Hello,

In this week, on a final note on all things fragrance; I would be describing how to choose the best fit fragrance- not necessarily one that is expensive, as a mixture of expensive spice might just give a "smelly mess" a writer once said- and what bodily spot to put them on.

Fragrance has a three-part life cycle, each of the three sections contain individual scents, or notes, that are keyed-in-together to what you smell; like an evaporating pyramid where the top (note) slowly disappears until you get to the base.
The three notes comprises the scents of most fragrance the top, medium and base:

• TOP NOTE. The initial lighter smell that hits the nose immediately after application. The top note lasts from 15 minutes to 2 hours depending on the fragrance. Typical top notes are various light floral scents, citrus, fruity scents, powdery, marine and aquatics, and spices such as cinnamon.
• MEDIUM NOTE. Known as the middle or heart notes, the middle note airs the main element of the fragrance and can last 3-5  hours after use, this is in addition to the top note minutes/hours; a build of each other. Middle note often includes heavier floral scents such as jasmine, or green scents such as grass or stone, though spicy scent such as cinnamon and clove falls in this group, alongside fruity scent.
• BASE NOTE. The very last to develop, its often the bolder notes of the fragrance which becomes more noticeable later in the day. Base note lay the foundation and determines how long the fragrance last on you. They tend to last from 5-10 hours. Typical base notes are sandalwood, moss, vanilla, tar, leather, tobacco, gingerwood, and musk. If you are Manly, these last parts should interest you.

Infographic display of Top-Base notes

Fragrance which smell the same from first spray until washed off, are called linear fragrance. Non-linear fragrance will change and go through the layers of note over time.

Quality fragrance have a life cycle and since most manufacturers won't invest in such tedious complicated orchestration of scents; thus one of the easiest way to identify a cheap perfume is that it smells the same the entire time it's worn.  A caution though, linear fragrance serves it purpose for those who want a scent that last all day and never metamorphose. 

The Fragrance Wheel

HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT PERFUME

Studies suggest that a Man naturally tends to select the fragrance that works best with his natural body scent. Meaning: You are the best person to determine which scent suits you. Its probably why a gift in scent remain unused for years. What suits one might just be the very opposite for another. Its therefore best to use the opinion of others to offset your choice.

DECIDING

1. Spray one scent on each wrist (and each inner elbow if testing up to four scents at once, though it is not advisable).
2. Avoid the cards stores provide to smell the fragrances. They enable you to only smell the top notes and not how it smells on you (note, this is a chemistry experiment, that is how it complements your body odour).
3. Refresh your palate with something strong like tea, between smelling each fragrance.
4. Try to smell all the notes, as explained this might take some hours.
5. Wearing a fragrance is a process, not a quick fix. Many Men end up loving dozen of scents. So you don't have to aim for perfection.

RULES FOR FRAGRANCE APPLICATION

We have all known people who use fragrance excessively and the smell and can be over-bearing. To avoid such trap, here are some rules for applying fragrance.

1. Spray perfume on dry skin, preferably right after shower. Hold the spray nozzle 3-6 inches from skin while applying
2. Start light. If new to wearing fragrances, start with one single spray to the chest. As you become more comfortable and knowledgeable about it use, you can branch out to few more sprays in different areas...hmm not there though
3. Apply fragrance to heat areas. Body heat enforces the scent throughout the day, creating a nice scent trail commonly called sillage. Start with the warmest parts of your body: chest, neck, lower jaw, wrist, forearm, inner elbow, shoulder. Note, do not spray on all this point at the same time; start with one and as you learn the scent, spray 2 or 3 other spots. Its not recommended to spray your Crotch or Privates; if you have issues there are articles to consult on such- called swamp crotch or others.
4. Re-spray only when required. You can add more sprays to your wrist depending on how long the scents lasts. For most this will be in the second half of the day.
5. Don't spray and walk. Spraying a fragrance in the air, walking through the mist thinking it will soak in, it's a waste and worthless, as most of the fragrance drops to the floor.
6. Don't spray fragrance on your clothes. In this case the fragrance isn't allowed to mix with your body oils, hence it can't go naturally through the stages of notes like it should. Moreover, the oils in the fragrance will likely stain many fabrics.
7. Less is more. Fragrance should be noticed like dew not announced like a flood. People should smell not get overpowered by them.

