The Journal is an online collection of articles and essays written and curated by Thomas W Coombs, published bi-annually.

Once you have read the issue, see the Curated Articles of Note section for some great words from elsewhere on the sartorial web.

Sign Up to the Mailing List Here and receive an exclusive article to your inbox with each issue along with an email only issue in the summer.

You can follow Thomas W Coombs on Instagram

Issue 45; The Smell of Spring

I am sure you have noticed the change in weather, the sun is appearing more, even in England, and the air is warmer.  The scent of spring is in the air, sweet blossoms and fresh aromas of cut grass and warming soil.  Now have a good smell of yourself, is your woody aftershave eau de toilette or perfume seeming a bit heavy now?  Well that's because it is.

I am not a perfumer, you may have noticed, so I am not going to tell you the best ones to buy as you need to check that scent on you, nor I am going to tell you to just splash some Negroni around your neck.  But one thing all gentlemen should know is, when it is time to move over to a summer and spring scent, your oak and leather filled bottle can sit at the back of the cupboard until the cooler months return in October.  But what Spring calls for is something lighter and with fresh citrus notes.

It is always right to have a few scents, gone are the days of the overfilled shelf with every must have product that may smell good on your friend but on you it is more actual toilet water than the French equivalent in name only.  I hope that by now many men have worked out their style along with their signature scents.  So here is my bit of advice; always have four scents in your arsenal, two for autumn winter, an everyday and something with little something else for nights out and special occasions rather than the office.  Then two for the spring and summer months, with the same thought, an everyday and one for occasions which holds a little more punch.


The everyday can be a cheaper one so you can get in a bigger bottle without breaking the bank and the special occasion can be at the higher end and smaller as you don’t use as much.


If you are staring at an overflowing area of bottles, just get through them and find what you and others react to more, in a good way and then you can relax.  Not saying you can’t change them up, some brands like to stop doing certain scents but always keep to the rule of four and you will be ready for all occasions.