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Dominance of Mens' EDT's: Is there a historical reason?

post #1 of 7
5/20/07 at 6:36pm
Thread Starter 
I know this must have been discussed on Basenotes before, but my searches have been futile.

Why oh why are so few mens' fragrances released as EDT's and not EDP's? I'm continuously frusterated by my girlfriend's ability to apply two light sprays of anything she owns and have it emit respectable sillage all day long. I WANT THAT!

Is it just that men have historically been more hesitant to smell like they (gasp!!) put on a fragrance? Is it our own fault that our fragrances are weaker? Is it a cost issue for manufacturers?...ie they can't create the same economies of scale with men's perfume, so to keep expenses down, they use less oils. Or is it just because that's how it has always been done, and there is no reasoning behind it?

And finally, are the few (usually niche) houses who do release some of their scents as EDP's starting a trend in the fragrance industry, or are they isolated instances?

Thoughts?
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post #2 of 7
5/20/07 at 7:09pm
Patience, mon vieux!

I think you may have hit on something. Many men still don't want to smell too nice. Soap is plenty for them. When I was a kid, most guys used something called "after-shave." The idea was to take away some of the razor burn. The stuff was scented so lightly that after a few minutes you could hardly tell it had been applied.

Later, some guys began to wear eau de cologne (popularly "men's cologne"), which was a little more long-lasting, but still not too much for the typical male ego of the day to bear. Then the French companies started marketing eau de toilette strength in men's fragrances. It was OK; they were foreigners, so what could you expect from them? Plus the chicks dug it, and it helped with the romantic stuff, so everybody got on the bandwagon for it.

Now, you see many men's scents, even some of the designer houses' output, being marketed to men in EdP strength. More and more metrosexuals are getting into niche fragrances with EdP and even EdP Haute Concentration labels. And of course, now some of us even wear "women's" EdPs or even pure parfum.

Buck up, my friend: the world is going our way, even though some may say "Where am I going, and what am I doing in this handbasket?"
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post #3 of 7
5/20/07 at 7:10pm
My personal experience is that what a fragrance is labeled as, EDC, EDT or EDP has less to do with the longevity then the fragrance itself. For example, JHL is sold as an EDC but it has one of the best longevity of any fragrance I've ever tested while Jack Black Black Mark is sold as an EDP but its longevity is only about half of what I get with JHL, not bad longevity but still well short of the JHL EDC. Part of this is there are certain scents which last longer then others and a lot what is in fashion today for men just does not last that long. Part of this is the squishy definition of what constitutes EDC, EDT and EDP. There is no real industry standard definition. Another consideration is the person wearing the fragrance. How long a fragrance lasts will depend on who it is sprayed on.

Really at the end of the day I would focus less on what a fragrance is labeled and more on how long it lasts.
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post #4 of 7
5/20/07 at 8:07pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by oolong View Post

My personal experience is that what a fragrance is labeled as, EDC, EDT or EDP has less to do with the longevity then the fragrance itself.

This actually occured to me too. Perhaps ingredients used in many men's fragrances are just naturally stronger than many of those used in womens' scents. If that were the case, mens' scents simply wouldn't have to be as concentrated. But I rather doubt that this is the case.

Quote:
Originally Posted by oolong View Post

Part of this is the squishy definition of what constitutes EDC, EDT and EDP. There is no real industry standard definition.

True, but either way, more womens' scents are marketed as EdP's, and in most cases (according to my experience) their scents do tend last longer. Obviously, as you point out, there will be exceptions (just look at Kouros, A-Men, etc) to this rule. Ah, well, it's interesting to think about anyway.

JaimeB, that was a very informative post. I'd never thought of the progression in terms of after-shaves, and I didn't really know that EdC's were the predecessors of EdT's...I thought they were just two options that were developed in parallel. Much appreciated!
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post #5 of 7
5/20/07 at 8:18pm
My thought has always been that woods last a lot longer than flowers. Thus a man's woody EDT, on average, lasts about as long as a woman's flowery EDP - maybe even longer in some cases. I can't see the point of an EDP version of most men's scents, other than for the lighter citrusy ones and the occasional ones with next to no lasting power.
Renato
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post #6 of 7
5/20/07 at 10:38pm
Here's what I got told when I sold fragrance in retail: Men tend to have oilier skin than women, and have a better ability to retain a scent, so there is less need for a stronger concentraion.
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post #7 of 7
5/21/07 at 1:31am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Basenotes Admin View Post

Here's what I got told when I sold fragrance in retail: Men tend to have oilier skin than women, and have a better ability to retain a scent, so there is less need for a stronger concentraion.


Now there's one I never thought about! But I guess I'd living proof of it.
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Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Male Fragrance Discussion › MFD Archive › Dominance of Mens' EDT's: Is there a historical reason?