Tom Ford · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Oud Wood Eau de Parfum Decanter
Cold-weather cologne in a bottle that looks like it belongs on a bar cart.
$500–$1,000
Shop the Pick →Style, travel & hobbies · /mens-cologne/
Men's cologne: how to buy it for someone else
Buying fragrance for someone else is the highest-risk, highest-reward gift there is. Get it right and he wears it every day for a year. Get it wrong and it sits on a shelf as a small permanent reproach.
The hedge is simple: buy a sampler if he has no signature scent, and buy the full bottle only once you know which one runs out first.
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The full shelf
One signature, one for cold weather, one that is safe in an office. Most men need exactly one of these.
Christian Dior · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Christian Dior Sauvage Eau de Toilette Spray for Men, 3.4 oz
The best-selling men's fragrance in the world, and not by accident. Bergamot and pepper, works on everyone.
$100–$250
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Christian Dior · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Christian Dior Eau Sauvage Eau de Toilette Spray, 3.4 oz
The 1966 original, not the modern one. Citrus and herbs, worn by grandfathers with better taste than yours.
$100–$250
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Dolce & Gabbana · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Pour Homme Gift Set
The set, which is the sensible way to buy it — full bottle for the shelf, travel size for his bag.
$100–$250
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Dolce & Gabbana · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Eau de Toilette for Men
The Mediterranean cliché, and a good one. Citrus and rosemary, built for heat.
$100–$250
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Yves Saint Laurent · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Yves Saint Laurent Y Eau de Parfum, 100ml
Sage, geranium and cedar. The modern office scent that still works at dinner.
$100–$250
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Yves Saint Laurent · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Yves Saint Laurent Y for Men Eau de Parfum
Same fragrance, different bottle size. Buy whichever is cheaper on the day.
$100–$250
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Armani · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Armani Acqua di Giò Parfum
The parfum reformulation — darker and woodier than the blue bottle everyone knows.
$100–$250
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Jean Paul Gaultier · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male Eau de Toilette
Lavender and vanilla in a torso-shaped bottle. Unmistakable since 1995.
$100–$250
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Azzaro · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Azzaro The Most Wanted Parfum
Cardamom and bourbon vanilla. Loud in cold weather, and intended to be.
$100–$250
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Azzaro · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Azzaro The Most Wanted Eau de Parfum Intense
The intense version, which lasts a full working day rather than an afternoon.
$100–$250
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Versace · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Versace Eros Eau de Toilette for Men
The blue bottle every man under forty recognises. Sweet, loud, and impossible to dislike at a party.
Under $100
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Versace · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Versace Eau Fraiche Eau de Toilette for Men
The lighter Versace. Summer-safe where Eros would be too much before dark.
Under $100
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Rabanne · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Rabanne 1 Million Eau de Toilette for Men
Loud, sweet and unmistakable. He will be told he smells good, repeatedly, by strangers.
Under $100
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Rabanne · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Rabanne 1 Million Eau de Toilette Travel Size
The travel size. Enough to find out whether he is a 1 Million person before committing to the gold brick.
Under $100
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Gucci · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Gucci Guilty Pour Homme Parfum
The parfum concentration — deeper and longer than the eau de toilette, and worth the difference.
Under $100
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Gucci · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Gucci Guilty Pour Homme Eau de Toilette
Gucci's most wearable men's scent. Lavender and orange blossom, dressy without being formal.
Under $100
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Prada · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Prada L'Homme Eau de Toilette
Iris and amber, unusually grown-up. The one to buy a man who thinks he dislikes fragrance.
Under $100
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Prada · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Prada Luna Rossa Black Eau de Parfum, 100ml
Darker and smokier than the standard Luna Rossa. Cold-weather bottle.
Under $100
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Jean Paul Gaultier · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male Elixir Parfum, Travel Size
The travel size of the Elixir. Forty dollars to find out whether it suits him.
Under $100
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Montblanc · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Montblanc Legend Eau de Toilette
Nearly eighteen thousand people agree it is the safest sixty-dollar bottle on the shelf.
Under $100
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Nautica · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Nautica Voyage Eau de Toilette
A hundred and fifty thousand ratings at under twenty dollars. The best-value fragrance on Amazon.
Under $100
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Davidoff · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Davidoff Cool Water Eau de Toilette
The 1988 aquatic that every fresh fragrance since has been copying.
Under $100
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Davidoff · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Davidoff Cool Water Aftershave Splash
An aftershave rather than a fragrance — lighter, and the correct thing to use after a wet shave.
Under $100
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Versace · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Versace Eros Energy Eau de Parfum
The brighter, fresher Eros. Wearable in daylight where the original is not.
Under $100
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Armani · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Armani Acqua di Giò Eau de Toilette
The 1996 aquatic that defined the category. Twenty-six thousand ratings.
Under $100
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Nautica · Men's Cologne & Fragrance
Nautica Blue Eau de Toilette
Thirteen dollars. Twenty-six thousand people agree it punches far above that.
Under $100
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The designer shelf
The bottles men actually wear, from the houses that have been making them for decades. Every one here has thousands of ratings behind it, which at this price is the closest thing to a guarantee that what arrives is genuine.
Cologne FAQ
What is the difference between EDT, EDP and parfum?
Concentration of fragrance oil. Eau de toilette is lightest and lasts a few hours; eau de parfum is stronger and lasts most of a day; parfum and elixir concentrations are strongest and can last well over a day. Stronger is not better — it is a different use case.
What cologne should I buy my boyfriend?
If he has no signature scent, buy a sampler set of four and let him live with them for a month. If he does, buy the full-size bottle of what he already wears, or a seasonal complement — something warm and woody for winter if his current one is fresh.
How long does a bottle of cologne last?
A 100ml bottle at two sprays a day lasts roughly a year and a half. That is why spending $300 on fragrance is more defensible than it sounds — the cost per wear is under a dollar.
Should cologne be sprayed on clothes or skin?
Skin, on the chest and neck. Fragrance is designed to develop with body heat, and some oils will stain fabric. It also lasts noticeably longer on moisturised skin.