A Man's Perfume Spot

Finally, Smell is man strongest sense, it's connected to our memory and has the ability to form strong emotional ties that can last forever. Wearing Fragrance is a unique way to stand out and be distinctive, it can be a trademark that sells in your absence.

However a lot of work has gone into the study of fragrance and use, majority of this article was researched by Antonio Centeno founder of Real Men Real Style.

Till Next week, Read and post your Comments; they mean a lot. 

Top 10 Ways To Identify The Best Perfume

Hey Guys!

Its being a while after the first Blog post I did. I was actually thinking of the next topic on which to write on. So many kept popping up and I couldn't decide, finally while going to work early some morning ago, on the Bus, a colleague of mine who was seating just ahead of me was wearing this nice armless dress; but no that was not what caught my attention it was the murk beneath her armpits, it was her deodorant. It kept foaming and releasing some white gooey stuff all over, it was a mess. The terrible thing about it was she was oblivious of the whole scene she was producing.

When it comes to women beauty tips, am no expert, but no expert is required to identify wrong stuffs when you see one. This blog though is created to give great Tips on Beauty, Health and Style, all for Men.

I'll be discussing Top Tips to identify the Best Fragrance, here goes.

There is no confident booster better than knowing you well dressed, smell good and look good in general; its an Ego bump.
The 21st century Man should be keen about his looks, how he smells and the perception of the opposite sex of him. How "soft" you look can often have an impact -desired or not -on social stand.
Fragrance is an invisible part of our personality and style, it has a powerful effect on how people view and remember you. A perfume or cologne should offer attractiveness, confidence and much more.

As strange as this might sound an European study showed that in choosing a mate, while Men are often attracted by their eyes, women are  attracted by what they smell. Smell is said to be the most powerful sense. It has the ability to form a stronger, deeper emotional connection. The sense of smell is 150,000 million times more sensitive than our vision. A particular scent can trigger memories long lost and has the effect to change our mood Powerful and Unique scents equal deep emotional connection. How true this is; the scent of my mother is something I'll probably die with, you don't forget such stuff- the smell of your home, wife, son or daughter, its engraved up there, its the connection.

Memories embedded in Scent

What you smell affects your Mood

A nice fragrance makes a statement in your presence and when you away. It can serve as a trademark, your scent has an important role even in non-dating and non-sexual encounters.

Fragrance, a unisex generic term used for perfume comes in many forms and called many names but, falls into these categories:

• Eau Fraiche. The most diluted version of fragrance, usually with 1-3% perfume oil in alcohol and water. Usually lasts for less than an hour.
• Cologne (Eau de Cologne). Oldest term for perfume, used in North America for masculine scents. Light, fresh, and fruity, typically composed of 2-4% of perfume oil in alcohol and water. Mostly used by younger people, Usually last for about 2 hours.
• Toilette (Eau de Toilette). A light spray of 5-15% of pure perfume oil dissolved in alcohol. Usually last for more than 3 hours.
• Perfume (Eau de Perfume). Historically genderless, its the best term for describing Fragrance. contains 15-20% pure oil and last for 5-8 hours.
• Parfum. A corruption of the Latin phrase per fumum (as said in my previous post- means through smoke The History of Perfumery ). Its the most concentrated and expensive perfume oil yet. Its slightly oilier and contains 20-30% oil extract, lasts for more than 24 hours.

Varying categories of fragrance versus cost

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Hopefully, next week we would discuss the top lasting fragrance that best suits your person and where you can get them. Till then, read and drop your comments.

 The history of Perfumes and Man

It is really impossible to walk along the street wherever it is, without getting the distinct scent of various labels. Whether they are floral, musk, ever-green et. like everything the use of perfumes is an art- getting the right scent, blend and quantity, unfortunately not everyone is quite cultured. Well, that’ll be a topic for another day. Here, discussed are the origins and cultural heritage of perfumes.

