The Many Scents Of Hawthorne: Exploring Varieties And Notes

Hawthorne is an American niche brand that offers personalised colognes and bathroom essentials for men. The company was launched in 2016 by Phil Wong, a designer for Hood By Air, and Brian Jeong, a product manager for BCG Digital Ventures. Hawthorne uses biometric tailoring and study-backed research to deliver a perfect scent: two tailored colognes selected from a brand's fragrance palette. The brand offers a 22-question quiz to understand a customer's skin-care and fragrance needs, and offers five play colognes and five work colognes. The colognes are crafted by award-winning perfumers such as Olivier Gillotin, Rodrigo Flores-Roux, and Quentin Bisch.

Hawthorne's cologne quiz

Welcome to the Hawthorne Cologne Quiz!

At Hawthorne, we believe that your fragrance should be as unique as you are. Our colognes are tailored to your body and activities, offering a personalized scent that will make you stand out from the crowd.

The Quiz

To get started, we'll take you through a simple and fun quiz to understand your needs and preferences better. The quiz consists of 22 questions and will take just a few minutes to complete.

Skin and Hair Care

First, we'll ask you about your skin and hair. Do you have any specific concerns, such as dry scalp or sensitive skin? We want to ensure that our products cater to your individual needs.

Soap and Deodorant

Next, we'll discuss your preferences for soap and deodorant. Do you prefer bar soap or body wash? Are you looking for a deodorant that addresses sweat or odour concerns, or both? We'll also address any ingredients you may want to avoid, such as aluminum additives.

Fragrance Profile

Now, for the fun part—creating your unique fragrance! We'll ask you a series of questions to understand your taste in scents. Do you prefer woody and aromatic notes, or something more citrusy and fresh? Are you a fan of spicy and oriental fragrances, or do you lean towards the floral and fruity side? We'll also inquire about your lifestyle and daily routine to ensure your cologne suits your personality and activities.

Results

Based on your quiz answers, we'll pair you with your perfect colognes and bathroom essentials. You'll receive two colognes—one for "Work" and one for "Play", each with unique notes that complement your personality and lifestyle.

Our colognes are crafted by award-winning perfumers and made with natural ingredients, ensuring a high-quality and long-lasting fragrance.

With Hawthorne, you can say goodbye to the daunting task of spending hours testing different colognes. Our tailored approach takes the guesswork out of finding your signature scent, delivering a personalized fragrance experience straight to your door.

So, are you ready to embark on the Hawthorne Cologne Quiz and discover your unique fragrance profile? Let's get started!

The brand's founders

The Hawthorne brand was founded by Phil Wong and Brian Jeong, both in their early 30s. Wong is a designer for Hood By Air, while Jeong is a product manager for BCG Digital Ventures. The pair launched the company in 2016 with the aim of creating a modern fragrance brand that used biometric tailoring and study-backed research to deliver the perfect scent for each customer.

The company's unique selling point is its tailored colognes and bathroom essentials, which are selected for customers based on a 22-question quiz. The quiz covers topics such as skin and hair type, lifestyle, and dietary habits, with the results being used to pair customers with one of ten scents from the brand's fragrance palette.

The brand's website is designed to be user-friendly, with a simple quiz that uses eye-catching images to illustrate the choices on offer. The company also offers fast delivery and a 30-day return or exchange policy, with free shipping both ways.

Hawthorne's packaging has also been praised for its attention to detail, with personalized touches such as addressing the customer by name on the outer box. The colognes themselves are presented in sturdy, all-black boxes, exuding a sense of masculinity and high quality.

The founders' vision for Hawthorne was to create a brand that offered a personalized experience to its customers, curating products that were specifically tailored to their needs and preferences. They recognized the growing trend towards personalization in various industries, from fashion to hair care, and sought to bring this bespoke experience to the world of fragrances.

The brand has been well-received, with customers praising the quality of the fragrances, the value for money, and the convenience of the ordering process. The founders' attention to detail, from the user-friendly website to the luxurious packaging, has helped to create a positive and memorable brand experience for customers.

