Note: I met Yvan at the end of June. He spontaneously suggested that we write an article on perfume, which ultimately turned out to be a complete guide, the reading of which was very pleasant for me. Yvan has a real ability to be very educational, accessible, and at the same time
exhaustive; I myself learned a lot of things that I didn't know about this fabulous world of perfumery. So I hope you enjoy reading Yvan as much as I did 😉
Thank you Yvan,
Benedict
Introduction to the world of perfume
No other sense touches our emotions more than smell. Among other things, it supports our decisions about what we eat; sees; a bit of everything we like, he even helps us choose a partner.
Man has used perfume since the dawn of time, for his well-being or for seduction. At the time, we were limited to a few plants and waxes, whereas today we find everything, really everything, there is almost nothing that we have not yet tried to liquefy to make a scent. , and so much the better! You live in France ? Good too, since this is where you will have the largest assortment.
A fragrance is not created in a hurry, the perfumer (called “Nose”) will have to be inspired, find the right accords, refine, to finally manage to create an olfactory masterpiece. Perfumery is an art, it's a fascinating world full of an infinity of different scents. But choosing a perfume is not an easy thing, as the choice is overwhelming. You will see that perfumes have many points in common with a subject that we love so much: men's fashion. But let's start by studying the basics...
How to recognize a good men's perfume?
By “good” I am talking first of all about its quality, because a quality perfume will have a natural smell and a high longevity. Conversely, a cheap perfume, made with lower quality raw materials, can be felt. Applied to the skin, it will have a sort of slight synthetic smell and will lack depth. Here again, quality comes at a price.
Jasmine is one of the many plants used in perfumery.
I understand that spending €80 - and we are at the very bottom of the scale 😉 - for a small bottle containing a little liquid may seem ridiculous to some, but in truth, you are not paying for the object, but for what you are going to do it . And also remember that a bottle does not empty in a week, it will last you several months or even years depending on its frequency of use.
The 3 phases of perfume life
A perfume does not stay alone in its corner, it develops in three phases .
The first is called the head , it is the first impression of the perfume (with which we try to sell it to you) which will last for around twenty minutes, it is often quite intense but will calm down after a few moments.
The second, the heart , is the subject of the perfume, it is the most important part, allow 2 to 3 hours.
And finally, the base , the one that makes your scent finish beautifully for several hours until it disappears permanently.
All these phases are made up of different ingredients that give character to a composition. A good perfume is in perfect harmony during these three phases, we move smoothly from one stage to the next, while a bad perfume will do anything.
Why is a (good) perfume expensive?
You partly pay the marketing costs (yes), the packaging , but it is the raw materials which have astronomical prices.
Example: A kilo of absolute rose essence from Grasse, the perfume capital, can make several tens of thousands of euros, because it takes entire fields to produce a ridiculous quantity of essential oil. Even if we still use natural oils, the market forces producers to turn to synthetically manufactured oils, which unfortunately also remain expensive.
If you want a good example of a scent made from natural elements, I present to you “private perfume” by Mandy Aftel which costs $125 for 2ml. You will understand why we turned to chemicals. But the fact that the oils are synthetic does not mean that they are bad, we have even been able to create new scents by molecular bonding, which are non-existent in Mother Nature.
Some examples of prices of what we can find:
Davidoff at 50€
Micallef at 150€
Amouage for 250€
Tom Ford Private Blend collection at €330...
.... and we continue towards infinity and beyond. 😉
But don't think that a perfume costing €300 must be better in your nostrils than one priced at €30, it's again a question of taste . You just find the most interesting things at the high end. But there really are houses that allow themselves to do anything, like Bond N.9 which, it must be admitted, uses quality oils but charges its products €180 for compositions which, with a few exceptions, are boring. and sorely lacking in pep in my opinion.
But for the most part, when a perfume costs a lot of money, there's a good reason!
