FRAGRANCE - HIGH ST VS HIGH END

By Adam Bennett

So a few of you got in touch and asked that we have a look into fragrance! Funny this, because on a recent somewhat alcohol fuelled trip to Selfridges, Matt and I had a conversation about just this thing - What do people look for in a fragrance – how long it lasts? How much it costs? The name on the bottle? Should you just stick to men’s or is it OK to try out women’s? (one drink too many)

I came to the conclusion that it’s completely personal – Matt wasn’t so sure. He set me a task to wear three different fragrances and see what went down over a month - a commercial brand, a women’s fragrance and a well- known luxury brand. All of them had to be under £100.00. I have a range of fragrances that spans across all of the aforementioned points so I’m just going to lay out my opinions – we’d love to hear yours too!

The high street one was instantly recognised by my colleagues – as soon as they knew what it was they said they didn’t like it – although before they knew what it was they didn’t express that opinion! Many of my client’s complemented it and I kept smelling it on myself throughout the day – it was a little overpowering but I actually adjusted to it and the image it created in my head was definitely one of a more, “athletic” me! It’s described as, “classic & rugged” by it’s maker – I thought that was me, maybe not!!

The women’s fragrance is something I’ve experimented with before – I loved it when Jean Paul Gaultier released Gaultier2 – the magnetic unisex fragrance that was exactly the same containing some masculine notes but was at the same time incredibly floral. I like to think of myself as confident enough to pull this off and when I told someone from the holding company about my love of this fragrance she was so impressed she sent me a bottle for Christmas! I had a few compliments on it – but not as many people mentioned it as I thought might. I still love it!

The luxury fragrance definitely got the most wear. The smell lasted all day (working from 12pm until 9pm that’s some going) and well into the evening. It wasn’t too overpowering though which is quite a good and rare balance to get.

SO in ascending order here are the fragrances …

3. Estee Lauder Sensuous – not too upset really, I love the fragrance but maybe I should give it to a girlfriend !

2. Abercrombie & Fitch – Fierce. I like it. Kind of. I don’t care what anyone else says – kind of. sure telling people what it is will give the wrong image – a bit too teen!!

3. Tom Ford, Grey Vetiver. 50ml 55.00. I’m in love with Tom Ford. There. I said it – actually it’s no secret amongst my friends! Amazing fragrance, perfect for this time of year – crisp, cool and fresh. When looking at higher-end frangrances I tend to er towards the obvious – Terre D’hermes has long been a favourite, Miller Harris Terre de Bois is another – both masculine, woody fragrances but Grey Vetiver is in a league of it’s own – it fits me perfectly – I love Creed, Byredo and Miller Harris but they’re all SO expensive !! This is definitely worth the money, I didn’t use as much of this as I did the Abercrombie so in the long run I think it’s a clever investment.

Someone once told me that a gentleman only wears two fragrances. So far, Grey Vetiver will be one of them. I’ve spied some of the Tom Ford Private Blends – my favourite being Tobacco Vanille but at £180 for 100ml it’s definitely going to have to be something I save up for !!!

You can follow Adam on Twitter @benedict_adam.