Eau so macho!

When we wear a fragrance we would like it to reflect our character. I don’t wear make-up except for occasions that happen once in a blue moon---just lipstick and I can face the world, but I don’t feel “dressed” without wearing a scent. Perfume is an everyday accessory I can’t do without. I believe this is pretty common with women. I imagine Cleopatra or an empress in some ancient dynasty used perfume to feel good and sexy, or to seduce their men. And women throughout the ages followed their footsteps. But with men, scent-wearing was not very popular until the modern times. It was even once scorned by many as a menace to masculinity.

Nowadays, fragrance has wormed its way into men’s dressers, and a friend even told me that he uses perfume to make a long lasting impression on women he dates. And I believe he’s been very successful in doing that---the nose knows!:D Although I find his scent a bit too heavy for my taste, his perfume indicates personal style and passion, it speaks of his attitude and defines his own fashion statement.

When I smell men’s fragrances, I recognize the smell of spices, tobacco, sensuous woods, musk, notes of leather and whisky, even old books. But I was pleasantly surprised this morning when I entered the elevator and smelled something new in the air. There was only one passenger and he was male. We stood side by side and I swear, his perfume was floral, and the most feminine flower of all, the rose! It was heady and provocative and elegant! I almost asked the guy what his perfume was, but I was chickenhearted.

So I did some googling while having coffee and learned that rose is taking prominence in men’s fragrance. Paul Smith’s Story has rose at its heart, as does Rose 31 by Le Labo. Les Parfums de Rosine spells it out with its Rose d’Homme, while Tauer has Lonestar Memories---the cowboy on the box reeks of manliness, but the center of the smell is rose. This trend is probably in response to the blending of genders. New fragrances are now not confined within the traditional boundaries of what is masculine and feminine.

Guys, believe it or not---flowers have long played a role in your perfume, but they have not always been flagged up. My favorite men's scent, Dior's Fahrenheit features violet, and one of the 20th century’s classic men fragrances, Eau Sauvage by Dior, features jasmine. Rose is found in ten percent of all men’s quality fragrances, but it’s rare that it has dominated. Now, perfumers believe that creating the perfect rose fragrance for men is the holy grail.

Rose as top notes in men’s scents---I love it! It brings a refreshing new aspect to contemporary men’s personality and challenges the way women look at men. My elevator encounter was a pleasant surprise and yes, memorable. I guess that’s what happens when rules are broken, people stop and take note. Or, in this case, stop and smell the roses.