Best Men’s Designer Fragrance in the Last 10 Years?

In my humble opinion, the best designer fragrance released in the last ten years is Dior Homme Parfum.

Varanis Ridari said:

Yeah, releases have spun up to an inhuman frequency, and get discontinued in shorter and shorter spans, then become the next scalper fodder for the folks who missed the window but just GOTTA have the new shiny thing for their TikToks and Instagram.

It's turned into a rat race for a narrowing field of trend-obsessed sycophants, that a lot of folks who don't have the cash to play the game just ignore, by not wearing fragrance at all (beyond bath products).

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Many of these fragrances are released without fanfare, so they're blink-and-you'll-miss-it fare.

There's also been a clear budgetary shift. The R&D and refinement goes into that higher, luxury pricepoint of $200, give or take, while the stuff below that is clearly awash in more straightforward, unnuanced synthetics (not necessarily a negative when the perfumer knows what they're doing, but you can feel the penny-pinching).

For instance, as much as I commend Dunhill Icon, it's hard to argue it wouldn't be a better version of itself if they'd shilled out for a higher-grade neroli (and it's not like you can't find nice neroli in cheapies; Banana Republic managed to put a very nice neroli in Neroli Woods).

slpfrsly said:

What the sheer number of suggestions also shows is the lack of consensus that exists now. Perhaps it would be easier to answer this question for the previous decade, e.g. 2010-2020, and see if distance helps. You're always wrestling with the novelty of new releases when doing a thread like this. Time and distance grants perspective.

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I agree that we probably need ten or twenty more years to have more perspective.

I'm thinking that there were probably plenty of men in 1990 that thought stuff like Kouros, Drakkar Noir, Giorgio Beverly Hills, Obsession, Fahrenheit, Cool Water, Joop Homme, and Eternity were a bunch of new school crap that would never last.

I'm pretty sure lack of originality and rampant copying has been around since stone age folks scratched stick figures into cave walls too, not to mention the jumping on of trends like when everyone decided to copy chypres and fougeres more than a hundred years ago...

Maybe not designer or marketed to men, but some I've liked:

1. Patou Pour Homme re-release (2013)
2. Elie Saab Vetiver (2016)
3. Chypre-Siam (2018)
4. Celine Black Tie (2019)
5. Gris Charnel (2019)
6. Coromandel Parfum (2019) (top pick)

Brooks Otterlake said:

The "mass market" that could sustain a Bleu de Chanel-style instahit doesn't exist anymore.

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Bleu De Chanel wasn't an instant hit though. It took some time to catch on.

It seems like trends in perfumery last 5 to 10 years for fads, and a generation for major trends, which makes sense since each generation tends to rebel against the style of the generation that came before..

I'm fascinated by how one of the most aggressive trends in music during the last 50 years (grunge) came during the same era when fragrance style was stylistically fresh, clean, and sporty. CK One was dominating fragrance sales while Nirvana was dominating radio airwaves and music sales. That's kind of bizarre, but it sure was what the era was. Flannel, baggy jeans, and CK One. People looked like trash and smelled fresh out of the shower clean. Bizarre.

Anyway... I think the current harsh fake woods and ambroxan bomb scratchy trend has another 5 or so years to go. Ugh.

L'Homme Blanc Individuel said:

Bleu De Chanel wasn't an instant hit though. It took some time to catch on.

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As far as I understand, fragheads were kinda puzzled by it, but in my recollection, it was pretty much everywhere relatively quickly.

The ad campaign and promotion was aggressive from the start - and it stayed aggressive, doubling down on the same tactics (so you know they were working, or else there would've been a pivot).

If you were a dude shopping for a scent after it launched, it was likely you smelled it.

Brooks Otterlake said:

As far as I understand, fragheads were kinda puzzled by it, but in my recollection, it was pretty much everywhere relatively quickly.

The ad campaign and promotion was aggressive from the start - and it stayed aggressive, doubling down on the same tactics (so you know they were working, or else there would've been a pivot).

If you were a dude shopping for a scent after it launched, it was likely you smelled it.

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That came out when I was a newbie and posting here a lot. Yes, the reception here was very lukewarm. It took a couple of years before you'd see some people here embracing it. I remember the ad campaign well and it was the kind of advertising that will annoy Basenoters. I kind of think we don't like people telling us what's "really cool."

Dior Sauvage Elixir
TF Beau de Jour
Louis Vuitton Imagination
Light Blue Italian Love

All outstanding must-haves

Of the stuff I own, my top 3 would be:

Tom Ford Noir Extreme (really surprised no one else has mentioned this one)
AMen Pure Tonka
Lempicka Homme

The others that I own that qualify* are also all good… apart from Ungaro Power which is merely OK, but has a fantastic looking bottle

Of the stuff I haven’t got, the L’Homme Ideal EDP and L’Intense flankers have been highlights, and a “guilty pleasure” has been some of the Azzaro Wanted line.

