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Strength Guide: How many sprays?

This should be a sticky somewhere, but I'm sure there's a consensus on what is a "strong" cologne/EDT and what needs a few sprays. So...

Question: of your two or three favorites, how many sprays do you use? What is the strongest cologne in your experience? The weakest?

Example:

Knize Ten: 1/2 spray needed (strong, long-lasting)
1805: 1 spray
...
ToBS Eton: 2-3 sprays
 
I only wear two colognes:

Bulgari Extreme - 1 Spray
Burberry Touch - .5 spray.
*I really have to be careful with the Touch. It's a nice scent, but it's very
potent.
 
I've been wearing Penhaligon's Opus 1870 lately and I need to use 3 sprays. I always spray on my bare chest. (too much info I know...LOL)
 
Badger & Blade - Charles himself actually classified this one as perfume strength. One light spritz on the chest is all I need to last all day. Either that or take the top off the atomizer and dab on the wrists.

Czech & Speake #88 - Very lightly dab on wrists and chest.

Floris Vetiver - Light spritz on chest, light dab on wrists.
 
This is an excellent question really. Before I acquired my interest in fragrance, I used Polo Blue for many years 1-2 sprays on the chest. It gave me a bit of freshness after my morning shower and maybe a whiff every now and then for 1-2 hours. I NEVER got any compliments and could never smell it on me in the afternoon and perhaps the only time someone else would smell it is if I got a hug or a kiss early during the day.

Then I started getting interested in non-designer and niche fragrances and puchased a few bottles. Still I would apply 1-2 sprays on the chest, but when I would ask a friend or colleague what they thought of my new cologne I would get the annoying answer 'what cologne?'. I then realised that I needed to increase the dosage. The required dose depends on the cologne and also the weather (cooler months need more).

I now get many compliments every week and frequently get asked which cologne I am wearing by friends and colleagues (not yet strangers). The reason I wear a cologne is for myself as it gives me a boost and lifts my spirits when I get a whiff so the longer it lasts on me the better. Nevertheless, if someone in my proximity can smell and enjoy it too then that is definately a bonus. When I do buy a new cologne I will ask my friends if it is too strong and the usual answer will be 'No, you smell really good!'.

Here are a few examples of the number of sprays I will use for different colognes:

  • 1 spray: Montale Black Aoud and Ungaro I
  • 2 sprays: Guerlain Vetiver, C&S 88
  • 3-4 sprays: Bois du Portugal, Castile and Guerlain Heritage
  • 4-6 sprays: ADP colonia, T&H 1805 and Ungaro III (New formulation)

Most fragrances get about 4 sprays, two to the chest and one to each upper arm. If I am doing 6 sprays then I will also spray my forearms (and wear long sleeves). I do not spray the neck or wrists as these are exposed areas and will evaporate the scent quickly and also your nose will get quickly fatigued from the scent so you will not enjoy it for as long.

If you have never sprayed so much before and worry that you will smell like Pepe LePew then I suggest you try it once and see the effect. The scent will be very strong for the first 10 minutes and then settle down nicely on your skin. Although, as noted above, you need to be selective about which scent to spray with a light hand.

There are some fragrances for which I really savour the top notes, e.g. Ungaro III, and therefore I will end by spraying my shirt once or twice to try and preserve them.
 
1/2 sprits, because of the mechanism of the atomizer, never work very well.

Acqua di Parma Colonia (People always forget to add the Colonia... it is important to include it!) 4
Visit Azzaro 2
Bulgari Black 3
Rose Essentielle 3
Brit for Men 3
Burberry London 2
Weekend for Men 3
Eternity Summer for Men 3
cK be 2
Carlos Santana for Men 3
212 Men 4
Platinum Égoïste 1-2
Dior Homme 3
Eau Sauvage 5
Happy for Men 5
Erolfa Creed 4 (same with MI or SMW)
Grey Flannel Geoffrey Beene 2
Givenchy pour Homme Blue Label 3-4
Envy for Men 1-2
Gucci Pour Homme II 4
Eau d'Orange Verte 6
Terre d'Hermès 3
Yang Jacques Fath 4
John Varvatos 2-3
Nightflight Joop! 1
Rose 31 Le Labo 1
Jordan by Michael 2
Black Aoud Montale 1
Signoricci Nina Ricci 3
Paris Hilton for Men 3
Tea Rose Perfumer's Workshop 1-walk-through.
Unforgivable Sean John 5-6
Ungaro III Ungaro 3
M7 Fresh Yves Saint Laurent 1 and later refresh with another.
M7 1
Rive Gauche pour Homme I do not know... sometimes 1 somtimes 3
YSL pour Homme 3
White Musk Montale 2
Bois du Portugal 2-3
Acier Aluminium 2-3
Fragonard (anything) 2
T&H 1-2 (I only have vials but this is an aprox.) All their EDTs are very strong on my skin.
Geir Ness 4
LArtisan anything 1-2
Chanel Egoiste and Givenchy PI 2-3
Guerlain (Habit Rouge, Vetyver, L'Instant, Heritage, Jicky) 2
C&S88 2-3

Most of my EDTs are in standard 5ml decants. So the spritz is pretty standard.