The cologne's ingredients

The ingredients of a cologne are called notes. Each cologne has top notes, middle notes, and base notes. Each layer of notes is important, as is the way they interact with each other. The way a cologne smells over time, or if it lasts at all, is also important. Hawthorne colognes have 10-15% essential oils, which means they are in between the eau de toilette ("EDT") and eau de parfum ("EDP") families and will last between 5-8 hours.

The "Play" cologne has cranberry and bergamot on top of red rose, incense, patchouli, and sandalwood. This cologne uses every family of fragrance possible: the "fresh" family with the cranberry, the "floral" family with the red rose, the "wood" family with the sandalwood, and the "oriental" family with the incense.

The "Work" cologne has top and middle notes of bitter orange, pear, and lavender of vetiver, while the base is a wood accord. An "accord" is a carefully blended fragrance base that can be used in many different fragrances.

Hawthorne's colognes are natural and free of sulfates, parabens, silicones, phthalates, and are cruelty-free and vegan.

The cologne's scent

The Colognes' Scent

Hawthorne offers a range of colognes with different scents designed to cater to varying preferences and occasions. The brand utilizes biometric tailoring and study-backed research to create tailored fragrances that align with customers' lifestyles and needs. The colognes can be broadly categorized into two types: "Work" and "Play", each with distinct fragrances.

Work Colognes:

The Work colognes are intended for professional settings and tend to have more rigid and consistent fragrances. The top and middle notes for the Work cologne mentioned in the sources include bitter orange, pear, and lavender, with a base of wood accord. This combination gives it a fresh initial impression that transitions into a woody base scent. The fragrance is long-lasting, with a duration of around eight hours or more. While it maintains a professional and masculine smell, some users report that the scent becomes less appealing towards the end of the day, possibly due to its interaction with their skin.

Play Colognes:

The Play colognes, in contrast, are designed for leisure and offer more fun and edgy fragrances. The Play cologne mentioned in the sources features top notes of cranberry and bergamot, with underlying notes of red rose, incense, patchouli, and sandalwood. This blend creates a sophisticated and versatile fragrance that evolves beautifully over time. The scent typically lasts between five and seven hours, with the citrus notes fading first, followed by the spice, and the wood base notes lingering the longest.

Variety of Scents:

Hawthorne offers a range of scents within the Work and Play categories, ensuring a certain level of personalization. While the exact number of variations is unclear, one source mentions five "play" and five "work" colognes. The brand's website features a comprehensive quiz that takes into account factors such as age, diet, work environment, and weekend activities to tailor the colognes to individual preferences and lifestyles.

Overall Impressions:

The colognes have received mostly positive reviews, with users praising their longevity, value for money, and unique scents. The Play cologne, in particular, has been described as "award-winning," blending various fragrance families to create a sophisticated and evolving scent. However, some users have expressed mixed opinions about the scents, stating that they did not suit their preferences or expectations.

Customer reviews

Hawthorne's colognes have received generally positive reviews from customers, with many praising the longevity and value of the fragrances. One customer described it as "a very smart choice", saying that it "always gets compliments" and is "definitely worth the money". Another review highlights the strength of the fragrance, noting that it "projects quite strong at first with hints of Seville orange and oud".

Some customers have commented on the complexity of the scent, observing how it develops over time. One review advises letting the fragrance "settle before exposing others", noting that "the complexity of the scent develops over time". This view is echoed by another reviewer who describes how the cologne "smelted at first a bit overwhelming, but once it blended with my skin for a few minutes it softened and half an hour later it was perfect".

In terms of value for money, customers have remarked that the colognes are "reasonably priced" and "masculine", with one review stating that it is "very good [...] for half the price!" of similar fragrances.

However, some customers have expressed mixed opinions about the scent. While some reviews mention that the cologne has a "pleasant scent", others say that it "doesn't last very long" or that it "doesn't smell the best". One review notes that the cologne has "a hint of the scent but nothing like you would think".

Overall, Hawthorne's colognes have received positive feedback for their longevity, value, and complex scent development. While some customers have expressed mixed opinions about the scent, the reviews suggest that Hawthorne offers good quality fragrances at a reasonable price point.

Frequently asked questions