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The Ultimate Guide to Men’s Fragrances
Spice up your fragrance game, by picking up a new scent from one of the most established fragrance brands.
As the weather gets cooler and you update your wardrobe, spare a thought for your signature scent. Whether you’ve used one cologne religiously for years, or you have a whole drawer full of different spritzes for different occasions, we’ve rounded up our favourite blends across the main fragrance families. You’re sure to find your new scent here.
Words By Caitlyn Batterham
Woody
This scent family falls into the earthy category, think deep rich scents and olfactory senses that remind you of childhood. Touching on everything from sandalwood to patchouli with most fragrances actually containing some sort of woody undertone, as it anchors the other notes. You also get scents like pine, cedar and moss in this category, which are fresh and perfect for a crisp winter scent.
COMME des GARCONS Wonderwood Eau de Parfum, $165, End Clothing
Oriental
These scents tend to be more exotic and sensual, with spicier notes and more ecclectic ingredients. A lot of fragrances that fall under this umbrella may include notes of amber and jasmine combined with any number of spice notes which add to the overall aromatic blend. Other popular oriental notes include musk and vanilla, and spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon. Hints of floral notes often float into these fragrances, such as mandarin and bergamot.
Art Meets Art Besame Mucho Eau De Parfum 50ml, $140, Adore Beauty
Leather
A fairly self explanatory category, leather scents are those with an animalistic undertone. The scent is characterised by smoky notes, and can be tart or sweet, whether its combined with floral scents or more fruity flavours. That new car smell is the exact kind of note we’re talking about here, that deep, yet fresh fragrance. A key characteristic of this scent is the combination of both natural scents like juniper, birch and myrtle and the synthetic safraleine, aldehyde, and synthesized suede nuances.
Floral
Once considered the domain of mostly feminine fragrances, more and more male oriented brands are borrowing floral scents to round out notes. These fragrances are more romantic, and have sweet base notes that blend easily with fruity or aromatic scents as well. They often blend together a range of different flowers to create a sort of ‘bouqet’ of scents in the one unifrom perfume. Floral scents, like La Labo’s Rose 31, are fresh, light and perfect for any season.
Citrus
A citrus scent is commonly an energising and refreshing smell. Typical notes for a citrus based fragrance would include lemon, grapefruit and mandarin – like Tom Ford’s Mandarino Di Amalfi Eau de Parfum. More obscure fruits like verbena, lemongrass and bergamot are also commonly used within this category. Citrus scents pair really nicely with woody under notes, as they add depth to what are already fairly fresh scents.
Chypre
This fragrance family, pronounced sheep-pre, is a mix of many other scents, as it is known to feature slightly earthy, woody scents and also more naturalistic, floral scents. One good way to describe it is by thinking of a mossy scent. This sort of natural, earthy note is the basis of many chypre fragrances, which are actually a lot more common than you might think. Historically, many of the major perfume houses began with chypre notes, like Dior and Guerlain, so this family is in good standing.
Aromatic
If you’re thinking aromatics in terms of your food, then you’re pretty much on the right path here. Similar to the Oriental family, this fragrance family is home to herbs like lavender, sage and rosemary often complemented by bursts of citrus or spices to add complexity, and to help you avoid smelling like a herb garden. Reach for an aromatic fragrance for the days you’re looking for something a little deeper but still bright.
