The seasons come and go, and yet your favourite fragrance remains. But that's not the way it should be. Just as you wouldn't wear swim shorts in the depths of December, you shouldn't inflict the citrus notes of summer on your fellow commuters when they're bundled up in coats and scarves.
No. Winter is for smokier fragrances, for those spicy, woody scents that are best-paired with a roaring fire and a tank of Sangiovese. After all, when your clothes get heavy, it makes sense for your smell to do the same.
An olfactory update is in order, then. You just need to pick the right one. We've collated the best men's winter fragrances to keep your rotation up-to-date, your romantic interest interested, and, most importantly, the winter well-scented for 2019.
Naming your offspring is a tall task. Byredo washed its lovely-smelling hands entirely, letting the 'Unnamed' fragrance wander free, without a moniker, but still packed full of crisp moss and iris root undercurrents. Byredo doesn't play favourites with its kids, but we absolutely do.
If the last remix of Dior's signature Sauvage wasn't punchy enough, then you are in luck (and also incredibly hard to please). Sauvage 2.0 has all the hallmarks of the original article – heady tonka bean extracts, leather notes, that sort of thing – but plumps up the fragrance with a juicy injection of mandarin.
Released to much fanfare in 1916, Acqua di Parma's Colonia Essenza is a year-round upgrade of the centenarian fragrance. It's particularly suited to winter, however, thanks to an assertive base of wood notes and rosemary that'll give your greyed out wardrobe some olfactory colour.
There's a reason Creed's strain of blackcurrant and musk sells: it's built to last. A quick spritz is enough to carry you through the day (and probably the evening, too) with all the gusto and pageantry of the war-crazy Roman emperor from whom it takes its name.
Post-December, winter is an abyss. So summon up memories of your weekend in Capri in a winter-ready way with Cartier's Pasha Edition Noire. It's a moody mix of citrus notes above cedar that's darker than a Christopher Nolan reboot of The Grinch.
Bruno Jovanovic is the man in the nose, responsible for the 2015 best-selling Boss, The Scent. Fast-forward four years, and said trophy scent has received an upgrade in Absolute: headier, stronger and punchier thanks to an attractive mix of oriental spices and rum-fruit sweetness. Keep it up, Bruno.
Gucci's Mémoire d'une Odeur translates to 'a memory of a smell'. But, thanks to that very concoction, you no longer require patchy memories of an autumn holiday in Switzerland. Gucci's blend of Roman chamomile, musk and sandalwood provides a far better (and more luxurious) reminder.
Bottega Veneta Illusione For Him
Italian fragrances are often the kind of thing you might wear to joyride along the Amalfi Coast in a top-down Alfa Romeo. But Bottega Veneta's Illusione is more suited to a Milanese boardroom, where everyone is dressed immaculately (in black, of course) and your nostrils are filled with a rich blend of vetiver and bitter lemon, with fir balsam top notes. Just add overt gesticulation.
You know that Manhattan penthouse you've had your eye on, with a roof terrace, pool and live-in staff? Well this is what it smells like. Tom Ford's Noir is a potent mix of patchouli, smoky opopanax and vanilla below spicier notes of caraway seeds. Best paired with a velvet tux and frequent flyer status.
Jo Malone x Huntsman Whiskey & Cedarwood Cologne
Jo Malone: a master at making homes smell like good taste. And, in tandem with Savile Row tailor Huntsman, it can do the same for your actual self with this blend of whisky, cedarwood and spicy pimento. A combination that's better sniffed than drunk.
