What do you think of brothers wearing cologne? (or perfume)

[Hotteok]

1. I don't really care. I haven't really paid attention to such a thing. 

2. I'd love a good-smelling brother.

3. I'd hate to smell cologne on a brother.

 

 

Edited October 8, 2019 by Tryin'SoHardToBeSpiritual

[outwalkin]

Fragrances (and the chemicals in them) make me and many others go the other way. I have allergenic reactions. 

[Hotteok]

9 minutes ago, outwalkin said:

Fragrances (and the chemicals in them) make me and many others go the other way. I have allergenic reactions. 

Some perfumes can make me feel like puking.. 

I prefer weaker colognes and people seemed to like it. (Or they pretended so.. while holding back their vomit) 

[Thesauron]

Historically, men have worn various forms of perfumes. If it’s alright in your area, then why not. But it is always loving to take into consideration those who will become seriously ill from your choice of fragrance.

[Buttrfly71]

We have friends in our hall that are very sensitive to smells, so many of the friends don’t wear cologne or perfume for that reason. However, I personally love it when hubby puts it on for date night! 💕

Edited October 8, 2019 by Buttrfly71

[New World Explorer]

58 minutes ago, Tryin'SoHardToBeSpiritual said:

1. I don't really care. I haven't really paid attention to such a thing. 

2. I'd love a good-smelling brother.

3. I'd hate to smell cologne on a brother.

 

 

As long as it is ...donut fragrance then I don't mind.

https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/728234913/apple-cider-doughnut-scented-body-mist?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=donut+perfume&ref=sc_gallery-1-3&plkey=702761e0affb0256efdfa6ca0b5be6a46adb4559%3A728234913

 

Any other scent is not acceptable LOL

Edited October 8, 2019 by New World Explorer

[carlos]

2 hours ago, Tryin'SoHardToBeSpiritual said:

1. I don't really care. I haven't really paid attention to such a thing. 

2. I'd love a good-smelling brother.

3. I'd hate to smell cologne on a brother.

I love it when a brother smells good, provided that the smell is soft and pleasant and not strident. I use some cologne too before going to the meetings but for some reason the scent doesn't last long in my body. I must have a weird chemistry.

 

I feel sorry for the friends who are allergic to perfumes, deodorants and so. I think in most cases it's possible to reach a middle ground without them choking or you stinking.

[Bek]

3 hours ago, Tryin'SoHardToBeSpiritual said:

1. I don't really care. I haven't really paid attention to such a thing. 

2. I'd love a good-smelling brother.

3. I'd hate to smell cologne on a brother.

 

 

In my case, it has always been the first one. Why should a man care about another man's smell? Unless it is very unpleasant or his sexual orientation is off. 

 

 

[Sylv]

3 hours ago, outwalkin said:

Fragrances (and the chemicals in them) make me and many others go the other way. I have allergenic reactions. 

Same here! Brothers and sisters' insistence to wear fragrance forced me to have to listen to the meetings by phone for over a year, after several years of sitting in the library and leaving as soon as the meeting was over. I now attend a different congregation (in the same hall), where the friends refrain from wearing fragrance to the hall. This service year I will also start getting the links for the SAD and convention, as sitting on a bench in the lobby does not help with concentration (I haven't sat in the auditorium for years).

 

[Hope]

#2 for me. I LOVE a good-smelling man! That feature even makes him look better to me.

 

Of course, his body must be clean before applying cologne, but a good scent is completely wonderful to me. I'm sorry more brothers don't wear it like they used to

 

[ChocoBro]

Generally, things that make people smell nicer have been a common commodity since the dawn of man.

 

Even Jesus' feet were rubbed with a fine-smelling oil and he commended the women for doing so.

 

Quote

Then Mary took a pound of perfumed oil, genuine nard, very costly, and she poured it on the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet dry with her hair. The house became filled with the scent of the perfumed oil

 

John 12:3

 

vs. 7 Let her alone, so that she may keep this observance in view of the day of my burial. 8 For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.

 

Quote

And look! a woman who was known in the city to be a sinner learned that he was dining in the house of the Pharisee, and she brought an alabaster jar of perfumed oil. 38 Taking a position behind him at his feet, she wept and began to wet his feet with her tears, and she wiped them off with the hair of her head. Also, she tenderly kissed his feet and poured the perfumed oil on them

 

Luke 7

 

You did not pour oil on my head, but this woman poured perfumed oil on my feet. 47 Because of this, I tell you, her sins, many though they are, are forgiven

 

However

 

4 hours ago, outwalkin said:

Fragrances (and the chemicals in them) make me and many others go the other way. I have allergenic reactions. 

there are quite a number of people who are extremely sensitive to the chemicals and fragrances that we use today. So when they are around, it's not a good idea.

[Thesauron]

In my case, it has always been the first one. Why should a man care about another man's smell? Unless it is very unpleasant or his sexual orientation is off. 
 
 

For the same reason that he might notice if a brother is dressed well.

[Thesauron]

Same here! Brothers and sisters' insistence to wear fragrance forced me to have to listen to the meetings by phone for over a year, after several years of sitting in the library and leaving as soon as the meeting was over. I now attend a different congregation (in the same hall), where the friends refrain from wearing fragrance to the hall. This service year I will also start getting the links for the SAD and convention, as sitting on a bench in the lobby does not help with concentration (I haven't sat in the auditorium for years).
 

I wish more people would view the Kingdom Hall as a place where we dress and groom in a way that as many as possible of our friends feel welcome to attend. This might include skipping chemical fragrances for those events.

