Yeah I’m lazy, there’s no doubt about that.
Usain Bolt–The World’s Fastest Man
A few moons back, on my first job, at a Delivery Company known for its tan-colored trucks, I was told by my manager that I was a lazy ass. Being young, I could care less what this guy thought about me but I had to ask, “What makes you think I’m lazy?”
His reply was that he’s been watching me analyzing the belt that feeds into my truck for quite some time but doing little work. He also observed that once I went to work, I completed my task with ease. I asked him how this makes me lazy. His response was simple, “a lazy man will spend 2 hours trying to figure a way out of 30 minutes of work.”
I don’t know if his definition of lazy matched up to how I loaded a truck but he was right, I did and do spend an inordinate amount of time trying to figure ways to save 15 minutes per hour on a job so that at the end of the day, my work is done and I have plenty of free time on my hands. What does this have to do with fragrances for men?
That’s easy, in the perfume and cologne world, last year, this year, and next year this will be the year of the flanker fragrance. We present an easy way or guide to choosing a cologne for yourself.
What’s A Flanker Fragrance?
A flanker perfume or cologne is a sequel or follow-up fragrance that was wildly popular. By that I mean rather than taking the time and money to come up with a new set of great colognes based on an original concept, many fragrance houses choose to take the cheap and easy route and put out a flanker scent.
Flanker scents usually appear on the shelves in the same shaped bottle and the same scent name but with a bright, new shiny adjective added such as extreme, intense, sport, etc. or if the release is set for the warmer months, “summer(e.g. Burberry Summer)”.
Flankers, good or bad make it easy to choose the next top best men’s cologne based on nothing more than a past hit. See where I’m going with this? Belly up to the table, put your money down and let the dice roll.
Hopefully, you’ll find one of the best fragrances based on nothing more than reputation.OK, enough of the talk, I’m going to give you what you came to this article for.
Some Of My Favorite Flankers
Gucci Guilty Black
Guilty Black is full of great notes that include:
- Top Notes: Coriander, Lavender
- Middle Notes: Green Notes, Neroli, orange blossom
- Base Notes: Cedar Patchouli
When it comes to flankers, I’m happy to report you won’t be disappointed with this release. However, I would skip Intense unless you’re like me, OCD, and need the bottle to complete the set.
Acqua Di Gio Essenza
Acqua Di Gio Essenza features:
- Top Notes: Aquatic Notes, Bergamot, Calone, Grapefruit
- Middle Notes: Basil, Jasmine, Sage
- Base Notes: Amber, Ambergris, Cedar, Clary Sage, Musk, Patchouli, Pepper, Vetiver
How can you go wrong with notes like this? You can’t! A nice fresh citrus opening is followed up by a nice herbal sensation thanks to its heart notes of Basil, Jasmine, and Sage. The closing of this act(base notes), which doesn’t come fast, is an earthy, spicy woody masterpiece, perfect for the mature gentlemen or the gentleman who is mature at heart
Is this an “old man’s” cologne, no? Please remember mature doesn’t mean old. It means mellowed and refined. Something a lot of women say they’re looking for in men these days. But don’t hang up that young wild boy act, they’re looking for that too.
A mature man is one that can keep life in balance.
Hugo Red-Hugo Red by Hugo Boss, if you haven’t guessed by now, is a 2013 men’s cologne release. I find Red to be a very uplifting cologne I use as a casual work scent that’s also perfect for school as well. Red contains a boatload of citrus notes. In the aromatherapy world, citrus essences are known to be uplifting and energizing.
- Top Notes: Galbanum, Grapefruit, Pink Pepper
- Middle Notes: Cedar, Pineapple, Rhubarb
- Base Notes: Amber, Tonka Bean
Fresh and fruity (yes it’s cool to wear a somewhat fruity scent), this is another mature man’s dream cologne. It takes a mature mindset to wear something some guys, would consider not being masculine. Let them buy their colognes from one of those best-selling common cologne lists.
Choosing a cologne shouldn’t be a chore, it should be enjoyable. Fragrances, in my opinion, are like wine, some folks like me(with regard to cologne)consider things such as the notes, when, where and why I’m going to wear a frag before I buy it.
Others such as myself(with regards to wine)simply like what I like strictly based on taste. I don’t care about the nose and other wine luster talk. At the end of the grab, what smells good on you.
Do you know of 3 alternatives to these choices? Why not share in the comments below.
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