Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with cologne

Cologne Filter

keith0718 — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 17:49:15 -0800

I need ideas for natural body colognes. I use mainly unscented body products--deodorant stone, pine-tar soap, etc. I would like to put on something that makes me smell good in an earthy sort of way--but nothing too strong.--just something my wife can enjoy when she gets close to me. I like patchouli, but not the stereotype that goes with it.

looking for old cologne?

Obscurum — Wed, 07 May 2008 13:42:18 -0800

Can someone help me find the name for a specific cologne from about 8 years ago? I'm trying to find a cologne I received as a christmas gift about 8 years ago. It was in a small brushed silver metal spray can, and had clear blue letering on it. All I remeber of the name was that it was a 3 digit number that I think started with 31. Anyone have any ideas on the name and where it could be purchased if possible any more?

Things to do in Essen and surroundings

barrakuda — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 06:41:53 -0800

Moved to Germany from the US. Need advice on rebuilding my life. I just moved to Germany (Essen to be exact) last weekend. I have a job, an apartment and a husband - so no need for advice in regards to these. What I do need help with is:

1) Making friends - how do I go about it in a city like Essen? I am not particularily shy but I wonder how to make friendships when I work from home and I am done with my studies (I am 27).

2) Finding some of my favorite (American) services/websites - e.g. the German equivalent of Netflix, craigslist (not craigslist.de but something similar which actually is used in Germany), online bookstore that has an offering of English books (is amazon.de any good?), free city publications with upcoming events or community websites (catering both to expats and non-expats)

3) Ideas for fun things to do in the city as well as recommendations for the best restaurants, bars, clubs in the Essen-Dusseldorf-Cologne area. Recommendations for a good manicurist and waxer. Generally recommendations for what is good around here, regardless of category.

4) Any general advice on what to do once you move to a new place.

Thanks.

how do you find the right cologne?

edtut — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 01:49:32 -0800

how do i find my scent - what deodorant to use? in 2001, i bought a cussons spray deodorant in australia (a small red pack with a grey lid ). i didnt realise really at the time, but people kept commenting. i mean in the workshop, canteen, in class, all over - about 8 different people asked what cologne i was wearing. anyway i had to go overseas, and when i got back they had stopped making the same one! so i tried their new type, and never got a reaction. so my two questions are
1. was it just a con-incidence, or do particular scents work amazingly in some scenarios
2. if there is a special scent that works for a person, how do u find what it is (the magic ingredient)

Petrichor/Bergamont perfume

rdr — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 07:37:11 -0800

Wikipedia says that petrichor is " the name of the yellow organic oil that causes the familiar scent of rain on dry earth". The article also mentions that perfumes have been produced from it. Which perfumes? Are there synthetic perfumes that come close? Failing that I'm looking for an interesting men's cologne with strong bergamont notes.

How to smell good without cologne?

Malad — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 17:14:45 -0800

As a guy, how do you smell really good without the use of cologne? Some people, I've noticed, have a great fresh smell to them, but I'm not sure how they get it. I try using scented soaps, but it doesn't give nearly as strong an effect. Is it lotion? Does skin type matter?

Cologne picking tips

joshuaconner — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 00:33:18 -0800

Cologne picking advice: it can't be as simple as "just pick what your like" or "bring a girl with you and buy what she likes"... can it?

How do I reverse engineer a smell?

iurodivii — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 11:57:37 -0800

How do I reverse engineer a scent? Well over a decade ago I purchased a small vial of homemade perfume/cologne in the parking lot of a Grateful Dead show. I am getting close to using the last of it, but I love the smell so much I want to figure out a way to copy it.

It is not patchouli, or any of the other common scents you find in that crowd. I do believe that there is some Frankincense and most probably Myrrh. Unfortunately these oils are quite expensive (around $50 an ounce) so I want to avoid just buying oils and mixing them. I also have no idea what the carrier oil is.
I have read Jitterbug Perfume and it did not answer my question.

Are there any Master Perfumists out there?

