The “best” cologne might vary across budget, preference, and occasion, but each operates in service of the same fundamental goal: helping you smell really good. Cologne formulations differ substantially from one scent to the next, but what unites the greatest of the genre is their ability to smartly punctuate your personality—and enhance everyone else’s experience while they’re at it.
Landing on the best cologne for you starts with understanding fragrance families, and identifying which ones work in any given context. Woody, citrus, or aromatic colognes, for example, tend to wear well as daily “signature scents”—the smell your coworkers, friends, and the guy at your local bodega associate with you. Regardless of what you’re looking for in a cologne—an everyday go-to, a gloomy-day pick-me-up, a special-occasion statement-maker—there’s a superlative, compliment-eliciting option here with your name on it, each one sprayed, tested, and ultimately loved by us.