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Matching fragrances to your look

post #1 of 50
11/12/12 at 10:57pm
Thread Starter 
Do you believe that certain fragrances are more suitable for certain looks? I'm not talking only about your clothing (e.g. suit/tie vs t-shirt/jeans), but also your physical appearance - e.g. youthful/mature, tall/short, fat/fit, blonde/brunette, tanned/fair, etc?

Any examples you can think of?
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post #2 of 50
11/12/12 at 11:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dagawami View Post

Do you believe that certain fragrances are more suitable for certain looks? I'm not talking only about your clothing (e.g. suit/tie vs t-shirt/jeans), but also your physical appearance - e.g. youthful/mature, tall/short, fat/fit, blonde/brunette, tanned/fair, etc?

Not really.
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post #3 of 50
11/12/12 at 11:33pm
Yes I do and that is reason why I wear certain fragrances (which I feel are more wearing me than I am wearing them) only when I am in right mood for them or am not around other people. I remember that there was old thread with people posting their pics and other recommending fragrances for them. IMO it would not be bad idea to start such thread again.
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post #4 of 50
11/13/12 at 12:32am
In my opinion if you are wearing a leatherjacket the Perfect scent would be Fahrenheit...

When i wore my aero jacket i always sprayed some Fahrenheit.
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post #5 of 50
11/13/12 at 1:28am
Interesting thread. If the fragrance wore me it would matter.
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post #6 of 50
11/13/12 at 2:37am
Nah.

But I do feel extra regal when I wear certain sandalwood perfumes.

Its subjective though because I created the link between sandalwood and the feeling of regal.

In the same way I associated lemon, orange and geranium for summer.

Do I stick to these associations? No but they're generally there.
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post #7 of 50
11/13/12 at 5:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dreamer81 View Post

Yes I do and that is reason why I wear certain fragrances (which I feel are more wearing me than I am wearing them) only when I am in right mood for them or am not around other people. I remember that there was old thread with people posting their pics and other recommending fragrances for them. IMO it would not be bad idea to start such thread again.

sounds interesting. maybe we should !
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post #8 of 50
11/13/12 at 6:02am
My fragrances are beautiful. =)
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post #9 of 50
11/13/12 at 6:08am
I think that obese people wearing for example Blue Sugar could send a wrong message.

Personally I find some scents too youthful and sweet for me. I prefer grown up ladies' scents to it.
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post #10 of 50
11/13/12 at 6:43am
Perhaps, but I never really cared about what was "suitable" for my looks. If I had to choose a fragrance based on my looks, I'd always be wearing some light fruity citrusy scent. bleh That being said, there are times when I do feel the urge to wear a scent that compliments my clothing. For instance, when dressed casually in the summer I'll often opt for a more tropical scent. Liikewise, if dressed in black for an evening out, I'll usually choose something a bit more edgy with leather or heavy spice notes.
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post #11 of 50
11/13/12 at 8:21am
As my BMI is officially 'butter' and I have a face like a bag of smashed crabs I find I can wear pretty much anything and still get the same effect.
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post #12 of 50
11/13/12 at 8:54am
Well ,that is a MUST for me. I am matching fragrances with my looks because I match looks with every activity I do .
So when I do business I dress smart and wear something sophisticated , when I hang out with the guys I dress casual and wear my signature scent .
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post #13 of 50
11/13/12 at 8:55am
This is something I've been thinking about. Like most of us here, I wear a selection of fragrances, and would like to know if some 'suit' me better than others. Not really sure how to assess this, as my own views are subjective, and based more on my preferences and (perhaps) my perceptions of myself (and indeed my perceptions of certain fragrances). I suspect there is more to this than simply how one looks and how one dresses...

I'm not sure that I would necessarily limit my choices based on suitability, but I am interested in the concept...
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post #14 of 50
11/13/12 at 8:58am
Though there aren't hard and fast rules about it, I would say that I try to co-ordinate my scent and my appearance most days.

- - - Updated - - -

Though there aren't hard and fast rules about it, I would say that I try to co-ordinate my scent and my appearance most days.
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post #15 of 50
11/13/12 at 9:11am
No...I am not sure what would constitute a tall fragrance etc....answer is always the same....I wear what I feel like wearing....
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post #16 of 50
11/13/12 at 9:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by volley2 View Post

My fragrances are beautiful. =)

hehe
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post #17 of 50
11/13/12 at 9:29am
I wear what I feel like wearing and I am into unsiex scents as well as exclusively male fragrances. I wear what I feel is ME no matter what.
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post #18 of 50
11/13/12 at 12:25pm
Not quite.
The way you look (Not physical appearance) = Your personality, which ultimately dictates what fragrance you typically will wear...of course taste is the most important thing.
Physical appearance isn't something you decide on, it's genetic, for the most part. I can't really see someone making a choice based on something they had no choice in.
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post #19 of 50
11/13/12 at 12:42pm
I match my scent with my mood. But I can relate to smelling things and thinking, 'this is for a blonde', 'this is for a good girl', this is.. etc. , so it is more of a 'personality' assessment. Yes, in a way it would be fun to have people suggest what may suit you based on your pic. I have tried mentally matching a few acquaintances with possible frags they could wear but haven't been very successful.
I guess my fragrance love has one main subject - myself.
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post #20 of 50
11/13/12 at 1:14pm
Occasionally, but the climate and occasion are more important.
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post #21 of 50
11/13/12 at 1:15pm
I believe that really obese people should not wear gourmand fragrances.
No offense, just saying.
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post #22 of 50
11/13/12 at 1:31pm
It's a free country (for now) wear what you like when you like.

