What does VIP smell like?

Smell that? It’s the scent of VIP. And it’s free July 9 and 11 when Express Man gives away bottles of Express Reserve cologne to Tao’s first 100 bottle patrons.

For their first entrée into the realm of fragrance, Express Man looked to Strategic Group’s Noah Tepperberg. “He kind of curated the list for me,” says Pamela Seidman, director of brand communications for Express. “I view him as an authority.” With Tepperberg’s list, Express will be putting its scent on the Hamptons, Miami, LA, Chicago and in Las Vegas at Tao nightclub.

We're guessing he smells like success.

The two-night integration of nightlife and product testing is a step away from traditional in-store sampling. “I think whenever you can put sampling into the context its going to be used, it makes it all the more understandable to the consumer,” says Seidman, who would normally slip samples in with purchases and into credit card statements. Or pump the fragrance through in-store air vents for a more subliminal selling approach.

So what does VIP smell like? A “sexy and seductive” blend of woody notes with amber and cognac, which we’re thinking should attract the ladies to Tao’s bottle patrons like flies to, well, expensive cognac.

“It’s a very going ‘going out’ kind of fragrance. The whole sensibility is about your attitude and going out attire.”

Express Reserve will also be put into rotation in the Tao men’s room so, guys, don’t sweat it if you can’t quite splash out for bottle service this weekend. With a little tip to the bathroom attendant, you can at least smell like a VIP, if only for the night.