[Trans] Smell like a man

Some men don't think hygiene is masculine. Me, I run with a Playboy/Old Hollywood masculine performance, where how you clean up and how you smell is an important part of being a man.

Start with a thorough shower: hair washed, pits washed, crotch and rear washed and all the rest afterward. I suggest Dial. It's a good, basic clean scent. Irish Spring is nice if you feel fancier. Suave is fine. I like Ocean Mist and Everlasting Sunshine myself.

Many men are afraid of cologne. Some of them think it's too femme. Some used to overdo it and are leery now, and some, like Mudd, just never got in the habit. That's fine. As long as you're clean, the cologne is extra. But it can be the extra touch that makes the outfit, or the moment or the date. People remember scents back in the reptile brain. It's why I suggest it for transmen.

I have several scents I very much love. Some come from the department store. Some come from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab.

Some of these are classics, aka Dad cologne, and suitable for us older gentlemen.

Old Spice is a classic for a reason. My grandfathers both wore it. My dad wears it sometimes. It seems old-fashioned and simple. It's anything but. The scent contain: orange, lemon, spice, clary sage, aldehyde, cinnamon, carnation, geranium, jasmine, heliotrope, pimiento berry, vanilla, musk, cedar, frankincense, benzoin, tonka, ambergris

Aramis was my generation's Axe. Apply lightly. Bergamot, clary sage, myrtle, clove, patchouli, sandalwood, vetiver and tree moss.

English Leather is another classic. This is the one you swiped from your dad when you had a big date. It's bergamot, lavender, lemon, orange, rosemary, honey, iris, rose, ceder musk, tonka bean, leather and vetiver.

Dark Obsession is the modern one that makes me feel very sexy. Brazilian green mandarin, guarana, absinthe, French clary sage, fir balsam, white vetiver, Madagascar vanilla, labdanum and suede

Black Phoenix does pure scent oil, They have a wide variety. My favorites:

Highwayman. This is bottled sex, if you can stand smelling like burned weeds for about 5 minutes while the top notes evaporate and settle. It goes to a smokey leather floral. Vetiver with gardenia, blood red rose, night-blooming jasmine, a dash of cinnamon and a faint hint of leather.

Wulric the Wolfman. I like this as an everyday sort of scent. It's chocolaty and herbal, which is weird but kinda hot: cocoa absolute, French vanilla, birch tar, lavender, bourbon vetiver, wild musk, cardamom husk, clary sage, and cistus (rockrose).

Old Scratch. This is for the occasions when I must dress well, not formally, and own the room. A lavender fougere with tonka, amber, rosewood and a whiff of diabolical patchouli.

The Bow and Crown of Conquest. If I had an office job, this would be my go-to scent for wearing with a suit: sage, carnation and cedar with lavender, vanilla, white musk and leather.


There is a lot of ingredient overlap in what I like.  I suggest, if you like scents, experimenting around with some imp ears from Black Phoenix (BPAL) and learning what each note smells like. Some are easier than others.

Everything smells different on different skin chemistry, but good notes to start with are leather, musk, vetiver, vanilla, and sandalwood.

Go out, look good and smell nice.