I’m a total fragrance newb. The last cologne I bought cost me probably 20 bucks at Pacific Sunwear. And when I say “me” I mean my mom, because I was 12.
Since then I’ve been lucky enough to be gifted at least a couple of bottles ranging in olfactory quality from fair to great, none of which I use(d) with any regularity, probably because cologne intimidates me, and reminds me of a kind of guy who I’m not quite sure I want to be.
You know who I’m talking about.
Which made this conversation between Zaron Burnett III and one of the fragrance industry’s leading experts so fascinating to me. Mainly because it dispelled a lot of the things that had intimidated me about cologne in the first place, and also because it makes choosing a personal scent and using it the right way kind of exciting.
I still can’t kick the feeling that it’s mostly for sweaty club bros, however.
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Jeff Gross
Jeff Gross is MEL’s senior editor for social media and content marketing. His daily ICYMI column, which chronicles all things meta on the site, is the quickest way to catch up on MEL, and the funniest thing you’ll read all day. Follow him on Twitter.
