6 keys to give a masculine scent

Why are we with things: We’ve all been guilty of giving away a scent guided by the brand, colors, or marketing behind the scent. The person honored receives the gift, smells it, says: oops… how delicious! Then, the perfume is locked away forever at the bottom of a chest of drawers.

It’s time to break the tradition of this impulsive gift. The idea is to give a gift with the person in mind, especially if you have in mind to buy a masculine perfume. Our spiritual guide in the world of aromas will be Karen Henríquez, a renowned chemical engineer and perfumer with a career spanning over three decades. He has been working for 30 years To screw up a business in which he creates fragrances and flavors for various items and products.

The winner of the Cosmetic News Award in Brazil 2017—something like the Oscars of perfumery—gives us six considerations you need to take into account if you want to give your dad a masculine scent.

What is a good perfume? It all depends, and more than the quality, it could come down to what you want to convey through the aroma. “Smells are closely linked to our emotions and sensations and, therefore, to our moods”, explains Karen Henríquez. “There are smells that transport us and remind us of moments in our lives, which can cause us joy or sadness.” That is why, when buying a perfume, we must “evaluate its fragrance and pay close attention to the sensation it generates in us”.

Other times, when buying a perfume for another person, special attention is paid to its smell, but its fixation has a factor rarely taken into account: the pH and the type of skin of the person.

“We have to apply it to our skin, because the evolution of a perfume is not the same for everyone”, explains Karen Henríquez. It all depends on “each person’s pH and skin type: whether it is dry, oily or combination”.

In case you don’t know, for the perfume to work properly, “it must be applied to areas of the body where the circulation is more intense”, that is, where the temperature is higher. Because? “It helps with the gradual evaporation of the perfume,” explains the expert. He also suggests “applying to the wrists, behind the ears, on the décolleté and inside the elbow.”

Another detail that often goes unnoticed is “its concentration, to be able to define when and how to use it”, specifies the perfumer. For this there is the following classification:

• cologne (EDC) : its perfume concentration varies from approximately 3 to 8%. They are fresh scents, their duration is short and they can be used several times a day.
• Cologne (EDT) : the concentration of this type of perfume varies from 9 to 15%, approx. These are fragrances that last longer. They are intense, so you can use them several times a day.
• perfume (EDP) : Between 15 and 25% concentration these perfumes have. Long-lasting, its fragrance lasts several hours, even several days. They mark your presence with a pulpit intense and long lasting.

Fragrances are usually labeled with this classification. You can verify this by looking at the bottle of your current perfume: it can be written abbreviated or with its full name.

It’s ridiculous to give something you know the other person might not like, but with fragrances this mistake often happens because we don’t usually talk about aromas: the ones we like or identify with. “Whenever possible, before giving a perfume, the ideal would be to know the scents that this person likes”, explains Karen Henríquez. But the million dollar question is: how can we know without asking directly? The expert specifies that “it can be by the smell of deodorant, cologne or cosmetic products”.

“It’s also very important to know which ones you don’t like”, specifies the perfumer, because it is important that the person manages to integrate the perfume into their identity.

“You have to pay attention to age and lifestyle,” says Henríquez, “because these are very important factors when defining the purchase of a perfume.” Just like food, in the world of perfumes there is everything. You can find aromas for modern, daring, classic or elegant people, as the perfumer explains.

The scents we use and which identify us say a lot about us and our personality. “If he is an open and determined man, fresh and aromatic perfumes with hints of lavender and spices go very well,” he adds.

But if the person you’re giving the perfume to is more spontaneous, Karen suggests “scents with marine and citrus notes, with hints of lemon, bergamot, orange and tangerine.”

As for more reserved men who don’t want to attract too much attention with their aroma, Karen Henríquez recommends “fresh, green, fruity notes and some light marine notes”. For the most sophisticated and elegant, they best combine “perfume with oriental, woody, amber or spicy touches; these are certainly the most appropriate.

If the man to whom you plan to offer him an eau de cologne is an athlete, what to look for, according to the perfumer, are “fresh, citrusy, aromatic fragrances, with notes of moss, slightly spicy pine “.

If classifying the man to whom you want to give the gift is very difficult, you can try to give a perfume according to the season of the year. “Each season of the year has its own characteristics of smells, colors, temperatures and habits and, without a doubt, our mood is affected in each of them. This means that the perfume to use in each season is not the same”, explains the perfumer.

A few days before the start of winter, the perfumes of this season “are marked by oriental, warm notes of vanilla and amber”. If you think of spring, “the romantic scents of flowers overwhelm our senses and motivate us to use lavender scents, fern; citrus, fresh notes. For summer lovers, the expert explains that “the heat and the sun make them choose fresh, green, citrus and marine scents”, and as for autumn, the aromatic identity of this season is marked by ” rediscover spicy fragrances with notes of wood, moss, spices and musks”.

Following the recommendations of this expert, we have made a selection of perfumes that might interest you or guide you in what you are looking for.

It is a classic men’s fragrance due to its aroma, in which woody notes predominate. Contains clary sage and blue florence root.

It is a fragrance for more sophisticated men. It is described as “an insolently powerful spiced apple, tobacco inflections, precious myrrh and the deep dependence of a deceptively oriental scent”.

Fragrance from the floral woody musks olfactory family, ideal for jovial and innovative people.

This fragrance belongs to the aromatic family fern. It is an intense fragrance, with top notes of bergamot, ginger and apple. A fragrance for bold and creative men.

*Prices for products in this item are current as of June 13, 2022. Values ​​and availability subject to change.