Best Men's Colognes

Best Men's Colognes started back in 2013, as a way to share my learning experiences with the different fragrances that I've owned, as I dove head first into the hobby. Since then, that new hobby grew into a consistent passion, helping millions of readers along the way. I have personally written reviews for well over 800 perfumes and colognes for both men and women. This is along with writing hundreds of other in-depth fragrance guides. You can also follow me on: YouTube, Instagram, and Tiktok!

Le Male Elixir by Jean Paul Gaultier

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Another year brings us another Le Male flanker from JPG. However, this year’s edition called ‘Elixir’, has been getting a ton of attention and hype since its announcement and subsequent release in Europe. It’s finally here in the US and I purchased a bottle for myself to test out. How does Elixir smell? Is it long lasting? Is it actually worth a buy?

What does Le Male Elixir Smell Like?

Notes include: mint, honey, lavender, tonka bean, benzoin, tobacco, vanilla

Click here to try: Le Male Elixir at Macy’s

My Full Review

Here’s how JPG describes it: Le Male Elixir sports a gold-striped sailor top with transparent amber reflections that reveal his powerful physique and coppery skin. This bottle of desire contains an intense and aromatic woody, amber perfume. This fragrance sets the atmosphere ablaze and revitalises the skin.

The opening spray is minty with a cooling spice. The original Le Male pairing of that mint and lavender is quite apparent. This time, the vanilla note is initially pretty subdued, in favor of the tonka bean.

It doesn’t smell the same, but I get a similar vibe from Chanel Allure Sport Eau Extreme with the mint and heavy tonka opening act. This is for sure sweeter and has a syrupy quality to it, but it was strange to have Elixir trigger that scent memory.

This phase is pretty quickly moved through. The honey and fuzzy amber warmth of the benzoin will quickly seep into the aroma. Less coolness after 5-10 minutes and the scent has the permanent honey glaze for the rest of the wear.

I don’t find the honey or even the tobacco note to be particularly heavy in this mix, but they are certainly noticeable.

The closest comparable fragrance to this is Le Male Le Parfum. However, I do think they are different for most of the way.

In Le Parfum, the dry down of lavender, vanilla, and amber is close to what you get at times with Elixir. But, Elixir’s honey, tobacco, and that tonka bean gives it an added layer. I absolutely think that it’s enough to distinguish them in the back half of the wear.

Earlier, the similarities are fewer as the cardamom and iris notes found in Le Parfum’s first hour aren’t here at all.

So, as we get into the back half, the freshness of the mint is miniscule. Elixir is about its tonka bean and vanilla combination, lavender, honey soaked tobacco, and the less fuzzy now benzoin.

The vanilla slowly eats away at the dominance of the tonka bean throughout the wear. It probably starts off close to 80/20 and then reverses in favor of vanilla, by the end.

The sweetness here is somewhat cloying, it’s worse in the heat. But, I don’t find it to be oppressively thick (earlier, it is a heavier feeling) or too sugary. Again, I’d call the honey a glaze-like effect, even with the amber base.

So, that’s the end of it. Basically, the vanilla and lavender of Le Parfum with that honeyed tobacco influence. This is JPG’s masculine version of La Belle EDP, it would seem.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

This is absolutely one of the loudest, most likely to leave a long scent trail, and furthest projecting colognes of the series. It’s still a notch below Ultra Male (at least the original bottles, not sure if it’s been weakened over time).

Le Male Elixir is a powerhouse, that certainly outdoes Le Parfum, which never struck me as being all that massive with its reach. You don’t need a lot with Elixir and you certainly get your money’s worth, in terms of performance.

It will last around 9 hours, but is capable of going beyond that. I’d say around 10.5 hours, during this initial testing run. If I get it to go beyond that, I’ll come back and update.

That’s me testing it out indoors, since this was released at the height of summer in the US. Which, seasonally, that’s not what this is built for.

Autumn and winter, mainly. Potential to move into spring, based on where you live or what you’re going to use this for.

I will say, I think this has more versatility than Ultra Male. That one, I loved a lot initially, even if it was limited to nightlife wear. Still like it, but something I break out once in a while, nowadays.

