“My boyfriend has never really been a fragrance person. He normally wears whatever happens to be closest before we leave the house.

I wanted him to have something that felt a little more mature for dinners, weekends and the nights when we actually make an effort to dress up. That was why I bought HZA.

The first time he wore it, I noticed it almost immediately when he got into the car.

It smelled fresh and clean, but not in that sharp sporty way I associate with a lot of men's fragrances.

What surprised me was what happened after we had been out for a while.

At dinner the freshness became softer and there was this warmer scent around his neck and shirt.

I remember leaning toward him while he was talking because I wanted to smell it again.

I did not really notice what I was doing at first. But later I realized I had spent most of the evening touching his arm, leaning against his shoulder or sitting closer than I normally would.

Obviously the fragrance did not suddenly turn him into somebody completely different.

He was still exactly the same man.

If anything, it made me notice more of the things I already found attractive — the warmth of his skin, the way his shirt smelled when I leaned against him, and how relaxed he looked once the evening really got going.

Now when we're getting ready to go somewhere, I'll sometimes ask, ‘Are you wearing the one I like tonight?’

He knows exactly which bottle I'm talking about.

I bought it for him, but I definitely had myself in mind too.”

“Fragrance used to be an afterthought for me. If I remembered to spray something before leaving, great. If I forgot, I did not really care.

I bought HZA because I wanted something that felt more mature than the fragrances I had been wearing.

The first evening I wore it out, a woman I had met a couple of times before stopped in the middle of our conversation and asked what fragrance I was wearing.

That caught me off guard.

She did not just say that I smelled good. She actually wanted to know what it was.

A few days later, somebody else told me I smelled more put together than usual.

That was when HZA started becoming part of the routine.

Shower.
Clothes.
Watch.
HZA.

What I did not expect was that the biggest difference was not really how other people treated me.

It was how much less I started worrying about what they thought.

When I already felt like I looked put together and smelled good, I stopped checking myself constantly.

I looked up more. Eye contact felt more natural. Starting conversations became easier because I was not rehearsing everything in my head first.

There were definitely more occasions where women commented on the fragrance, asked what I was wearing or seemed happy to stay in conversation.

But I think part of that was simply because I was more relaxed.

I was actually paying attention to them instead of constantly thinking about myself.

Sometimes the fragrance gives somebody the first reason to say something.

Confidence is what makes everything afterward feel easier.

HZA did not turn me into a different person. It just became one of those details that makes me feel ready when I walk out the door.”