Today in class we were talking about American hygiene (which the Brazilians thought was border line dirty and the European thought was possibly over the top), a student asked me if American men wear cologne.
I had to pause to consider my answer. Yes, they wear it. But I think there's something about the 5 foot rule- if you can smell the cologne from more than 5 feet away, it's too strong...or something like that. I told him that yes, they wear it, but it's usually not very strong. He was wondering because someone actually said this to him in the mall the other day:
girl: Hey, are you gay?
male student: Um, no. Why do you ask me this?
girl: Because I can smell you from a mile away!
There's really no response. Who says something like that to a total stranger?! Now this student happens to be from a country where men typically were cologne and a lot of it. The more important the occasion, the stronger he smells. He doesn't always wear it for school (which may tell you something about why his grades aren't so stellar), but I've noticed that when he wears it, he wears it. You can smell him from the other side of the room. It usually smells nice enough, but not being a perfume wearer myself due to the instant headache no matter the quantity or quality, I usually keep my distance.
I like the idea of perfume. I like smelling the little sample sticks that come in magazines. I like looking at the lovely bottles and thinking about old fashioned perfume pumps (my grandma used to have some of those). I just can't handle walking around all day with a fuzzy brain. Even scented lotions sometimes bother me.
My sister usually wears perfume or some kind of body spray when she dresses up. My mom wears it all the time. My dad wears cologne for special occasions? or possibly all the time. I'm not sure. My grandpa smells like aftershave. My grandma smells like Tide and Bounce. But I couldn't recall smelling perfume on many of my friends. What do you guys smell like?
9 comments:
D&G Light Blue or Givenchy Irresistable....or on normal days some kind of lighter VS body slash...or sometimes a small splash of Light Blue...
Depends on the day. Here's a list of possibilities:
-Chainsaw exhaust
-Sweat (the nice clean kind, not the fusty, I haven't showered for weeks kind)
-Dirt
-Old Spice deodorant
-Outside
-Irish Spring soap
-Never cologne/perfume
I just reviewed my list and it appears that I have the potential to smell bad a large part of the time.
This was a funny post. I wonder why American men don't bathe in cologne. I have to admit, when we lived in Paris, I was at first repulsed by the strong smelling men smashed up against me in the metro, but over time I became grateful that they smelled so strongly, because it covered up the smell of other people who chose not to shower as frequently. Which leads me to my revelation of why American men don't wear as much cologne. Possibly, they shower more frequently then men in some other cultures. I know this is a broad statement, but again, after living in 2 foreign countries, the American men I know, some who shower multiple times a day, smell naturally cleaner than someone who doesn't shower with the same frequency. Just saying.
Oops, I forgot my last line. Thus, they don't need to wear so much cologne. Ta da.
Fautie says:
I wear cologne every day. Just lightly.
I don't really wear scented things. I try to buy unscented deodorant, but I think my shampoo has a light herbal scent.
I'm more like you. Perfumes don't always bother me, but they sometimes can. If I'm on the verge of a headache, smelling a strong whiff of perfume/fabricated scent will cause the headache to kick in full-force. Cigarette smoke does the same thing for me, too. My mom also got headaches from perfume and scents - she even got headaches from fresh newspaper/magazine ink.
Vanilla, I like to smell like vanilla. However, I can no longer find my body spray or my lotion. Sigh...
When we were roommates Phin thought I sometimes smelled like baby powder. I thought I sometimes smelled like Burberry Brit.
Trav's list is *pretty* good.
I currently smell like sour milk. If I am lucky I can make it a few minutes in the morning after I shower smelling like lavendar before my baby crys. Once I hear the cry the rest of my day is spent smelling like milk. UGH!!!
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