Watery Mud d'eBay...?

dmaterialized — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 15:40:34 -0800

Why does a brand-new bottle of cologne smell very different (and not in a good way) from a small sample vial of the same? i just bought a bottle of Terre d'Hermes (which I think is wonderful, and great on me) based on how great the sample vial I got on eBay smelled. The "real thing" is a lot less sharp and the layers are a lot muddier. It actually smells like it could be a knockoff! WTF? (a little more inside) I bought both the sample and this "real" on eBay, but this is NIB and for all intents seems perfectly legit. Is it because of a different spray type? Is this potentially due to the way it was stored? The only thing I noticed is that when I took it out of the package the bottle was really cold. It's since warmed up, and (two or three days later) it smells a little closer to how I expect--but it's still definitely not right.

Is it ruined? Was the sample vial just inaccurate somehow? Any ideas? Is there a scientific explanation for this?

Help with a charity gift request.

socrateaser — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 07:25:17 -0800

I need help locating a certain brand of cologne requested as a charity gift. The request is from a 14 year old male, and who wants "Sexy" cologne for men. On-line searches just seem to turn up "Very Sexy for Him" by Victoria's Secret. I'm not sure that is the right one. Any ideas, or thoughts on possibly substitutions? I know from my teacher friends that Axe body spray is all the rage with teen boys right now.

Avoiding cigarettes in Wien/Vienna and other smoker-friendly cities

allterrainbrain — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 06:56:29 -0800

Ideas for respectfully avoiding cigarette smoke when visiting a strong smoking culture (especially in Wien/Vienna, but advice for other cities is very welcome too). From my previous travels, I know & respect that most European countries have very smoker-friendly cultures relative to where I live (NYC). I'm just asking this question for my own needs (as someone who physically can't be around smoke other than very briefly), with no desire to question or debate any of these cultures as they exist.

For my upcoming month in Vienna, I'll be sharing a non-smoking house, and I've made sure that all the places I'm committed to spending time in (classical music venues) are actually non-smoking inside. From what I've read, there are also laws against smoking in public transport and some indoor spaces, but they're often unenforced.

I'm looking for your experiences / suggestions, especially in Vienna but also in general, of issues I should think about, places and restaurants I should seek out (for example, all Starbucks branches in Vienna are non-smoking [double sacrilege :)]), and issues I should keep in mind. Please help me by sticking to practical discussion (not debates about smoking).

I'd also love to hear recommendations of any tools you've used that protect against smoke (from simple half-masks to the "air supply" necklaces I've seen). Thanks!

Where can I find a good sage-scented cologne?

kimota — Sun, 22 Jan 2006 16:54:30 -0800

Anyone know of a good sage cologne? Yankee Candle's Sage and Citrus products smell amazing to me, and I'm fixated on the idea of finding a cologne to match the scent. A trip to the mall was useless, and while a google search turned up loads of sites selling various colognes with sage as part of the scent, there is of course no way of knowing how much like the Yankee Candle products they smell like, so I'm hoping someone out there has already trod down this path. Barring that, how big a production is it to make your own cologne?

What to do in Germany next week?

jedrek — Thu, 03 Nov 2005 17:05:09 -0800

Places to go and things to see (and photograph) in Berlin, Dusseldorf/Essen/Cologne and Vienna. On Sunday morning, I'm heading out on a little two week eurotrip, starting in Berlin and working my way to Dusseldorf/Essen/Cologne, then down to southern germany, swinging by Zurich and finishing up in Vienna. I'm going to be in each city/area for about 3 days (other than Zurich).

My main interest on this trip is photography, and as the days are way too short right now, I'm looking for stuff to see/do in the daylight (7am-4pm) - parks, buildings, squares, sights with views - a lot more than nightlife. Outdoors more than indoors.

The only one of these cities I've been to is Berlin, otherwise I'm quite the "n00b".

Question number 13305

Ugh — Thu, 23 Dec 2004 13:02:06 -0800

I need to get opinions on perfume, specifically from men, but women's experiences will help as well. (MI)

Question number 12737

borkingchikapa — Thu, 09 Dec 2004 14:17:09 -0800

What is the difference between eau de toilette and cologne? More importantly, why is it called "toilet water"?