
Shay’s Guide to Fragrance Buying for Men
Fragrance families are used to describe the “type” of scent classification a fragrance would be categorized in so take note. They define what you like and in some cases what you won’t. These scent categories are often found in men’s fragrances but can overlap into women’s but scents such as leather are very much male specific. You also have to consider that the fragrance combinations and undertones (base, middle and top notes) will be blended different.
Aromatic
Aromatic scents are characterized by fresh herbal notes that are often paired with richer more muskier notes that tend to make them feel very woodsy and magical. These types of scents tend to be masculine as aromatic refers to herbs and spices which tend to have strong distinctive scents. The most common notes are rosemary, thyme, lavender, cumin and clary sage. Aromatics are rich and deep.
Fougère
The Fougère family is almost exclusively reserved for the male audience and is associated with masculinity and strength. It has a retro appeal. It is the greenest of all the fragrance categories with Fougere meaning ‘fern-like’ in French but don’t confuse this fragrance family with more green scents because these are usually pretty heavy on the thought-provoking wood notes. Fougère is bit like an aromatic on steroids, and traditionally contains lavender, oakmoss, coumarin, and tobacco. So, think rugged and woodsy, very strong, maybe a bit soft but truly masculine.
Leather
Leather is a masculine scent whose origins can be traced back to a time when tanneries would use smoke, wood, resins, tobacco and even honey to disguise the foul smells of the tanning process. While it sounds pretty rustic, leather is more of a formal scent for men that exudes power. It is produced with bitter-smelling Iso quinolines or with smoky birch as most leather scents are synthetically made.
Woody
Dry, warm and rich woods such as sandalwood, cedarwood, patchouli, oak, resin, bark and vetiver are the highlights of this nostalgic scent family which leans itself towards the macho masculine type of men. This scent is usually blended with scents like vanilla, amber, cinnamon and musk to create its earthy appeal. These can be very soft and sensual and down to earth.
Oriental
As the name suggests these scents hail from faraway places like East Indea, Turkey and the Middle East. These scents are opulent, seductive, sensual and hedonistic and very intense. These scents are often worn during the evening and price wise, due to their rare ingredients like frankincense, oud, amber, resin, tobacco and myrrh; can be quite expensive. These are the most seductive of scents as they are often so rich and sensual.
Chypre
Considered by perfumers to be the most sophisticated and rounded of all the families, this scent family is characterised by a woody-mossy base. these fragrances combine notes such as citrus (usually bergamot), patchouli, cistus labdanum, and oakmoss. It is pronounced “sheep-ra” and the name is derived from the French word for Cyprus the island. These fragrances often fall into sub-categories like leather chypre’s, floral chypres and citrus chypres. These types of scents are considered “elegantly” versatile.
Citrus
Energetic, fresh and light this is definitely a summer scent that highlights energetic and zesty citrus fruits like orange, bergamot, lemon, mandarin, yuzu and grapefruit and are usually combined with the blossoms and leaves of citrus fruit trees, such as neroli, petitgrain and orange blossom. Citrus scents usually start out loud and strong but tend to dry down to subtle and easy to wear, understated scents that provide a fresh and clean vibe that will leave you feeling confident and invigorating.
Gourmand
Pronounced “Gaw-Muhnd”, this indulgent scent family is mostly comprised of chocolate, vanilla and coffee. These scents are good enough to eat and while most wouldn’t think masculine this category over the years has gained in popularity. You’ll smell good enough to eat or drink as coffee and whiskey is considered a gourmand and we all know this scent is masculine and strong but sweet.
Aquatic
Aquatic scents remind you of sunny skies and sandy beaches. These scents are characterized by oceanic notes like salt, fresh sea air and algae and tend to be very clean and fresh smelling. They are sometimes light and airy but always wet. The fresh blue waves and salty ocean air definitely have to be favored by the wearer of this scent.
Fresh
The Fresh scent family is often not listed because in its place are usually Aquatic and/or Citrus, but I chose to give both of these their own space as many other fragrance fanatics does. Fresh is used more in masculine scents than feminine scents so fresh scents are often blue when used for women like Sea Island Shore. I wanted to include the “Green” scent family though as these are usually scented of freshly mowed lawns or crushed green grass, so it is neither aquatic or citrusy for the most part.
We have identified 10 major fragrance families, but each family usually has sub-categories as we found with the “fresh” fragrance family. We won’t cover those here, but those subcategories create significant olfactory differences and explain why you might like one scent from the aquatic group but not the other. If you enjoyed this blog, come back every Masculine Monday where we focus specifically on masculine scents and gift giving.

