In this web 2.0 world of marketing, social networking and advertising, the term branding comes up all the time. Most people associate branding with business but what most people don’t understand is that YOU are your own brand. YOU are the most important brand that will ever be built. And branding yourself is not something that can happen over night, it is a long term mission and focus that you will have to adhere to. To create your Campus Socialite brand you must be disciplined and have strong willpower. Any Campus Socialite knows it’s the little things and attention to detail that help them reach the level of success and status they are striving for.
Building your brand can be done in various ways. We are here to make sure you pay attention to the many different areas of your life that need to be properly attended to. Your dress, your speech, your game, your work habits, your social networking sites, your hobbies, your interests, where you hang out, where you eat, and the friends you keep all contribute to your inner brand. We at The Campus Socialite want to help you develop your inner brand and create the most successful version of yourself as possible. Then once you have achieved the “be all that you can be” version of yourself, then we’ll try to take you the rest of the way to Campus Socialite status. It is a challenge we take on to give back to the college students of America so they can be properly prepared for the future.
To do this we need to bring the details to your attention and then give you advice how to enhance them. We are going to start small by helping you to find your signature scent. Now if you’re the kind of person that wears whatever cologne or perfume your grandmother gave you on the holidays, then you are hurting your brand before you even introduce yourself.
YOUR scent is about consistency. I found my scent years ago after many different adjustments. My personal scent is Versace Blue Jeans and you will never catch me wearing something different. To find your personal scent, research must be done… but the rewards are plentiful.
(Research found in the Style Bible at AskMen.com)
FIGURE OUT YOUR SKIN TYPE
The first step in knowing how to find your signature scent is to understand what type of skin you have — whether it’s oily or dry.
Oily Skin Tones
Just as body hair keeps the scent of a cologne close to you, oily skin enhances and amplifies your cologne. Moist and oily skin responds best to a lighter citrus-based scent because these elements help to balance out the stronger natural odors that your skin is secreting. Stay with airy or “summertime” scents for a fresher feeling.
Dry Skin Tones
Cologne needs something to adhere to, and dry or sensitive skin does not hold a scent as long as oily skin. Contrary to popular belief, putting on more of any scent is not the answer. Instead, try heavier or thicker scents with undertones of tobacco and musk; these have a greater presence and will stay with you longer than a lighter fragrance.
Take Your Lifestyle Into Account
Choosing the right scent is not always about what smells good in a magazine. You also have to consider your lifestyle to narrow down your options as you try to find your signature scent. For example, do you prefer spicy foods? Do you consume large amounts of alcohol regularly or do you smoke? What you ingest comes to the surface of your skin in perspiration, blending with the cologne you wear and adds to the fragrance that swirls around you.
Determine When You Will Wear The Cologne
One aspect of choosing a signature scent that is often overlooked is the setting in which you plan to wear it. A scent that’s fit for the office is not appropriate for nights prowling the local clubs. If you plan to wear one scent on a daily basis, then you’re really looking for a balanced fragrance that fits your overall lifestyle.
Bring a Woman With You to Find Your Signature Scent
Get over yourself and take your woman or a close female friend you trust to go with you and let her make the final choice with brutal honesty. Even if you’re not dating her, she’ll find this to be a big turn-on and she’ll steer you toward the scent that all women will find appealing on you.
Spray the Scent on Cards First
Don’t let the sales clerk at the counter spray anything on you. If she doesn’t offer to spray a sample on a card for you to smell, then ask her to do so. If the store does not have cards, you should go somewhere else to find your signature scent. After a few samples, your nose won’t know what it is supposed to be smelling; when you get to this point, ask to sniff some coffee beans between your various cologne options. Most well-equipped stores have a cup of beans at the fragrance counter to sniff between sample cards to cleanse your nose.
Let Your Final Choice Sit For a Few Minutes
Once you and your lady have chosen a scent, let it sit for a few minutes and then smell the card again. A strong scent will linger too long and become offensive. The right scent, however, will dissipate and settle into a nice pleasant aroma.
HERE ARE SOME OPTIONS TO CONSIDER:
The Sporty Man
Just because you lead an athletic lifestyle, doesn’t mean you have to smell like a locker
room or old sports gear. If you know how to pick a cologne, the right fragrance can enhance your own natural scent and heighten it to reflect your world and attract like-minded women.
Best options
Versace Pour Homme: A youthful mixture of musk on the bottom and bergamot riding over the top give the man under 30 an invigorating scent for any activity.
Acqua Di Gio by Giorgio Armani: A warm Mediterranean breeze comes to mind with Acqua Di Gio. The citrus top notes overlay a warm persimmon and bergamot blend. This is the scent for the young gentleman in his early 20s. Its gentle top notes have a strong foundation in the spicy undertones, revealing an energetic aroma.
The Young Pro
Regardless of your career path, you should do your best to present yourself in a professional manner, which means being well-groomed and smelling like you actually care about your work. And that’s when knowing how to pick a cologne becomes an important part of your life.
Best options
The One by Dolce & Gabbana: Strong base notes of cedar wood, a classic professional scent and tobacco form the foundation for coriander and basil. This unusual mix may not work for the older man, but it’s spot-on for the young professional out to make a good impression.
Paul Smith Extreme Cologne: The irreverent Paul Smith has created a lighter scent for the young career man with an edge. If you’ve got a creative side that’s a little off-kilter from the typical company man, you’ve found your kindred spirit in Paul Smith’s Extreme. The spice-filled amalgamation changes perspective throughout the day as bergamot gives way to rosemary and hesperidia, to reveal nutmeg and cardamom.
The Man’s Man
Being a man is a complicated existence, but these colognes give you a touchstone of what you ought to be. They are unwavering in their presence yet quietly stoic through base notes of wood and earth. This type of scent is a throwback, if you will, to a time when being a man’s man meant something.
Best options
Yves Saint Laurent L’Homme: Floral top notes float over traditional spice and wood notes created for YSL. One does not often think of YSL as being so masculine, but L’Homme stands out as a new timeless scent for today’s complicated man.
Gucci by Gucci: If ever there was a complicated fusion of aromas, this is it. The cedar wood and patchouli base give rise to spices such as bergamot and black pepper with tobacco before revealing floral top notes. The complexity here is too much for the man in his 20s and is better suited for the gentleman in his late 30s. Someone who’s seen just how damned dangerous and conflicted the world can be and appreciates a cologne that does not hold back.
The Urbanite
Living an urban lifestyle often means being ready for anything when the phone rings, which is why you should carefully pick a cologne that allows you to go from meetings to cocktails to court-side seats without a thought. Doing so also means knowing how to pick a cologne with strong green cedar or green citrus notes that thrive against a life lived amid concrete and steel.
Best options
Calvin Klein Men-Euphoria: Brazilian redwood, patchouli and amber set the stage for cedar leaves and black basil with raindrop accord serving as a light opening note. Notice the use once again of patchouli, which is quickly becoming popular as an accent base note for younger men who have not graduated to the more sublime aromas.
Hermes D’Orange Verte Cologne by Hermes: A French classic that may be the only scent to outlast them all and the perfect all-day cologne with its green and citrus blend. If you’re tired of the complex equations of modern colognes or if your day takes you from the casual to the formal in mere hours, D’Orange Verte is worth a try.
