College is a time for partying and enjoying your youth, but there comes a point when you need to start maturing and acting your age. The real world will hit soon and it’s best you don’t smell like a junior high boys’ locker room. Throw out that overly cheap-smelling bottle of Axe body spray deodorant and upgrade to a real man’s scent: eau de toilette.

1. Get help

If you have no clue about what cologne you should buy, just ask. Serious fragrance departments or stores will have fragrance specialists on call to give you a hand. Take advantage of the opportunity because these specialists actually go through training at least once a year so that they can be of service to you.

Joy Bartolotto and Beverly Moore, two fragrance specialists who have been working in the fragrance department at the Macy’s in Johnson City for over five years, are experts when it comes to their trade. Joy’s favorite men’s fragrance and bestseller is Acqua di Gio by Giorgio Armani.

“I think it’s one of those scents that transcends time and age,” Bartolotto said.

Moore adds that it’s important to really find a scent that you like for the way it smells and not because it’s a brand.

“Ed Hardy does very well among kids and teens because it’s Ed Hardy. I personally don’t care for it,” Moore said.

2. Testing takes time

You might not find your “signature scent” in one store visit, and that’s OK. Never try on more than two different fragrances at a time or else you’ll throw your sense of smell for a loop. Use the inside of your wrists to sample each one.

Sophisticated fragrance counters will have a jar of coffee beans out for you to sniff in between testing colognes; the coffee beans will cleanse your nasal palate so that you’ll be able to make an unhampered decision. If there are no coffee beans, sniffing the inside of your shirt collar also works.

Everyone has a unique body chemistry and it will take at least 15 minutes before the cologne starts to react with your skin. Once the time has passed, give yourself a whiff and see if the smell still tingles your senses because chances are it smells a lot different than the first spritz out of the bottle did.

Selecting a fragrance isn’t exactly random either. You should choose a scent the same way you would match your belt to your shoes or the same way a fancy restaurant requires a dress code. Fresher scents that give off a citrus vibe are good for the summer months and during the day, while the winter months or a night out on the town require something warmer and spicier.

This, of course, is something more advanced than Cologne 101, so it will come only after you feel you’ve mastered the basics. It’s good to rotate your scent to fit the appropriate setting. This sixth sense will develop in good time.

3. Just a dab

The key to wearing cologne is to make sure that your scent doesn’t enter a room before you do. It’s important to be conscious of others around you and not impose your scent on their oxygen supply. Remember, you may like what you’re wearing, but others may not.

“You should never smell your own fragrance,” Moore said.

Everyone has a different ritual on how and where they place their cologne. The key is to find that perfect balance between way too much and not enough.

“You should place it in areas where you generate more heat, such as the crooks of your elbows. This way the scent permeates a little stronger without overdoing it,” Bartolotto said.

Brian Golden, a junior majoring in biology, uses a body spray instead of cologne.

“I use it because it’s a lighter alternative, and I know I won’t overdo it,” Golden said.