The Best New Men’s Colognes To Wear Now
A signature scent used to mean finding one bottle and wearing it until it was gone. Admirable loyalty, perhaps, but not exactly imaginative. The smarter move now is scent stacking: layering different fragrances, concentrations and scented products to create something more personal than anything you can buy straight off the shelf.
That might mean pairing a crisp cologne with a warmer amber, wearing a body wash beneath a matching EDP, or using a soft skin scent as the quiet base for something richer. Done well, it gives your fragrance more depth, more character and, crucially, less chance of someone else smelling exactly like you.
The rise of skin scents, such as Acqua Di Parma’s new Buongiorno collection, makes this easier than ever. These more intimate fragrances sit close to the body, which means you can layer them without leaving a trail strong enough to clear a restaurant. At the other end of the spectrum, richer elixirs, woods and ambers bring the warmth and staying power.
Use those heavier scents as your base, tether lighter colognes or musks to them, and build from there. It’s the easiest way to create a truly personal signature, one that can’t simply be picked off a shelf.
With that in mind, here are the best new fragrances to add to your collection.
Farina Original Eau de Cologne
There are many cologne makers in the world, but only one holds the original recipe. Eau de cologne tends to describe the concentration of essential oils in a scent, and they often carry the hallmark freshness of citrus and herbs.
This is all thanks to one man: Johann Maria Farina. The Italian perfumer, on joining his brother in Germany in 1709, created a scent to remind him of spring mornings, and named it after his new home town of Cologne.
Where better to start the hunt for a new splash than with the first one? It’s an unmistakable blend of bergamot, lemon, bitter orange and lime, with heart notes of jasmine and neroli, over a base of amber and musk.
A true echo of an Italian spring.
Jo Malone London English Pear Collection
The UK is incredibly good at producing orchards and rock ’n’ roll bands. The combination of English pears with Mick Jagger’s progeny feels like a natural Best of British pairing.
Indeed, Jo Malone announced fashion’s favourite sisters, Georgia May Jagger and Lizzy Jagger, as the faces of twin colognes English Pear & Freesia and English Pear & Sweet Pea.
Both scents are unisex and celebrate Williams pear with juicy, mellow top notes of the golden fruit. English Pear & Freesia adds a heart of freesia and rose over the earthiness of patchouli, while English Pear & Sweet Pea uses notes of sweet pea over white musk.
Like siblings, this pair of pears has individual characters that harmonise when sprayed together.
BMW M 1985
Car geeks and scent lovers alike will appreciate the German automaker moving into fine fragrance. First up, three significant dates that honour the sporty M line: 1972, the founding year of BMW Motorsport GmbH and the first BMW 3.0 CSL; 1985, celebrating the classic BMW M3 E30; and 2025, marking the launch of the new M5 electric model.
Dressed in petrol blue, the 1985 bottle has a lid shaped like the letter M, while three-stripe indents create a tactile grip on the frosted glass. The same precision engineering is applied by the noses, Alexandra Monet and Frank Voelkl.
1985 captures notes of lime, Fig NP and Philippine elemi, with heart notes of cypress, Clearwood and Gurjun balsam, over base notes of Virginia cedarwood, Cypriol MD and gaiacwood.
It’s a clean, woody aromatic scent that’s exceptionally affordable for the longevity.
Cerruti 1881 VIVO Elixir
Cerruti adds an intense Eau de Parfum to the VIVO line-up. Elixir is an aromatic fougère, capturing notes of pink pepper, nutmeg and lavandin, with heart notes of saffron, vanilla and smooth suede, over base notes of amber, cistus absolute, Virginia cedarwood and oud.
It has great projection thanks to an innovative, powerful woody Amberyver molecule, so you waft a trail wherever you go.
Horace Mezcal Musc
Don’t overlook the staying power of Horace’s latest creation.
Borrowing the smoky, earthy scent profile of the Mexican spirit, Mezcal Musc combines spicy top notes of pimento, cumin and pink pepper, mingled with warming heart notes of cypress, davana and guaiac wood, over vetiver, birch tar and musk.
In tropical climates, exotic woods and sensual spices cling to the skin more than airy citrus notes, so spritz this on for those sticky summer nights.
Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle Contre-Jour
For those who don’t know, contre-jour means ‘against daylight’, and it’s a term typically used in photography or painting. Expect to be entranced, then, by the contrasts in this new Frederic Malle edition by perfumer Annick Ménardo.
For the top note, she uses immortelle, the dazzling yellow Mediterranean wildflower, which sits against darker notes of rose absolute over a foundation of sandalwood oil.
The result is an unconventional aromatic, spicy scent.
Fine Scents Éminence
Fine Scents is a highly curated fragrance collection from Katerina Knight. Knight started her company with a very short list of perfumers she wanted to collaborate with. No surprise, then, that she called on both Jean-Claude Ellena, of Hermès fame, and his daughter, Céline.
Éminence by Céline Ellena proves the family gene for fragrance creation runs strong. It is a blend of salt-tinged air and woods, with an airy, mineral marine breeze, smooth, creamy cedarwood, earthy patchouli and ‘invincibility’.
Sample it, and you’ll keep coming back for more.
