0 Comments Summer fragrance choice

The Editors choice: Aramis, Hugo, Giorgio, Gucci, Dolce and Gabbana. All good friends of mine.

I won’t lie to you, I am smelling good today. No…I mean real good. Like teenage desire and success. I’m joking!

But I thought this would be a good time to tell you what SLXS endorse for summer. I have put my winter fragrances aside because they are too heavy for this hot weather. Well today is not exactly hot in Cape Town, it’s actually raining, so I’m writing this article at a bad time. But if you read this on a sunny day it will make perfect sense.

My classic winter fragrance is Gucci. Don’t ask me the specific name of this fragrance because I have no idea. It’s just Gucci and it is the best stuff I have ever bought. The great thing about it is that no one else I know owns it. In fact, I think it is more of a select group of people who own it. Which makes it all the more special. I’m not a fragrance nerd, and I can’t tell you that it has base notes of juniper, middle notes of oak and top notes of the seeds of ripe blackberries. What I will tell you though is that it is what you want in winter. The only other thing I can tell you is that it smells woody, and it makes you smell wealthy.

Seriously, if you had to wear the Gucci, while sitting in your office that smells of rich mahogany, whilst reading a leather bound book, you would immediately be put onto the Fortune 500 list. It’s THAT good. I think the best thing about it is that it caters to the individual who is not swayed by massive marketing campaigns. I never see it advertised and it doesn’t claim to make you into a superstar. It does not claim to do anything, rather the magic is in it’s power to seduce. I must say, I was wearing it, and it seduced me.

You can go mainstream and buy a fragrance that has a huge marketing campaign, but then you know that every second guy at Hemisphere and FTV is going to be wearing it. Gucci is for the thinking man. They have actually released the second version of the Gucci, and it has a blue colour to it. I have not tried it on my skin, but in the bottle it smells good! You need to try out fragrances on your skin because they all interact with people differently. It may smell good on those sample cards, but once it mixes with the wearer, it might not be so good. So always try these things on your skin and wait a couple of minutes for the fragrance to develop on you.

I remember always liking the Giorgio Armani Aqua di Gio, but when I tried it on myself, it was a bit of a mess.

Then I have the Giorgio Armani Black Code, my other winter fragrance that was given to me as a gift. This stuff is also awesome, and I alternate randomly in winter between that and Gucci. It keeps people guessing and keeps an air of mystery around me. Because I am an enigma of sorts. Well…that’s what I like to think.

For summer though I have just run out of my Aramis Life, which was a good deal. However, I thought it faded a bit quickly and never lasted an entire day, but it really is one of the best summer fragrances. It’s refreshing after a day spent looking at models on Clifton 4th beach. Trust me, I have battle tested it. Hard.

So that ran out and I decided to cruise on over to Edgars (Or was it Truworths?), to get a new personality for me. And by “personality” I mean “fragrance”, because what you wear in effect reflects your personality.

Interruption: I am currently listening to the White Barry on my iPod. Had to let you know. Back to the story:

As soon I walked in I could not help but notice that there were about a million different scents awaiting my testing. I kind of already knew what I was going to get, but I sniffed around anyway. The lady at the counter asked me if I would like to try the new Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue, and I was not convinced because I have seen the advertising campaign and it is bizarre. There is a guy in a white Speedo just chilling in Phuket or something and it looks like the place where The Beach with Leo was filmed. He is on a speedboat, or a raft, and it’s not cool at all. Actually, just have a look for yourself:

No thanks Fabio

And the fragrance is supposed to be summery, but its quite floral and I don’t think I could cope with it on a hot summers day. It’s way too much and I need something more fresh. So I sprayed it on, and then I had to leave to wash it off. It’s not that it’s bad, it just does not suit me in summer. Which brings me to an interesting point. When these sales ladies give you something to try, and they are saying how nice it is, is it rude to tell them that is smells horrendous? I’m too much of a nice guy, and always say “Wow darling, that is lovely!” before running home and having a shower. I feel bad telling them that it is hideous.

And this brings me on to another point. I like David Beckham, his hairstyle and his general style, but his fragrance, David Beckham “Instinct” is disgusting. I can’t even describe how bad it is. You must just try it, it is so bad! It’s one of those bad things that you have to try, to fully come to terms with how insanely terrible it really is. So that’s two things I don’t like about Becks now. His skinny, perma-tanned and pouting mannequin wife, and his fragrance. But I still think he is cool.

So I came back the next day, after showering, and after I had been given a 2ml sample of the Light Blue, which I doubt I will use. I went straight for Hugo.

SLXS summer choice

The Hugo Boss is a classic, and the first time I came into contact with it seemed to be ages ago, like 8 years or something. Was it around that long ago? All I know is that it is a classic. In it’s day, if you bought it, everyone would have had it. But now it has aged a bit, and so not everyone wears it. Now once again, a select group of people wear it because the trend has worn off. So that’s why I bought it. While everyone else snaps up the bottles shaped like apples and the rest, I come in and buy an old school classic. It’s actually so awesome I can’t believe I have never bought it before. I had previously tried it, but now I own it.

So the Hugo Boss is my SLXS summer fragrance choice, and I’m quite liking it. It’s fresh, young and just crazy. You know…like me. Obviously!

I also like the advertising campaign with the line “It’s just a fragrance. The rest is up to you” The campaign features Jonathan Rhys Meyers, the actor, who is in Mission Impossible 3. And a whole lot of other movies, but I just watched the MI3 DVD, so that’s what comes to mind.

I like the theme of the advert, with all the images coming out of the bottle having a city vibe to them. This fits perfectly with Cape Town, which is a city, and a trendy one at that. So it’s perfect for me, for SLXS, and for you!

So with all of this information, you have no reason not to smell of desire and crisp, cold, refreshingly new South African bank notes.

Now go attack summer.

Sean Lloyd

Editor