This page was created for the Interactive Guide to Aftershaves and the Interactive Guide to Fragrances.

On first sight these two products can be easily confused. Especially since they both are packaged in similar sized and shaped containers, look, to a certain extent, the same, and both make you smell good. And an aftershave splash is applied similarly to a splash-on cologne. But what makes an aftershave an aftershave and not a cologne or a fragrance? [1]

To make matters even more confusing, you can also find some products labelled "All Purpose Lotion", like Royall[2] or Clubman Napoleon[3], and are intended to be used as both an aftershave and a cologne.[4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Compared to fragrances (men's fragrances are often referred to as "colognes", even though a cologne is a specific type of fragrance), aftershaves contain more alcohol or other astringent, as well as ingredients that will soothe and/or moisturize the skin, and less fragrance oil. Fragrances have more fragrance oil, and no astringents, moisturizing lotion or other ingredients intended to soothe or heal the skin.[9]. The aftershave has a primary purpose to soothe, protect and tone the skin after roughing it up with a razor, and the fragrance/cologne is included for the secondary purpose of providing a nice smell to enjoy for that short period of time during and shortly after applying the aftershave. In order to achieve its primary purpose, the aftershave is applied directly to the shaven face. What makes a "good" aftershave really depends on your skin type (normal, oily, dry, combination) as different aftershaves contain different types and blends of ingredients designed for different skin types. Reading the ingredients, reviews and even marketing material will help you choose the aftershave that works best for your skin type, but of course actually trying it on your face is the only way to know for certain which works best for you.

Where the aftershave is intended to soothe, heal and protect while providing a pleasant smell to enjoy if only briefly, the fragrance/cologne is created for the single purpose of making you smell good, and the scent should last much longer than an aftershave, although the length of time the scent of a fragrance/cologne lingers varies greatly from fragrance to fragrance. And just as there are exceptions to most rules, there are a few aftershaves that have a scent that lasts much longer than some of the shorter-lived fragrances. Because the fragrance/cologne contains no ingredients to soothe or heal, it can instead be an irritant and so is applied on areas of the body other than the face, where it can provide a scent without irritating the face.[10]

As has been noted, we often generalize and refer to all mens fragrances as "colognes", as we have here in comparing fragrances/colognes to aftershaves, but there are, in fact, several types of fragrances , including, for example, colognes, eau de toilettes, eau de parfums, and others which are described and compared in another Wiki article.

Aftershaves and Colognes appear to be very similar as they both contain a fragrance and are typically used after shaving, but they do not have the same purpose and should not be used interchangeably by most[11] [12] [13] [14] [15]. Having said that, you could use a cologne as an aftershave, but be aware that in doing so you risk skin irritation.

• Interactive Guide to Aftershaves
• Interactive Guide to Fragrances

1. ^Differences between Aftershave and Cologne
2. ^Royall Lyme After Shave
3. ^Pinaud Napoleon All Purpose Lotion
4. ^Aftershave vs all purpose lotion vs Cologne
5. ^Royall All-Purpose Lotions
6. ^Royall All purpose lotions
7. ^Has anyone tried Royal all purpose lotion?
8. ^Royall: Aftershave or Cologne
9. ^what makes a good after shave an after shave and not just a cologne?
10. ^Where to apply cologne and how to make it last longer
11. ^Aftershave versus Cologne
12. ^Aftershave v. Cologne
13. ^Difference between AS, EDT, Cologne?
14. ^Splash vs After shave vs Cologne
15. ^Cologne VS Aftershave