Tips for blind shopping for men’s colognes and fragrances

So you’re ready to take your fragrance game to the next level. Good for you! A quality cologne will set you apart from many other men, whose underarm deodorant (or lack thereof) makes their aromatic speech.

Not to say that there is anything wrong with smelling ordinary. But sometimes you need a little edge, and a good cologne will give you exactly that.

When it comes to purchasing a cologne, many men prefer to visit retail stores. The obvious advantage is the fact that you can try a variety of fragrances before making a decision. But there are some disadvantages:

1. Your selection will be limited to what is in inventory.

2. Attributes such as longevity and wake may not be accurately evaluated.

3. Each cologne will smell different when it’s on your skin and reacts with your body chemistry. Which means what you smell after you get home and spray some will probably be different than what you smell on a swatch card.

4. Your purchase may be influenced by someone else’s opinion, such as an attractive customer service assistant who doesn’t understand your tastes as well as you do.

5. You will probably pay more than necessary.

With these considerations in mind, you may prefer to buy your colony on the internet, effectively rolling the dice and “buying blind”, hoping for the best. In fact, I have had quite a bit of success buying colognes blind. Now, I share my tips to do it with you.

Tip #1. Consult the experts. YouTube is a great source of cologne reviews from various respected gurus and connoisseurs. Search YouTube for “best fragrances for men” to find a wide variety of top 10/20 colognes lists. Take some time and make notes of fragrances that sound enticing. Pay special attention to those that form multiple lists. And don’t be too quick to write off a particular cologne because it received a bad review.

Tip #2. Read customer reviews. There are a handful of popular fragrance review sites on the Internet. I have found fragrantica.com to have the most useful information. Below is a brief guide to interpreting the information you will find in Fragrantica.

1. Examine the “major chords”. These are the general scents present in each fragrance. Base your decision to buy a cologne on the deals you really like or dislike. It can take time, trial and error to determine what your tastes are.

2. Examine the bar graph. In the center column is a bar graph showing customer reviews, including how many people love, like, and dislike the fragrance. Beware of fragrances with a large number of dislikes. In general, the more you like and love a fragrance, the more likely you are to like or love it.

3. Completely ignore Fragrantica’s description of the fragrance. Most of these are mere fluff and have very little useful information.

4. Examine the Longevity Y Wake up fragrance ratings. These are very important. Longevity refers to how long a given fragrance remains detectable. The best smelling cologne is of little value if it fades after an hour or two. Be careful when buying colognes described as having low longevity.

5. Sillage refers to how well others can smell a fragrance. You may not want to be the guy that everyone smells like 10 feet away. If so, the wake may not be critical for you. Personally, I wear cologne more for my own benefit than other people’s, so I don’t get too hung up on the trail.

6. To reiterate, longevity is very important. And where the taste of a particular fragrance is subjective and determined by the individual, longevity and sillage tend to be more a matter of science and fact. I mean, a cologne known for its poor longevity probably won’t last long on your skin either.

7. Optionally, read customer reviews. If you do, don’t give them too many shares. Invariably, some people will love all colognes while others will hate them. Many people like to use five dollar words, trying to sound sophisticated without actually saying anything. I’ve found that the best reviews (and the only ones I generally consider) come from women.

Tip #3. Shop in colony. I have made all my purchases on eBay, although there are other places to shop as well. When making a purchase, I suggest you abide by the following guidelines.

1. Only buy from sellers with excellent customer satisfaction records. This is to make sure you don’t end up with a fake/imitation, which is known to exist.

2. While looking for good deals, avoid the really good deals as they may be fakes or imitations.

3. Buy a 100ml (~3.4oz) bottle instead of a 50ml bottle as there is much better value in a 100ml bottle. Chances are if you’ve done your homework, you’ll like the cologne you’ve chosen and will want to wear it from time to time, even if it’s not your favorite. You might as well have a good supply, again considering how little money you save by buying a 50ml bottle.

4. Buy less expensive colognes on your first purchases. Remember that you are still trying to establish exactly what your tastes are. And don’t always equate price with quality, as some very popular colognes are also very cheap.

At about $20 for 100ml, perry ellis red 360 It is a safe first purchase in my opinion. This is a fresh and masculine fragrance that is not too strong and is known to be liked by women.

At $10 per 100ml, cuban gold It’s not too big of a risk. In my opinion, this has a somewhat unisex/metro scent. Many people like Le Male, a more expensive and popular fragrance.

You can find other potential first-buy candidates by searching for “cheaper cologne lists” on YouTube.

In conclusion. Acquiring the ideal cologne is a matter of trial and error, because even after you find one that you really like, there are inevitably others that you will like better. Ideally, you should create a fragrance collection, so you have options in the way you smell based on the time of year, the occasion, and your particular mood.

Remember that due to many unpredictable factors, there is an element of “blind buying” even when shopping at retail stores. So whether you’re visiting a retail store or shopping online, spend a reasonable amount of time researching before you buy. This will help ensure that each new purchase adds a cherished fragrance to your collection, rather than becoming a regret.

All the best in your search for fragrances!