Elixir is also geared more towards the nightlife and wear for younger guys. It’s one of the louder and sort of obnoxious flankers of the Le Male line, which is one of the things that makes it great.

But, I also think that this could be used better in casual daily situations and has a sweet/warm cozy vibe, that can lend itself to a couple of sprays, and not stick out like a sore thumb. So, not a bad option for school, if you go light.

For professional environments, I’d go with something else entirely. Save this one for your down time, as this is not a formal scent. Fun to wear, but there’s a time and place for it and the office probably isn’t it for most guys.

Overall Impressions of Le Male Elixir

Overall, do I like Elixir? Absolutely. While I still think the original Le Male Le Parfum is still the best daily wear of the series, this one, might be my new favorite flanker. Like, the scent itself has the highest peak, but it’s not something I’d want to wear each day.

It’s better than Le Parfum with its complexity, has taken the place of Ultra Male, and pretty easily beats out Airlines. I’ve been wearing the original quite a lot lately and this will be the next choice out of the five Le Male’s I own.

From the minty fresh and tonka bean opening, into the emergence of the honey and tobacco, I am enthralled with Elixir. Smelling it up close on the skin, I’m less taken with it, but it really hangs around beautifully.

It’s without a doubt one of the better mainstream designer scents this year. I bought and enjoy 1 Million Royal, but this one gets my vote in comparison.

Just as a Le Male flanker, it’s already a special one, with so many forgettable releases like In the Navy in the back catalog.

If you don’t like other Le Male colognes, I don’t think this is going to change your mind. It’s probably not going to be your style. Also, if the sweeter and bold fragrances don’t do it for you, you can probably safely skip it.

Otherwise, this is one I would absolutely recommend trying out, if it sounds interesting to you. At least find it in store to let yourself experience a few sprays out of a tester, before committing to a full bottle.

Still, I think it’s among the best JPG fragrances. Not for everyone, though.

Does Elixir live up to the hype? It’s not the best fragrance ever, but it is indeed very good. For the bold and playful style of this Gaultier series, it is an absolute hit.

7 Colognes that Smell Similar to Chrome

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Chrome from Azzaro has been a very popular scent since the 1990s. It has spawned a ton of flanker colognes from the brand and seems to keep going on and on. However, sometimes you want something a little different, or to save money with something similar, or just find a comparable aroma to the scent. In this post, I am going to present different options that smell close to or have a style reminiscent of Chrome.

What Fragrances Smell Similar to Azzaro Chrome?

Earthier, but Similar

Paco by Paco Rabanne for Men – 3.3 oz EDT Spray– Paco by Paco Rabanne is an older scent that can be had for a fairly inexpensive price. Also, it is along the lines of both Azzaro Chrome and CK One, and sells for cheaper.

You get citrus in the opening, but this one turns greener and woodier. Not too much and the clean jasmine note plays well off of the herbal tea.

It’s not an exact match of Chrome, but has very much a similar style. Earthier and less of the soapiness. Pretty good, but not elite performance.

Famous 90s Smell

Calvin Klein ck one Eau de Toilette, 6.7 Fl Oz– One of the best selling fragrances of the 1990s is still going strong today. It also happens to have plenty of overlap and is one of the closest things to the scent of Chrome, on the market.

The opening is a blast of citrus and the tropical fruits. Lots of lemon and bergamot, that is matched up with papaya and the pineapple. The is also a hint of green tea with cardamom giving it a slight spice. That spice doesn’t hang around too long nor get too intense, but it is there.

This one is soapy, but less so. Has more herbal and floral highlights, to my nose at least. Less of a masculine scent, fruitier, and can be worn by anyone. There’s a good chance you’ve already come across this fragrance, but if you like Chrome, it’s one to at least try.

Spicier Floral and Citrus

Ferrari Scuderia Red Eau De Toilette Spray, 4.2 oz– Not a favorite of mine from the Ferrari line, but one that isn’t bad, and does favor Chrome.

You get a citrus top, with a spicier profile than the Azzaro. Also, less of the soapiness/metallic aroma. The spice isn’t too heavy though, consisting of nutmeg and mint.

