples, but there you have it:

--Flower, possibly with very light leaf or fruit: Young, innocent girl type.
--Leaf, wood, probably with some flower: Sporty, sporty, sporty girl.
--Fruit with some musk: Overly experienced female. If very heavy, going for the harlot style.
--Leather: Run for your life. Something is just wrong here ... ;)

Comments are as usual welcome. :)