13 Colognes You'll Actually Want to Wear
With different seasons come different moods. As you adjust and adapt with the earth's relation to the sun, so should you mix up your grooming routine. Scents have a special correlation with our emotions, moods, and memories, so they're the very best place to start.
Whether you’re spritzing yourself to match the vibes of summer, spring, fall, or winter, these timeless colognes are as unique as they are stimulating – and they're not as overpowering as many other options.
These 13 colognes, organized by the seasons they work best in, will get your olfactory muscles tingling and to match whichever mood you're in – or one better, improve it.
Fall
Malin + Goetz Leather Perfume Oil
Whether you realize it or not, you’re always in the market for a cologne like the one Malin + Goetz has to offer. Surprisingly, leather is not the first thing you smell when you first take a whiff, but rather lotus flower, clove, and pepper with a base of sandalwood, cedar wood, cashmere musk, amber, incense, and leather. It’s warm, welcoming, and perfect when paired with a nice glass of bourbon.
Diptyque 34 Boulevard Saint Germain Eau de Toilette
Bathed in brilliance and luxury, 34 may be one of the finest scents you’ll ever spray on your body. One spritz goes for miles and commands the world’s attention regardless of the number of layers you have on over your skin – and it does so without being overpowering. Created by esteemed perfumer Olivier Pescheux, this blend is a deeper version of its original and comes out officially in September.
Cremo, Bergamot & Musk
Cremo is one of those brands known for its impact on shaving, but they also make some killer budget fragrances that’ll transport you to Pleasure Town. Their bergamot and musk-tinged cologne is just as adventurous and manly as those of high-end competitors, but a quarter of the price.
The Motley Atlas Cologne
This cedar-forward scent is rounded out with hints of amber, oak moss, and worn leather to present a subtle (yet still mildly prominent) smell that gives off autumnal lumberjack vibes.
Winter
Michael Kors Eau de Toilette for Men
Michael Kors is one of those brands that’s almost too classy-smelling to justify the incredibly reasonable price. This particular blend of bergamot, coriander, star anise, black pepper, thyme, and elemi conjures the scene of a snow-topped cabin in the woods where the smell of firewood almost beats the smell of romance. Pending you’re turned on by cabins, that is.
Le Labo Thé Noir 29
Always reliable purveyors of fine fragrances, Le Labo knows what they’re doing and it comes through with just one look at their website. When you finally get the chance to smell their creations – namely The Noir 29 eau de parfum – it becomes apparent that these guys are experts. Paying homage to the tea leaf, Noir 29 blends bergamot, fig, bay leaves, cedarwood, vetiver and musk together to create a luscious and heavy winter smell that wraps you up in a proverbial blanket.
Kiehl's Original Musk Eau de Toilette Spray
While Kiehl’s may not be as well-known for their fragrances, this musky eau de toilette spray is a hidden gem amongst a sea of skincare products. It smells like your grandpa’s cologne and – as expected – conjures images of old blowhards shaving with a straight razor on a submarine. The burst of citrus from the bergamot and orange softens the top notes of musk and makes for a brightly well-rounded smell.
Spring
Maison Margiela Replica Jazz Club
If you close your eyes, throw on some Chet Baker, and try to focus on the tobacco, pepper, and rum notes, you can almost imagine yourself in a smokey jazz club while spritzing this. This stuff is good, like very good, and is just one of the many scents that conjures the type of visceral (and kinda sexy?) experiences Maison Margiela aims for with their Replica line.
Nautica Voyage
When it comes to your classic spring scent, Nautica Voyage Eau de Toilette Spray for Men is as by-the-books as it comes. For a reasonable price, you can smell like you own (or at least grabbed a seat on) a yacht, if not a small schooner.
Royall Lyme of Bermuda Royall Yacht
Sometimes Royall Lyme of Bermuda’s diverse selection of signature scents feels like a secret club that no one knows about, despite the fact they’ve been doing this since 1957. Royall Yacht smells exactly how you’d expect. It’s a luxurious and suspiciously inexpensive cologne that blends the floral stylings of geranium and jasmine with cedarwood and musk to make the quintessential men’s fragrance.
Summer
Malin + Goetz Cannabis Eau de Parfum
For those expecting to spray this on and smell like you just stepped out of a dispensary in the middle of Burning Man season, think again. Malin + Goetz’s cannabis eau de parfum is a surprisingly subtle, “defiantly naughty, now inescapably chic” fragrance that fills the nostrils with a spicy, herbaceous aroma. Base notes of cedarwood, patchouli, and sandalwood cement it as a floral cologne, while the top notes of bergamot and black pepper give it that edge that helps its match its bad boy reputation.
The Motley Bergamo
Bringing the carefree vibes of the Caribbean coast to wherever you live, The Motley's Bergamo is an earthy, beachy scent combines tomato stem, cut grass, and juniper to help you envision a swim-up beach bar where everyone knows your name and has a gin and tonic in hand.
Juniper Ridge White Sage Solid Perfume
If you haven’t entered the world of solid perfumes and colognes, you've gotta get on it. The perfect place to start is Juniper Ridge. This California-based company makes a numbers of fragrances, but excels with their solid perfume collection. White Sage is a solid place to start and transports you to "sprawling, sunbaked Western Mojave landscapes dotted with dense, grey brush."
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