cologne-related job!

Ever since my first spray of cologne (my dad's bottle of Baldessarini -- I stole two sprays when I was got out of the shower, realized I was out of cotton swabs to clean my ears, so I went into my parents' bathroom and I noticed this exquisite bottle sitting on the counter. I opened it, sniffed it, and took one spray on my neck, one on my chest. I couldn't help but notice how unbelievably sweet, yet solid and woodsy it smelled, and I even got the sex-appeal looks from women.

So fast-forward to now, where I'm sitting in my chair, the Hugh Parsons cologne fading gently as its lifetime on my skin is diminishing... and I'm thinking, I know more about the world of colognes than everybody who works for Macy's, JC Penny's, and even cologne-specialty stores. I waltzed into a specialty store called Parfumerie, and was looking to try Dreamer by Versace (amazingly dreamy scent) and I ended up helping a customer find the cologne she had smelled on a man, just by the description.

Now, I'm thinking I should get a job at one of these stores and help people, test colognes every day, and expand my knowledge on the world of fragrances. However; therein lies a quandary; I'm an avid basenoter (mostly a lurker -- I go to other fragrance-related boards and read alot there too), so I'm stuck with a problem. I live in the United States, and so the fragrances around me are your typical CK, Polo, Armani, and other common, mainstream scents; but I've found myself more into the Boucheron's and Givenchy's of the lot. I've literally sampled *every* fragrance in six different stores, but I only own eight of the ones that I absolutely loved, so I'm not completely unaware of the ones that people buy, it's just that I know more about the ones that aren't as common.

So, what do you recommend, fellow basenoters? I'm 18 years old, I go to university as a full-time student, but I'd also like to expand my knowledge on a hobby of mine, but I need your help... I currently am a salesman, so customer communication is absolutely NOT a problem, I just would like some advice as to what I should become stronger at; be it the ability to relate colognes, know their notes, or anything else that could help me excel in this job. I'd appreciate any advice at all! Thanks guys.

Thanks for the friendly compliments and advice, I'll look into the parent companies and see if I can find something that suits my needs. There isn't much around where I live (Seattle, WA) besides the retail and department stores, but there are a few smaller, more specialized stores that carry the hard-to-find scents. I was going to attempt to start there and get comfortable in that type of store, then move up and become more specialized in the world of colognes. As I have no experience in this environment, I don't think it could hurt to start in a general field and work my way up!

Thanks again, guys, I appreciate it! I went and talked to the owner of a very nice place called Perfumerie, and we discussed fragrances. I overheard one of my friends go up and ask him "I think he's really into colognes, maybe he's got a future with the industry!" and the owner said "He'd be hired here on the spot, I've never heard such an exquisite list of fine colognes. Nine out of ten people have not heard of the brands that he can talk about so well"

So, I guess I can start there. It's in the middle of a very busy mall, so not only can I talk fragrances, but I can meet some people while I'm at it!!