Does Your Winter Cologne Disappear? Do This Instead...

Vanilla, amber, tobacco, leather, cardamom. Straight up, guys, those are the five notes that you want to bring in your cold weather fragrance rotation. And let me be clear, I'm not saying to wear them all at once. That could be a little bit too much. Now, what we're looking for is a fragrance that leads with one or two of those notes and overall creates a warm enveloping scent that's perfect for cutting through the colder weather. So, let's take vanilla. This note gives any fragrance a creamy rounded sweetness. It's one of the most universally liked scents out there. And, in fact, if you want to get compliments from Wearing a vanilla-dominated fragrance is the way to go. And in cold weather, it invites people in versus fresh fragrances can come off as too sharp. Vanilla-dominated fragrances are like a warm cashmere sweater just inviting people to get closer. And some examples of fragrances that fall into this category are going to be Valentino Valentino's Born in Roma Intense, Jean Paul Gaultier's Le Male Elixir, Initio's Absolue Aphrodisiac, I'll see you in the next one. Tobacco flirting with vanilla. Now, the thing with tobacco flirting vanilla is not only is this a long-lasting beast-projecting niche fragrance that has cool packaging, but it also takes us to the next note on this list, tobacco. Now, tobacco is a note to some maybe off-putting. I get it, I grew up around smokers. But, guys, I'll tell you the tobacco used in most fragrances is nothing like that. In fact, the tobacco in this fragrance is a very sweet rich tobacco that's closer in scent to that sweet tobacco your grandfather may have used in his old pipe. And so, with tobacco fragrances, expect range. You've got some that smell like hay, others that smell like tobacco dry naturally, the fragrant leaf. You've got a wide variety of different sweet tobaccos. In fact, one of the most popular fragrances in this niche Tobacco Vanille by Tom Ford. That one is going to be a much more drier, harsh tobacco with a lot less sweetness. And if you're really into tobacco and you're looking for a niche fragrance that dominates with this note, check out Amouage's Opus 14 Royal Tobacco. And this fragrance tobacco is woven right there in the center, but it's also got a bit of frankincense, licorice, balsam, and smoky woods. Now, if you're looking for a bold Old tobacco, check out Mancera's Red Tobacco. This one's got cinnamon, woods, and to bring a bit of sweetness and roundness to it, it's got vanilla. And that combination, as you can imagine, makes this fragrance bold and sweet. And if you want something that's a little bit more crowd-pleasing, easier to find, check out Valentino Umo's Born in Roma Coral Fantasy. And this one, because it takes that tobacco and it mixes it with a red apple, it comes off as really sweet, easy to wear, and I think a really nice introduction to the note. And another designer to check out is Viktor & Rolf's Spicebomb Dark Leather. If you're familiar with this house and these fragrances, you know that these are going to be a bit spicy. They tickle the nose. They definitely grab attention. As the name implies, this is a darker, richer, heavier version of the Spicebombs. Spicebombs in general, they were very crowd-pleasing, but they stand out because of the spice. And this one right here has tobacco as one of the lead notes, mixing it also with leather, which takes us to our next cold weather note that you want to pay attention to, leather. Now, of all the notes we're going to cover today, leather is perhaps the most masculine. The association of men and leather goes back thousands of years and it's constantly reinforced by Hollywood and when you look at some of the most masculine pieces of clothing a man can own from boots to leather jackets. Now, a couple of the most popular fragrances out there featuring leather notes are going to be Tom Ford's Ombre Leather. Here, I've got the Parfum. And then, we've got Tom Ford's Tuscan Leather. Now, if you've had the chance to smell both of these fragrances, what you will notice is that even though leather is in both of their names, they smell completely different. And that's what I love about this Accord is when we look at leather, there are all different types, all different variations. When you smell Tuscan leather, you're going to get something softer. Still, leather dominates. It's going to have a bit more sweetness to it versus Ombre Leather, which is a harsher almost like a boot leather mixed in with florals and woods. Still, It's still very wearable, but when you smell these fragrances, you realize it's Two very different scents for really two different guys. Now, if you're looking for something really easy to wear, something maybe to give as a gift, guys, I talk about the Burberry Hero line. I love it. I think all these fragrances are really crowd-pleasing. And right here, their Parfum Intense has a really nice leather note mixed in with a bit of cedarwood, very easy for even a young man to pull off. But, if you want something a bit more niche, something that's pretty much a pure leather play, check out Parfums de Marly's Godolphin. Now, it's got saffron, woods, and a bit of musk, is by