Do Your Characters Smell?

[Riley Jericho]

I’m not trying to be rude or suggest that the best of the best of the story characters here on GA might have B.O., but do you think that your readers might sniff at some of the people in your carefully crafted storyline?

People smell, of course. Nicely, I hope. At least in real life they do, and in real life we probably sniff them. At least I do.

You do, too…don’t you..

Don’t you…

Okay, maybe it’s just me!

What brought this up was a recent couple of reviews to ET (An English Teen Circumcised in the USA). (Shameless plug - thank you for the 500th review for the story that came this weekend! I hope that, if you haven’t started reading ET yet, you’ll give it a whirl).

Anyway, one reviewer, mg777, questioned what brands of cologne Elliott had in his bathroom. Dayne Mora, in the next review, made some suggestions:
Elliott's scents - Polo Red, Prada Amber pour Homme Intense, Luna Rossa by Prada, or Eros by Versace. I kinda imagine Elliott being wearing something Prada-like.

For shits and giggles - I think Ryan wears Lacoste pour Homme, or Lacoste Style in Play.

And Luke (if he did wear cologne) would wear Light Blue pour Homme by Dolce & Gabbana, or Boss Bottled by Hugo Boss.

So here’s the question. Naturally, we British guys already smell good - being made of sugar and spice and all things nice - but what makes a good cologne for a gay guy? Intense? Subtle? Sweet? Spicy?

What do you like? Does age matter? Do older guys like something different to the younger generation?

Convince me and I’ll go and send one of my characters to buy it! I’ll even buy it myself!

Riley

[Ashi]

Younger people don't wear cologne nowadays, except the smell of deodorant... which might be a turn on to some....  B.O. might not be so nice, but scent is definitely something you should consider.  The other day someone gave me Tom Ford Tobacco, which is a very nice smell (though the name Tobacco turns me a little off).

[Cia]

I don't know about not wearing 'cologne' but younger guys still spray themselves with crap. After all, Axe was/is hugely popular. When writing contemporary stories, you need to know what the generation/age of your character would use/say/act like, especially if you're not part of that generation. Older guys in their 30s/40s from the 90s might use Drakkar or Aspen cologne. Older generations beyond that might be loyal to using Old Spice.

 

This does make a great point about writing a story where readers can relate involves using the senses too. I love the feel of my husband's smooth cheeks and the smell of his scented shaving cream right after he gets out of the shower, and he definitely gets more kisses then than when he's not shaved for a few days and his scruff is prickly and stabs at my lips. I try to use this sort of real life elements whenever I write a story too.

[Riley Jericho]

Almost every other week, my editor, Andy, gets on my back—not literally I hasten to add—to keep reminding me to 'show it, not tell it'. Readers are more than intelligent enough to figure out what you're not saying if you don't necessarily spell it out word by word. Imagination is a powerful thing when coupled with all the senses!

[Dayne Mora]

So, a large percentage of my students are males between 14 and 16, so I can confirm that yes, American teenage boys wear cologne.

 

Axe is slowly going out of style, as is that Ed Hardy shite that was popular with the middle school boys I used to teach (thank god).  A number of them carry their bottles of cologne in their book bags.  Light Blue and Polo and Lacoste scents tend to be popular with the in crowd, and the super markets that carry cologne stock them.  I've even seen some Versace and Prada at the HEB.  (that's mainly why I suggested them) 

 

I don't think Luke would buy a scent for himself, but I do imagine that Ryan would do so as a gift.

[Graeme]

On a related note, I remember a book on writing I read a long time ago that commented that we have five senses, but too many authors only write about two of them (sight and sound). The richest descriptions involve as many of the five senses as possible.

[Ron]

In 1980, the gay guys I was hanging with were using Aramis and Drakkar Noir for the most part. Those two fragrances seemed quite popular among those that wore perfume. Personally, my go to fragrance was Paco Rabanne, at the time—I avoided guys who wore perfume (cologne is perfume, guys)—but even wearing that was short lived. Don't forget that even amongst the fragrant crowd, there will always be those that refuse to wear fragrances, and more power to them, I say. So what I'm saying, additionally, is that it's okay to have a character that doesn't indulge in perfumery, and mentioning that your character has made that choice is just as revealing, if not more so, than saying your character uses this or that fragrance. It's a bold statement, of a sort, so don't be afraid to use it.