BOSS Bottled Striking Lavender
Fresh and clean, the new fragrance from BOSS Bottled, Striking Lavender, is an aromatic blend of white and blue lavender essences over a base of moss accord.
It has a cool, mineral edge, with a double hit of herbaceous notes and an earthy undertone. World Cup fever is in full flow, and Striking Lavender is a limited edition fronted by Vinícius Jr, so get it before it’s gone.
Louis Vuitton Ambre Levant
Tapping into Middle Eastern summer nights, Ambre Levant is an olfactory portrait of golden hour, when the sun dips low and sets the horizon ablaze.
Mandarin is prominent in the opening, then there’s cinnamon, saffron and white pepper, over oud wood and animalic ambergris.
It will have you begging for the next heatwave: the hottest days draw out the seductive base notes even more.
Acqua Di Parma Buongiorno La Collezione
Easily one of our top fragrance launches from last year, the Buongiorno universe has just expanded with five new creations.
Developed as skin scents with less sillage and greater personal enjoyment, these new splashes can be worn alone or together and applied liberally.
Housed in ribbed glass with colourful caps, Buonanotte and Al Bacio are woody musks, Amore Mio is a floral musk, Dolce Far Niente is citrus woody, and Gioco Del Destino is a gourmand.
It’s a great travel-friendly exploration set, and if you can narrow your choice down to a favourite, you can always bag a full-size version.
Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male In Blue
With its unusual aniseed note, this aromatic scent adds another facet to the Le Male line.
Le Male In Blue opens with herbal notes of blue lavender, followed by the warm, spicy and liquorice-tinged notes of anis accord.
On the dry down, there is the warm vanilla of benzoin accord, and the aniseed comes back to the fore.
Rabanne 1 Million Night Elixir
1 Million Night Elixir is a supercharged amber. With a core top note of mandarin, a heart note of a sugary maple syrup accord, and a base note of amber, this deep parfum elixir has been dipped in the night with a black ombré finish.
Fruity and warm, it dries down to a dark, sweet vanilla.
Lacoste Original Aqua
There’s nothing fishy about the unique salty caviar accord in Lacoste Original Aqua, the new marine scent for men.
A woody aquatic, it opens with fresh, herbal notes of clary sage and lavender, hints of the saltiness of caviar, and reveals a dry-down of vetiver and ambery woods.
Uplifting and masculine, it’s a call back to the classic 1990s marine fragrances.
Burberry Hero Elixir de Parfum
By now, you should be familiar with the triple cedarwood accord that underpins Burberry Hero.
Warm and powerful, the Elixir de Parfum uses the same woody trio of Atlas cedar, Virginian cedar and Himalayan cedar, and broadens it with enveloping top notes of tonka and vanilla, over a blackened leather accord.
A smooth and sensuous amber, it’ll see you nicely through all weathers.
Jimmy Choo Man Parfum
If you’re after evening glamour, the new parfum from Jimmy Choo Man will not disappoint.
A spicy, fresh gourmand affair, it has opening notes of golden bergamot and pink pepper, layered over lavender, orange blossom and artemisia, with a dry down that reveals sultry notes of amber, benzoin and patchouli.
10 Eau de Parfum
With its finger firmly on the fashion pulse for the past 25 years, 10 Magazine celebrates a milestone with a limited-edition collaboration between founder and iconic stylist Sophia Neophitou-Apostolou and Azzi Glasser of The Perfumer’s Story.
Having created scents for major fashion houses and Hollywood A-listers, Glasser tapped into Neophitou’s Greek heritage and her parents’ memories. Sophia’s father, who favoured Vetiver by Guerlain, is represented by grassy vetiver absolute in the base notes, accentuated by red sequoia wood and Himalayan cedarwood.
The top notes are inspired by her mother: spicy saffron, black pepper and white peach. 10 Eau de Parfum is a warming scent for men and women, and a piece of fashion history.
Buy now at The Perfumer’s Story
Tom Ford Taormina Orange
The best summer fragrances often evoke a thirst-quenching quality.
Like inhaling a jug of hand-pressed citrus, Tom Ford’s Taormina Orange is a tantalising blend of Sicilian blood orange, cardamom, orange flower absolute and bitter orange bigarade, over an earthy base of patchouli and oak moss absolute.
It conjures the fruit’s peel and pulp, with a beautiful dry-down.
Roja London Espresso Aoud
Like a freshly ground shot of ristretto, Roja Dove’s Espresso Aoud comes from the type of Arabian coffee house where we want to sit and linger.
It opens with rich notes of roasted dark coffee, pistachio and caramelised nuts. There’s sweetness from coconut and vanilla, with a hint of cinnamon, before milky, creamy woods and aoud come through.
The dry-down gives tonka bean, benzoin, leather and musk, which strengthen the nutty gourmand notes. It smells divine, and like caffeine, our day can’t start without it.
Coach for Men Pure Platinum
Building on the Platinum story, Coach Pure Platinum is a lavender-amber that’s aromatic, woody and warm.
Harnessing the clean, herbaceous notes of Bulgarian lavender in the opening, it offers contrasting heart notes of rum absolute over a comforting ambrox accord.
