How to differentiate between daytime and night time frags?

[deburn]

Hi gents, I did search for this answer both forums and the wiki, but didn't get what I was looking for. Some background: I have not worn any fragrance for a few years as part of a much larger effort to minimize the use of chemicals in my life. I wasn't a big fragrance user to begin with, so this wasn't hard for me to do (I also wasn't dating anyone )

Since getting into DE (which itself is very very new), I've begun to get an appreciation for the role that smells can play and would like to start using fragrances again. I am going to get a bunch of samples, but I have a couple of questions:

- is there anything that distinguishes daytime fragrances from nighttime? My preference in general would be to have something that's subtle but lasts a long time, rather than a very strong scent, and I would like to use something lighter during the day, than I would at night.

I know the samples will help me figure out what I like or dislike (along with my girlfriend!), but I was hoping to learn from your experiences. Any suggestions would be most appreciated

Thanks so much!
~ deburn

 

[john parker]

- is there anything that distinguishes daytime fragrances from nighttime? My preference in general would be to have something that's subtle but lasts a long time, rather than a very strong scent, and I would like to use something lighter during the day, than I would at night.

I know the samples will help me figure out what I like or dislike (along with my girlfriend!), but I was hoping to learn from your experiences. Any suggestions would be most appreciated

Thanks so much!
~ deburn

Think you have it nailed right there! Light, clean for the day. Stronger and perhaps spicier for the evening when it is cooler. And sample, sample, sample!

 

[deburn]

Think you have it nailed right there! Light, clean for the day. Stronger and perhaps spicier for the evening when it is cooler. And sample, sample, sample!

Thanks for the quick reply, John. There seems to be a ton of choices, and I don't know how to determine what's light and clean vs stronger and spicier when I'm selecting which samples to get.

 

[Paris]

Light and clean for me has to have some citrus in it - I like D.R. Harris Arlington. I think any of these types can work at night also. For night formal I go with CS 88.

 

[deburn]

Light and clean for me has to have some citrus in it - I like D.R. Harris Arlington. I think any of these types can work at night also. For night formal I go with CS 88.

Thanks Paris, I will check those out. So, generally day time stuff will be citrusy?

 

[The Chandos]

Daytime/night time; Men/Women; Winter/Summer; formal/informal; wedding/funeral; Superbowl/Pulitzer Prize; first date/50th wedding anniversary ...

you can make up as many dichotomous scenarios as you need but you'll only wear what you feel comfortable wearing
so wear what you want when you want
what you wear during the daytime or night time is up to you

don't let marketing tell you when to wear your colognes

that means sample, sample, sample

 

[Aaron01]

I can usually tell by checking if the sun or the moon is in the sky....

 

[franz]

This might be an unsophisticated answer but my personal feeling is that you just wear whatever evokes that mood for you.

 

[John Von Wuggz]

I prefer light and citrus during the daytime or spring/summer. As it gets later in the day or into fall/winter my scents get heavier and musky.

 

[HisDukeNess]

YMMV
I look at fragrantica or basenotes and I can't believe what other people think about some of the fragrances I own as far as day and night go. What I go out on the town with, someone will wear to work... Or vise-a-virsa. As franz said, I could use YSL La Nuit DE L'Homme in the morning if the "mood" strikes me right (some people that know/have this frag wouldn't agree with me).
If i had to say notes i prefer at night- Amber based fragrances are a night time thing for me, along with musk and patchouli.
I change with seasons, but as far as day and night go there really isn't a line drawn in the sand....

 

[hedonist222]

There really is no such thing but obviously some people, myself included, like a nice leather (suede to be specfic) scent for evenings to fancy places.

Citric during the day in the warmer months.

But its not a set rule.

Do what pleases you.

 

[deburn]

Thanks for all the replies, gents. As someone who hasn't used any fragrance for a few years, I don't think I'm going to become a heavy user, so I was hoping to get some guidelines to avoid having to sample a ton of frags.

Seems like the basic guideline is light/citrusy for day, and heavy/amber/leathery for night. Thanks again

 

[never2close]

I tend to segment my fragrances into day and evening, and then by weather. Warm weather day fragrances tend to be more of a cologne style as well as other lighter fragrances typically those that give you a blast of citrus. More refreshing in the oppressive heat. Such as Lords, or Eau d'Hadrien, or Balle de Match, or Acqua di Viva. Warm weather evening tend to be more complex, but not overbearing because Texas is still hot at night in the spring/summer. I like Himalaya, or English Fern, or MDCI Invasion Barbare.

 

[deburn]

I tend to segment my fragrances into day and evening, and then by weather. Warm weather day fragrances tend to be more of a cologne style as well as other lighter fragrances typically those that give you a blast of citrus. More refreshing in the oppressive heat. Such as Lords, or Eau d'Hadrien, or Balle de Match, or Acqua di Viva. Warm weather evening tend to to more complex, but not overbearing because Texas is still hot at night in the spring/summer. I like Himalaya, or English Fern, or MDCI Invasion Barbare.

Thanks for the detailed response. I guess location makes a difference as well. I'm in Boston. I ordered the following samples from Garry, waiting to hear back from him:

Jaguar Vision EdT 5ml Atomizer (smells similar to Creed Aventus) $2.50
L'Occitane Eau De Vetyver EdT 5ml Atomizer $4.00
Knize Ten EdT by Knize - 12.00
Mugler Cologne 5ml Atomizer (smells similar to Creed Original Vetiver) $1.50

I was wondering if there was a way to know whether a fragrance is light or heavy without googling each one - does EdT vs EdP vs Cologne have any bearing?

 

[never2close]

The strength of the fragrance typically will have more to do with longevity. For example, Atelier Orange Sanguine is a cologne absolue. Very much a day fragrance, but with excellent longevity.

 

[drlvegas]

Mugler is a good start for daytime/warm weather.

 

[Matt555]

Daytime/night time; Men/Women; Winter/Summer; formal/informal; wedding/funeral; Superbowl/Pulitzer Prize; first date/50th wedding anniversary ...

you can make up as many dichotomous scenarios as you need but you'll only wear what you feel comfortable wearing
so wear what you want when you want
what you wear during the daytime or night time is up to you

don't let marketing tell you when to wear your colognes

that means sample, sample, sample

This... Exactly this.....

 

[Prince]

For the most part, I just wear whatever sounds good at the time.

Never gave any thought to AM/PM, casual/dressy, etc.

 

[Matt555]

was wondering if there was a way to know whether a fragrance is light or heavy without googling each one - does EdT vs EdP vs Cologne have any bearing?

Yes, there is. You spray one on your arm..... Proceed to smell it, and make a decision. Google will not provide any answers because there is no right or wrong answer to this question. You will find discussion boards like this one with dozens of people describing the same fragrance in a dozen differ entry ways.

 

[Renato1]

You can usually nut it out yourself. Just think of when you would be wearing just a shirt, or wearing it with a jumper or a jacket. Really fresh scents equate to when you'd wear a shirt - be it day time, hot night or even at a hot dance/night club. Oriental scents without a fresh component are usually best left for night time use (they often have an "I want to party" feel that make them not the best choice for in an office environment). Woody-spicy, and wood and spicy and leather scents are usually better for cold weather of night (like when you'd wear a jumper or jacket).

And there are dozens of other combinations. As I said, you can usually figure out what clothes to wear so you can figure out which scents to wear based on smell. And sometimes you can happily wear anything clothes wise, and the same goes for scents.
Regards,
Renato