I will say that this one comes across as more floral, with jasmine playing a pretty prominent role throughout the wear.  Very juicy mandarin and bergamot notes sitting up top.

At the end, it’s a citrus/woody fragrance with a nice bit of floral heart. Pretty linear and performance is decent. It’s usually cheaper than our target cologne, so, it could be worthwhile to try out at the right price point. My Full Review

Designer Scent, Close Style

Prada Luna Rossa Eau Sport Eau de Toilette Spray for Men, 2.5 Ounce– To me, this is closer to Dior Homme Sport 2012, but it kind of splits the difference and strikes a fairly close chord with Chrome.

Citron and bergamot give you a pretty similar top. Ginger provides the spice here, with lavender instead of jasmine, and you still get cedar in the base.

This is a very fresh and clean scent that fits the same bill as the Azzaro, but actually does it better. Citrus, lavender, and a woody/amber base. Simple and attractive, with around 6-7 hours of wear. Luna Rossa Eau Sport Review

Clean and Fresh Cheapie

Eau de Grey Flannel- Eau de Grey Flannel is an energetic and soapy/body wash kind of cologne. It’s not going to exactly be like Chrome. But, you get similar notes, just a different strengths. To me, the citrus is what’s toned down the most. Though, it’s still plenty noticeable in the top.

To me, it turns woodsy fresh and a bit herbal green. Cedar, lavender, and cypress are the main notes I get in the dry down. But, eucalyptus and sage pair well with the lighter citrus notes early on.

What it does have going for it? Mainly, it’s the price. Less than $15 is pretty commonplace for a full bottle.

Like Chrome Pure

Parfums de Marly Galloway Men’s Edp Spray, 4.2 Ounce– As Chrome has been so successful since its release, it has naturally spun off a ton of flanker scents, that have also been well-liked. Chrome Pure is one such cologne.

Well, if you want something similar to that release and on the higher end, Galloway by Parfums de Marly does a pretty good job of it.

Personally, I get similarities with Set Sail Martinique in the opening act here, as well. Grapefruit, orange blossom, musk, and pepper kick things off with this one.

Later, you get the iris and amber with touches of the citrus notes hanging around. This has less citrus than Pure and the vanilla in that, is a powdery iris note instead. But, a classy and well performing fragrance, along the same lines. Galloway Review

Review image

Extreme Aqua

GIORGIO ARMANI Acqua Di Gio Profondo for Men Eau De Parfum Spray 4.2 Ounces, blue– Profondo has become one of the most popular Acqua di Gio flankers, but it shares lots with both Chrome Extreme and Chrome Aqua.

To me, it’s closer to Extreme, and Aqua is more like AdG Profumo…but not as good. Still, Profondo has a style that many fans of the Chrome lineup should enjoy.

A citrus top with the usual aquatic feeling. I’ve always described this as a blue-green cologne, versus the usual aquatic ‘blue’. There are light resinous qualities and wood notes that will take on a greater role, moving forward.

Rosemary and cypress here versus the juniper freshness found in Chrome Extreme. Now, they’re not one to one matches. But, this is one that is a really great mainstream scent that can hit some of the same beats as the Chrome series. AdG Profondo

9 Best Smelling Elizabeth Arden Perfumes

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Elizabeth Arden has been a name is fragrances for the better part of a century at this point. As such, it has a long and storied history full of many different perfumes for ladies. In this post, I want to provide a list of the best scents from Elizabeth Arden, with the qualification that they are still readily available.

In the end, I have chosen nine of the top smelling perfumes from this brand, and this should provide an ample place to get started with.

Favorite Elizabeth Arden Fragrances

80s Powerhouse

Elizabeth Arden Red Door Eau de Toilette Spray, 1 oz– Red Door is still a best-seller after multiple decades and has pretty much achieved classic status. It is a bold and complex floral fragrance with a sweetly warm honey note leading the way.

Very floral. Sometimes it comes off as creamy, and then, it will turn more into a powdery aroma. Ylang-ylang and rose are particularly noticeable. This one should be sprayed lightly and the performance is still great, after all of these years.

