Burberry

Burberry is a British luxury design house founded in 1856. Popular as a high-end clothing designer, its distinctive check patterns, are instantly recognizable around the world. In the fragrance market, Burberry has created some timeless scents for men and women, especially in the past decade.

Its men’s colognes are always among the best sellers within the industry and for good reason, they smell fantastic.

In this post, I will cover information on the best smelling Burberry perfumes for men and what makes each of them special as a scent. Also check out: The Best Burberry Perfumes for Ladies

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Favorite Burberry Fragrances for Him

 

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Powdery Rose and Spice

Fragrance: BURBERRY Brit for Men Eau de Toilette, 1.7 fl. oz

Notes include: wild roses, tonka bean, green mandarin, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, cedar

Season: autumn, winter, early spring

Quick Verdict: Brit is an easy to wear fresh and spicy floral fragrance with decent staying power and a lovely powdery finish.

Write Up:

Burberry Brit for Men is a super fresh and modern cologne. It has green outdoorsy elements blended with spice and a powdery finish. The invigorating spice is formed by the inclusion of ginger and nutmeg.

So, it isn’t a heavy animalistic kind of spice, but one that is upbeat and refined.

All of the notes in this cologne share the stage, and never seem to overpower one another, for too long. So, while there is a rose note, it remains subdued and adds to the overall composition.

It opens up with its spicier notes with a light mandarin orange note. Ginger, nutmeg, and warm cardamom really provide a great freshness.

As it dries down, you will get more of a ‘green’ outdoorsy aroma with its cedar base, and a smooth powdery smell from the rose and tonka bean combo.

The sillage is in the range of moderate, but towards the light side of things. I get around 8 hours of wear, from this cologne.

Brit smells very good and is best in the colder parts of the year. I love to wear this during the crisp evening nights, when I want to be low key, but can still grab attention when someone is close enough. It is clean and a great blend of spicy elements and powdery floral aromas.

Fragrance Score: 7.9/10  (Read My Full Brit Review)

Pros: Clean, easy to wear, I’ve always gotten around 8 hours of wear with Brit.

Cons: Not the one to go with if you dislike powdery scents.

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Masculine Tobacco Woods

Fragrance: BURBERRY London for Men Eau de Toilette , 1.7 fl. oz

Notes include: bergamot, cinnamon, pepper, lavender, port wine, mimosa, moss, tobacco leaf, leather

Season: autumn, winter

Quick Verdict: An absolute classic from the brand. London is rich and bold. A fragrance that I personally wore for a long time.

Write Up:

London was my first Burberry cologne and its woody fragrance is probably the most masculine of the lot. Its base notes include mimosa, leather, tobacco, cinnamon leaves, and lavender.

This fragrance is probably best served as an evening wear option because of its sensual appeal. However, I used to daily wear this seasonally, back in college. Just with lighter sprays.

Like Brit, London is a colder weather scent. Although, I prefer to wear this during nights in autumn, versus winter for Brit. If Brit is fresh and green, London is deep and powerful.

While it has that nice spice and tobacco aroma, London still has its sweet side to prevent it from going too far into one-sidedness.

London opens up, at its spiciest, with that tobacco note surrounded by both pepper and cinnamon leaf. It also features a port wine ingredient at the top, to give the scent, an ever so slight booziness.

It can be very dry and earthy at times, with a certain masculine ruggedness. It has its refinement along with a wild undercurrent. The most prominent notes are the tobacco, cinnamon, and leather notes. Great stuff.

London starts off with a strong sillage, but ends up being pretty moderate. The longevity is good and this one is still so enjoyable to me, after all these years.  

Also see: Burberry Brit vs London Comparison

Fragrance Score: 8.1/10  (Read: Burberry London Review )

Pros: Great spicy wear for the colder weather.

Cons: Can lean more toward being an evening wear. Some might not like it’s opening intensity.

 

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A Touching Favorite

Fragrance: BURBERRY Touch for Men Eau de Toilette, 3.3 oz 

Notes include: violet leaf, pepper, musk, tonka bean

Season: spring, summer, autumn

Quick Verdict: Touch is clean with hints of spice and a light soap-like aroma, at times. Not too heavy and a gem for daytime.

Write Up:

Sexy and elegant are probably the two best words to describe Burberry Touch. It has a clean aroma highlighted by pepper and violet leaf. It’s sweet yet spicy and also has a creamy/powdery feeling just underneath it all.

The pepper spice, is most pronounced in the opening bit of time, much like in Burberry London.