After the quality question, there is the other “good”, and this one, rejoice, it is you who decide. Because a perfume can be magnificent for one person, and abominable for another, as tastes are so different. Above all else, you must like it. A very good perfume touches your emotions, brings back beautiful memories, makes you feel like the happiest man in the world. 😀
And besides: Women love it when a man smells good. 😉
A perfume is assumed; We love it; We are proud to have chosen it; What's worse than regretting purchasing something that cost you a small fortune? That's why I'm going to show you how to choose it and take care of it.
The components of perfume
A perfume is above all…you! It will emphasize your personality and must harmonize with it. Therefore, I suggest you choose one that corresponds to your character, imagine Crocodile Dundee which smells of roses, it is not very coherent. He will surely opt for woody notes, even leather, highlighted by a good dose of musk for his undeniable virility.
You will first decide which path to take. I'll give you some examples of "general public" perfumes that can be found everywhere for each category, enough to give you an idea on what to base yourself on.
Florals : As the name suggests, these are floral but also fruity notes.
John Varvatos – Craftsman; Issey Miyake – Eau d’Issey; Azzaro - Chrome
Les Boisés : All types of wood.
Like Boys – Wonderwood; Armani - Armani Code; YSL - M7
Orientals : Spicy perfumes, often containing vanilla, reminding you of the Middle East.
Chanel - Selfish; Prada - Amber for men Intense; Guerlain - Habit Rouge Extract
Commonly used, spices are very popular in oriental perfumes.
Citrus fruits : Made from citrus zest, i.e. lemon, orange, bergamot etc.
Dolce & Gabbana – Light Blue; Chanel - Allure Homme Sport; Dior - Eau Sauvage
Fougère : This is a combination of lavender with a woody base.
This term comes from the famous “Fougère Royale”, released in 1882 by Houbigant.
YSL - Jazz; Azzaro - For Men; Paco Rabanne - For Men
Cyprus : It's a concept, a head of citrus which continues towards a flowery heart to finish in a woody background. It is often used in men's perfumery.
Hermes - Rocabar; YSL - Left Bank; Aramis - Aramis
Les Cuirs : It smells like leather and tobacco. We could also categorize animal secretions such as ambergris, castoreum and musk.
Hermes - Bel Ami; Cerruti - the Essence of Cerruti; Givenchy - Gentleman
Gourmets : So-called “fancy” notes like chocolate, coffee, honey, everything that is normally on your plate.
Dior – Intense Man; A*Men products; Givenchy - Intense play
We will still find many subfamilies in the elements cited above, but these are the main ones to remember.
It comes out of the sperm whale's backside and produces a sublime smell: ambergris .
Perfume is not equal to perfume, there are different concentrations with respective names which will also influence its price:
Splash Cologne : Between 1 and 2% essential oils, these blends are not actually perfumes, they are rather made to refresh you a good bit and will not last more than 30 minutes.
Eau de Cologne : Between 3 and 5% essential oils. We will think of the famous 4711 which has now existed for more than 200 years and has unfortunately received the status of a grandmother's odor.
Eau de toilette : Between 4 and 8% essential oils, this is what you will find most often.
Eau de parfum : Between 8 and 15% essential oils, you just need to add a little to have an effect.
Perfume extract : The most expensive, it contains between 15 and 30% oils.
The real “Kölnisch Wasser” of 4711
The rest is alcohol and a little distilled water.
The concentration will greatly influence the longevity of an odor, an eau de Cologne will no longer be smelled after around one or two hours, an eau de parfum on the other hand will still be present for around ten hours or more. But again, it all depends on the ingredients, the citrus elements vaporize very quickly, heavy elements like amber will stay much longer. Be careful, houses often release one of their perfumes in a more or less concentrated version, but which in many cases will have a composition quite different from the original, which will almost make it a separate perfume.
Habit Rouge by Guerlain: one name, 6 different concentrations.
(the rest of this article is here )