As for me, I always try to have a scent that is a match for my clothing and the season. Today I'm in a suit and it's about 65 degrees and dreary. I have TDH EDP on. I would not wear Creed VIW on such a day with such an outfit.

Obese and skinny people can wear what they want. Geez, people are judgmental. People in those situations have it hard enough without us "perfect" people telling them what cologne to wear in addition to how much soda they can drink. Please.
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post #23 of 50
11/13/12 at 7:54pm
I just go by how heavy (cloying) a fragrance is and whether it would be overbearing for the situation. I have my work friendly fragrances, casual, lounging, and formal fragrances. Lounging to me is shorts and a T-Shirt, casual collared shirt and jeans, and formal would be shirt and tie.
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post #24 of 50
11/13/12 at 8:16pm
I suppose it depends on whether one thinks of fragrance as a sign/symbol or as art.

If it is something that signifies something to someone, then scents can be matched to looks based on all manner of different communicative intentions, conventional meanings, and predicted receptions.

If fragrance is art, then it might be conceived of as a world unto itself i.e. if one is appreciating perfumery for themselves and the world thus revealed is entirely sensual and technical (notes, etc). At this level, it basically doesn't matter whether the scent matches the look because that isn't the point.

Quote:
Originally Posted by silentrich View Post

I just go by how heavy (cloying) a fragrance is and whether it would be overbearing for the situation. I have my work friendly fragrances, casual, lounging, and formal fragrances. Lounging to me is shorts and a T-Shirt, casual collared shirt and jeans, and formal would be shirt and tie.

I have a similar approach. Powerhouse frags wouldn't cut it at my workplace because of increasing awareness of "fragrance sensitivity."

Dirty English and M Generation for work. Burberry London would also be good, but my supply has run out.

Sung Homme for casual or lounging, Happy or D&G Masculine for same, but only in winter.

Gengis Khan for dressing up.

But then sometimes I mix it up because I want to smell something regardless of what I'm wearing or doing...
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post #25 of 50
11/13/12 at 8:17pm
I'm a middle aged white man driving an eighteen wheeler, rocking to Beethoven on my Ipod, while wearing Chanel No. 5. The notion that a fragrance could have a gender or be innapropriate seems completely nonsensical to me. Refusing to bow down to social convention has it's consequences of course.
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post #26 of 50
11/13/12 at 8:40pm
I simply wear what smells good to me. I guess I've never really thought about what matches my appearance. I do however, often find myself trying to match a frag to the "occasion" or situation, along with the weather based on what "feels right" for me at the time.
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post #27 of 50
11/13/12 at 8:44pm
Yes, totally: the same way punk music doesn't suit a relaxed senior on a lawn chair.

Fragrances that don't suit people stand out to me like an off-key note in a chord. Then again, I suppose I'm a fragrance snob
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post #28 of 50
11/13/12 at 8:50pm
I have been known to get hung up standing in front of my collection deciding what would be best suited to what I am wearing, but this is an occasional problem, not an every day kind of thing.
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post #29 of 50
11/13/12 at 8:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rbaker View Post

Occasionally, but the climate and occasion are more important.

+1 An approach I have adopted for myself, with pleasing results.
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post #30 of 50
11/13/12 at 8:53pm
What scent goes with the urban lumberjack look?
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post #31 of 50
11/13/12 at 10:18pm
I got no idea what kind of frags would suit me. Personalitywise I would say the ones I love also suit me. I got a comment from a SA telling me that Bel Ami suits me much better than amazone. So I guess that means "edgy" fragrances with a statement. Could be feminine or masculine. I detest nice, girly frags and I am also not nice anc girly. As for the physical appearance, dunno.... I'm relatively tall and not skinny and more or less blonde. Don't know if all my frags, especially the heavier, spicier ones, suit a middle blonde with light skin. But I don't care. I guess personality and taste is more important. On the other and, when for exampoe thinking of my boss with light skin and red hair, I just can't see him pull off heavy stuff. Well, he doesn't actually wear anything, so I don't have the experience...
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post #32 of 50
11/13/12 at 10:23pm
No. I'm 5'8" and 125lbs, I'll go to work today wearing jeans, and I might wear Fracas, Knize Ten, Egoiste, or Kiehl's Musk. And nobody's going to complain that my perfume doesn't match my look. I think we forget that the rest of the world isn't obsessed with fragrance and most people probably wouldn't recognize what we're wearing anyhow.
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post #33 of 50
11/13/12 at 10:37pm
The way I dress is totally separate from the fragrance I wear. Period. Two separate things in my mind.
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post #34 of 50
11/13/12 at 10:46pm
I usually determine what I'm spraying on that day will be best suited for the weather and the occasion
Since I dress for the occasion what I will spray for the occasion will usually match

I think if a person cares for their fashion, they will care for what they spray for the occasion
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post #35 of 50
11/13/12 at 10:53pm
I don't "match" outfits to scent at all.

