Men’s Fragrances: Rites of Passage

What is the transmission due to? A scent of lemony cologne sprayed on the skin; the scent of an aftershave vigorously slapped on the cheeks; a shaving foam that rises like whipped cream in the palm of the hands; a shaving brush that thickens the texture on the face in no time… So many everyday gestures and scents, seemingly innocuous, that permeate the memory until they become little Proust madeleines – because at the same time as the smell, the memory records an entire sensory and emotional context.

“It was only at the beginning of the 20th century^e century that shaving burst into the intimacy of bathrooms. Until then it was reserved for barbers only, more for hygiene and health reasons, beards and moustaches being considered, after the work of Louis Pasteur on germs, as nests for microbes, says Marie Binois, marketing director at Roger & Gallet, which has just launched a grooming line to accompany its new Cologne Twist