During the dry down period, tonka bean and musk join up to give Touch a bit more character. It’s almost too simple in how this cologne presents itself and the changes are so subtle at times, that you almost cannot detect a difference.

Touch is a very versatile fragrance that is suitable for a wide variety of occasions and weather conditions. Really underrated stuff. Touch is a clean fragrance and even while being simple, is still unique from so many other colognes out on the market.

The latter stages, really give me a clean soapy/body wash sort of feeling, but more upscale than the average soap.

I cannot even think of one that smells quite like Burberry Touch, even after almost two decades since its release.

The sillage here, isn’t too strong, but the longevity is still quite good. This could easily be a daily wear or signature scent for guys, in the daytime.

Fragrance Score: No Full Review

Pros: Quite different from the rest of the lineup.

Cons: Violet leaf can get on my nerves, sometimes. As such, this one isn’t always one that I wanted to have on.

 

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Cooling Namesake

Fragrance: BURBERRY for Men Eau de Toilette, 3.3 fl.oz 

Notes include: mint, amber, sandalwood, lavender, cedar

Season: autumn, spring

Quick Verdict: The 1990s namesake fragrance with a crisp woody aroma. Inexpensive and very wearable.

Write Up:

Burberry cologne is the titular house fragrance from this design company. It also happens to be one of my favorite to wear on this list.

Burberry for Men isn’t as in your face as many other colognes on the market, but it allows it’s striking and refined aroma speak for itself.

It features a cool mint note, that provides that familiar fresh spice on top of a smooth sandalwood, and embedded within a warm amber. It is an interesting play between warmth and cold, throughout the wear.

This is all solidified by a smooth trio of sandalwood, lavender, and cedar. This forms the base of Burberry for Men and adds that woody masculine layer.

The mint, cedar, and amber are the stars at the beginning of the wear. The amber is warm, the mint is cold, and you get a dry freshness of the cedar wood. The bergamot citrus note, is lighter than that main trio, but does add a nice extra element into the mix.

Burberry for Men is a great option for a daily wear scent. I picked up another small bottle, some months back, and it’s still got good performance. Plus, you can usually find a full bottle at a discount from the retail price.

This has a more mature character and a moderate sillage. I’ve always felt that I could wear Burberry anywhere and it be an appropriate cologne for that occasion. It’s woody, fresh, and an intriguing fragrance that I always love catching a whiff of.  

Also see: Burberry for Men vs Brit Comparison

Fragrance Score: 7.8/10 (My review)

Pros: Enjoyable scent that is woody and cooling, which can serve as an entry level fragrance from the brand.

Cons: Less complex, not the same as more modern colognes on the market

 

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Spiced Beats

Fragrance: BURBERRY The Beat Eau De Toilette for Men, 3.4 Fl. oz.

Notes include: lemon, pepper, cedar, vetiver

Season: year round (not the best on very cold days)

Quick Verdict: A retro fragrance that is discontinued, but well worth a try on the secondary market, if not too expensive.

Write Up:

The Beat is highly fresh and sharp fragrance that is propelled forward by its great pepper note. This is joined by lemon to create quite an interesting pairing.

While simple, The Beat evolves, and eventually reveals a woody base that is dotted by violet, to add a floral element.

This is probably the most unique of the colognes featured on this list. While not overpowering, it has a solid sillage and longevity, and can fit in well as an everyday wear.

The Beat is dry and outdoorsy with that juicy lemon to give it a sharp clean balance. The pepper spice at the beginning can be pretty intense at times, but the dry down with the cool vetiver is a nice change of pace.

At times, in the middle of the wear, it can be sweeter rather than spicy. Then, when the vetiver and cedar fully kick in, it is a fresh and dry woodsy type of smell. The Beat is a good choice for casual daily wear, for most of the year.

It’s not really a nightlife scent at all, just a nice and rather simple sort of fragrance. It’s opening is pretty strong, but it does calm itself down, and has a decent but not amazing longevity.

Fragrance Score: No Full Review

Pros: A slightly sweet gem, that was not too complicated but had a awesome aroma.

Cons: Discontinued.

 

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The Best Mr. Burberry

Fragrance: Mr Burberry Indigo

Notes include: blackcurrant, violet leaf, spearmint, lemon, sage, rosemary, white musk, oak moss, amber, driftwood

Season: spring, summer

Quick Verdict: A forgotten cologne that shined among a rather dull line of flankers.

Write Up:

The Mr. Burberry series was pretty much a complete miss for me, until I tried Indigo. The EDP version of Mr. Burberry smelled really good but the performance was terrible. 

This series is no longer being produced, but this was the highlight.

