Recommendation Needed : Masculine Scents

[sirtim100]

I went ape over some cinnamon and apple candles that Ikea used to sell, loved the stuff.

Then they stopped selling them and started touting horrible grey candles that smell of poisoned candy...

 

[DonS]

Being a guy, I have to agree with a lot of the sentiment above. Men cannot be lumped into a single classification that they are all Sandalwood, Cedar, or Leather scent lovers. I have found that most guys, when I corner them and get an honest answer, like the florals just as much as any woman. In fact, I would say they are on equal footing. NOW, that said, some men that are given to delusions of hyper masculinity or "gender norms" won't ADMIT to liking Gardenia, but many actually do. Especially if they are in a group of friends...this is a "20 something" thing, but a lot of those younger guys are also totally down with trying just about anything that smells nice. The foregoing applies, interestingly, to gay/straight/bi/pan guys. Identity does not really seem to make a difference, if people are wondering. The LGBTQ (male) crowd is just more likely to "own up" to liking the florals instead of sneaking off with a bar of Lilac when they figure nobody is looking...

In short, people are people. Floral, woody, musk, whatever...every human has a like or dislike of scents that do not "fit" with gender stereotypes. @sirtim100 was dead-on in his assertion.

 

[DonS]

That all said above, I have had some younger guys (the 19 y/o crowd) ask for something that smells like Old Spice body wash (the trash body wash that comes in the red bottle). Body wash = trash. Scent = good. I want to marry the scent with a decent bar of soap for guys who have actually never used soap before, and there are quite a few! Everybody these days seems to think that detergents are soap, and end up with seriously dry skin especially in the winter.

Oh, and something that comes close to "Swagger" as well, if anybody can point me that way.

 

[cmzaha]

I have a large men's base and yes some do like florals, but most will buy my Dragon's Blood, or one of my DB blends. Next comes vanilla lavender, Lemongrass, plumeria, or one of the more manly scents such as Werewolf or Deadly weapon.

 

[sirtim100]

My favourite colognes are Gucci Pour Homme (Tom Ford's version, when he was doing his magic for that firm, not the nasty sweet concoction they have now), and Commes de Garçon Man 2. Both are very woody, lots of incense, and could be called masculine. But I recently bought the classic 4711 EdC, lime and nutmeg EdC by the same house, Verbena & Neroli EdC by Alvarez Gomez, all for the summer and not one of them brings to mind rugby club changing rooms or lumberjacks wrestling with enraged bears. Ah, and I ordered a bottle of Fine Accoutrements Italian Citrus AS, which according to the description is a take off of Acqua di Parma, another scent not much loved by Chuck Norris (I imagine).
I have a friend who's an ex-soldier and he adores my lavender and rosemary Castille soap bars. And so it goes on. @DonS (thanks for the shout out btw) said it better than me. Everyone; men, women, enraged bears, all have their preferences.

 

[DonS]

I have a large men's base and yes some do like florals, but most will buy my Dragon's Blood, or one of my DB blends. Next comes vanilla lavender, Lemongrass, plumeria, or one of the more manly scents such as Werewolf or Deadly weapon.

Interesting to know. My base (just starting up) is a mixture of young/old/male/female/all ethnicity and races you can think of. Everything from 18 y/0 Hispanic guys to 85 y/o little old ladies from India. Talk about a collection!

Oh, and I just discovered NG. Oh man, I also found one of my personal favorite scents...something they call Ferocious Beast which is a clone of Abercrombie & Fitch Fierce cologne. Now, that cologne when I wear it gets EVERYBODY'S attention. No joke. Expensive stuff. I have never had so many people ask me what I am wearing and where they can buy it. They immediately get disappointed when I tell them how much it costs.

Lemongrass is something I will be adding as well. Along with Dragon's Blood. WSP offers Dragon's Blood too...I wonder if it is good?