 

I will add that it's nearly impossible to avoid scent in antiperspirants—believe me when I say that I have tried—so it's very likely that your male characters will end up smelling like something, however light that scent may be. In the morning that scent may be strong-ish but later in the day, less so. It's all good though because even this can be used to an author's advantage.

Edited April 25, 2016 by Ron

[MrM]

My characters definitely smell.

 

In any case, I tend not to go into what cologne they like. I try to refer to their natural scent which is unique to them and something the other loves. Comsie taught me that trick.

[dughlas]

I can imagine a number of the young men in ET wearing D&G "Light Blue". An option for Miguel had he lived and hence Elliot by extension is "Him" by Hannae Mori, a masculine floral scent. That one requires some confidence in personal masculinity for a teen to wear but it fits with Miguel's sense of style.

Edited April 25, 2016 by dughlas

[MrM]

I can imagine a number of the young men in ET wearing D&G "Light Blue". An option for Miguel had he lived and hence Elliot by extension is "Him" by Hannae Mori, a masculine floral scent. That one requires some confidence in personal masculinity for a teen to wear but it fits with Miguel's sense of style.

 

 

Interestingly I used to use a mixture of Nautica Classic and my mom's gladiolas based fragrance. I was always complimented on it and asked what it was. I called it Nautica White!

[Timothy M.]

This topic reminds me of one of the few cases where Danish have two words for the same English term. Usually, it's the other way round.

 

To smell can be either lugte or dufte in Danish. Lugt (n) and lugte (vb) implies an odor which smells unpleasant. Duft (n) and dufte (n) implies a pleasant scent / smell.

[glitteryantlers]

This topic reminds me of one of the few cases where Danish have two words for the same English term. Usually, it's the other way round.

 

To smell can be either lugte or dufte in Danish. Lugt (n) and lugte (vb) implies an odor which smells unpleasant. Duft (n) and dufte (n) implies a pleasant scent / smell.

Usually we have many words in Hungarian for one term in English 

[MrM]

Finnish doesn't let us down...at least according to Wiktionary:

 

Tuoksu - A pleasant smell

Haju - A smell (neither good nor bad)

Lemu or Löyhkä - Stink, reek

 

 

Due to all the different derivations of these words, I wouldn't have a clue as to where to begin putting them in to a phrase right. 

Edited April 27, 2016 by MrM

[glitteryantlers]

Finnish doesn't let us down...at least according to Wiktionary:

 

Tuoksu - A pleasant smell

Haju - A smell (neither good nor bad)

Lemu or Löyhkä - Stink, reek

 

 

Due to all the different derivations of these words, I wouldn't have a clue as to where to begin putting them in to a phrase right. 

Hungarian:

 

A pleasant smell: illat

A smell (neither good nor bad): szag

Stink, reek: bűz

 

To smell something: (meg)szagolni

When something smells pleasant: illatozik

When something smells bad: bűzlik

 

This was your daily dose of finno-ugric (il)logic 

[MrM]

Hungarian:

 

A pleasant smell: illat

A smell (neither good nor bad): szag

Stink, reek: bűz

 

To smell something: (meg)szagolni

When something smells pleasant: illatozik

When something smells bad: bűzlik

 

This was your daily dose of finno-ugric (il)logic 

 

 

Wasn't Finno-ugric a character from The Hobbit?

 

[glitteryantlers]

Wasn't Finno-ugric a character from The Hobbit?

