Sure, you love many things about your guy: His kind heart. His sense of humor. His ability to shake his head and smile when you fly into a PMS rage. But if his smell isn’t on the list, we have a few tips for fixing that. After all, your guy should smell as sweet as he acts. Below are five suggestions on how to tackle a stinky issue delicately, without an awkward conversation involving the words “You stink.” These are all quick, small purchases you can give as gifts to him — and to yourself.
Shower gel
OK, so we all know that shower gel is the same thing as body wash, but for some reason, calling it shower gel just sounds more manly. Shower gels are far more perfumed than the plain old bar of soap that your guy is probably using. Stroll down the aisles of your local pharmacy and find a scent that smells good to you but won’t ick him out with girliness. The good news here is that the cheaper brands often have more gender-neutral scents. Avoid products specifically labeled for men — they’re just pricier versions of the normal stuff. Look for scents that aren’t fruity or floral, but have more neutral odors, like lemongrass, aloe and ocean breeze.
Cologne
This is a bit of a harder sell than the body wash, because it adds an extra step to his morning routine. Remember that cologne, like perfume, is a matter of personal taste. Try getting him a few small bottles of scents so he can try them out before you invest in a gallon of something he might not like. We recommend shopping at a department store for these because free gifts often come with fragrance purchases there — so you could wind up with a new tube of lipstick and a guy who smells great. Win all around.
Deodorant
This might sound like a no-brainer, but some guys skip the deodorant. While we get that “natural” has its appeal, it can also be downright nasty. Even if your guy is wearing antiperspirant, kicking it up to a scented deodorant plus antiperspirant will do wonders to combat underarm man funk. Again, all this sniff fix takes is a trip to the pharmacy. Stick with the gender divides in this case. The prices aren’t that much different, and the packaging is so gender specific, it would be tough to get any guy to slather on some Secret.
Laundry sheets
This is a super simple, almost effortless way for a guy to up his smell appeal. Pick up some dryer sheets for him to throw in whenever he does a load. There’s something about a dryer sheet that takes a t-shirt from plain clean to yummy clean. And this small change will mean his sheets and towels will smell fresher, too.
Air fresheners
Man stank can go beyond body odor. A stinky apartment can be a problem too. While a serious deep cleaning might be in order, your guy probably doesn’t want to spend his weekend doing that. An air freshener can cover up the scents until he gets around to it (or moves out). An air freshener with dude appeal isn’t exactly an easy find. We recommend the reed diffuser versions. You know the ones: The bottles with the little sticks coming out of them. They don’t require effort like sprays or candles and are pretty nice on the eyes. Here, too, avoid floral or fruity scents to keep it manly.
We hope a few of these techniques work well for you and your soon-to-be-sweet-smelling honey.
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