Wednesday, March 29, 2006

ASK MARLEN: Porn or Perfume?

Dear Marlen,

My son's birthday is fast approaching and I want to buy him something special. I asked a friend what he thought I should buy a teenage guy and the response was "either electronics or porn." My husband just bought my son an iPod, so what am I left with? Well...I'm not buying porn, so I was thinking perfume? That's where you come in? What kind of cologne should I buy for my son, a quiet, Japanese teenager with conservative tastes but a definite sense of style?

Not gonna buy porn,
DTDear DT,

I'm still giggling...Ok, no porn. The first thing that came to mind, knowing Japanese teenagers as well as I do, having worked with them nearly every day for the past 4 years, was Bvlgari pour Homme.

Why Bvlgari? Well, first of all the name is definitely a brand status symbol in Japan and amongst teenagers in the know. Second, the scent is quite subtle - darjeeling tea, white musk, light citrus. Third, it doesn't cost as much as an iPod and you can buy a bottle rather inexpensively at Rakuten.

But my favorite reason is that this is a cool way for a mom to help her son develop his personal style! And hey, if he decides he doesn't like it, YOU can always wear it!

Hope this helps DT!

Marlen

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Admittedly, I don't know a thing about male teenagers, Japanese or not, but I'd second the choice. You can never go wrong with Bulgari!

Anonymous said...

I personally don't like the fragrance, but I think this would definitely be more than appropriate. I know myself, I would love to receive ANYTHING by Bvlgari as a gift! I think Black would be a good one too.

Anonymous said...

I dunno, fragrance is so personal whereas porn is universal.

katiedid said...

That's hilarious Rue. "Porn is universal" should be on t-shirt, no? Heh!

Heather said...

I can't imagine any teenager feeling comfortable getting porn from anyone, least of all his mother!

Luckily the fragrance is a good choice!

Heather