Red Door isn’t going to be appeal to everyone. Some, will think that it is dated. Others, will still swear by it.

To me, it takes a while to settle down and really reveal its true character. It’s pure 80s, in a bottle, and that’s polarizing.

Best Selling Arden

Elizabeth Arden Green Tea Scent Spray, 3.3 fl. oz.– As the name suggests, this one is full of that green tea note. It is joined by a fresh mint, and citrus top notes including lemon.

Green Tea is crisp and cool, with a calming aroma, and clean citrus zest. This is a lighter perfume, but is utterly beautiful in its simplicity. I’ve always dug this scent’s overall vibe and freshness.

Underneath the main notes, there are some green herbal spices, which come out during the wear. Refreshing green tea with spearmint and citrus?

Yes and it is all wrapped up in a bottle. Green Tea is easy to wear, great for daily use, and has enough pep to keep things interesting.

Pulse of the City

5th Avenue Pulse– There are some other newer releases from Arden, which sound promising, but I’ve not gotten around to trying them. 5th Avenue Pulse, though, is a really nice flanker fragrance.

The opening act is going to be mostly about the black currant note. It’s fruity but you also get a big dose of spiciness from pink pepper. Tuberose is the main floral note, which goes well with the currant.

Later, the dry down will be less fruity sweet and more floral with some coffee and the remaining spice. It’s smoother and the coffee with tonka bean gives it more of a warm beverage kind of feel.

Pulse has flown under the radar as of now. But, it is a perfume that has a great scent, performance, and for a rather inexpensive price.

Freshie Daily Wear

Elizabeth Arden White Tea Eau De Toilette Spray, 1 oz.– A newer take on the green tea concept this time using, you guessed it, white tea. White Tea actually takes a different tact, than does Green Tea.

It is a stronger scent, with more depth. However, it does share that super fresh vibe, like its fore barer. It features an aquatic note, behind the white tea, and a powdery iris which is not overpowering.

The top is clean with a light citrus note, and it dries down, into something with an amber embrace. What you won’t be getting is that mint note, found in Green Tea and much less of the citrus aroma.

Dries down into something that is super smooth and relaxing. Great all around perfume.

Unique Super Old School

Blue Grass By Elizabeth Arden For Women. Eau De Parfum Spray 3.3 Ounces– This one goes back a long ways and has probably been reformulated multiple times over the decades.

However, it is one that can still be appreciated, and is pretty unique from most anything else available nowadays.

Blue Grass can start off with a strong punch, but quickly settles down into a slightly herbal, spicy, floral fragrance. Bright aldehydes with lavender, spices, and a nice carnation note. Not for everybody, but still a good perfume.

The dry down feels like a light floral soap, to me. I have no clue what the older bottles smelled like, but this still brings out positive feelings, when I encounter it.

Top Floral Pick

Elizabeth Arden Fifth Avenue Eau de Parfum Spray– Another highly popular perfume from Elizabeth Arden. Fifth Avenue has spawned multiple flanker fragrances, but the original is the one to make the list.

Fifth Avenue is a marvelous floral scent headed up mainly by lily-of-the-valley, jasmine, and lilac.

There’s just a dash of sweet fruit notes, as well as, spicy one’s like nutmeg. However, those ingredients are simply bit players, versus the flowers. This is so well put together, refined, and a really good option for daily wear.

I’ve also tried the newer “My Fifth Avenue“, which has some overlap with this. However, I don’t feel that it is nearly as good overall. That one is pretty boring, while Fifth Avenue has a nice balanced bouquet of notes.

Happy Summer Perfume

Sunflowers by Elizabeth Arden, 3 Piece Gift Set for Women– Sunflowers is a soft, upbeat, and generally just a happy sort of perfume.

It has a solid mix of fruit notes at the top, with citrus, melon, and peach. It is sweet, with floral notes of orange blossom and jasmine, complementing the fruity aromas.

The citrus is pretty dominant throughout (not extremely as this is well balanced), but it does dry down with a sandalwood base, and more floral ingredients.

