By Ray A. Smith

Wall Street Journal

Rhubarb. Geranium. Orange blossom.That lineup might sound better suited toa farmers market, but some of the biggest

names in fragrance are gambling thatthese seemingly unmanly aromas are thefuture of men’s cologne.

Creating fragrances for men has alwaysbeen a tricky business. Long averse toanything remotely feminine, many menprefer traditional woodsy or soapyscents, or better yet, nothing at all.

But a new generation of younger menhas been fueling fragrance sales with awillingness to experiment with exotic in-gredients. As the market gets more com-

petitive, fragrance makers are becomingincreasingly adventurous in their offer-ings.

The result: an olfactory free-for-all atthe men’s cologne counter that featuresscents often more evocative of women’sperfumes than traditional male fra-grances.

A new Burberry scent has hints of mi-mosa and port wine.

Key ingredients in John Varvatos’ latestentry, Vintage, include crisp rhubarb, “ar-

tisanal” quince fruit paste and Albanianjuniper berries.

Kenneth Cole’s R.S.V.P. boasts notesthat include “wet grass” and “soft cash-mere.”

And Tom Ford just started sellingscents in his men’s store called TuscanLeather and Tobacco Vanille.

“You have to be careful,” says RichardHerpin, a perfumer with fragrance andflavor company Firmenich, which has de-

FRUITY AND FLORAL AROMAS WAFTING IN

Colognes have scent of woman...but made for man–––––––

New fragrances with femininetouch often walk a fine line

–––––––

AMAZON.COM PHOTO

Ingredients in John Varvatos’ Vin-tage: rhubarb and juniper berries. SEE COLOGNE|8E

T H E B A S I C S B E S T F O R L O C A T I O NL A S T SH O W L O N G ?

O U C HF A C T O R C O S T E X P E R T T I P S

Shaving The most commonhair removal method,it’s quick, simple andcheap. But it doesn’tlast long.

Legs, under-arms, face (formen).

At home. Mencan get a pro-fessional shavefrom a barber ora grooming cen-ter.

As little as oneday to a fewdays.

Unless you getrazor bumps ornicks, it’s virtu-ally painless.

20 cents to $15per razor; $15 to$30 for a profes-sional men’s facialshave at a barberor men’s groomingcenter.

• Change your blade ev-ery three to five shavesand use a softening gel orcream.• To save time, try one ofthe new razors withbuilt-in skin conditioners.

Waxing Warm wax is spreadover the area, thenpulled off along withyour hair. It lasts lon-ger than shaving, butit hurts.

Any part of theface or body.

Spas, beauty sa-lons and somenail salons.Home waxingkits are avail-able.

Three to sixweeks.

Like a stickybandage gettingripped off.

$10 to $20 for eye-brows or upper lip;$50 to $80 for fulllegs; $25 to $50for bikini area.

• Don’t tan 24 hours be-fore or after waxing. • If you’re worried aboutthe pain, take a painkillerbeforehand.

Lasers Beams of light de-stroy hair follicles bytargeting their pig-ment. People withlight skin and darkhair get the best re-sults. Lasers don’twork on white, lightblond, red and grayhairs.

Any part of theface or body.Lasers can dolarge areasquickly, sothey’re idealfor backs, legsand arms.

Dermatologists,spas and laserremoval cen-ters. Because ofscarring andburning risks,some say a doc-tor is the bestbet, though itmay cost more.

Several months.Most who un-dergo the recom-mended five toeight sessionssee a significantreduction in hair.

Some say itfeels like a beesting or a rub-ber band snap-ping the skin.

About $60 to $150a session for partsof the face or othersmall areas; $200to $400 a sessionfor larger areas.Discounts are usu-ally offered if youbuy a package ofsessions.

• Don’t pluck hairs or uselotion before treatment.Do shave. • The lighter your skin,the better it works. Sowait until your tan fades.

Electrolysis Electricity burnseach hair follicle witha thin metal probe,permanently elimi-nating it.

Small areassince it takes along time totreat each indi-vidual hair.

Licensed elec-trolysists arelisted in thephone book andon the Web.

It’s the only re-moval methodthe FDA consid-ers “permanent.”(Three to 10 ses-sions are recom-mended.)

A warm, sting-ing sensation.

Most charge $30to $40 for each 15minutes of work. Ittakes 15 to 30 min-utes to do an aver-age woman’s up-per lip.

• Let your hair grow for afew days before your ap-pointment. It’s easier tozap longer hairs.• Avoid caffeine beforeyour session; it stimulatesnerve endings.

By Michelle Crouch

mcrouch@charlotteobserver.com

Hair. We love it on our heads, but most of us hate it everywhere else.Women and men today have plenty of options for getting fuzz-free. Some are painful. Some are

expensive. And almost none of them is permanent.Lasers, the newest technique, do not permanently remove all hair in a treated area, the Food and DrugAdministration says. But with repeated treatments, lasers can permanently reduce the number of body

hairs in an area.Electrolysis, using an electric current to burn hair follicles one at a time, is still the only

method that has permission from the FDA to claim “permanent hair removal.” But even ithas a catch, experts say, because hormonal changes can cause new hair to grow in a

treated area years later.Meanwhile, methods such as sugaring and threading have made a

comeback, with a growing number of Charlotte-area spas and salonstouting them as a way to remove hair with less irritation.

No matter the method you choose, experts say manyfactors can play a role in effectiveness, from

operator experience to hair color.The Observer talked to local

dermatologists, electrolysists andother experts to compile a

hair-removal primer:

CAROLINA LIVING

Keep Your CoolAge-oldoptions thatare made toshade. 2E

Style FileAmyBlumenthaltalks aboutshoppingwhiletraveling. 3E

Built-In Dazzle | Shirts, dresses havejeweled necklines. 8E

E&T | Your guideto fun is inside thissection.

Coming Saturday| Family in SouthPark area wants to maintain home’s ’70s vibe. At Home

Also InsideTelevision .......5E

Comics........6-7E

Advice ............7E

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