This is actually a really difficult question, because the answer is “it depends”.

Body chemistry can play a big part in scents. What smells good on one person might smell like absolute ass on another.

you can never apply too much axe body spray amirite ladies

Go to Sephora and try a few. Pick one that smells fresh. Ask the salespeople for help, they’ll probably be dying to help. Only one sprits when you use it. People sitting next to you should smell you, not people across the room.

I’m surprised to not see WD-40 topping this list.

It depends.

Part of what makes a cologne or perfume really work is how it interacts with your own body.

There have been “tests” that indicate some do better than others specifically for attraction, but I’m dubious about the reproducibility.

In any case, I have a few that I receive consistent compliments on, particularly from women that ended up doing more than just sniffing me. From men too, as far as that goes, though none of them did more than sniff since that’s not my orientation.

The single most significant one has actually had strangers sniffing at me in places where you wouldn’t expect anyone to sniff you. Lagerfeld. Their standard cologne. It hasn’t been a month since a lady got uncomfortably close to me and said I smelled so good. My wife calls it the panty dropper. My dentist asked me what I had on back when I first started going to him. He wears it now, but it smells a little different on him.

I started using that back in high school. I had been doing the usual teenage boy stuff. Old spice, brut, avon brands, basically junk (except for one of the Avon, but I’ll get back to that). But my grandmother had one of those hyper sensitive noses, and started complaining about not being able to breathe through her nose and got involved in my scent choices lol.

Lagerfeld was my uncle’s cologne, that my aunt had picked out for him. She recommended Lagerfeld for me, and out of the various types they got me on a shopping trip, it was the one that I loved. It’s an amazing scent by itself, but on me it really is great, it takes on this extra woody note with a hint of musk that isn’t there in the bottle. I really could tell a page of stories about being sniffed and followed around when wearing it, it’s fucking crazy.

Anyway, it didn’t bother my grandmother’s nose, and everyone liked it. The girl I was dating at the time made note of how good or was compared to the junk I’d had before.

I have met a few guys over the years that it didn’t smell right on, but none where it smelled bad unlike some popular scents like polo that can end up smelling like cat spray on some guys.

Now, back to Avon. They have a scent called wild country that is very spicy. It really is a tad too heavy overall, but if you go light with it, spraying into the air and walking into it, then moving as it dries, it can be nice. There’s hints of amber, sandalwood, maybe some cedar in there too. But it’s mostly like allspice to my nose, right out of the bottle. It was a runner up with my grandmother, but if I went too heavy, it was all she could smell.

There’s always cool water. It gets a bit over citrusy on me for my preferences, but not offensively so. And I’ve never smelled it on anyone where it smelled bad at all. It’s a bit cheesy because it got too popular and every frat boy would bathe in it, but if applied properly, it’s a fairly clean scent.

Aqua di Gio is one that’s been reliable over the years for me. Not my favorite, but sometimes you want a change just for the heck of it. It’s floral, with hints of citrus. On me, it ends up muted, like it’s been sitting on a shirt in the sun all day and is about gone. But I’ve smelled it on other guys over the years, and it tends to hold its own scent more than most, so it’s one I tend to recommend guys try out if they’re having trouble with cologne not smelling right on them.

But, again for me, Lagerfeld tops everything. To an extent that I sometimes won’t wear it out. My wife isn’t the jealous sort, but even she gets annoyed when there’s one of those extra effective moments of it. And I’m not actually a big fan of being touched by strangers, which has happened before because of the scent (also my beard, and also my shoulders. Women can cross boundaries about that kind of thing where men wouldn’t. Like, I’ve never had a dude cross the line and touch my beard, but I’ve had a double handful of women do it over the years).

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Woman here, let me say, for me Polo by Ralph Lauren, it just tickles my brain in all the right ways. It’s a shame really that my husband doesn’t like strong smells on him because I’ve asked if I could buy him some cologne, and he always turns it down. Like I’m not even allowed to buy scented laundry detergent, it has to be the unscented kind.

You’re going to be smelling it the most, so with every recommendation just go smell them and find one you like. I inherited a bottle of Eternity for Men and after trying it a couple times and getting compliments its been my smell ever since. My father really liked Obsession for Men, but it just never smelled right for me.

BBQ sauce.

You gotta figure it out. Go find a company that appeals to you and order a sampler pack. Try the samples one day at a time until you find the one that is you. I like this approach better than going to some store counter because you can take your time. After smelling one or two colognes, it’s very hard to be able to appreciate others, so ordering the sampler packs gives you time to decide.

Few of my colleagues like Alexandria Fragrances. I’ve had luck with Guy Fox. Both have sampler packs. It’s literally a rabbit hole of choices. One of my colleagues spends thousands of dollars on rare perfumes.

There are a bunch of people around you who don’t want to be subjected to a smell.

If you need to mask odour, address the odour issue.

If you want to produce a smell, don’t. Some people will like it, but many won’t.

I have quite a few. My wife’s favorites are Versace Eros, Versace Dylan Blue, and Dior Sauvage. My personal favorites are Mont Blanc Explorer, Mont Blanc Explorer Ultra Blue, and Viktor Rolf Spicebomb Fresh.

Honorable mention to Azzaro The Most Wanted.

When testing out colognes, spray and give it about 20 seconds. Then smell. Wait another 20 or 30 minutes and check again. Then wait a few hours and check one last time. It’s amazing how much a cologne will change over time. I’ve tried some that were amazing in the first smell but hated it later in the day. Everyone will smell different. Try a bunch.

My go to list: Canyon at bath and body works. Great cheap everyday wear

Light Blue by Dolce n Gabanna. Another relatively cheap one. This one smells great on a lot of people.

The expensive ones : Fucking Fabulous by Tom Ford, Nightvision by Victor & Rolfe, Spicebomb by Victor & Rolfe

If you like a super expensive one ( or any price) but can’t pony up the money, look for online retailers that sell sample or travel sizes of them.

I think it takes a bit of experimentation and what you think fits your style. Personally, I avoid ones that are overly sweet or smell to chemically.

My wife loves when I wear a cologne from Barrister & Mann, and it’s arguably my favorite as well. (Maggard Razors sells small samples if you want to try.

Really depends on who you ask. My wife has absolutely hated every cologne she has smelled so far.