Topic: smells

Why I Wear Men’s Fragrances

Why I Wear Men's Fragrances

I went to high school in a fairly small community where there weren’t a lot of stores. Every girl in my high school selected ‘her’ Bath and Body Works fragrance and wore it constantly in body spray, lotion, and bath gel form. The locker room smelled like a basket of wax fruit every day after gym class. But I just couldn’t settle on which scent was going to be mine: I didn’t want to smell like a country apple or a sun-ripened raspberry, as much as I would have enjoyed eating either of those things. Ultimately, it was a men’s scent that drew me in: cool spring, which smelled like musk and rainwater. The woman at the counter asked me if I was getting a gift for my boyfriend, and, feeling ashamed, I said yes. But I loved every drop of the scent and wore it until I couldn’t squeeze any more out of the bottle. Since then, it has been men’s – and the occasional unisex – fragrances all the way. Recently, I got my hands on a sample of Calvin Klein’s Eternity Aqua for Men, and I’ve sported it every day since then. More »

Can’t Stand the Smell of Coffee Breath? Then Get the Hell Out of New York

Can't Stand the Smell of Coffee Breath? Then Get the Hell Out of New York

Coffee breath is gross. I don’t know why, but the scent of coffee from a mug or a freshly brewed pot is way different than when it comes from someone’s dirty, germy mouth. But apparently I’m the odd girl out, because according to a study conducted by AXE and the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation (such a place does exist), the women of New York City are most allured to the aroma of coffee no matter where it is coming from. Soon, men all across Manhattan will be drinking as much coffee as the Swedes just to attract more girls’ attentions (I say that because I’m tremendously addicted to Steig Larsson’s Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series and am amazed by how much caffeine Swedish people drink on a daily basis in the book. Also, if you haven’t read any of the books, do it … now). More »

The Heart Monitor: 10 Things I Smell About You

The Heart Monitor: 10 Things I Smell About You

Nothing takes the romance out of a budding relationship quite like a cruddy odor. Bad smells can leave an even worse taste in your mouth. Ladies, gird your loins and hold your noses: here are the top ten foul-smelling, pheromone-killing deal-breakers.

1. Pedi-smell. The date was fantastic and the kiss was even better. You agree to go back to his place and make out on his couch for an hour. Things begin to heat up, and you slowly remove your clothes and take off your shoes when suddenly a smell so overpowering floods the room you run to the bathroom with your shirt in your hands covering your mouth so not to puke on his carpet. Foot odor can kill a hookup faster than a collection of troll dolls. And troll dolls don’t induce nausea.

2. Gym sweat smell. You’re impressed with his work out routine and even more so by his rock hard abs—too bad his sweat stench is less than impressive. And honestly, everyone goes to the gym and manages to soap off that work bench stench. But he somehow he still smells worse than a ripe junior high school locker room. Tell him to wipe off that sweat mustache and hit the shower already. More »