Manly Power Fragrances!

I graduated high school clear back in 78 making me in the eyes of some an over-the-hill has been.  I sure don't feel over the hill and I know the folks in my whitewater raft are more comfortable, and safer, due to experience and history that the young pups can't muster.  (Not that I don't like youth nor am I to the “get off my lawn” stage yet.)  But anyway, I grew up during the age of Power Fragrances where men and women smelled much differently.  There were no “unisex” scents the like of which I just can't understand!  I long for the days of Brut which is almost unrecognizable from its current offering.  I ache for men to know how Jovan Musk Oil is so much different than the current Coty produced Jovan Musk (no oil).  Grey Flannel? Not the same.  Quorum and Aramis?  Hey, pretty good but still not quite there.  Elsha?  I've not tried the current offering but from what I read it too has lost its mojo.  Vintage Old Spice is heavenly and makes the current offering ride in the back of the bus.  Polo Green?  Ah man.  That stuff is the juice!  And current green just isn't the same without that oak moss.  Lauren Chaps is manly enough to raise low testosterone but sadly, unavailable.  Shoot, Jovan Grass Oil, perhaps the greatest scent known to man, has not been available in any form for years and vintage bottles are ridiculous. (If anyone has a bottle and wants to be rid of this foul smelling concoction I will help you out.) 
Aquatics smell good I suppose, and I wear one or two for momma, but dang Scooter, they just aren't manly!  Unisex?  Come on man!  Hey, don't get me wrong.  There are some very nice offerings that are manly (and Savage I'm looking at you).  But it seems today its labeled gauche for a man to announce his presence with a fragrance that is both high in projection and sillage.  Well folks, I don't mind being that guy!  Hey, I don't bathe in fragrance and I don't use fragrance to atone for poor hygiene, but I do enjoy a manly scent worn in a manly fashion and with some restraint and deference to others, I will continue unapologetically.  I don't understand the fragrance sites where a young kid will call a frag “dated” which statement sounds as silly as the scent of a hot apple pie, because it's been made for generations, is a dated scent.  What?  I am not a frag-head but respect those of you who are.  What I am though is a cat who doesn't wish to share fragrances with my wife (unless she sneaks some to remind herself of me when I'm gone.  That's cool.).
So here's a story to PROOVE my point.  A few years back I was sacked out in my bed and in the wee  morning hours, half asleep,  I rolled over and nibbled on the ear of my bedmate.  Hey, I'm a dude who loves his wife and doesn't suffer from low T!  Besides, it's like saying “I love you” without having to wake anyone up.  This day however, I immediately noticed a difference.  Her ears had grown, become fuzzy, and she needed to shave her whiskers!  I was jarred awake by a very masculine voice stating “what are you doing dad?” So anyway, my oldest son learned how I say hello to his mother.  He and his bride were visiting and while I slumbered, he and grandma swapped out tending a fussy baby.  Had he been wearing a power frag he would have saved a bunch on counseling. 
So what say you gents?  Am I too old-school.  Do I need to embrace this era Of androgyny, or do I go ahead, put on a vintage frag, and announce to the world around me I celebrate the differences between men and their wonderful ladies?

Perhaps you've heard about the T-Shirt where the front says "Change Is Good" and the back says "You Go First".  It is interesting to me that no one has touched this thread after over eight waking weekday hours in North America and Europe.  Well, here goes ...

You don't have to embrace androgyny, although I would encourage you not to resist it either.  Be yourself, wear any fragrance you like, and celebrate differences between the sexes with integrity, which is to say, with like minded partners and as you see fit.  Frankly, no matter how much longevity and sillage you have going on, I doubt wearing a vintage fragrance will announce anything to the world except for the scent.  OTOH if the world is changing in ways that trouble you, then you have some work to do to come to terms with that.  Otherwise, you will not be at peace, and your quality of life will suffer. Regardless of what you do, the world will do what it does, and your choice of fragrance won't much change its course.

There is a reason that "What is the world coming to?" is a well known question[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif], and one most often asked by older people. It was already well known when I was little, so there is nothing new about it (except perhaps that things change more rapidly now).  I liked your post and responded to it for several reasons.  You raised an issue that I think is perennial, important, and understood differently, I think, by older and younger people.  But above all, I liked and responded for my selfish reasons:  I'm a senior citizen, but[/font][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif] some decades back I began a lifelong process of cultivating a new outlook - an approach not focused on issues of age, sex, etc., but still relevant to dealing with aging and societal changes.  It has come in handy.[/font]

At any rate, I don't want to spend my senior years whining about what the world is coming to.  I rather spend my remaining time singing "What a Beautiful World".  I hope you age that way too, and not having to think twice about your choice of scent.

