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By S B Shaheen, Fragrance Expert at Perfumeo. Last updated October 2026.
Men buy fresh, woody and spicy fragrances more than anything else, and in the last few years sweet gourmands have joined them at the top. That is what moves off our shelves, and it is a different question from what women say they find attractive.
This article is about what men choose for themselves. If you are buying for someone else, or picking something to be noticed in, start with what fragrance notes women find attractive on men instead, because the answers diverge more than you would expect.
Why the two questions give different answers
There is research on this and it is worth a minute.
Milinski and Wedekind studied 137 students in Behavioral Ecology in 2001, genetically typing each one for the immune-system genes known as MHC. How people rated perfumes for their own use lined up significantly with their own genotype. When the same people rated perfumes they would want a partner to wear, that pattern essentially disappeared.
The conclusion was that we choose fragrance to say something about ourselves rather than to appeal to anyone else. So if your own taste does not match a list of what other people find attractive, that is normal and probably the point.
The families men gravitate to
| Why it appeals | Worth knowing | |
| Fresh and aquatic | Reads as clean and effortless, and it is the safest thing to wear anywhere | Fades fastest of any family, so buy it in a strong concentration |
| Woods | Cedar, sandalwood and vetiver read as grown-up without trying hard | The most reliable family if you want one bottle for everything |
| Fougere | Lavender, coumarin and moss, the structure behind most barbershop scents | Familiar to the point of invisible, which is either the appeal or the problem |
| Spicy and warm | Cinnamon, cardamom and saffron give presence and get a fragrance noticed | Strongly seasonal, and heavy going in a warm room |
| Gourmand | Vanilla and praline are the fastest route to a compliment | Now extremely common, so distinctiveness is the trade-off |
| Oud and incense | The signature of Arabian perfumery, and nothing else carries the same weight | Divisive and best learned with a lighter composition first |
Most men end up owning two or three of these rather than committing to one. A fresh or woody bottle for work and daylight, something warmer for evenings and winter, is the pattern we see most often.
What sells in our shop
We ship a large volume every month, and the pattern is consistent.
Fresh still leads on volume. Hawas Ice is our clearest example. Crisp and clean, easy to wear anywhere, and the safest first bottle for someone who has never bought fragrance deliberately.
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Warm and spicy leads on enthusiasm. Khamrah is the bottle people come back and tell us about. Dates, praline and cinnamon over resins. Sweet, loud and memorable, which is the whole appeal and also the limitation.
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The middle ground sells steadily. Liquid Brun does the warm spiced thing with the sugar turned down, which makes it the easier one to wear at work. We put the two side by side in Khamrah against Liquid Brun.
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Ambergris and musk for the quiet option. Hawas Sapphire reads as clean skin rather than as a fragrance announcing itself, which suits an office.
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Oakmoss for something drier. Rafan For Him brings in that damp, mossy quality for a more grown-up shape.
Oud for the ones who want weight. Satin Oud at extrait strength, or Oud Mood as the gentler introduction. If oud is new to you, read what oud actually smells like first.
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How to work out your own preference
Skip the lists, including this one, and use your own evidence.
Pull up the note lists of three fragrances you already enjoy and look for what repeats. Nearly everyone finds two or three materials turning up every time, usually in the base. That repeated material is your taste, and it predicts what you will like far better than a family label does.
If cedar and vetiver keep appearing, you are a woods wearer and no amount of sweet bestsellers will convert you. If it is vanilla and tonka, start with gourmands and stop feeling guilty about it.
We go through this properly in what fragrance notes go together, along with which notes are versatile enough to carry a signature.
Buying your first serious bottle
Four things that save money.
Buy for your week, not your weekend. The fragrance you wear four days out of seven should be moderate. Buy the dramatic one second.
Check the concentration, not just the notes. An eau de toilette in a fresh composition will fade fast. The same idea at eau de parfum or extrait strength holds for hours. See perfume strength levels explained.
Read the base before anything else. It decides longevity and how the fragrance ends. A thin base means an early fade whatever the marketing claims.
Two sprays, three at most. This matters more than your choice of notes. Your nose stops registering your own fragrance within minutes while everyone else still smells it perfectly well, so count rather than sniff.
Everything on our shelves
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Free Deliverytracked, on every UK order
Free Deliverytracked, on every UK order
Free Deliverytracked, on every UK order
Free Deliverytracked, on every UK order
Free Deliverytracked, on every UK order
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Free Deliverytracked, on every UK order
Frequently asked questions
What fragrance notes do men like?
Fresh and aquatic notes, woods such as cedar, sandalwood and vetiver, fougere structures built on lavender and coumarin, warm spices, and increasingly sweet gourmand notes like vanilla and praline. Most men end up owning two or three of these families rather than one.
What is the most popular fragrance note for men?
Fresh and clean compositions still sell in the highest volume, because they are the easiest to wear anywhere. Warm spiced and sweet fragrances generate more enthusiasm from the people who buy them, even though they shift fewer units overall.
Should men wear sweet fragrances?
Yes, if you like them. Sweet gourmands are among the most complimented fragrances on the market and they wear unisex in practice. The real consideration is seasonal rather than gendered, since sweetness becomes heavy going in a warm room.
What is a good first fragrance for a man?
Something fresh or woody at eau de parfum strength, moderate enough to wear most days. Save the loud, sweet or oud-heavy bottle for your second purchase, once you know how you actually wear fragrance rather than how you imagine you will.
Do men and women like the same fragrance notes?
There is considerable overlap, and most of the warm families do well with everyone. The research suggests people choose fragrance for themselves in line with their own biology, and that what someone picks for a partner follows different logic entirely.
How many fragrances does a man need?
Two covers almost everything: one fresh or woody for work and daylight, one warmer for evenings and cold weather. A third only earns its place once you know what the first two do not cover.
Where to go next
If the note names themselves are unfamiliar, start with what fragrance notes are, then the twelve most confusing notes. For the cold months specifically, the best fragrance notes for winter covers what works when the temperature drops.
About the author
S B Shaheen runs Perfumeo, a UK retailer of Arabian and designer fragrance, and writes the guides published here. He buys and wears the stock the shop sells. Read more about the author.
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