''How To Choose Your Signature Fragrance''

There are two major reasons everyone should have a signature fragrance (even if you occasionally stray from it):

First, wearing one fragrance greatly simplifies getting dressed in the morning or for a night out, because you don’t have to match your scent to your apparel or your mood. Second, and more importantly, the right scent will cause women to think of you as that great-smelling guy they have to have. Finding your signature fragrance can be a bit of an art, but we’re here to show you the ropes, so read on to learn all about how to track down the scent that will define you and take you one step closer to making your wildest fantasies come true.

Know your fragrance family

It will be much easier to find the fragrance destined to become your signature if you develop an understanding of which scents appeal to you. The traditional classification system for fragrances includes florals (which are dominated by one or more flowers), amber fragrances (which are both sweet and exotic) and woody fragrances (which are typified by sandalwood and cedar notes).

Honey and tobacco scents fall into the leather family, while bergamot and labdanum are found in the chypre category, and herbaceous fougere scents are composed using lavender, coumarone and oak moss. Modern fragrance families include citrus-based scents, aquatic scents (which are clean and unisex) and green scents (which are light and typified by notes like grass or cucumber).

Let your personality guide your nose

Remember that the fragrance you settle on will represent you, so choosing a juice that reflects your personality is important.

• If you have a determined nature coupled with a sophisticated yet mysterious allure, select a musky, amber-based scent.
• Charismatic guys who are always chasing their next adventure should invest in a woody concoction.
• Clean-cut, sporty types will feel most comfortable with a smell that’s as energetic and enthusiastic as they are, so seek out fresh and invigorating citrus, green or aquatic fragrances and reapply them throughout the day for renewed vigor.
• If you tend toward the romantic side, try a fragrance with florals.
• Dominant, ambitious men who love being in control will send a powerful message with a heady fougere cologne.

Work with your body chemistry

You’ll likely have to take more than one trip to the cologne counter to find the fragrance that’s right for you. And while we’re not saying that making multiple visits to the mall all in the name of hunting down a fragrance won’t be a bit of a tedious process, trust us that your effort will be worth it when you finally find the cologne that makes you smell irresistible.

Don’t sniff more than three scents in one session and put something woolly, like a scarf, close to your nose to inhale between smells so that you cleanse your nasal palette. In the end, the cologne that works best with your own natural body odor is not the one that you’re most attracted to right out of the bottle, but the one that still smells amazing after it’s spent the better part of the day on your skin.

Consider your schedule and geography

Use your lifestyle and the city you live in to help you figure out the intensity your fragrance should pack. If you’re in close contact with colleagues on a regular basis, you’ll want to avoid anything that others could find overpowering or chemically irritating. A night out at the clubs, however, calls for a stronger scent.

If you tend to go out several times a week, consider a day-to-night duo or a scent that can be built upon or layered. The climate you live in should also help you fine-tune your fragrance choice. Generally speaking, the higher the mercury and the humidity, the lighter your scent should be.

A second smell

By now, you know the most crucial considerations involved in finding a signature fragrance, but there’s one more point worth mentioning: Get a second opinion. Ask a few women you know as well as some attractive strangers or sales girls about the scents you’ve tried. As one of the chief objectives in wearing cologne is to appeal to the opposite sex, you’ll need to begin your quest anew if no one in your sample digs what you have on. Keep in mind that women place a lot of emphasis on smell when it comes to choosing a mate, so be persistent in hunting down the perfect signature fragrance. After all, finding it can work wonders for your sex life.