Super nice scent, which had its heyday 25 years ago, but can still be an awesome pick up today. Gets a creamier aroma, an hour or so into the wear. Casual fragrance.

Secondary Sunflowers

Sunflowers Sunrise– For now, I’m going to put this on the list. I haven’t yet tried the 2023 release, Sunflowers HoneyDaze (which sounds enticing), and may prove better than Sunrise.

With that intro out of the way, this is still a very enjoyable perfume. Sunrise has a similar profile in terms of its use of the melon note and citrus, as the original.

Not going to be a big deal here, but it adds a touch of sweet freshness early. Kind of a light milky-aroma coming out early.

What you’re going to get a lot of is daisy, mimosa, and narcissus as the floral heart. It’s a softer summertime wear with out too much green stem influence and more of an upbeat and pleasant yellow floral composition.

Feels creamier rather than a thinner milky scent to me later on, with everything blending together, and the emergence of a very noticeable benzoin.

top arden fragrance

Another Newer Release

Green Tea Sakura Blossom by Elizabeth Arden– There doesn’t seem to be too many newer releases from the brand, other than flankers of past successes. However, I thought that I’d add this one to the list because it is a very nice scent.

I also like the Pomegranate version they released a few years back. Though, it’s pretty tough to find. Sakura Blossom was released here in 2021 and infuses plenty of cherry blossom and other fruity notes into the green tea blend.

The fruit isn’t super overwhelming or sugary, mostly light and a great option for summer. The peony and cherry blossom lead the way, with part of the refreshing Green Tea DNA lurking in the background.

Not groundbreaking or overly complicated, but one of the recent ones that Arden has released that I’ve actually enjoyed.

There you have it, my list of the best of the Elizabeth Arden lineup. Obviously, there are so many perfumes to choose from, but also many which are no longer available to try out.

I may come back and make changes to the scents here, as I come across newer releases or better classics, that I have yet to smell. This will have to suffice for now.

What is your favorite Arden scent? Which are you excited to try? Leave your comments below…

4 Best Smelling Stella McCartney Perfumes

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Stella McCartney has had a long career in many different aspects of fashion and design. Among all of the different clothes and deals with companies such as Adidas, McCartney, has also released a fairly large lineup of ladies’ perfumes. In this post, I want to present four options of scents that could be considered the best of the bunch. As always, I have linked each to its page on Amazon for ease of purchase and more info.

Update: This line hasn’t released anything new in years, unfortunately. So, finding these perfumes for cheap, may be difficult.

What are the Best Stella McCartney Perfumes?

Best Seller

Stella McCartney Eau De Parfum Spray for Women, 1.6 Fluid Ounce– There were two versions of Stella, one that was released 15 years ago or so, and then discontinued. This newer one is the re-release of that original, after some years being off of the market.

Stella is led by a beautiful sharp rose note with a peony flanker and citrus undertones. This perfume is fairly straightforward but performs oh so well in its simplicity. Up top, the citrus notes are much more prevalent than they are later on. Then it’s really about the rose and peony.

Soft and Fresh

Stella McCartney Pop Eau De Parfum Spray, 3.3 Ounce– A soft and upbeat floral that dries down with really nice woodsy notes. Pop is bright and sunny like a summer’s day. Much of the wear presents as a fruity floral perfume.

The main floral notes are tuberose, frangipani, and violet leaf giving it the watery/stem aroma with an interesting addition of tomato leaf. A safe fragrance for everyday wear. It’s fresh and understated. The top has similar citrus notes to Stella, listed above.

The floral notes including frangipani are there to soften things up, which can be needed after that violet and tomato leaf accord is at its heaviest.

But, Pop really comes across as being unique and sort of hard to pin down at times. It has sweet elements, the greenish notes, floral highlights, and powdery touches. Maybe not for everyone, but Pop is quite interesting and has its appeals nonetheless.

Clean Rose and Peony

Stella Nude 1.7 fl. oz. Eau De Toilette Spray for Women by Stella McCartney– Another rose based perfume with peony as the partner in crime. A very nice and light floral fragrance with a warm burst of pink pepper and amber complementing the whole composition.

