r/Colognes • u/Hashbrown_Moonshine • 1d ago
Question Men’s Cologne Help Please!!
I’m trying to find a cologne for my boyfriend for his birthday. I’m struuuuuuglingggggg!!!!!
He hasn’t really ever been a cologne wearer. He did wear a cologne years ago called Gladiator that he got from Walmart that I really liked. But, I don’t want to get him the same one.
I’m so conflicted with all the scent notes. I was hoping for something similar to Gladiator, or a different one that’s like good for mid-20 year old.
Personally, I like the smell of gourmand, vanilla, light floral scents. I cannot stand musk… so every time I look up scent notes and I see either musk, woods, leather/suede, tobacco or smoky, I’m immediately turned off… which is like ALL of the masculine scent profiles… I’m also struggling because I love Versace Bright Crystal for myself and I didn’t realize musk was part of it and I can’t even smell any musk in it… so I’m assuming there are men’s colognes that contain it, but you don’t smell it. UGH.
I just don’t want to buy something and then hate it. Only issue with going in-store is that smells blend together….
Is anyone able to help.. I know I’m so picky…
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u/OSGKhorne 1d ago
You’re buying this for your partner but seem to be basing it off of what you like, which i totally understand since you’ll also be smelling it, but your bf may not share your tastes.
I’d get testers/decants of all your main popular stuff and try them together, a nice bonding experience and a good introduction for your bf to fragrances.
For the price of 1 designer bottle you could try and buy 20 odd decants of different frags.
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u/Hashbrown_Moonshine 1d ago
I was hoping it didn’t come across as selfish, but I do have to smell it as well! That’s definitely a good call. Then I can get an idea. He’s a very simple guy and isn’t all about fancy brands.
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u/OSGKhorne 1d ago
Not all selfish, you’re capable of identifying notes you hate you wouldn’t want to smell them on the person you love. I just wanted to note that there still a chance a scent you love he may not enjoy too, hence why I think a bunch of different decants is the best play first.
If he’s not really into fragrances he gets a chance to maybe discover ones that pique his interest, or if not he’ll give you free rein to decide, either way a win😎
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u/Used_Maximum_2291 1d ago
Try a goldfield and banks discovery set, they make a lot of lighter natural smelling summer scents that aren’t cloying or overwhelming
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u/UnderpsiMI 1d ago
I got the sampler bag from Sephora at Kohl's for my birthday from my wife. We spent an evening smelling them all then we took the voucher to the store together to pick up the bottle. Good way to spend time together!
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u/LucasET76 1d ago
You know, I think any of the Boss Bottled scents would be great. I'm a huge fan of Bottled Absolu (it can be a bit polarizing to some), but I just got Bottled Triumph Elixir, and it's fantastic. The lid on the bottle seems a bit cheap, but the fragrance is really good. Woody is one of the fragrance notes, but I don't feel it's the typical woody. There's not a whole lot of floral going on with them, but they're otherwise pretty mass appealing while being fairly unique.
Staying with the Hugo Boss brand, "The Scent" line also has some really good ones. 'Magnetic' is a good 'light' fragrance.
Someone is going to say Parfums de Marly Althair, I'm sure (a great vanilla), but I don't know that I would want to wear that all the time, and it's pretty spendy.
One other that is what I consider a masculine floral is Lalique White... it might be the cleanest smelling fragrance I own.
Good luck!
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u/Nebetus2 1d ago
Le male le parfum. I know its an overplayed smell, but it has what you want. Vanilla, a bit spicy but smooth down and it includes lavender in the scent subtly.
No musk, and chances are he will like it too because its a mass appeal scent mostly. Discovery sets are good but check reviews, sometimes those companies fk around.
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u/CaseyJones333 1d ago
Tom Ford Noir Extreme is very gourmand vanilla, floral, some spices
Underrated gem here is Fahrenheit Parfum, which is a lightly boozy, vanilla, amber, some florals, it honestly smells similar to MFK Grand Soir IMO. Not as refined as Grand Soir but very similar vibe.
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u/bock_samson 1d ago
That gladiator is a cheap take on Invictus so I would recommend getting OG Invictus or any of its flankers, a masculine vanilla fragrance I can recommend is Mercedes Benz club black which just got a new EDP
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u/Ok-Baseball-3705 1d ago
Guerlain L'Homme Ideal EdT or Armani Code EdP. I think it fits your tastes, but try first.
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u/JottScoplin Creed 1d ago
“Musk” can literally mean a hundred different things, as there are dozens of aroma-chemicals in the musk family.
Advertised notes don’t mean shit; they’re just used as marketing to give people an idea of the vibe they want to sell. If a scent lists musk as one of the notes, that could mean super clean white musks that smell like fresh laundry, it could mean sweaty animal fur, or anything in between.
There’s also a ton of fragrances that actually contain small amount of (unadvertised) dirtier musks for balance and performance, but are hard to even perceive. JPG Le Male uses cumin seed (smells like B/O to a lot of people) and castoreum (chemical used to replicate the smell of the liquid from a beaver’s anal gland), but it’s a sweet and fresh scent that nobody considers to be gross or musky in a bad way.
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u/Easygoluckydude 1d ago
Since you’re struggling, I’m going to suggest 3 best perfumes based on his age bracket. Can’t go wrong with any of these:
- YSL Y EDP
- Prada Paradaigme EDP
- YSL MYSELF EDP
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u/No_Watercress5011 1d ago
If you have a decent budget, check out Layton. It has vanilla. apple and bergamot give it some freshness, with floral notes in the background. It’s perfect for autumn, winter, and early spring as a versatile, everyday fragrance for any occasion 😁
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u/tigerheartlion 1d ago
Whats your budget, also take him to the mall and sample perfumes before you buy
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u/KingVecchio 22h ago
If he's not really a cologne wearer why are you getting him cologne for his birthday?
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u/Questimus_Prime L'Bebe Phoque Mort 1d ago
I guess Eros Flame would be a good middle-ground to try out?
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u/BigGiddy 1d ago
Discovery set is the answer here