Poll for the ladies; To Cologne, or NOT to Cologne, THAT is the question!

When I was younger, I liked to wear cologne sometimes when going out...until a couple of girlfriends were so aghast that I stopped entirely.

But I saw a thread here where one after the other said they wanted their men to smell nice...and I was wondering if this meant cologne, breath mints, or...um...pheromones??!

Perhaps Tango is different than just going out, because you tend to sweat and you're in pretty close contact

So I thought I'd take a poll, for the ladies only, what do you like??!

Darn, there's no checkbox to post a poll

I guess we'll have to do it the old fashioned way:

"Ladies, how do you feel about your dance partners wearing cologne?"
1. Love it!
2. Like it, but not a must.
3. Don't especially like it, but it's OK if they do.
4. Hate it! DON'T DO IT!

I have the luxury of not being allergic to it. I absolutely LOVE it when men wear cologne.

That said, for AT it doesn't really matter. "Smelling nice" as regards tango translates (for me) into being showered, wearing clean clothes, not smelling like smoke or cooking, and having neutral (or minty) breath.

Yes, love it. Wear it, by all means.
Do not bathe in it, though...

I love it, as long as he doesn't bathe in it! If not, it's perfectly fine as long as he smells clean.

Guy here. Stick to the golden rule of Cologne...

Less is more.

Females have stronger senses of smell. What you may think is weak may be strong.
In a similar vein, the more you smell something, the more you get used to it. Find a good amount to spray and stick to it.

Good point. If you can smell yourself, it's too much!

How about the other way? Do men like women to wear perfume?

To be perfectly honest... I do not.

My favorite perfume is girl au naturale. Women just smell... nice. A little sweat... excuse me... "glow"... isn't bad either, as long as she showered recently. A hint of whatever shampoo/bodywash/whatever she used is fine too.

The problem with most lady perfumes is that they are overpoweringly sweet and cloying. Not to mention they are more likely to trigger an allergic reaction for me. I don't know what it is but if I'm walking through a department store, if I pass through the men's cologne section I'm fine. But if I wander too close to the lady's perfume section, my skin starts to crawl. Maybe it's because perfumes tend to have more botanical components? I dunno. But I don't like it. heh.

If you do go with a perfume, I think the same advice for men applies... don't bath in it. I hate it when I end up soaked and smelling like perfume for the whole evening after dancing with certain people in my community. I just avoid dancing with them now unless I'm forced to in a class or something.

All that's just my opinion, I'm sure some of the other guys will weigh in.

Good test for when women wear too much perfume: if, when I come home, my wife can smell the perfume of whoever I've been dancing with during just one tanda, well, that was too much.

Malus points are attributed to ladies who wear the same perfume as someone my wife ab-so-lu-te-ly doesn't want me to dance with (yes, she does have veto power) .

From this other thread, I'd say it's OK as long as it smells like food (FWIW, pot roast scent has worked well in the past).

http://www.dance-forums.com/showthread.php?p=813863#post813863

The Argentine point of view

Argentines are extremely conscious about cleanliness and how they smell for the milonga.

Women carry deodorant and perfume in their purses to use during the night, especially during summer and those who tend to perspire while dancing.

Men use scented deodorant sprays on the body, not just underarms, and cologne on the neck and face. They don't hold back on this.

French perfume is extremely expensive in Buenos Aires. Those who can afford it, use it. It's all part of the sensuousness of tango.

Perfume presents an interesting challenge for those who sneak out in the evening for a few tandas and then return home to a spouse who may be suspicious.

One of my otherwise favourite partners sweats, and her sweat smells. In her case it would be better with perfume. Now there are also perfumes that I don't like, for instance some african women smell funny, I think this is something they put in their hair. All in all I'd prefer nothing of any kind, completely barring the sense of smell.

Only if it's a fragrance that doesn't give me a headache and don't bathe in it. And try to avoid "old lady" scents.

I had a class in which one female grad student wore so much cologne that it literally made my eyes water. I had to stay as far away from her as I possibly could.

I'm curious, do women like when men do this?

Cologne? No ... No .... No! Non-scented deodorants? Yes.

Good heavens, I'd forgotten about that. But it's still true. Pot roast works better than Eau de Whatever

Thanks for the memory!

love it!

Thanks for the replies so far everyone.
Keep it coming

Aha! We have one NO vote.

On the question of women wearing perfume, what I learned tonight is that even though I like garlic, secondhand garlic is missing that allure.
i'd suggest mints after the garlic "perfume"

No
- I'm allergic to perfumes
- Perfuming transfers and if it adds up... ouch

I'm fine with it either way - I like it in moderation. My reactions are:

Clean man = perfectly fine, pretty safe bet, rarely noticeable at a conscious level
Strong smell of soap = slightly comical and endearing
Additional scents = fine in moderation, usually pleasant

Funniest thing that has happened to me with perfume was the partner I was dancing with (an Argentinian and a fairly recent arrival) searching for the English to explain to me that the expression on his face was due to having caught a tremendous waft of overdone scent from the guy in front. Some fairly expressive gestures, there.

Oh yeah, just edited to add: if it's really overdone it can end up on MY clothes, and become noticeable on the way home. I don't like that at all, it's yucky. It might be a good idea to put it on skin *before* adding the clothes, as then it's less likely to transfer.

I personally hate coming home with my clothes smelling like some guy's cologne or scented chest whatever. I'd much prefer that he just be clean and if he sweats on me, my dress gets damp, but doesn't end up with some chemical on it that might not launder out properly. I'd also rather not spend the entire night smelling like his cologne after dancing with him. It can get pretty nasty having the last guy's scent mixing with the next guy's scent (and I can't imagine that the next guy wants to smell the last guy you danced with... I certainly don't want to smell the previous follower's perfume all over a dance partner)

So my preference is that men keep the stuff OFF any part of his body that will contact mine. That includes scent on his chest and face.

Even if I like the scent, I want it on HIM, not on ME.