far the dominant note here. And if you're looking for a spice leather, Memo Paris' African Leather. Besides the leather, it's also got some really nice aromatics and spicy notes and it's got a mix of cardamom. Now, gents, if you're into niche fragrances, you need to check out today's sponsor, The House of Dastan. Started by a family with over 20 years in the perfume industry, what this family wanted to do is bring forth their Persian heritage and mix it with French perfumery, hence why they brought in Master perfumer, Richard Herpen. And tell their story through fragrance and design. I want you to check out Five Senses. This one has the notes of tobacco leaves, cardamom, amber, and vanilla. It's a warm, spicy fragrance that you can wear in cooler weather that you could dress up with a blazer. Or maybe you want something even more formal, a fragrance you could wear with a suit, check out Love Flame. Iris, chocolate, vanilla, and a bit of cardamom on this one has a powdery softness. Definitely a fragrance that's going to get you dressed up. Now, if you want something Something that's versatile. An everyday fragrance. End of audio Check out the beautiful fragrance Unseen, perhaps my favorite from this line. Fresh Linen, cashmere, musk, and sandalwood. This is the fragrance you want to wear when you want to feel relaxed, but feel good. Want a fragrance that's a little bit more fun? Check out the Game of Joy. Mango, passion fruit, watermelon with a bit of spice. Be careful, this scent right here can put you into vacation mode. Now, gents, I could go on and on, but I think the best way to explore this house is to grab their discovery set. And to help you do that, gents, I've got We've got an amazing deal. You get one. $100 off your discovery set and you get a $100 credit whenever you go over and you grab a full bottle at the House of Destin. This deal is not going to be around forever. Use it or lose it. I've got the link in the description. And grab that discovery set using the deal I've got for you. Now, if you're not familiar with cardamom, this is the queen of spices and it is perfect for the winter because it can tickle the nose. It definitely can penetrate through the cool air. And I saved it for a little bit later because it definitely mixes and works with a number of the other notes that we talked about. Example, Tom Ford's Noir Extreme Parfum. Of all the Tom Fords, I feel that this line is one of the ones most overlooked. I absolutely love it. I think it's a great entry point if you want to start getting into this house. And in particular, why I'm choosing the Parfum is it's really easy to wear. It's got this really nice creamy coffee note along with ginger and vanilla and leather. Now, if you're looking for a fragrance that opens with cardamom, interestingly, we've got Jean Paul Gaultier's Le Male Le Parfum. As soon as you spray this on, you definitely will pick up the cardamom. You also also pick up the lavender, the iris, and vanilla. This one right here, very different. From the Tom Ford we just talked about. That being said, when it comes to compliments, you really can't beat Jean-Paul Gaultier. The ladies love, in general, this fragrance house. Now, if you're looking for a fragrance that does dominate in a sense with cardamom, maybe with a bit of cedar, check out Cartier's Declaration Eau de Toilette. And if you're looking for something really unique, something niche, check out Xerjoff's Starlight. This one's really interesting because it leads with cardamom at the top along with cinnamon and almond. And then, underneath, it's got a bit of cedar and Amber. And, of course, that leads us right to the next note and I think one of the easiest ones to find in cool weather fragrances, amber. And just like the other notes we talked about, you've got different types of ambers. You've got modern woody lighter ambers and you've got deeper heavy resinous amber. And one of the most accessible designer houses out there using amber is going to be Zara. In particular, a lot of the fragrances in their most wanted line. And the one I'm going to draw attention to is the Eau de Parfum Intense. It's got the amber Number one in there, but it's also got top. Coffee, it's got cardamom, it's warm, sweet, woody, and easy to wear, compliment-getting fragrance that I know a lot of you guys would love. Now, if you're looking to step it up a bit, check out Prada Luna Rossa Black. This one is going to be a little bit more formal because it's got that soft powdery note to it, but it does have amber mixed in with a bit of coumarin and patchouli, so it has a bit of spice to it, but definitely not over the top. If you were to wear this with black tie or just getting dressed up to go out with your partnerg Guys, this – This here would be a solid choice. End of audio And if you're looking for something niche, consider MFK's Grand Soir or Les Parfums de Marly's Ambre 114. Grand Soir is going to have a really rich amber and the 114 is going to be spicier. So, the next thing that you want to change up when it comes to wearing fragrance in the winter is that you want to first put on a fragrance-free moisturizer. In the winter, when it gets cooler, your skin will naturally be drier. Drier skin Does