Haha, no, but the elven language constructed by Tolkien was based on Finnish or the reconstructed Finno-ugrish. I can't understand for my live why would someone construct a language similar to my mother tongue :-S

[MrM]

Haha, no, but the elven language constructed by Tolkien was based on Finnish or the reconstructed Finno-ugrish. I can't understand for my live why would someone construct a language similar to my mother tongue :-S

 

Its funny...Elvish always sounded like Gaelic to me. When Enya sang a song in Elvish for the Fellowship of the Ring it sounded just like it does in Gaelic!

[Krista]

I do not really use smells (bad krista, bad). I use vague - the combination of his deodorant and soap... yadda yadda, but I hardly ever do name/brand dropping. You don't really need to, they can have a specific scent tied to them. Like an artist that paints may always faintly smell of paint... or a florist may smell like a certain flower, etc. It doesn't have to be cologne specifically, it can be any smell that a person can relate to and understand. 

[Timothy M.]

A scent can be a powerful carrier of memory. I had a particular cologne I liked in high school. For some reason I stopped using it when I went on to college, and I'd almost forgotten about it. Then one day I came across it in a store, perhaps twenty years later. I tried a bit on, and suddenly I was this shy sixteen year old teen getting ready to go to school or a HS party. Weird.

[Parker Owens]

Funny, but I never thought about cologne for the A to Z characters. But Andy often associated his experience with the scent of hay and barn, and he knew  Zander's swimming pool scent, too,  so maybe that counts...

[Dayne Mora]

Funny, but I never thought about cologne for the A to Z characters. But Andy often associated his experience with the scent of hay and barn, and he knew  Zander's swimming pool scent, too,  so maybe that counts...

I associate clean smells with Andy, like soap or laundry detergent.  Maybe cedar or pine.  Perhaps as he got older, he'd become interested in scents -- something earthy and warm.  Zander would be the guy that wore the thing all the other guys were wearing, but he would gravitate toward the crisp and cool scents.  Citrus and spice, I think.

[Parker Owens]

I associate clean smells with Andy, like soap or laundry detergent.  Maybe cedar or pine.  Perhaps as he got older, he'd become interested in scents -- something earthy and warm.  Zander would be the guy that wore the thing all the other guys were wearing, but he would gravitate toward the crisp and cool scents.  Citrus and spice, I think.

What a gift you have; but what about Eustace Whitley? Witch Hazel perhaps?  Something old fashioned, no doubt.

[Dayne Mora]

What a gift you have; but what about Eustace Whitley? Witch Hazel perhaps?  Something old fashioned, no doubt.

Eustace is where Andy got the affinity for cedar and pine.  But with hints of leather.  I think he'd be a classic Old Spice guy, not what it has become, but what it was. 

[Headstall]

Scent can be quite powerful for me. Generally, I wear nothing, but I do like to mix things up and keep people guessing. There are very few that I like on my body. I used to wear D and G original, mainly at my partner's request. I was wearing it when we met. Now, I wear Terre D'Hermes... if the mood strikes... it suits me beautifully, judging by the reaction it gets... but the one scent that really speaks to me is an essential oil... Patchouli... I used to put a drop of it on my suede jacket in the seventies( yup, I'm old). It's still out there today, but there are some really bad versions... maybe twice a year, I wear it( a drop on my wrist or a touch on my shirt) and the reaction is often incredible... to some who remember it, and some who want to know what it is. Still and all, there is nothing like the scent of freshly-showered skin... up close and personal... just saying....

[Parker Owens]

Oh, my, yes. 

 

Scent can be quite powerful for me. Generally, I wear nothing, but I do like to mix things up and keep people guessing. There are very few that I like on my body. I used to wear D and G original, mainly at my partner's request. I was wearing it when we met. Now, I wear Terre D'Hermes... if the mood strikes... it suits me beautifully, judging by the reaction it gets... but the one scent that really speaks to me is an essential oil... Patchouli... I used to put a drop of it on my suede jacket in the seventies( yup, I'm old). It's still out there today, but there are some really bad versions... maybe twice a year, I wear it( a drop on my wrist or a touch on my shirt) and the reaction is often incredible... to some who remember it, and some who want to know what it is. Still and all, there is nothing like the scent of freshly-showered skin... up close and personal... just saying....