Perfume
Tune in to find out the difference between aftershave and body spray, perfume and cologne, fragrance and scent, as well as what vocabulary one can use to describe how something smells.
Vocabulary
  • Deodorant (noun) — a substance that you put on your body to prevent or hide unpleasant smells.
  • Distinctive (adj.) — something that is distinctive is easy to recognize because it is different from other things.
  • Aftershave (noun) — a liquid with a pleasant smell that a man puts on his face after shaving
  • Scent (noun) — a pleasant natural smell.
  • Perfume (noun) — a liquid with a pleasant smell, usually made from oils taken from flowers or spices and often used on the skin.
  • Superficial (adj.) — not complete and involving only the most obvious things.
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Questions and answers
Maria: Rory, do you wear perfume or aftershave?

Rory: I do indeed. In addition to my regular deodorant, I also wear body spray by Hugo Boss, actually. It's quite distinctive, I think.

Maria: What kind of perfume do you like?

Rory: Well, it's like I said, the Hugo Boss one, the original one. It's kind of a, I don't know, sort of a yellow color. It's my favorite aftershave, but I branched out recently into buying their blue one. I think it's called Infiniti. It's got a sharper scent, but it's just as good. As for perfume, I really don't like perfume. That's more for girls, in my opinion.

Maria: Would you ever buy an expensive bottle of perfume or aftershave?

Rory: Actually, I think the aftershave that I buy now is kind of expensive. It's not the most expensive thing. It's maybe five thousand rubles for a bottle. That is kind of expensive, I think, in Russia especially. But like I say, it's nowhere near as expensive as, oh, I don't know, I think "Clinique" is quite an expensive brush. Chanel is quite expensive as well, although I think Chanel is more for ladies. So yes, I would buy an expensive bottle like the one I buy now, but not too expensive.

Maria: Do you think people spend too much money on perfume these days?

Rory: Well, of being in the crowds on the Metro is anything to go by, then people probably don't spend enough on deodorant and perfume. It kind of smells bad sometimes. But seriously, though, I'm not actually sure... I think people spend more on superficial things like perfume and makeup when maybe they could spend it more on self-improvement. But that's just my surface impression. I'm not sure entirely.

Maria: Do you give perfume as a gift?

Rory: Yes, I do. Every birthday and Christmas, my mum gets a bottle of Coco Chanel, "Mademoiselle". That's her favorite kind. So that's what she gets from me. Other than that, I don't think I've given it to anyone else. I think it could send the wrong message, actually, if you give someone a bottle of something that is designed to cover up a smell. It's almost like you're saying you kind of smell. Could you maybe improve it? Even if you spent a lot of money, it might give the wrong impression. So, no, not for me. For no one other than my mom.

Maria: Have you received perfume as a gift?

Rory: I give it to myself every year because that's how long it seems to last. But no one else is actually giving me perfume recently as a gift. I tend to get things like books, for example,

Maria: Would you like to receive perfume as a gift?

Rory: Oh, well, if it was a kind I liked then yes. Although, some people aren't very good at picking out things that I like in the sense of like fashion and things like that. So if they knew me then yes. But if they don't know me so well then probably no.
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