All Men Should Wear Perfume

A trace of musk is often more than enough to make women turn their heads after a man passing them on the street, even if the guy in question is not necessarily good looking for their standards. Perfume should be a man’s never-missing last piece of his “outfit,” but only granted it’s used according to his personality and not out of sheer vanity, Moon Bloodgood argues for Men’s Health.

Just like with women, there are men too who believe that just because they dab themselves in a new cologne they bought (and especially if it’s expensive enough to cause some uhs and ahs from their mates), they are as irresistible as it gets, Bloodgood says. Yet, most women will probably remain impervious to their charms, because what they look for in a man is not vanity, but rather a strong personality – and nothing can do that better than a well-chosen perfume, used with plenty of common sense.

“I love how no man can smell the same as another; everyone is an original combination of a natural body scent, cologne, deodorant, with pheromones sprinkled on top. That can be a shortcut to the heart. When I smell certain colognes, too, it brings me right back to a certain man or a time or a love. It helps if he isn’t obsessed with grooming. Johnny Depp embodies the golden mean of looking fabulous and looking like he doesn’t [care] if he looks fabulous or not. There’s no bigger turnoff than vanity. Most women don’t want to hang out with a guy who talks for hours about his own watch.” the editor explains.

Finding the middle way to being groomed while also not looking squeaky clean is, Bloodgood notes, again a question of doing things that come naturally. In this sense, many a man have fallen into the “rugged style icon” trap, where they have tried to emulate the looks of bad boys like Johnny Depp and Collin Farrell, but only came out looking overdone and over the top. The same goes with perfume, and the fragrance has to be one that suits each guy’s personality, not something that he chooses because he aims to make the ladies swoon or his friends jealous for being able to afford it, the editor adds.

In the end, Bloodgood argues, choosing a perfume has to be something as personal as finding a girlfriend because the fragrance has to be 100 percent in accordance with the guy. “The allure originates inside him,” the editor explains – but, either way, all men should wear perfume without a single trace of doubt.