The 10 Best Colognes for Fall

Looking for a seasonally appropriate fall fragrance? Here are the best colognes for fall that you can buy right now.

Those of you who have survived a steaming hot, uncomfortable summer will be more than ready for the first signs of Fall.

What a relief to get up in the morning to a bearable temperature – and perhaps even a slight mist over the lawn! It’s the first sign that the seasons are changing, and with it you will need to be ready to change your clothing and fragrance wardrobes.  

Now is the time to adapt your grooming regimen in readiness for the colder weather to come, so put away those sharp, aquatic, burst-of-freshness colognes and get ready for spicier, more resilient, deeper fragrance notes.

You can opt for a perfume rather than a cologne too but take care not to overdo it. You don’t want to overpower an approaching stranger from sixty feet away.

A man’s fragrance should always be on the slightly subtle side, so that you smell wonderful close to, but you don’t invade someone’s space.

Perfume and cologne are prepared in the same way, but here’s a primer on the difference between their respective strengths, which is due to their levels of aroma extracts and solvent:

• Perfume contains from 15-30 % aroma oil solution. 
• Perfume contains 95% alcohol and 5-10% water.
• Cologne contains from 3-5% aroma oil solution.
• Cologne contains 70% alcohol, 30% water. 

Because perfume has higher concentrations of aroma extracts, its fragrance will be more intense, and stay on your skin longer, so be careful how much you put on. 

Quick Take

Short on time? Here are our top three recommendations from the list:

Read on for more info and the complete list…

The 10 Best Colognes for Fall

Here they are in no particular order…

Tom Ford Private Blend Oud Wood Eau De Parfum

What can we say? Tom Ford has produced some of the world’s most memorable men’s fragrances. This one, however, stands alone. Long-lasting, musky, woody and exotic, Tom Ford Oud Wood is simply unique.

It has notes of oud wood, amber, tonka bean, vanilla, sandalwood and vetiver. Don’t complain about the price, though. It is well worth it.  

Arquiste Nanban

Recipient of the 2021 Indie Fragrance of the Year, Nanban may not be familiar to many of you. It is a fragrance based on the true story of a Samurai galleon in 1618 on a diplomatic transoceanic voyage to unite the East with the West.

It was loaded with precious cargo, tropical woods, frankincense and other precious fragrances. Although you may find this a slightly pretentious reason to create a fragrance, give it a try.

It is heady, woody, smoky and full of oriental fragrance, with notes of Malabar black pepper, Persian saffron, Chinese Osmanthus, coffee, Spanish leather, myrrh, frankincense, sandalwood and cade. 

Hermès Terre D’Hermès

This is a classic Fall fragrance, just perfect for romantic evenings by the fireside, Thanksgiving dinner and walks in the autumn leaves.

It was launched in 2006 but draws its ongoing inspiration from earth notes of oak moss and benzoin. It is a warm, sensual fragrance with a layer of orange, grapefruit, gunflint, pink peppercorn, geranium leaves, patchouli and baies rose. It’s a keeper. 

Aventus Creed

Yes, it’s made our top list before, but we just can’t resist including it again. And yes, we know all about the hype, the price and the naysayers, but in all honesty, it just smells wonderful.

If you can find a woman or man out there who doesn’t like Creed, let us know. Is it a perfect 10? Perhaps. Creed opens with a strong pineapple note combined with bergamot, fresh apple and blackcurrant.

Its heart notes are smoky, woody, with birch, jasmine, patchouli, juniper berry and rose. Base notes include ambergris, oakmoss, musk and vanilla. 

Yves Saint Laurent La Nuit de L’Homme

This is a classic cold weather fragrance. It is a sweet/spicy fragrance with sharper top notes of bergamot, cardamon and caraway combined with soft lavender, vanilla-ry coumarin, and heart notes of black pepper, cedarwood and vanilla.

Its base notes comprise vetiver and tonka bean. It is a sexy fragrance, great for clubbing, or a night out with a special someone. Definitely for a man’s night out, as its name suggests. It’s one of the many great fragrances from YSL.

Maison Margiela Replica Jazz Club

You are in a jazz club. It is dimly lit, with cigar smoke and leather chairs. You have an elegant martini in your hands. That’s the feeling you are supposed to get with Replica Jazz Club.

It is warm and sweet/spicy with top notes of pink pepper, lemon and neroli. Heart notes include rum, java vetiver and sage, and base notes feature tobacco, styrax and vanilla.

It’s a warm, cozy type of scent, perfect for fall and winter nights in your own special hideaway.

Viktor & Rolf Spicebomb Eau De Parfum Extreme

Let’s just put it this way. This stuff is spicy sweet – and dangerously addictive. Shaped like a hand grenade, Spicebomb Extreme blasts away other contenders.  It is seductive, deadly and effective.

In its perfume form, a little goes a long way. With an explosive composition of aromatic lavender mixed with caraway and black pepper, it leaves a trail of heat with he-man shades of tobacco and vanilla.

Top notes include grapefruit, pimento (really?), heart notes are cinnamon, cumin and saffron, with base notes of tobacco, amber, vanilla and cistus. 

Giorgio Armani Acqua Dio Gio Profumo

Based on the wildly popular Acqua Di Gio, the profumo version offers a heavier, more robust version of the original, so it’s perfect for fall.

Expect similar top notes of bergamot and clean, fresh aquatic fragrances which transition to middle notes of sage, rosemary and geranium and base notes of patchouli and incense.

It is earthy, spicy, with a citrusy opening, settling into deeper, warmer realms. For fall and winter evenings out, this is a great fragrance to add to your wardrobe. 

Bvlgari Man In Black

Celebrating the house of Bvlgari’s 130 years in business, Man In Black is a robust fragrance redolent of leather and spice. It follows the original fragrance, Bvlgari Man launched in 2010.

It is bold, charismatic, and is said to have been inspired by the myth of the birth of Vulcan. 

Top notes consist of tobacco, spices and rum, heart notes are leather, tuberose and iris and base notes comprise oud, gaiac wood, benzoin and tonka bean. 

Roja Parfums Elysium

For those of you who still prefer a deeper citrus -y fragrance, even in colder weather, Elysium may be the answer.

It is labelled as a perfume cologne, so its intensity is somewhere between the two. It has a similar opening to Aventus Creed, biting, zingy, and with green apple notes.

Top notes are lemon, bergamot, grapefruit, lime, lavender, thyme, and musk. Heart notes comprise lily of the valley, may rose, jasmine, apple and blackcurrant, and base notes are of cypriol, vetiver, cedarwood, juniper, vanilla, benzoin, leather, ambergris and musk.

It is a complex fragrance yet maintains it sharpness throughout. 

Which Fall Fragrance Will You Choose?

Those are our top 10 fragrances for fall.  You can’t go wrong with any of these, so we hope you enjoy trying them out. 

You’ll smell wonderful for the rest of the year.