The Science Of Scents: Understanding Hawthorne Cologne's Effectiveness

Hawthorne is a direct-to-consumer cologne and personal-hygiene company that offers a personalized experience to its customers. The company asks its customers to take a 21-question quiz before they can buy its full suite of products, including colognes, deodorants, body washes, and hair-care products. The quiz covers various categories, from skin type and grooming habits to favorite drinks and ideal nights out. Based on the responses, Hawthorne offers tailored recommendations for colognes, with one for Work and one for Play. The company has a range of base formulas that can be mixed and matched with various fragrances to create a unique scent for each customer. Hawthorne's colognes are also categorized by notes, such as citrus and woody or smoky and woody, rather than traditional names, allowing customers to choose scents that align with their preferences.

Hawthorne's cologne quiz

Hawthorne is a direct-to-consumer cologne and personal hygiene company that offers a unique, tailored experience to its customers through an extensive 21-question quiz. The quiz covers a range of categories, from the obvious, such as skin type and grooming habits, to the more unexpected, like favourite drinks and ideal night out. This data-driven approach allows Hawthorne to curate a set of colognes and other products that align with the customer's preferences and needs.

Understanding the Quiz:

The quiz is an essential part of the Hawthorne experience and serves multiple purposes:

• Personalization: The quiz collects information about your lifestyle, preferences, and even personality traits to create a unique fragrance profile. This ensures that the recommended colognes are tailored to your tastes.
• Curating the Right Products: By understanding your skin type and grooming habits, Hawthorne can suggest products that are suitable for your skin and complement your existing routine.
• Enhancing the Brand Experience: The quiz is an interactive and engaging way to introduce customers to the brand. It creates a sense of exclusivity and makes the customer feel like they are part of a unique, personalized journey.

Quiz Questions Explained:

Here's a breakdown of some common questions on the Hawthorne cologne quiz and how they might relate to your fragrance profile:

• Age: Fragrance preferences can change with age, and our sense of smell can also evolve over time. Age provides a demographic context for their recommendations.
• Current Cologne Usage: Understanding your current cologne preferences gives them a starting point to build upon and helps them suggest fragrances that are similar or offer something different.
• Diet: Certain foods and spices can influence the way a fragrance interacts with your body chemistry, so this question might be about anticipating how a fragrance will work with your body's natural scent.
• Work Environment: This question could relate to the intensity and projection of the cologne. For instance, if you work in a crowded office, they might suggest a fragrance that isn't too overpowering.
• Body Temperature: Body temperature can affect how a fragrance develops on your skin. If you tend to run hot, they might recommend colognes with lighter, fresher notes.
• Weekend Activities: This question is likely about matching a fragrance to your lifestyle. For instance, if you spend weekends outdoors, they might suggest a cologne with natural, earthy notes.
• Smoking: Smokers might prefer stronger, more intense fragrances that aren't overpowered by other scents, or they might opt for fragrances that help mask smoke odours.

The Results:

After completing the quiz, Hawthorne presents you with a set of recommended colognes, categorized as "Work" and "Play." These colognes are tailored to your unique profile, and you have the option to purchase them as a set or individually.

The "Work" cologne is designed to be a professional, reliable fragrance that carries you through the workday, while the "Play" cologne is meant to be fun and edgy, perfect for a night out or special occasions.

Customer Experience:

Reviews of Hawthorne's cologne quiz and products are mostly positive, with customers praising the personalization, packaging, and quality of the fragrances. Many appreciate the uniqueness of the quiz and the way it curates a customized fragrance experience. The fast delivery, excellent customer service, and reasonable prices also earn high marks.

However, some customers mention that the scent of the colognes didn't live up to their expectations or that the level of personalization could be higher.

In Conclusion:

Personalised packaging

Hawthorne's attention to detail in its packaging is impressive. When you receive your order, the outer box is personalised with your name on it. Inside, there is a card titled "How we tailored your Hawthorne", which shows all the questions you answered during the quiz with your responses circled by hand. This adds a special touch and makes the customer feel valued. The card also includes a welcome message and an overview of the cologne's notes.

The colognes are housed in a sturdy, all-black box, exuding a sense of masculinity and high quality. The actual cologne bottles seem to be stock bottles, so there is no special personalisation for the cologne itself. However, the overall packaging experience is well-designed and makes the customer feel special.