 

[Millie]

All my brother's products have tough masculine names and smell like fruit punch

 

[DonS]

My favourite colognes are Gucci Pour Homme (Tom Ford's version, when he was doing his magic for that firm, not the nasty sweet concoction they have now), and Commes de Garçon Man 2. Both are very woody, lots of incense, and could be called masculine. But I recently bought the classic 4711 EdC, lime and nutmeg EdC by the same house, Verbena & Neroli EdC by Alvarez Gomez, all for the summer and not one of them brings to mind rugby club changing rooms or lumberjacks wrestling with enraged bears. Ah, and I ordered a bottle of Fine Accoutrements Italian Citrus AS, which according to the description is a take off of Acqua di Parma, another scent not much loved by Chuck Norris (I imagine).
I have a friend who's an ex-soldier and he adores my lavender and rosemary Castille soap bars. And so it goes on. @DonS (thanks for the shout out btw) said it better than me. Everyone; men, women, enraged bears, all have their preferences.

AHA! I will have to label the next scent ENRAGED BEAR. Thanks for that idea, if you don't mind if I use it!

Other 18 to 25 y/o scent name ideas:

PSYCHO BADGER (Deadly Weapon maybe...)
SABRE TOOTH SQUIRREL (Black Ops maybe...)
VENOMOUS RABBIT (Black Tuxedo perhaps...)

...and of course ENRAGED BEAR (Ferocious Beast for sure)

all from NG.

Edited to add:

RADIOACTIVE RACCOON
RABID WOLF

 

[DonS]

All my brother's products have tough masculine names and smell like fruit punch

...and there you have it. Yup, @Millie just nailed it.

 

[cmzaha]

Interesting to know. My base (just starting up) is a mixture of young/old/male/female/all ethnicity and races you can think of. Everything from 18 y/0 Hispanic guys to 85 y/o little old ladies from India. Talk about a collection!

Oh, and I just discovered NG. Oh man, I also found one of my personal favorite scents...something they call Ferocious Beast which is a clone of Abercrombie & Fitch Fierce cologne. Now, that cologne when I wear it gets EVERYBODY'S attention. No joke. Expensive stuff. I have never had so many people ask me what I am wearing and where they can buy it. They immediately get disappointed when I tell them how much it costs.

Lemongrass is something I will be adding as well. Along with Dragon's Blood. WSP offers Dragon's Blood too...I wonder if it is good?

You mention a base of 85, testers or customers? I am sorry but you are not even close to being ready to sell at this point. On Feb 15th you mentioned you have 9 batches under your belt, which does not give you time to test and even know a good bar of soap, and the folks testing may or may not know a good bar of soap. Soap needs to be tested for longevity, scent retention, DOS issues, feel, such as if it is to drying, or even oily, etc. This type of testing easily takes a year or more.

 

[DonS]

You mention a base of 85, testers or customers? I am sorry but you are not even close to being ready to sell at this point. On Feb 15th you mentioned you have 9 batches under your belt, which does not give you time to test and even know a good bar of soap, and the folks testing may or may not know a good bar of soap. Soap needs to be tested for longevity, scent retention, DOS issues, feel, such as if it is to drying, or even oily, etc. This type of testing easily takes a year or more.

Re-read the post. I have some little old ladies (85 y/o) that already love the first batch that cured faster than the four week time frame due to being processed in individual cavity molds while also using Sodium Lactate. Five weeks will be the cure time now since I started loaf molding, and the first batch of that will be due in 3 weeks. Dropping the Sodium Lactate will drag out cure time as well.

Regardless of whether you think, or I think, I am ready I am already selling locally and primarily as a hobby. Selling to folks I know (friends, family, etc). The people handing the money over for the soap do so to cover my costs (I am not making any real profit and don't want to). I am using some pretty tried and true recipes. Nothing that unusual here. FO IFRA usage max rate and manufacturer recommendations are strictly followed, and the formulas are older than we are.

The real measure is this: the people paying for the soap are happy, I am happy to have a new hobby, and I won't let a soap go until I test it first on me. I am more likely to GIVE away a bar than to sell it right now since I am perfecting my formula.

I appreciate the guidance and concern, but I am not starting a soap making business. This is a "large hobby" if anything.

 

[sirtim100]

AHA! I will have to label the next scent ENRAGED BEAR. Thanks for that idea, if you don't mind if I use it!

Other 18 to 25 y/o scent name ideas:

PSYCHO BADGER (Deadly Weapon maybe...)
SABRE TOOTH SQUIRREL (Black Ops maybe...)
VENOMOUS RABBIT (Black Tuxedo perhaps...)

...and of course ENRAGED BEAR (Ferocious Beast for sure)

all from NG.

