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Top Things to Look For in Men’s Cologne

Posted by

Brian Melville

January 16, 2023

Did you know that research has proven wearing cologne can make you appear more confident and attractive? One study found that women rated dating show contestants who were wearing a fragrance as more physically attractive and self-confident than their non-perfumed counterparts.

And the power of fragrance isn’t just confined to your effect over the feminine nose. Scent can also influence how you’re perceived in professional and social settings.

Men’s cologne is an invisible part of personal style, but it packs a powerful punch.

Yet, roughly 80% of dudes don’t don cologne.

Ironically, this is good news for you. All it takes is a spritz of cologne, and you’ll be part of the best-smelling 20% of men.

However, you have to choose the right scent. There is almost no worse fashion faux pas than a bad cologne.

Keep things classy and continue reading to find out how to choose cologne.

Vet for Quality

One of the first things to look for in a men’s cologne is quality. Top men’s cologne differs from cheap scents in a few key ways.

Firstly, the best men’s cologne contains premium ingredients, including essential oils, which go through specific extraction methods.

The process for producing quality men’s cologne and perfumes is also more involved, following intricate formulas that are predetermined by a perfume industry master.

All of this results in highly complex notes that have been finely formulated to produce a nuanced scent.

For instance, our men’s cologne, Gravité, is crafted according to the traditional French perfume-making way. What’s more, it’s entirely unique, isn’t designed to mimic any other fragrance, and has magnetic layers of fresh and masculine notes.

One of the hallmarks of expensive, luxury perfumes is that they are non-linear. Instead of having one layer of scent, that hits you like a punch in the nose and then rapidly disappears—quality perfumes have multiple layers of fragrances.

Another hallmark of quality perfumes is they smell more mature and “grown-up” than cheap scents.

Cheaply produced perfumes and brand-name knockoffs tend to be a lot sweeter. One of the reasons for this is that they’re often aimed at younger consumers who have less disposable income.

Overall, less expertise and effort goes into the production of cheap perfumes, and this shows up in the way they smell. A cheap men’s cologne is often overpowering, cloying, and synthetic-smelling. Poorly crafted fragrances can also smell strongly of alcohol.

Look for the Right Notes

As we just mentioned, quality fragrances are non-linear and have layers of notes.

These layers are divided into:

Top notes: lighter fragrance notes that you smell first
Medium notes: develop after the top notes have cleared (usually last 3-5 hours)
Base notes: last to develop and become more noticeable as the day goes on

Non-linear fragrances not only last longer. They also offer a more dynamic, sophisticated, and intentional effect.

Non-linear fragrances change as the hours pass, and you can use this to your advantage.

If you have a busy day of work followed by a date night, you might want to choose a scent that starts out fresh in the morning and develops into muskier notes by dinnertime.

Our signature scent, Gravité, begins with notes of bergamot, grapefruit, pepper, and rosemary. Its medium notes are papyrus, cashmere wood, apple, and nutmeg. Finally, its base notes are musk, amber, vetiver, and cedarwood.

You can see how these notes could work effortlessly with the natural progression of both a workday or an off day.

Another thing to think about is how different fragrance notes work with the season. Just like you might need to tailor your skincare for the season, you may want to adjust your cologne. For example, strong notes of spice, leather, or warming tobacco aren’t exactly what you want to be wearing in spring and summer.

Notes like citrus and vetiver are better suited to the warmer months.

If you want to smell on-point year-round, you have two choices. You can either hunt out three or four colognes and alternate them seasonally, or you can opt for a well-rounded cologne that doesn’t skew too fresh or too cozy.

Opt for an Eau de Parfum, Not a Cologne

Another of the most important cologne tips for men is to choose an eau de parfum cologne.

Eau de parfum and cologne are actually two different things, but cologne has become the colloquial term in the US for any type of masculine scent.

Fragrances are broken down into 3 strengths, based on how much perfume oil they contain:

Eau de parfum (15% to 20% perfume oil)
Eau de toilette (10% to 15% perfume oil)
Eau de Cologne (2% to 4% perfume oil)

As you can see, eau de Cologne contains the least perfume. Because of this, eau de Cologne lasts for much less time than eau de parfum. While eau de Cologne only lasts for about 2 hours, typical eau de parfums last for 5-8 hours.

Some eau de parfums can last for even longer than this. Gravité falls into the eau de parfum category and is specifically formulated to last up to 12 hours.

Why is this important? Because most men don’t have time to reapply a fragrance during the day. Instead, you want your men’s cologne, or rather, your au de parfum, to take you from morning to night.

Science has shown that the fragrance you wear can affect the way people perceive your attractiveness, age, health, and personality—why would you want to wear a scent that wears off after a couple of hours?

Finally, a long-lasting eau de parfum like Gravité also offers far better value for money. A fragrance that seamlessly takes you from day to night, won’t just do double duty, it’ll also last longer than a cologne you have to constantly keep reapplying.

Choose a Niche Brand Over Mass-Marketed Options

Finally, we’d also recommend that you choose a niche men’s cologne brand over a mass-marketed one.

Celebrity and designer scents are mass-produced and marketed for mass consumption. Thanks to this, they are often made from cheaper materials that enable high production volumes. Instead of paying for top men’s cologne ingredients, you’re often paying for the marketing costs and brand image.

What’s more, they offer less chance to be unique. If you opt for a Tom Ford scent, you’ll smell just like the thousands of other guys who’re wearing the same fragrance.