Entrepreneur on Scent of a Growing Market

Snips and snails and puppy dogs’ tails . . . never mind what little boys are supposed to be made of. What they should smell like, according to the makers of Gregory’s cologne for boys, is a subtle blend of vetiver, lemon, orange, bergamot and lavender.

No, lavender is not for sissies. Roman soldiers used to wear it. Plus it’s the main smell of that childhood fragrance classic, Johnson’s Baby Powder.

Gregory’s is the creation of Randy Perini, a Miami advertising man. Perini noticed that when his wife, a fragrance model, spritzed people in department stores, small children always asked to be spritzed too. And he remembered that when he was a boy, it was a real thrill when his father dabbed him with a bit of Old Spice on Sundays.

Children’s colognes are available in Europe. So, Perini thought, why not here?

The Perinis have no children, but they do have a 3 1/2-year-old nephew named Gregory. “I could have started with a girl’s cologne, but I didn’t want to lose that face,” said proud uncle Perini.

Gregory leans against a toy Mercedes in ads for Gregory’s, looking like a miniature Don Johnson in his scaled-down loafers and wrinkled linen pants.

Gregory’s costs $15.50 for an 0.85-ounce bottle. It is available in the San Fernando Valley at Bullock’s in Sherman Oaks, Kids Collection in Tarzana and Boys Will Be Boys in Sherman Oaks. Jerome Paust, Boys Will Be Boys general manager, said: “Lots of young men want to smell like their daddies.”