What's the difference between solid cologne and spray cologne?Updated 2 years ago
We get a lot of questions about what cologne is best, and honestly, it's all about personal preference.
Here, we'll talk about the difference between our solid cologne and spray (or liquid) cologne.
What is solid cologne? What are the benefits?
Solid cologne (otherwise known as "dry cologne" or "hard cologne") has become more popular in the past several years due to its great portability (is that a giant bottle of spray cologne in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?) and its subtle nature.
Solid cologne is scent mixed in a wax base (we use natural, de-scented beeswax, along with some fine skin conditioners, for ours). This wax base means that it can be stored in a tin without it pouring out (duh). It can be easily applied using your fingers (see the photo in the header) or by rubbing directly on your wrists.
It's very easy to control the application of a pocket-perfect tiny tin because you can be confident that you're not over-using and getting accustomed to the scent.
However, many people find that solid cologne scents don't last long (we've found it to be a matter of personal skin chemistry, in our years in the field). I'm not a scentologist (or a Scientologist), but I personally believe this has to do with how porous and warm your personal skin is. Does the solid cologne sit on top of your skin trapped in the wax? Or does the solid cologne get warm enough to release the scent? It depends on you.
Solid colognes also melt in the heat, which is a concern this time of year (being the Summer and all). Our solid colognes have a melt point of about 85 degrees Fahrenheit, so they won't likely melt in your pocket (unless your pocket happens to be in the dryer, flopping around at 150 degrees... we can't recommend sending these through the laundry, from personal experience).
In the past few weeks, we've had a half dozen or so notes that colognes have melted in transit (which we always attempt to rectify by sending a replacement, just so you know). This is a serious drawback of shipping these solid colognes, but you can always pick them up at a local store who carries Outlaw Soaps products.
Our solid cologne lasts a darn long time. With multi-time daily use, folks have reported they can get 4 - 6 months of use out of their solid cologne. Not a bad deal (if we do say so ourselves, which we just did, but also, so did other folks)!
What is spray cologne? What are the benefits?
Spray cologne (otherwise known as liquid cologne) is defined as 30% concentration of fragrance to alcohol carrier (we use organic grain alcohol as a carrier). The carrier evaporates shortly after contact/release, leaving just the fragrance.
We voluntarily adhere to the IFRA safety and quality standards, which define prohibited ingredients and ingredients that are safe at certain levels.
Spray cologne generally smells stronger and lasts longer simply because the carrier method is different. So if you find that our solid cologne doesn't last long, we recommend trying the spray cologne. It has the same scent as our solid cologne, but smells stronger and lasts longer.
BUT with great power, comes great responsibility.
When we made this new, more powerful cologne, we knew some folks would be tempted to over-use it and become "the chode* with all the cologne." Don't be that chode.
The bottom line is this: spray cologne is great. It's strong but great. It can literally save the day.
But it's also not all that portable. Not one TSA agent has exclaimed, "Wow! What a wonderful 3.3-ounce bottle of cologne!" in the past 10 years (at least in my experience).
And it's also not variable. If you put on cologne in the morning, you're gonna be wearing cologne in the afternoon, no matter what turn your day takes. Sometimes, that's a happy turn, and someone steps in close and is impressed with your obviously superior choice of cologne (good thing you put on spray cologne!). Sometimes, that's a shitshow day where you end up crammed in a tow truck cab with an introverted chain smoker named Gary and his collection of piss bottles.
It's your choice: spray cologne or solid cologne.
So, which is right for you? What's your preferred scent, and shape of that scent?