Scents Of Style
Fragrance counters tend to be piled with homogenous bottles targeting libidinous adolescents. Forgo the eau de bro in favour of these more cultured options
01 Pepper Spray “Younger men tend to go for cardboardcutout scents with a standard citrus-woodamber structure,” says Dariush Alavi, author of Le Snob: Perfume. “But pepper is a difficult note to render long-lasting, so it lends this a more refined edge.” Blackpepper by Comme des Garçons £83 selfrides.com
02 Hirsutes You “This scent feels more mature because it’s retro,” says Alavi. “The patchouli is redolent of a burlier masculinity, but cleaned up by new distillation methods, so you won’t go out feeling like an extra in Boogie Nights.” Monsieur by Frederic Malle £ 150 fredericmalle.com
03 Vanilla Guy ‘Gourmand’ fragrances are ones that contain edible notes – in this case, almond and vanilla, the latter being common in pre-’ 90s scents. “This is noble and intoxicating,” says Madeleine Cable, fragrance buyer at John Lewis. That means more Clooney, less Bieber. Jo Malone Myrrh & Tonka Cologne Intense £ 105 jomalone.co.uk
04 Men Only Givenchy might be more associated with Parisian catwalks, but fragrance-wise it’s very much a case of heritage over fleeting fashion. “It’s a twist on tradition, mixing tonka bean, rich pepper and patchouli,” says Cable. The result is timeless. Gentlemen Only Absolute by Givenchy £70 johnlewis.com
05 Mr Hide “It might be called Patchouli, but it’s the guaiacol obtained from beechwood that gives this its cultivated edge,” says Alavi. Think Sex Panther, minus the nostril-stinging pungency and actual bits of panther. Patchouli 24 by Le Labo £ 165 libertylondon.com