The 9 Best Spring Colognes for Men, From Acqua di Parma to Tumi
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With spring fully sprung, winter woes have melted away and the sun stays in the sky longer and longer each day. And as you put away the long johns and heated blankets, you should also shelve any fragrances with cozy leanings—the smoky, leathery, spicy numbers that pair well with cold weather wear. It’s time to rotate in scents with more levity to match the springtime mood.
“Spring always leads me to reach for greener, dewier fragrances that hint of longer days and renewal,” says fragrance and grooming journalist Haydn Williams, who hosts the grooming-centric Man in the Mirror podcast. “Matching a fragrance to the spring season helps to amplify this sense of new beginnings. Spring is the most optimistic season and I tend to want my scent to echo that feeling, so I keep it citrusy, green, and bright.”
That’s not to say your signature scent needs to be put on leave; ideally, that ol’ reliable cologne is a perennial player. But having a go-to spring scent is one of those “fragrance wardrobe” essentials, for anyone looking to build a small portfolio of scents. Think of a spring scent as perfect for year-round weekend wear, or even those days where you need an olfactive pick-me-up.
“The great thing about spring fragrances is that they tend to be fresher and lighter,” adds Williams, noting that they’re also terrific crowd-pleasers in the workplace. But he adds that the nature of these lighter raw materials often lends itself to a lessened longevity. “It might be worth keeping a travel size or a smaller volume bottle in a work bag or gym bag for an additional top-up or spritz through the day,” he says. “These kind of notes don’t hang around forever. However, don’t see this as a bad thing. See it as a chance to re-apply and get the compliments all over again. Life’s too short to be mean with your sprays!”
With that said, our list of picks below (with a few of Williams’ favorites, too) has a range of offerings, from light-wear eau de toilettes to long-lasting extraits.
The Best Spring Colognes for Men
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