Student Life Editor Lauren Ronsdale givers the low-down on what smells great on guys
We all smell, you smell, I smell, it’s one of the big five senses, and no one likes a bad smell! If I were to choose my favourite smell, well nothing beats the scent of a full English breakfast, the sizzling of bacon, the odour of cooked potato cakes, though as Versace have yet to bring out an ‘l‘eau de Fry up’, and even if they did no girl would wear it, looks like I’m going to have to stick to trying out the more mainstream fragrances available at this time.
As I perused the aisles, looking for a decent scent, I stumbled upon this little gem. ‘Charlie Glam’ (£1.69) is fruity and smells like strawberry quality street tastes, absolutely sublime and I give it 4 and a half stars!
The body shop has many an interesting treasure to unearth, my personal favourite being body shops own ‘Nevali Jasmine’ (£8.50) which like Ronseal (sort of) does exactly what it says on the tin by smelling like Jasmine, and I give it a full 4 stars.
Usually I don’t associate myself with Kate Moss, I’m not very fashion consciencious and her clothes don’t really fit me, so I was slightly out of the loop when it came to guessing what exactly her fragrance was going to smell like. To my surprise for Velvet Hour (£19.90/100ml) the outcome was pleasant. Though a bit on the pricey side, this gains a reasonable three and a half stars from me, the smell reminding me of freshly picked blackcurrants.
And now for my “to avoid” section, and ‘So superstar’ is my recommendation. You know that smell of sweaty men, well this reminds me too much of a steamy changing room. It is awful, though definitely a must have if you’re going for that just out of gym smell. I give it minus two stars and a very disgusted face.
To conclude, all peoples’ tastes are different. If something smells bad to you, you know there is one person out there who will enjoy it. Something about peoples pheromones or their own natural scent, I don’t know, go ask a smell psychologist about it (not sure what the study of it is called, stankology perhaps?) And as peoples tastes vary, I do advise you ignore me, my views are irrelevant, who knows better what you like to smell than yourself! Unless of course ‘l‘eau de fry up’ does become the Number 1 perfume in the known universe, then I’ve either got excellent taste, I’m somehow psychic, or I am unknowingly a perfume god!
Chris Gandhi gives a guy’s perspective on the very best of female fragrances.
No one likes a bad smell. The term “Hanging around like a bad smell” is nothing anyone wants to hear about themselves. But the “smell of success” is incredibly important. However, what exactly is it? What l’eau is enough to wow any girl, win any promotion and still smell manly enough to be considered a lad?
First off, we trailed the aisles of Boots and Superdrug to find a great spray for any man. My favourite spray and shower gel set was “Lynx Recover” (£2.85 for the spray) It has a fresh and fruity fragrance and was different to the other sprays Lynx has to offer (especially better than the classics like “Africa”) Plus, “Recover” is designed to snap you out of that post-Carleton hangover and get you ready for that 9 A.M lecture. A vibrant fragrance ready for summer and a definite 3 stars from me.
In my search for an everyday masculine scent, I chose Calvin Klein “Summer.” (£24.95/100ml) Although expensive, this is an amazing fragrance. I love this scent! It’s long lasting so it’s good for daytime and persistent enough to be a night time scent as well. It’s clean, strong but not too dominating. One for the ladies man, the business man and the lad about town, I give it 5 Stars.
Whilst both of the above smells are fresh and distinctive, there were some definite smells to avoid. Despite the promotions, there is no way that “Lynx Dark Temptation” smells like chocolate. It’s strong, sickly and sweet. Plus, it’s sticky which emphasises its sugary smell. It’s not one I’d recommend. Similarly, I was dismayed to find how many fragrances smelt like an average older man. In particular, FCUK’s “1972” smells like it should have bell bottoms and a blazer. It’s a step back rather than a step forward. Its dominant smell is straight out of the 1970’s.
Something to also be careful of is quantities. Lots of smells are great in small doses but a large amount can go wrong. Diesel’s “Masculine” (£10.20/100ml) has a lemony scent but too much borders on Windolene or Fairy Liquid. Beware, most fragrances are lovely and its personal preference but there can be too much of a good thing. Beware lads, smelling good is very, very important.