”it is said that what is called "the spirit of an age" is something to which one cannot return. That this spirit gradually dissipates is due to the world's coming to an end. For this reason, although one would like to change today's world back to the spirit of one hundred years or more ago, it cannot be done. Thus it is important to make the best out of every generation.”

Hagakure

You gents are awesome. Please don't think this post is anything but selfishness on my part! I love the power frags of yesteryear and bemoan thier passing but have faith that if bell bottom trousers can make a comeback then so can the frags. As far as changes in society regarding gender roles, hey, I'm not highly bothered although there may me a lady or two mad at me for holding a door for them. I refuse to allow all chivalry to die and besides I travel enough to notice most people hold doors for each other regardless of gender. (Yea us!). Also I see no reason to swap a paradigm that has functioned well my whole life for another way that may or may not be better. That said, although I won't be an early-adopter, I'm not too proud to change if better results show up. As far as frags go? Calvin Klein, you have no power over me with your unisex scents! And yep, I really don't feel like apologizing for my power frag penchant. I'm old enough that I have to turn volume knobs up to match the power of my cologne and I love it. Still young enough to take betting money off the kids on the ski hill though who THINK they can go fast. Bwahahahaha. I think Polo Green again tomorrow as my bride and I are jetting off to Vegas tomorrow for the weekend. Vegas is a power frag kind of town.

A guy likes what he likes and that is generally influenced by tastes and standards developed while growing up.  We have no power over when or where we were born so you just have to live in your own time and make the best of it as you see it.  Intergenerational conflict is usually just good natured fun - what we do is cool and what other generations do isn't but if you're actually getting worked up about it then there's a therapist waiting for you.

I'm of the same vintage as Lipripper660. I graduated high school in 1977.  There was a lot of great stuff about that time period - music for one, lower prices but there was some crappy stuff too.  I'm not going back to bell bottom/flared pants or the hair styles and don't even get me started about the Mustang II.  As for the fragrances, I recall Brut and wasn't a fan, there was Old Spice and Tabac, Hai Karate and a few others.  Tabac for me is a great, manly power fragrance which I enjoy to this day.  I will, however, consider what I'll be doing and who I'll be seeing before wearing Tabac.  Some people just can't handle that much masculinity 

Ha! Dated a girl that drove a mustang II. Had to stop because she thought her crappy buggy was in the same category as my roadrunner packing a hemi. Hash Jeans! Those were so darned crummy. I wore 501 Levi’s and don’t have to apologize to my kids about photos of me. I thank my mom for making me keep my hair high and tight.

Ha!  Dated a girl that drove a mustang II.  Had to stop because she thought her crappy buggy was in the same category as my roadrunner packing a hemi.  Hash Jeans!  Those were so darned crummy.  I wore 501 Levi’s and don’t have to apologize to my kids about photos of me.  I thank my mom for making me keep my hair high and tight.

Yeah I could see how that relationship wouldn't have worked out.  When I met the girl who I later married she was driving a blue 1980 Camaro RS with a 4 speed manual transmission.  Win win

I say wear whatever makes you happy  !

My Wife doesn’t approve of a lot of the fragrances that I enjoy, and says “That makes you smell like an Old Man”, to which I reply “Maybe so, but it reminds me of my Grandfather”. 

If you’re longing for power fragrances of yesterday, do yourself a favor and sample some fragrances from Rogue Perfumery. These two Scents from Manuel, ‘Chypre- Siam’ and ‘Mousse Illuminee’, have changed the way I look at fragrances, and are very much “Power” scents.

I say wear whatever makes you happy  !

My Wife doesn’t approve of a lot of the fragrances that I enjoy, and says “That makes you smell like an Old Man”, to which I reply “Maybe so, but it reminds me of my Grandfather”. 

If you’re longing for power fragrances of yesterday, do yourself a favor and sample some fragrances from Rogue Perfumery. These two Scents from Manuel, ‘Chypre- Siam’ and ‘Mousse Illuminee’, have changed the way I look at fragrances, and are very much “Power” scents.

Interesting