not hold fragrance well. It evaporates faster either into the environment or into your skin. Either way, you aren't getting the projection you want. When you start to wear a moisturizer, what you do is you create a barrier that the fragrance can sit on and it has longer to release into the atmosphere. And notice I said a fragrance-free moisturizer. Most moisturizers out there are going to have some sort of scent. Two of them. The good news here, even if you've got a whole bunch of moisturizer you don't want to throw out and it does have a slight scent to it, usually that scent doesn't last all day. What you want to avoid are strong scented moisturizers. And I personally feel with a lot of my fragrances, this one trick right here helps them last almost like 50% longer. Now, right with that, I kind of implied that I apply the fragrance onto the skin. I get it, not everyone wants to do that, so maybe wear an undershirt, apply it there. But where you don't want to apply fragrance, especially during the winter, is on your clothing, your out clothing. I'm talking jackets, scarves. Hats. Now, the exception to this is if you've got a go-to signature scent. In that case, you can wear it, you know, with anything and it will work and you can layer it. But, what we're trying to avoid here is if you're changing up your fragrances throughout the winter, it will stick around on your jacket, especially if you've got some of the beast mode fragrances using the notes we talked about earlier. And I don't want you to be layering fragrances that you don't intend to layer or you're going to find, hey, my jacket smells like one thing, my scarf smells like another fragrance, my hat like another. Yeah, that's not what we're looking What other can they do? I also like to wear a little bit more fragrance during the winter. So, I find that by keeping it close to the body, it creates a bubble that, you know, whenever you get close with someone, you give them a hug, all of a sudden, a little bit of that smell comes out, they can pick it up. But, it's not so much that when you walk into a room that you are choking everyone out. That's what you want to avoid. You want to be discovered, you don't want to announce yourself with your fragrance when you walk in the room. Now, in the case that you've got pieces of clothing that have a scent, have a fragrance that just doesn't seem to be coming out and you want to wear something else, I do recommend that you first just simply hang the item out there, especially when it comes to jackets, scarves, hats. Put it outside on a hanger. You want to get it fresh air. You don't want to just put it on a coat rack and cover it with three other coats. Worst case, you have to send it out to the cleaners. Now, we talked about this earlier, but I want to dive deeper on it and that is layering scents. So, there's nothing wrong if you want to do that and you know how to do it. My point here is just to pay attention. I mean, when it comes to your clothing, drying it in the dryer, are you using a dryer sheet? Most of the time, you don't even need to. And when you avoid introducing random scents, all of a sudden, you let your cologne, you let your fragrance stand out a bit more and you avoid layering where you didn't intend to. And speaking of smell, let's talk about winter colds, COVID. Any of you guys get that? You lost your sense of smell, at least a lot of us did. And I lost it for about a month. Oftentimes, during the winter, we get sick and we lose our sense of smell. And you put on your fragrance, you can't smell anything. So, what do you do? You put on a bit more. Don't do that. Olfactory fatigue. And this also naturally happens. It's a defense mechanism. It can happen when you're sick, you just don't smell as well. My point here is for you to understand your fragrance. And if you're going through a bit of olfactory fatigue or you're sick, you've lost your sense of smell, don't overspray and choke people out. There may be days that you can't smell your fragrance, but don't change your spray count because it is still projecting. It's still doing its job. And really quick, let's talk about storing fragrance. So, when it gets cold in my house, all of a sudden, the radiators we have hydronic heat all of a sudden kick on. If you actually have a shelf that is right next to the heater, you want to be careful because you don't want your fragrances to be going up and down in temperature. What this can do is it can age prematurely, don't store your fragrances in your car if it's dropping below zero. Point being is when you store your fragrance in an area, the temperature goes up and down. It's just not going to last as long. So, keep your fragrance off the window shelf, preferably in a location which has a constant temperature. And when you do that, it's going to last longer and you will get every precious spray from that bottle. All right, gents, what did we miss? What would you have added to this video? Let me know in the comments below. If you're looking for some cold weather fragrances, the ones I talked about in this video didn't float your boat, you want to get compliments, guys, I got you covered in this video right here, the best compliment getters this winter. Boom!