EDIT: DAMN!!! That is a lot!
 
Isaias -- I've just summoned the white van and orderlies. Be on the lookout...they should be arriving soon.

With that out of the way, good info there -- thanks!
 
Is there any way to integrate an Excel table or something like that somehow? I got a lot of info, and it would seem easier to have the ability to alphabetize.

Opus 1870- 4 sprays 30 minutes prior to leaving apartment- Neck, Chest, Wrist, Wrist

Christian Lacroix Tumulte-2 sprays- 1 chest, 1 wrist (then rub together)

Creed Himalaya- 3-4 sprays, Chest, Neck, Wrist, Wrist

Creed Original Santal- 3 sprays, Chest, Wrist, Wrist

Mugler Cologne-- I could go about 5 sprays on this one, but it's a clean scent

Bulgari Extreme- 2 sprays, Chest, wrist (rub together)

Creed Silver Mountain Water- 3 sprays, Chest, Wrist (rub together), one on my undershirt (seems to keep well if I do it this way)

Chanel Allure Sport (old version)-- 4 sprays, chest, back, wrist, wrist-- mostly only after leaving gym, and it fades about 3-4 hours later for me

Coolwater by Davidoff-- 4 sprays, chest, wrist, wrist, neck

Terre d'Hermes- 2 sprays, chest, wrist (rub together)
 
Isaias -- I've just summoned the white van and orderlies. Be on the lookout...they should be arriving soon.

With that out of the way, good info there -- thanks!
:001_unsur
I am on step 3... 9 more to go. I actually had a an excel sheet to control my expenses. The thing is 10 dollars a week does not seem much, people spend more on smokes or soda. However, it has to stop at some point... You would not believe how much I am resisting to get Jovan White Musk and a bottle of good ol' old spice.

And yes, Paris Hilton.
Hate the name... but the scent is one of the cleanest I have. It just smells as if I went nuts with the shampoo: Fruity, Fresh not overpowering. True, it does smell a bit femenine, but not more than 212, PI, Brit, Weekend or Dior Homme.
It's one of my clean-freak trifecta:
PHfM. Right out of the shower.
Rive Gauche. Shaved 30 secs ago.
White Musk Montale. not only does my face feel like a baby, but my chest smells like one too. Brings out the mother instinct of girlfriend :ladysman: + :001_unsur
 
Right off the bat, I'll acknowledge that body chemistry varies widely from person to person. With that being said, I can't imagine spraying more that once to the chest. Speick EdT being the exception that makes my rule. (2 sprays).
 
snip...Burberry Touch - .5 spray.....snip

Love that stuff, and maybe the most potent I own.

I give a light spray to right wrist and rub on left side of my throat, then left wrist and right side of throat, and depending on clothing, I may do a "walkthrough" spray on the bare chest.
 
wow.. thought i was one of the only ones that wore this.. I tried two.. but it goes away quick.. seems like two to the chest.. then maybe wrists would be good..

I quite like a bit of Platinum Egoiste too. I use 4 sprays, 2 on the chest and two on the upper arms.
 
Burberry London - 2 spray
Armani Black Code - 2 spray
Thierry Mugler (Mugler) - 1 spray
Christian LaCroix Bazaar - 2 spray

i just spray on my shirt never on my skin straight up.
 
i just spray on my shirt never on my skin straight up.

I have heard it lingers longer on clothes.. but after reading this thread (my first day in this section of the board..) im thinking skin sound better.. whats the thougth on this.. (Not to hijack the thread.. but i think it goes with it)
 
I have heard it lingers longer on clothes.. but after reading this thread (my first day in this section of the board..) im thinking skin sound better.. whats the thougth on this.. (Not to hijack the thread.. but i think it goes with it)

If you apply on skin, it will interact with you body chemistry and add a dimension unique only to you.
 
Spraying on your shirt can help to make the topnotes last longer. However, the development of the fragrance needs to happen on your skin.
 
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