Indigo doesn’t have insane performance, but it lasts much better on my skin with a still moderate sillage. It’s sort of got a combination between the aroma of the others in the series, mixed with Acqua di Gio, and a few other colognes.

It’s fresh, herbal, somewhat aquatic with an amber base. It opens up with the citrus coming through, that is paired with mostly the mint and rosemary notes. Then, sage will take over for the rosemary. Green while being juicy with the top fruits.

It’s not my favorite release from Burberry, but Mr Burberry Indigo was probably their best men’s release of that five year stretch. 

Fragrance Score: 7.5/10  (My Full Review)

Pros: Minty and herbal scent with an Acqua di Gio style.

Cons: Performance was okay, not great. Discontinued.

 

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A New Hero

Fragrance: Hero EDT by Burberry

Notes include: cedar, bergamot, juniper, black pepper

Season: Anytime outside of high summer or depths of winter.

Quick Verdict: After a ton of flanker releases on this formula, Hero EDT still has a likeable and more wearable quality versus its more concentrated followers.

Write Up:

The EDP version is also pretty interesting, with some nice smoky touches. It’s almost a toss up for me at times, between these two, but I’ll go with Hero EDT. The more time I spent with each, the more I preferred EDT.

I still need to grab some of this Burberry release for additional testing. But, from my experience with it thus far, it’s a very nice release from the brand.

Update: I bought a travel size and it is very likeable and super versatile, as a daily wear. It’s one of their best releases in 5+ years.

It’s fresh and woody, but not completely overpowering with the cedar note. Gives you a simple clean, that can be worn almost anytime. The bergamot citrus top, hangs around underneath the cedar for a long while, and gives Hero a spectacular brightness.

Juniper and some pepper spice come through for an aromatic finish. The pepper is noticeable at first, but fades rather quickly. Performance is a bit above average, not spectacular. 

Here’s an ‘inspired by’ cheaper alternative from The Dua Brand: Lionheart

Fragrance Score: 7.8/10 (Hero EDT Review)

Pros: Smells nice, versatile. 

Cons: Not super complex or high performing

 

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The Next Best Hero

Fragrance: Hero Parfum by Burberry 

Notes include: cedar, amyris, cypriol oil

Season: autumn, winter

Quick Verdict: Long lasting edition of Hero with a focus on the cedar note and it brings an earthiness to the formula.

Write Up:

Updating here, I still like the EDT the best so far from the Burberry Hero line. However, I like the newer Parfum more than the EDP, and it deserves a spot on the list.

Update 2: I also like this version better than Parfum Intense.

Some of you, may prefer this. Up top it’s earthy, woody, and balsamic. This is a very cedar heavy fragrance with a dry feeling throughout the wear. Fresh with spices and even some moments where you get a bit of a powder coming through.

Not a super powerful fragrance, but it gets the job done with its projection. Beyond that, Hero Parfum also lasted over ten hours on my skin, when I’ve tested it out.

There haven’t been too many releases from Burberry as of late, but this is a good one. Just not for everybody.

Fragrance Score: No Full Review   (Comparison: Hero EDP vs. Parfum)

Pros: Fresh, earthy and a bit powdery versus just being a straight cedarwood bomb.

Cons: Not as mass appealing as EDT.  

 

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Burberry Men’s Fragrance FAQ

What is the best Burberry cologne for men?

Personally, I think London is the top pick, from the older releases. Nowadays, they’re focusing on Hero as a series. I’d go with Hero EDT, maybe Parfum (but the new 2026 Elixir looks very interesting). 

How long does Burberry Brit last?

I’ve always gotten around 8 hours of wear with Brit for Men. It’s not super noticeable at that stage, but it still is hanging around as a skin scent.

Which Burberry cologne is best for winter/summer/office/date night?

Tougher to say, now that their lineup of men’s fragrances is basically just the Hero line. For winter, I’d go London or Hero Parfum. Summer: Mr. Burberry Indigo or The Beat (if you can find them). Office: Hero EDT or Brit. Date Night: One of the Hero fragrances or London.

What does Burberry Hero smell like?

Different releases under this title have different scents. Cedar is the central theme of the series. EDT is lighter and has some citrus to help its mass appeal. While later entries go even drier with the woods or start to introduce leather. Heavier, more niche appeal.

Is Burberry a luxury fragrance brand?

Burberry has luxury offerings with its unisex releases. Scents like the new Hero Elixir are more expensive with a heavier concentration and a style that’s more like a niche fragrance. While there are older scents like London, Brit, and Burberry for men that are much more affordable. Lineups change and some scents get discontinued or even re-released.