The Ultimate Guide to Choose The Best Perfume For Men.
Written by: Anusha Sree Kakara.
With thousands of perfume brands and even more perfumes to choose from, finding the best perfume for men feels like a Herculean task. Fret not! we have come up with the ultimate guide to help you find your signature scent.
But before that, you have to understand what perfume is and how it is made. Perfumes are an amalgamation of aromatic essences in ethyl alcohol. The composition and the ratios of these compounds determine the strength and durability of the fragrances.
Based on the percentage of the aromatic compounds, the perfumes are classified into the following types,
Extrait de Parfum
Parfum is the most concentrated and most expensive form of fragrances available in the market, with 20-30% of perfume essence. These have a strong and long-lasting fragrance.
Eau de Parfum
Eau de Parfum - the most commonly used fragrance concentration in the market, is only next to parfum in concentration with 15 - 20% fragrance in alcohol, which helps it last for six to eight hours on your skin. Check out our best-selling Eau de Parfum - Amaze perfume by Ajmal Perfumes.
Eau de Toilette
Eau de Toilette has a fragrance percentage of 10 - 15% and lasts for a few hours. As the concentration of perfume is less, this type of perfume is comparatively less expensive than its counterparts.
Eau de Cologne
Eau de Cologne is a term most widely used for perfume for men but it has nothing to do with gender. Colognes are usually 5% - 10% fragrance and have a milder scent. The aspect of affordability meant more people using perfumes, hence Colognes are a fan favorite. Aristocrat Cologne is a popular choice of men’s cologne by Ajmal.
Viole de Parfume
It is a milder variant of perfume and does not contain Alcohol. Most body mists, face mists, and splashes use 5% to 8% perfume in aerosol or water and are non-flammable, hence the name - Viole de Parfum.
Eau Fraiche
It literally translates to fresh water and has less than 2% of perfume. Eau Fraiche is basically glorified scented water!
Despite how perfumes are marketed, none of the above concentrations is gender-specific. It is only based on the concentration of perfume and can be used by anyone.
Niche Perfumes or Designer perfumes?
The only difference between Niche or Designer perfumes is how you want to express yourself through your choice of perfume.
If you are looking for a perfume that everyone loves, go for a good designer perfume for men. Most designer perfumes are crafted using fragrance combinations that work for everyone, well almost everyone. And these are crowd-favorites, so there is no way you’ll go wrong.
But if you want to find a perfume that ‘shouts you’, find a good niche perfume that resonates with your personality. Niche perfumes are rare, bold, and make you stand out!
A Few Things To Keep in Mind While Researching a Perfume For Men.
Understanding fragrance notes
When you look at a perfume description, you must have come across words like notes and accords, which may be confusing at the first glance. Perfume for men is made with a blend of various fragrances interlayered with each other. The terms we use for them are - Base notes, Central notes, and Top notes.
Base Notes - These are usually composed of heady and powdery fragrances that may be musk, woody essences, animalic, leathery, or mossy accords. These notes form a perfect base on which other notes can be layered.
Central Notes/Heart notes/middle notes - Central notes are mostly green, spicy, and fruity notes, and sometimes woody accords that perfectly bring together different layers of your perfume. Heart notes balance your perfume to bring out the best fragrance.
Top Notes or headnotes - Top notes are fresh and sweet-smelling with floral, fruity, and aquatic notes that are first expressed when you spray the perfume. They add a freshness and lightness to your perfume to balance those intense middle and base notes.
A perfume’s lasting power decreases from base to top, so the last fragrance to remain on your skin is the fragrance of the base notes.
When the perfume starts to evaporate due to various factors like your body heat, temperature around you, and perspiration, you will feel like you are wearing a different perfume as time passes. Each layer of fragrance notes is chosen to balance out the other two, thus creating a harmony of pleasant perfume. Take Amber Wood Perfume by Ajmal Perfumes, you may not like the musky smell of its base ambery notes individually, but it is elevated by the initial expression of the floral, spicy, and woody top and middle notes. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
That is why it is always important to understand how the fragrances are layered when looking for a perfume for men.
And there is ‘sillage’, it is the fragrance of your perfume or cologne that lingers in the air even after you left the place, which is why you must use the perfume for a while before knowing if it suits you or not.
Read : The Best Luxury Perfumes For Men and Women in the World
Fragrance combinations
This is the most important aspect to keep in mind while choosing a perfume for men. There are various fragrance families and combinations that might confuse you, so you need to be patient and try out different perfumes that suit your body chemistry. And remember, the perfume should complement your body odor not overpower it.
