When I was young, when I started shaving, I never used any sort of aftershave, other than witch hazel. Dad the same, though he occasionally used Aqua Velva, because my mom liked it. Mostly, dad smelled like Alberto VO-5.

Scent is a powerful memory trigger. Trouble is, not all those memories are always pleasant. We have a lady at work who wears a lot of very expensive perfume. And it smells great on her. But once in a while she wears white diamonds, which I think smells like raid, not because it does but because my ex used to wear it, and with her body chemistry it was awful.

I also work with Asians, many of whom consider strong scents offensive. So I try to settle for being clean. Partially because I don’t like strong scents myself (I wear Drakkar at the wife’s request when we will be going to an event) at least part because I don’t desire to be affiliated with someone’s bad memory of someone who wore that scent in their past.

Still. There are scents I will always remember. The smell of fabric softener and bleach, the smells that remind me of the first woman I went out with after my first divorce. The smell of my first one and only new car that I ever owned. The smell of vanilla, the smell in the room where the Ogwife and I stayed on our wedding night. The salt smell of the ocean. it helps a lot to be able to soak in these smells when your own stink is not overpowering.