How Do I Choose the Best Cologne for Men?

Choosing the best cologne for men is not easy because most men like different scents, as do the people those men are attempting to impress. Some men use cologne as a signature and may wear only a single type, but others change cologne based on the occasion. When choosing cologne for men, it is important to consider the age of the man, his personality, and his style. If the fragrance is a gift, it is usually best to consider whether the man has a preferred brand.

Cologne for men should be selected for a specific man, not for men in general. Each man will smell appropriate in a different scent. For example, young men may be able to wear a scent that would be described as sporty, whereas older men might benefit from the smell of wood or other dignified materials. Young men might also make do with a scent that is popular and standard, whereas older men might wish for something more rarefied. What is important is for the cologne to smell like it belongs to the man in question, not like something that was pulled randomly off the store shelves.

Most fine colognes are of a standard quality, although some are stronger than others. Strength is not necessarily a positive feature, as most people agree that an unobtrusive scent is both more intimate and more appropriate in terms of etiquette. As a general rule, if a person can smell the cologne when he is not speaking to the person wearing it, the fragrance is likely too strong either in terms of manufacture or application.

One consideration to take into account when choosing cologne for men is the cost. As a gift, many men are impressed by expensive cologne regardless of how the fragrance actually smells. Wearing expensive cologne also reduces the risk that another man will show up wearing the same scent. As a truly intimate gift, someone might even consider making a custom perfume for the individual in question, although these are often not as subtle or complex as professionally made perfumes. Hiring trained professionals to create subtle custom scents can be very expensive, but this type of gift is often unrivaled in terms of intimacy.

When selecting cologne for men, smelling the fragrance on the man it is being bought for is ideal. People are often not conscious of how deeply smell can affect someone's senses, and many people who are not very good at describing scents can usually talk about the feelings they get from smells. For this reason, it is often easy to select the perfect fragrance for a particular man by trying out samples at home.