How do you choose a perfume for men?
Pick by occasion, season and strength, not by the label on the bottle. A practical route to a first and a second perfume, with samples tagged for men to compare.
How do you choose a perfume for men? Start from where you will wear it, the season and how strong it should be, not from the label on the bottle. Then compare a few samples on your own skin. The audience tag on a perfume, in our records "men", "women" or "unisex", reflects how a house or a seller classifies it, and many people wear across the labels. What matters is how it smells on you and whether you enjoy wearing it on an ordinary day.
Start with the occasion
A perfume for the office is not the same job as a perfume for an evening or a run. For work, aim for something clean and moderate that does not enter the room before you do, see office samples. For evenings, a warmer and deeper perfume works, see evening samples. For sport, a light, fresh scent tends to be more comfortable.
Then the season
Heat lifts fresh perfumes and makes heavy ones feel thick, and cold does the opposite. Many men settle on two perfumes, one for each half of the year. Look at the summer and winter ranges to see what suits each.
Four men-tagged samples to compare
Arabiyat Prestige Aristo is tagged for men and for spring, with daily, evening and work occasions. It is recorded with ginger flower, mandarin, orange and lemon on top, magnolia, jasmine and patchouli in the heart and vanilla, musk and sandalwood in the base.
Khadlaj Shiyaaka Sky is tagged for all four seasons, with daily, sport and work occasions, recorded with lemon verbena, bergamot and mandarin on top, green accord, neroli, orange blossom and geranium in the heart and musk, ambroxan, sandalwood and vetiver in the base. Dumont Nitro Red is tagged for summer and sport, recorded with apple, lavender and bergamot on top, watermelon, cedarwood and calamus in the heart and amber, sandalwood and patchouli in the base.
Bujairami Mafia Boss is tagged strong, for autumn, winter and evenings, recorded with spices, bergamot and lemon on top, tobacco, amber and cedar in the heart and leather, patchouli and agarwood (oud) in the base. Four different jobs from four different families, and the tags tell you which job each was filed under.
Common starting points
Most men begin in one of four places: fresh and citrus, for the office and warm weather; aromatic and woody, an easy all-rounder; warm and spicy, for evenings and cold days; and sweet or gourmand, for people who want a perfume that is noticed. None is more masculine than another, and each has dozens of variations, which is why a few samples tell you more than a description. The note collections, such as bergamot and cedar, let you follow a note you like across houses.
Mistakes to avoid
Buying the loudest perfume first, because it feels like a statement, is the usual mistake: loud perfumes are the hardest to wear every day. Another is choosing by a name or a bottle, which says nothing about the smell. A third is wearing too much because the nose has tired; why you cannot smell your own perfume explains that trap.
Strength and sprays
Pick strength to match your situation. A light perfume is easier to wear all day without thinking. A strong one deserves restraint: one spray, then wait. How many sprays of perfume you should wear gives a method, and EDT, EDP or extrait explains how concentration changes the feel.
Test before you commit
Pick two or three that suit your answers and wear each for a day on clean skin. The routine in how to test perfume on your skin works for any perfume, and which perfume suits me offers five questions to narrow the field first. Do not buy a bottle after one spray on a strip; a few days with a vial is a fairer test.
Where to go next
Browse all samples tagged for men, or look at unisex samples for a wider choice. For a woman-tagged equivalent of this guide, see how to choose a perfume for women. Questions about our vials are answered in the FAQ.
FAQ
Does a "for men" label mean other people cannot wear it?
No. It reflects how a house or a seller classifies a perfume, and plenty of people wear perfumes labelled for another audience. Judge a perfume by how it smells on you.
How many perfumes should a man own to start with?
Two or three cover most days: a fresh one for work and warm weather, a warmer one for evenings and cold weather. Add more once you know what you like.
How many sprays should I use?
Start with one or two on warm spots and see how it feels at arm's length. Our guide on sprays gives a way to find your level.
