A lot of non-French speakers assume that perfume means scent for women. This is a common misconception, in reality “parfum” literally means “fragrance.” “Cologne” was adapted to mean the male version, but it originated as a lighter parfum scent from the city of Koln. Regardless, even with these misconceptions, men want to know how to properly put fragrances on.

Firstly, what needs to be understood is there is no right, wrong or perfect fragrance for you. It’s all relative, basically if you enjoy the scent from the bottle and once on your skin it meshes well (sometimes you’ll notice certain fragrances appear differently depending on the person wearing it).

Secondly, excessive amounts of spray will not make the fragrance smell better or last longer. Fragrances differ in how long they last and by engulfing yourself in the scent all you’ll manage is aggravating those around you. The smell itself may leave after 10 minutes, but the ten which you subject your surroundings to endure will be quite hard to tolerate, even if the scent is fantastic.

Once you know which fragrance you wish to wear, spray at the tops of your forearms (not the wrists as commonly shown that women do), spray either side of your neck just beneath your ear (under the corners of the jaw) and one spray inside your t-shirt or shirt and down your back. Don’t spray in excess around your neck/hair/face.