h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Or of a bonobo, even.

I like perfumes. If I have any spare time, I like to wander into The Posh Shops and steal them, a few scooshes at a time, and try on their lotions and potions. Or at the airport to linger in The Big Shop after security. (Although I find their scooshes a bit entry level. Sometimes they make me sneeze. I like the classy stuff made with leaves and bark and stuff).

The other day I want into Lush. They have a special Smelling Bar where you can smell their made up ones or make new ones out of their base and top notes. They know the difference between eau de parfum and eau de toilette and they also have nifty solid fragrance sticks. (I recommend 'Breath of God')

So...I asked them if they had any men's fragrances. 'All our fragrances are non-gender specific', I was told.

This I like. As far as I'm concerned, if you like the smell of something, wear it. I think nothing of stealing a scoosh of my wife's Green Tea. (When she's not looking. Otherwise she brings up that time she caught me trying on her underwear. ). I guess Calvin Klein were the market innovators here.

Obligatory Question: Do you ever wear a fragrance intended for the opposite sex? Would you? What say you about non-gender-specific fragrances?





(Default fragrance: Neal's Yard cologne. It's sort of grapefruit-y, bergamot-y, vetivert-y.)

My fragrance is intended for my gender.
Genderfree fragrance seem like a good idea.
I support anyone wearing the fragrance they like (or none at all), and I would do it.

Deodorant. I hate the flowery-sweet scents they sell for women. Fruity, herbal, wooden, spicy or fresh is what I like.

I don't think it matters so long as it smells nice. The only thing I'd add is that some perfumes remind me of the people I know that wear them so ..... you could end up smelling like my Aunt Nellie.

Isn´t saying their perfumes are non-gender specific a bit like when they say clothes are one-size-fits-all and don´t understand how it then doesn´t actually fit everybody? Some perfumes smell girly, some less so. That doesn´t necessarily depend on which gender they market it to.

Bacon essence. Works for men, women and most sexually feasible animals.

They said 'Just wear the one you like'.

So, yes, if you personally think a smell is too girly, don't wear it. But obviously different men will have different opinions on what counts as too girly. Or on whether girliness/blokiness is an important distinction to them. Or, indeed, on what smells they like.

>>That doesn´t necessarily depend on which gender they market it to.

Now that's interesting. If you go into a big department store or airport duty free you'll see that the advertising is carefully calibrated. Is it a fragrance for a man in a tuxedo or for one with wet, touselled hair and a shirt open to his waist. What kind of guy are you? What kind of scent will you like? This is not coincidental: marketeers have this to a fine art. Alternately...it may have a picture of a woman near it.

In Lush, all the non-gender-specific fragrances are plain, unadorned black.

Isn´t wearing perfume rather girly in the first place?

Some of that Kings & Queens bath stuff smells really nice, it makes me want to drink it. I don´t.

I prefer the smell of womans perfume, which makes sense, as I guess female specific or aimed at perfumes are those which are designed to smell nice to men, and simularly male specific perfumes are those designed to smell nice to women...

I rarely bother with any perfumes or deoderancts or such like, as they're unnecessary as I wash each day so can't always se e the point, there are a couple of female jasmine and musk ones which I occasionally buy for myself to wear as they just smell nice to me sandlewood I like a lot too but can't say I've noticed many sandlewood perfumes...
Oh, and if anyone wants mens afterhsave I've about a dozen unopened bottles (Christmas gifts and suchlike), which I'd like to get rid of oh, actually I gave a bunch of them away last Christmas

I used to wear Brut when I was at school!

Nowadays one of my faves is Hermes Orange Vert, which I think is aimed at the male market.

*makes note to send Beatrice aftershave for Christmas*

I've begun recycling aftershave though, a couple years back by giving it to my Brother... I even ended up giving him some aftershave I@m sure he bought me ages ago one Christmas or Birthday

Have you not tried using them up with tonic and a slice?

Chanel No 5 for me - always (although when I was a teenager I was Chanel No 19) - has been for years and I stick to one smell and one only. I detest showergel and deodrant and all the rest of the gubbins with fragrance - I just want to small like Chanel No 5.

As a younger teenager I sometimes wore Old Spice (love that smell although it tends to remind me of my dad and Grandad) and I have been known to grab 's Aramis.

My Grandpop's smell was Condor. Few people smoke a pipe nowadays, but just occasionally I catch a whiff and am taken right back.

Grandma usually smelled of Windowlene.

ah yes, Condor. Loved that smell on my grandad. My grandma always smelt of yardleys lavender.

For a brief period in around the lower 6th (or maybe 5th form) we all used Eau Jeune which was a bit spicy/orange ish and cheapish (like the 4711 stuff that my daughter uses now, and will not believe it's what Great Aunts use) And for a little while after that I wor AnaisAnais (nice smell that one)

Ah, yes...Echt Kölnisch Wasser.

Has anyone tried Hungary Water? Nice!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungary_Water

In Turkey, everywhere you go they insist on freshening you up by dousing you liberally in some kind of Agent Orange derivative that makes your skin go lumpy. They mean well, but...not so nice.

Or...I've hardly ever been clubbing so don't know if this is a general thing...but one time I was in an R&B club and if you tipped the toilet guy he'd give you a cheery brush down and zizz you with one of his wide selection of bottles.

I've never been squirted by anything in Turkey. I'm back again in a couple of weeks, I'll be looking out for it now...

Just remembered, my favourite Molton Brown flavour is Black Pepper, which again is aimed at the male market, but MB stuff tends to be vaguely unisex.

Oh, yes. The Black Pepper is nice.

There's a similar Banana Republic one, but I forget what it's called.

blimey, I have an ear-worm now from the 6th form common room...