Edited to add:

RADIOACTIVE RACCOON
RABID WOLF

MURDEROUS MARMOT
RABID RACCOON
MAYHEM-LOVING MONGOOSE
KALASHNIKOV KITTY (one for the girls, perhaps?)

The opportunities are endless...

 

[DonS]

MURDEROUS MARMOT
RABID RACCOON
MAYHEM-LOVING MONGOOSE
KALASHNIKOV KITTY (one for the girls, perhaps?)

The opportunities are endless...

INDEED! I love those suggestions. Coming up with cute names is half the fun of this stuff. Pretty relaxing hobby-ish type thing for me. I normally am knee deep in building high end gaming PCs, servers, constructing networks, installing Ethernet cable and am a ANSI/TIA Certifier by profession. Doing something simple is a nice change of pace and fun!

 

[sirtim100]

And I translate technical specifications for wind turbines and legal reports on non-compliance with EU labour legislation, amongst other textual gems, so the chance to actually "have fun" with English is something I really appreciate. And soapmaking (which is supposed to be fun, too) is so nice because I don't have to look up any implementing legislation to do it. Just me, my oils, my pots and pans, and silence. Heaven...

Back to the point: what about unisex soaps? There are more and more unisex colognes, so why not the same for soaps?

 

[Mistrael]

AHA! I will have to label the next scent ENRAGED BEAR. Thanks for that idea, if you don't mind if I use it!

Other 18 to 25 y/o scent name ideas:

PSYCHO BADGER (Deadly Weapon maybe...)
SABRE TOOTH SQUIRREL (Black Ops maybe...)
VENOMOUS RABBIT (Black Tuxedo perhaps...)

...and of course ENRAGED BEAR (Ferocious Beast for sure)

all from NG.

Edited to add:

RADIOACTIVE RACCOON
RABID WOLF

Just fyi, I'm probably going to steal at least half of these names.

 

[DonS]

Just fyi, I'm probably going to steal at least half of these names.

Don't blame you. I am rather partial to VENOMOUS RABBIT and KALASHNIKOV KITTEN.

 

[DonS]

And I translate technical specifications for wind turbines and legal reports on non-compliance with EU labour legislation, amongst other textual gems, so the chance to actually "have fun" with English is something I really appreciate. And soapmaking (which is supposed to be fun, too) is so nice because I don't have to look up any implementing legislation to do it. Just me, my oils, my pots and pans, and silence. Heaven...

Back to the point: what about unisex soaps? There are more and more unisex colognes, so why not the same for soaps?

..and so goes the world. From clothing to cologne/perfume, that is the wave that is here and will continue to grow. I try and make it so that all scents are appealing to the people that want to buy the soap I am making. Not that I am making a lot, I am limited to 6 10" loaf molds production capacity. But hey, I can crank out a few batches week. The issue is not the molds, but where to CURE the stuff and having the space for that. That is what really limits me.

Edited to say...back on point. Unisex is where it is at. People (even in the USA where change is slow and painful) are beginning to cast off the ancient notions and 1950's thinking of what things a particular gender wears, acts, or otherwise presents themselves. We have a ways to go, but things are trending correctly.

 

[sirtim100]

Just fyi, I'm probably going to steal at least half of these names.

There may be some copyright issues...

 

[JakeBlanton]

I'm thinking a light Hoppes #9 smell would be popular with some of us guys...

Probably depends upon whether the soap is intended as a body soap or just a hand soap.

An orange / lemon / citrus smell is also acceptable for guys, hence the tendency to use that in the liquid mechanics' hand cleaners these days. In my younger days, mechanics used a tub of something that was basically mineral spirits and something that made it into a gel of a bit less thickness of petroleum jelly. Maybe mineral spirits and lanolin? We would use it to liquefy the grease on our hands and then use a rag or paper towel to remove that from our hands. Maybe repeat once or twice and then use regular soap if you wanted to get that smell off your hands.

 

[Tee]

the first batch that cured faster than the four week time frame due to being processed in individual cavity molds while also using Sodium Lactate. Five weeks will be the cure time now since I started loaf molding, and the first batch of that will be due in 3 weeks. Dropping the Sodium Lactate will drag out cure time as well.
CURIOUS...how does individual mold vs loaf mold affect your curing time? I dont think this makes a difference in cure time, the loaf is cutting into single bars....