The company also offers gift sets, which are semi-customisable and do not require taking the full quiz. These gift sets are a great option for those who want to explore Hawthorne's products without going through the entire personalisation process.

Longevity of the scent

The longevity of a fragrance is an important factor to consider when choosing a cologne. The Hawthorne cologne collection offers a range of scents with varying longevity.

The "Work" cologne by Hawthorne is designed to last throughout the workday. One reviewer noted that the scent lasted for about 8 hours on their skin, with the woody base smell remaining consistent throughout the day. The longevity of this cologne makes it a reliable choice for those seeking a professional fragrance.

On the other hand, the "Play" cologne by Hawthorne has a slightly shorter longevity. While it initially projects quite strongly, it mellows down over time. One reviewer mentioned that the scent lasted for about 6-7 hours, while another reviewer stated that it lasted for a couple of days on their wrist.

In addition to the "Work" and "Play" colognes, Hawthorne offers other fragrances with varying longevity. The Citrus and Woody cologne, for example, has been described as having good longevity, lasting for a couple of days on clothing. The Soft and Airy Sandalwood cologne, on the other hand, has been described as having less longevity, with the scent fading by the end of the day.

Overall, the longevity of Hawthorne colognes seems to vary depending on the specific fragrance and individual factors such as skin type and body chemistry. However, reviewers generally seem impressed with the longevity of the colognes, mentioning that they last throughout the day or even longer.

The cologne's notes

Hawthorne offers a range of colognes with different notes, including:

• Citrus and Woody: This cologne has notes of tangerine, grapefruit, neroli, petigrain, vetiver, and violetwood. It is described as warm and woody, with a hint of citrus.
• Aromatic and Woody: This cologne features Italian cedrat, Haitian vetiver, and Canadian balsam fir. It is a very woody and masculine scent with a noticeable touch of petrol.
• Soft and Airy Sandalwood: This cologne includes notes of cucumber, violet, German orris, marine floral musk, and Australian sandalwood. It is described as dry, papery, and smoother than similar fragrances.
• Botanic and Woody: This cologne combines blue chamomile, mandarin, suede, rose, saffron, ylang-ylang, vetiver, and cedarwood. It is said to have an effusive quality due to the combination of rose and suede.
• Green and Airy: This cologne has notes of cucumber, green apple, oakmoss, ocean wind accord, iris root, and Australian sandalwood. The opening is described as fresh and nice, but the drydown is off-putting to some.
• Woody and Airy: This cologne contains notes of bitter orange, lavender, cedarwood, vetiver, patchouli, and sandalwood. It is fresh and comes across as a bit soapy.
• Fresh and Aquatic: This cologne is an intricate marine sandalwood with juniper, pear, and basil. It is described as a fresh, yet not overpowering scent.
• Sophisticated and Spicy Oud: This cologne highlights the luxurious essence of oud, made from rare agarwood, with bright and verdant top notes balanced with warm, aromatic depths. It also includes notes of Seville orange and Egyptian geranium.
• Leather: This cologne has notes of sandalwood and patchouli. It is described as warm, woody, and edgy.
• Dark Rum: This cologne includes notes of smoky tobacco and cedar.
• Pine: This cologne features Italian citrus and woody vetiver notes.
• Patchouli: This cologne combines incense and cranberry notes.
• Juniper: This cologne includes bergamot and saltwater notes.

The colognes are designed to have top notes, middle notes, and base notes, with each layer interacting with the others to create a unique fragrance.

The value for money

Hawthorne's colognes are priced at $50 for a 50ml/1.7 fl oz bottle, or $100 for a set of two. This is a reasonable price for a cologne, with EDT/EDP fragrances typically costing between $30 and $100 each. The added personalisation of the colognes also justifies the price.

Customers seem to agree that the colognes are good value for money, with one reviewer saying that the cologne will last quite a while and is half the price of Dior Sauvage. Another reviewer says that the cologne is definitely worth the money, and another says that the price is just right.

The colognes are also available as part of a subscription, with a set of six products costing $144. This includes two colognes, deodorant, body wash, shampoo, and conditioner.

Frequently asked questions