Nowadays, fragrance companies are releasing their fragrances with a multitude of extra associated body products. Consumers can walk into the department store and walk out with a new perfume and the matching deodorant, shower gel, body lotion, shampoo or even beard oil. In today’s blog post I’ll take you through a few of my favourite products and whether it’s worth investing in complementary body products.
Body Lotion
For the most part I just spritz my fragrance on in the morning after moisturising with unscented body lotion. I’ve found Aveeno’s body lotion is one of the best as it doesn’t get in the way of your fragrance and it works well to keep your skin hydrated throughout the day. However, there are a few others I have tried that can work just as effectively. L’Artisan Parfumeur’s body lotion range is excellent and complements their fragrances beautifully. Acqua Di Parma’s range is also a favourite. Aesop’s body balm / lotion is also an excellent choice and works well on its own. Personally, I think it’s worthwhile investing in a body lotion as it will extend the life of your fragrance on your skin, not to mention extend the life of your skin.
Deodorant
Deodorant is one of my preferred layering products. There are a couple of non-scented options I gravitate towards. The first being Dove for Men’s Invisible Dry, which comes in a roll-on form and never interferes with your fragrance. The Dove products are readily available at most big retailers and very much budget friendly. Another unscented option is the Lab Series for Men Antiperspirant which works as well as the Dove, albeit at a much higher price. In terms of scented products, the Tom Ford range of body sprays are simply the best. I am currently using Tobacco Vanille, which complements the perfume perfectly. Again, Acqua Di Parma’s deodorants are top notch. I usually avoid the stick deodorants and go with the body sprays though. However, that’s just a personal preference.
Shower Gels / Hair Products
I find associated shower gels and shampoos are the worst products to invest in. Although most mimic their fragrances well, they simply don’t have any longevity on skin to make their expensive price tags worth the money. I use a couple of mini’s I own from Penhaligon’s and Clinque from time to time.
Beard Oils / Shaving
I don’t have a lot of experience with beard oils, as I don’t have a beard, but the Tom Ford range seems to be a favourite amongst bearded folk. Tom Ford beard oils are available in some of his most popular scents, including Neroli Portofino and Oud Wood. It’s hard to go past the Penhaligon’s, Floris and Acqua Di Parma range of shaving products. All three houses offer a variety of gels, aftershaves and oils that should satisfy the pickiest of shavers. The Floris shaving cream in their No. 89 fragrance is an excellent choice.
Others
Some of my favourite niche companies like Maison Francis Kurkdjian and Frederic Malle now have a massive range of associated products that include hand creams, hair mists and even laundry detergents, so your clothes can smell as good as you.
Jo Malone also has a wide range of products, and although I’m not a fan of most of their scents I find their hand cream excellent. I use their Vitamin E hand cream, which reminds me of their English Oak and Hazelnut scent. It’s not a long-lasting scent though, and pretty much disappears in 10 minutes.
At the end of the day, I believe all you really need is an unscented deodorant and body lotion plus your fragrance and you’re all set. Generally, you can pick up unscented products cheaply at the chemist / drugstore. However, if you want to splurge, go with the fragranced deodorant and body lotion. In my experience all the other add-ons such as shampoo, shower gel, etc simply don’t represent value for money.
What do you guy’s think? Do you use any associated body products to complement your fragrance?