Man has always been on the look-out for innovative ways on which to improve himself, environment and his outlook in general. Hence the birth of perfumery; the art of making perfumes.

The word perfume describes sorted mixtures, it’s gotten from the Latin word, “per fumus”, meaning through smoke-it’s no wonder some are so choking when misused. Perfumery refers to the art of perfume making, it was probably refined by the Romans, the Persians and the Arabs.

Perfumery is said to originate from Egypt but refined by the Persians and Romans.

The art of perfumery was first recorded when Tapputi-Belatekallim. Tapputi, also referred to as Tapputi-Butt ("Belatekallim" refers to female overseer of a palace), is considered to be the world's first chemist, a perfume-maker mentioned in a cuneiform tablet dated around 1200 BC in Babylonian Mesopotamia. She used flowers, oil, and calamus along with cyperus, myrrh, and balsam. Almost all pre-modern civilization has a history of perfumes or perfumery; the Indus civilization-a text called Brihat-Samhita written by Varahamihira one of the ‘nine jewels’ in the court of Maharaja of Malwa- had a perfume reference. In a Cyprus, an Italian archaeological team unearthed evidence of an enormous perfumery factory that existed some 4000 years ago during the Bronze Age, it was said to cover a surface area of 4000m² indicating an industrial manufacturing scale. Interestingly the Islamic cultures contributed significantly to the development of western perfumery in two areas: perfecting the extraction of fragrances through steam distillation and introducing new raw materials, these have greatly influenced western perfumery and scientific developments. Muslims improved the production and continued use of perfumes in daily life and in practising religion. It is interesting the quote attributed to Muhammad as far back as the 6th century as to the usage of perfumes in religious duty. Muhammad said:

“

The taking of a bath on Friday is compulsory for every male Muslim who has attained the age of puberty and (also) the cleaning of his teeth with Miswaak (type of twig used as a toothbrush), and the using of perfume if it is available. (Recorded in Sahih Bukhari).

”

In times past it was not strange to find that blended extracts with cement were used to build mosques, this probably served as incentives to Islamic scholars to search and develop a cheaper way to produce incenses and in mass quantity. Arabian chemist: Jābir ibn Hayyān (Geber, born 722, Iraq), and Al-Kindi (Alkindus, born 801, Iraq) who established the perfume industry. They carried out extensive research- including distillation, evaporation and filtration, which enabled collection of plant fragrance into vapour 6that could be collected in the form of oil or water- experiments in combining various plants and other sources to produce a variety of scent products-essentially perfume products. Persian Muslim doctor and chemist ‘Avicenna’ introduce the extraction of oils from flowers by means of distillation, a process commonly used today; his first experiment was with the Rose.

  

  Ancient illustration of perfumery

Perfume finally arrived Europe through trade with the Islamic world. Records of the Pepperer Guild of London as far back as 1179, showed them trading with Muslims in spices, perfume ingredients and dyes.

Trading of perfumes in ancient times; from the Orientals to Europe

While Catharina de Medici of the powerful Italian aristocrat family initiated the perfume industry in Europe when she left Italy to marry the French crown prince in the 16th century.  France quickly became the European center of perfume and cosmetics manufacture. Grasse in Southern France is now considered the world capital of perfume. Although perfumes were generally used by Royalty and the rich it is today used by all, either through necessity or by choice.

Copper still from 19th to 20th century Grasse, France for steam distillation

It’s said that one who has not used Hausa perfume believes nothing last forever, is that their Islamic heritage- I don’t know. The key roles played by all especially Islamic scholars in the Invention of Perfume cannot be over stated, the modern world enjoys the struggle of years gone.

Modern perfumes at its Finest

Fun Facts

·       The perfume you tells people a lot about your personality

·       A man scent qualifies his success, perfumes essentially forms a part of his grooming

·       Perfume is capable of influencing people’s behavior

·       In world war 2 therapeutic perfumes were reported to have been used in the treatment of wounds and burns and psychiatric problems