I can wear the same outfit and choose a different scent each time.

I do choose my scent, however, according to the company I plan to keep and don't wear anything loud at work.
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post #36 of 50
11/14/12 at 12:05am
I tend to look the same every day, so it would make for a boring hobby if I had to 'match' the fragrance.
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post #37 of 50
11/14/12 at 12:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by heperd View Post

What scent goes with the urban lumberjack look?

nvm
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post #38 of 50
11/14/12 at 4:51am
Not really, I use to think of a scent more like a complement and even a contrast to my looks, almost like a mask or a costumely outfit showing hidden sides of myself, far more than just looks-wise.
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post #39 of 50
11/14/12 at 4:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by heperd View Post

What scent goes with the urban lumberjack look?

Terre d' Hermes
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post #40 of 50
11/14/12 at 5:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Awakening950 View Post

I'm a middle aged white man driving an eighteen wheeler, rocking to Beethoven on my Ipod, while wearing Chanel No. 5. The notion that a fragrance could have a gender or be innapropriate seems completely nonsensical to me. Refusing to bow down to social convention has it's consequences of course.

LOL, the road is a lonely place...they must love you at the truck stops.

Seriously though, I match my colognes to my style all of the time. Then again, I might be a little OCD. Different colors get different colognes. Formal and casual get different colognes. I don't think that it's necessary for others to do this, just one of my strange habits(there are several).
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post #41 of 50
11/14/12 at 5:34am
Rather than focusing on physicality influencing scents, I think scents are more a reflection a one's persona at a given time, which would encompass a myriad of considerations at the time of choice, such as mood, weather, dress attire, etc.

I view a fragrance as an extension of one's essence on that day, and view the particular scent as an embellishment and enrichment of one's person.

(As an aside, occasionally, there is an incongruence in the selection, intentionally or otherwise, which would be either be a flop or an interesting contrast.)
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post #42 of 50
11/14/12 at 6:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kagey View Post

No. I'm 5'8" and 125lbs, I'll go to work today wearing jeans, and I might wear Fracas, Knize Ten, Egoiste, or Kiehl's Musk. And nobody's going to complain that my perfume doesn't match my look. I think we forget that the rest of the world isn't obsessed with fragrance and most people probably wouldn't recognize what we're wearing anyhow.

True, most people will probably think one just smells plain weird anyhow, unless it's something very mainstream/contemporary.
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post #43 of 50
11/14/12 at 6:16am
you look like your frags
them frags look like you!
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post #44 of 50
11/14/12 at 7:58am
The best answer I can give is...sort of. I wear a frag depending on how I feel that day. Sometimes what I'm doing that day, or how I'm dressed that day will play into he equation, but I usually just go with how I'm feeling. Do I want something light? Fruity? Woody? Room-filling projection? Close to me? Etc...
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post #45 of 50
11/14/12 at 9:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by heperd View Post

What scent goes with the urban lumberjack look?

There's one called Lumberjack Werewolf by Smell Bent that might go with your look.
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post #46 of 50
11/14/12 at 12:36pm
I think that commercials or marketeers want us to believe that if you wear a certain fragrance, you're becoming the person they describe. For example a rich manager, a muscled sporter... For me that has the wrong effect. I find the model for D&G's Light Blue so "of another planet" (=stupid perfection) that I really don't want to smell the stuff.

I think it's very discriminating that one shouldn't wear a certain fragrance because he is older, a brunette...

Just spray what you like ;-)
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post #47 of 50
11/14/12 at 2:52pm
Oh my gosh, I love this post!
Quote:
Originally Posted by joe mcclaine View Post

As my BMI is officially 'butter' and I have a face like a bag of smashed crabs I find I can wear pretty much anything and still get the same effect.

I wear the fragrances I like, and I am lucky if my socks match most days. Best not to over think it.
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post #48 of 50
11/15/12 at 3:34am
I associate fragrances with clothing more than actual physical appearance, but even then it's not much.
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post #49 of 50
11/15/12 at 5:50am
  • Zgb
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dagawami View Post

Do you believe that certain fragrances are more suitable for certain looks? I'm not talking only about your clothing (e.g. suit/tie vs t-shirt/jeans), but also your physical appearance - e.g. youthful/mature, tall/short, fat/fit, blonde/brunette, tanned/fair, etc?

Any examples you can think of?

Nope. If I were to look at things that way, my collection would be 4, not 46 frags.
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post #50 of 50
11/15/12 at 10:48pm
If that was the case, I curious which look would suit Salvador Dali?
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