Here are some things that work.
Most classic perfumes have ‘Musk’ as one of their base notes as it has the ability to complement other essences and elevate them. Along with Musk, woody, and ambery notes are some industry favorites. Animalic scents like these elevate your masculine body odor to a whole another level!
We have a collection of perfumes - the ‘M’ series that celebrates the versatility of ‘Musk' as a fragrance.
Leathery and mossy perfumes like Cento and Mystery can add another dimension to your outfit. These are the most common choice of men’s perfumes.
Some men also prefer fresh and energetic fragrances that have citrusy and aquatic notes. These scents represent a confident and adventurous persona and are suitable for most men. Such is the effect of fruity perfumes too! Wanderer Eau de Parfum and Neutron for men are some vibrant fruity perfumes.
Floral perfume for men is a rare but very interesting fragrance choice. The loving expression of floral notes might make you seem more approachable and kind to people around you. Rose Wood is a good unisex floral perfume by Ajmal Perfumes.
Another interesting type of perfume is oriental fragrances, which are gaining popularity these days. These are rich and intense perfumes with sweet and spicy accords that are suitable for anyone. They are usually made with expensive perfume oils with high concentrations, which help them to last longer. Some oriental perfumes are known to last for 24 hours on your skin!
If you haven’t tried any oriental perfumes, start with Dahn Al Oudh Saif Al Hind or Dahn Al Oudh Atheer by Ajmal Perfumes. We promise you that you’ll not go back to your regular perfume once you have tried these.
Perfumes for various occasions
Like our outfits, we need to choose an appropriate perfume for the day based on the season, occasion, and time of the day. Although specific perfume for men is a relatively new concept, there are thousands of perfumes that are specially designed for a particular time or occasion.
For instance, Some of our fragrances like Blu cologne, Carbon, and Zeal perfume are more suitable for a day out, they have fresh and zesty notes that give you a refreshing aura. Eau de Parfums like Aristocrat platinum and Evoke can be worn both indoors and outdoors. If you want one of each, you can also choose from our signature combos of daytime and evening wear perfumes.
If don’t want to buy a ‘bouquet of perfumes’, invest in a good signature scent that you can wear on any occasion. Some men prefer this rather than going from one perfume to another, as having your own signature scent makes your presence known and is associated with confidence and authority.
Pro tip: Despite your choice of perfume for men, never douse yourself with your perfume as it could overpower your natural scent. Consideration for people around you is one the most important perfume etiquette. Your perfume should feel like a light breeze against the face not a powerful punch on the nose. Remember, with a good perfume, a little goes a long way!
Things that help you in your quest for the best perfume for men
Research the scents that you find interesting
Proper and ‘long’ research is what brings you closer to your favorite perfume. If you like how someone you know smells, ask them (of course, without being creepy). Find out about popular fragrances people around you use. Although, you don’t have to worry that you’ll smell the same, because no perfume smells exactly the same on different people. Remember? It blends with our natural body odor to enhance it expressing a whole new aroma.
If you want to try something new and different, Find out more about fragrance families and combinations commonly used in men’s perfumes and study how particular fragrances interact with your body.
Try some before choosing your favorite perfume for men
My suggestion is to not settle for the first perfume you like, Try at least a few for a year, experience how they are expressed in different seasons, and then choose one that complements your body chemistry most of the time. Some perfume designers like Ajmal Perfumes offer samples for most of the perfumes they release, so try out a few and notice how everyone around you feels about those fragrances. Most importantly, notice how your mood and behavior change around those scents.
Also, make sure you never try more than 3 to 4 perfumes at a time, and always check how the perfume smells on you after some time, because you may love how it smells when you first spray it on you, but the scent may not suit you after the top notes or central notes disappear.
Go with the classics
If you are still confused about choosing a perfume for you, find out the best perfume for men in the season and try it. You could read online reviews, ask a perfume expert or let your shopping assistant help you. Most importantly, choose quality over quantity, you don’t want to be smelling like a teenager after spending a few bucks on your perfume. As I said, you cannot go wrong with a good designer fragrance Along with some crowd favorites, try some of the scents that are pleasant to you. Ultimately, it is who you have to like how you smell.
Visit Ajmal Perfumes for the best collection of perfumes and fragrances for everyone.