[Bek]

1 minute ago, Thesauron said:

For the same reason that he might notice if a brother is dressed well.

Dressing well is a must while wearing a cologne is not. If a brother is clean, he should not smell and there is no need for a deodorant or whatever. 

[Thesauron]

Dressing well is a must while wearing a cologne is not. If a brother is clean, he should not smell and there is no need for a deodorant or whatever. 

Perhaps, but we are made to want to dress and groom in ways we feel complement us, not just being clean. So some like to put on some fragrances, and perhaps a tie with a nice pattern. And they notice when someone else has made an effort to dress and groom well, and might say something to compliment them.

[Bek]

19 minutes ago, Thesauron said:

 

Perhaps, but we are made to want to dress and groom in ways we feel complement us, not just being clean. So some like to put on some fragrances, and perhaps a tie with a nice pattern. And they notice when someone else has made an effort to dress and groom well, and might say something to compliment them.

 

I know that Europeans (Whites in US terminology) tend to sweat more than Asians, and they need to take a shower every day and to use deodorants to reduce the odour. I have read somewhere that some perfume companies have been disappointed by Asian markets in the past because local populations did not buy their products as they had expected. The reason for this is the loss of functional ABCC11 gene that is responsible for perspiration. It is common among especially the Koreans, Chinese, Japanese, Mongols.  

 

So in the case of an East Asian brother, there is often no need for some kind of deodorant. Just being clean is enough. Besides, deodorants are expensive. He would rather buy extra bread for that money or donate it to the cong or the organisation. 

 

Personally I do sweat a lot when it is hot. I think Central Asians are somewhere between the Europeans and the East Asians. I guess I would use some kind of deodorant in the summer, but it is not a must. 

 

Edited October 8, 2019 by Bek

[Hope]

I beg to differ on the notion that Asians don't sweat / need deodorant as much as any other people.  I've found that to be markedly untrue. 🤢

 

That's all I'm saying about that... 

[Bek]

7 minutes ago, Hope said:

I beg to differ on the notion that Asians don't sweat / need deodorant as much as any other people.  I've found that to be markedly untrue. 🤢

 

That's all I'm saying about that... 

If you mean East Asians, of course, they do sweat, but not as much as others. As for other Asians (Arabs, Iranians, Turks etc), they should not be very different from other races. 

Edited October 8, 2019 by Bek

[CHecker]

 I prefer just soap and water, no cologne.

 

Migrating off topic a bit...

A brother and sister in my congregation were Gilead trained and served in Hong Kong for many years. When they first arrived there they were not accustomed to the heat and humidity, which was strange because they spent almost a whole year in New York and the summers there are brutal. But she said that the weather is so much different in Hong Kong. She also said that she sweat like she never sweat before in her life and yet when she looked at the local sisters none of them had perspiration on their faces or running down their backs. So she asked them how come they weren't sweating? She never really did figure it out but considered that maybe they were more acclimated to the humidity and heat or that Asians don't sweat as much as other nationalities. Quite the conundrum is she is Japanese raised in Utah.😀

Edited October 8, 2019 by bagwell1987

[Miss Bea]

Soap and water, thank you. 
I used to wear perfume, until a brother told me what it did to him, physically. And, I could not wash it off. 
That was the last time ever I wore perfume, or cologne. Period. 

(but, I’m tempted   to go buy some Old Spice. My father wore that. Just a sniff, now and then...)

[Thesauron]

I know that Europeans (Whites in US terminology) tend to sweat more than Asians, and they need to take a shower every day and to use deodorants to reduce the odour. I have read somewhere that some perfume companies have been disappointed by Asian markets in the past because local populations did not buy their products as they had expected. The reason for this is the loss of functional ABCC11 gene that is responsible for perspiration. It is common among especially the Koreans, Chinese, Japanese, Mongols.  
 
So in the case of an East Asian brother, there is often no need for some kind of deodorant. Just being clean is enough. Besides, deodorants are expensive. He would rather buy extra bread for that money or donate it to the cong or the organisation. 
 
Personally I do sweat a lot when it is hot. I think Central Asians are somewhere between the Europeans and the East Asians. I guess I would use some kind of deodorant in the summer, but it is not a must. 
 

I don’t know about East Asians sweating less than Europeans. Sounds strange. And you are talking about deodorants. They might help some people, especially teenagers. Otherwise, as you say, keeping clean is the key. However, here we are not talking about any deodorants, but of cologne, which is used to smell good and quite a few brothers wear it now and then.

[Thesauron]

Soap and water, thank you. 
I used to wear perfume, until a brother told me what it did to him, physically. And, I could not wash it off. 
That was the last time ever I wore perfume, or cologne. Period. 
(but, I’m tempted   to go buy some Old Spice. My father wore that. Just a sniff, now and then...)

Indeed. There was a time when we had to do that in our congregation as well. But it also included scented soaps and scented detergents.

[Dages]

I sometimes use my "Bleu" by Chanel.

When I was a teen, I was offered a "Terre d'Hermès", but I don't like the smell anymore.

 

I enjoy visiting these kind of shops and try/test/rate on my smartphone perfume until I'll find my 10/10... nothing even close to 8/10 yet  

[CHecker]

L'occitane. Eav des bavx is one I can tolerate but I ask for it to be very lightly applied.

[dove]

Hair products like hair spray, gel, pomade was a big one in our congregation 

And some hand creams had strong scent like perfume