It’s a clean and everyday scent for those who really dig rose. The opening features a nice grapefruit note which gives the fragrance its fresh characteristics. Then the floral notes come through with a creamy vanilla finish.

The vanilla gives it a smoother profile than the original Stella EDP. Grapefruit isn’t as sharp up top, as the initial blast of citrus in that one. This is a clean and airy rose fragrance for the warmer months of the year.

The pink pepper isn’t massive, just a nice dry down of the rose, peony, and that vanilla. A very nice flanker on the original. This is one of the perfumes that seemingly tougher to find, nowadays, though.

A Lighter Flanker

STELLA MCCARTNEY SHEER Perfume By STELLA MCCARTNEY For WOMEN– A flanker scent to the original Stella, Sheer is lighter and has a great amber note that adds warmth to the fragrance.

It has more of a garden feel than the original. A good daytime perfume for the spring and summer months of the year. The citrus note here is orange, but it’s a lot less prevalent than both Stella EDP and the grapefruit of Nude.

Rose and the watery stem like notes are here. I usually am not into a heavy greenish bouquet aroma and luckily that’s not how this came across. Clean and watery, with a beautiful rose to nod to the original EDP.

There’s different variations of this one out there, but it’s also been discontinued. So, you’ll figure out which bottle is being sold specifically.

Blackberry Brandy by Dua Brand

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Blackberry Brandy was one of the Dua originals that I wanted to try out, when I came across it on the website. So, I bought one of the travel size vials for testing and full review. I wanted to see how the boozy perfume actually smelled and if it was actually worthwhile. Below is my experience with this scent.

What does Blackberry Brandy smell like?

Notes include: blackberry, berries, black cherry liqueur, cedar, amber, brandy, labdanum, vanilla

Click here to try: Blackberry Brandy

My Full Review

Blackberry Brandy starts off with the fruity end of its personality taking the lead. Yes, the blackberry will be here throughout, but the cherry liqueur note will be very prominent at the start.

There are some further berry notes here, but mostly get overshadowed by the blackberry itself.

Brandy is obvious too, from the very beginning. The note doesn’t take time to develop and it too sticks around the entire time.

After 10 or so minutes, I’ll pick up some warmer amber and labdanum notes. There’s some spice, still mostly sweet, and the boozy effect of the brandy note.

The initial fruits will fade, sands the blackberry. At this point, the blackberry is in charge, with the brandy playing second fiddle. Vanilla really comes through here, playing sort of a balancing role with the amber base.

To me, the only real change during the final dry down is that this perfume becomes more brandy dominant with blackberry falling back some. Less fruity, more boozy.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Blackberry Brandy does have a thicker and warmer kind of feeling while wearing it. Not super heavy or a massive projector. more like a cozy cloud of perfume. A bit above average with its reach, just not going to blow the doors off.

The fragrance lasts right about 7 hours, on my skin. It’s fine, nothing extreme, but slightly above average versus many other scents on the market. On the whole, the performance is pretty good, just not amazing.

Seasonally, this is autumn and winter all the way. Within that time frame, you’ll most likely want to wear this casually during the day or as more of a nighttime fragrance. Probably not the best idea to show up to the office smelling like brandy, so, it’s probably a bit more limited than other perfumes in that sense.

In the cold, however, this one really shines. It just hangs beautifully in the air around you and is quite comforting.

Overall Impressions of Blackberry Brandy

Overall, do I like Blackberry Brandy? Yes, but not completely in love with it. I’ve been trying to like the smell of brandy more than I actually do, it seems. I prefer rum, cognac, and whiskey fragrances when I want some booziness.

However, if you’re a big fan of brandy, this is for sure one to check out. It does everything well, the warmth, the blackberry note, the cherry liqueur, and that brandy note itself.

It’s not super complicated, but I like the depth of the aroma that the vanilla, amber, and labdanum notes add to this one. That cherry liqueur really stands out to me early and I like it a lot.

Performance is good, not incredible, but probably enough for what most people would use this fragrance for. It’s worth a shot or maybe try out one of their other brandy perfumes, if you’re not super into the smell of blackberry.