*In alphabetical order
AMen Ultra Zest
Boss Bottled Intense EDP
CK Dark Obsession
Declaration L’Eau
Guerlain Homme EDP
Joop Homme EDP
Ferrari Radiant Bergamot
TdH Eau Tres Fraiche
Molinard Vanille Patchouli EDP

StylinLA said:

That came out when I was a newbie and posting here a lot. Yes, the reception here was very lukewarm. It took a couple of years before you'd see some people here embracing it. I remember the ad campaign well and it was the kind of advertising that will annoy Basenoters. I kind of think we don't like people telling us what's "really cool."

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Basenoters aren't really the target audience for releases like Bleu de Chanel (and rightly so, since we don't have enough buying power to make something a mass-market hit).

Algorithm-driven marketing has made marketing an increasingly individualized affair. Targeted ads for targeted products. You now see perfumes that are aimed not at the general public, but specific subsets of customers.

I think the Bleu/Sauvage/Aventus moment for masculines is not likely to be replaced by another clear, dominant trend. Houses don't even seem interested in the idea of major tentpoles. They want to pop up a quick brand, like Givenchy Gentleman or Gucci Guilty, and use that to market a steady stream of new content.

It's kinda like the Marvel Cinematic Universe model. Use one big umbrella to dump out a bunch of products to ever-hungry consumers.

AndyL said:

Le Lion de Chanel - Chanel (2020)

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Completely forgot about this one, this would be my third pick from the period! I find it really interesting that such a labdanum-dominant fragrance can be as successful as it seems to have been nowadays. It has a very vintage feel, if I had blind-sniffed it and someone told me it was around 100 years old I may well have believed them!

_Nicolas_ said:

Completely forgot about this one, this would be my third pick from the period! I find it really interesting that such a labdanum-dominant fragrance can be as successful as it seems to have been nowadays. It has a very vintage feel, if I had blind-sniffed it and someone told me it was around 100 years old I may well have believed them!

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I've never thought of it that way, but now that you mention it... Suppose the same thing could be said for many in the Les Exclusifs.

It's a beastly perfume, so bold, strong, and dense... It truly is, The Lion of Chanel. A masterpiece.

Most I'd pick have already been mentioned but off the top of my head I'd say

Acqua di Giò Profumo
Dior Homme Parfum
Gucci Guilty Absolute Pour Homme
Guerlain L'Homme Ideal Cologne & Extreme

Brooks Otterlake said:

If I look at all-time "Most Worn" stats here, then for me:

Tom Ford Noir EDP (2012) is in 3rd place (which just misses the date cutoff, so it doesn't count).

But a few other designer houses show up in my top 20 most-worn:

Lalique Noir Premier Or Intemporel 1888 (2015) is in 5th place

Ermenegildo Zegna Passion (2017) is in 8th place

Celine Black Tie (2019) is in 12th place

Dolce & Gabbana Velvet Incenso (2018) is in 20th place

I didn't list any of these because these are all designer "exclusives," with higher-end pricepoints. But they're all great, and they're all technically designer fragrances.

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I wouldn’t consider any of those “designer”, not even technically speaking. Well, maybe the Celine.
Can you even buy Lalique at retail?
heck, I don’t know.
I would say they exist in a grey area between designer and niche, and as such I guess you can call them either. Furthermore, I don’t know that “designer” and “niche” labels matter or have any meaning at all anymore. It’s all kind of blurred these days.

Opiate said:

I wouldn’t consider any of those “designer”, not even technically speaking. Well, maybe the Celine.

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By "technical" definition, at least the one I'm familiar with, a designer scent is a scent released by a house that is primarily associated with other types of products than fragrance, such as clothing.

In this model, fragrances are an accessory for designer houses that expand their brand cachet and make the brand more accessible. Designers typically license out their fragrances because it's not their core business.

I think that's true of everything I listed. Still, I agree this definition doesn't help us navigate the very clear market delineation between things like Chanel's Bleu and Le Lion.

Equipage Geranium
Gucci Guilty Absolute
Le Lion

Brooks Otterlake said:

It's kinda like the Marvel Cinematic Universe model. Use one big umbrella to dump out a bunch of products to ever-hungry consumers.

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Don’t give them any ideas…

Although I think I could abide a bottle of “Hulk” or “Dr. Strange.”

Brooks Otterlake said:

Basenoters aren't really the target audience for releases like Bleu de Chanel (and rightly so, since we don't have enough buying power to make something a mass-market hit).

Algorithm-driven marketing has made marketing an increasingly individualized affair. Targeted ads for targeted products. You now see perfumes that are aimed not at the general public, but specific subsets of customers.

I think the Bleu/Sauvage/Aventus moment for masculines is not likely to be replaced by another clear, dominant trend. Houses don't even seem interested in the idea of major tentpoles. They want to pop up a quick brand, like Givenchy Gentleman or Gucci Guilty, and use that to market a steady stream of new content.

It's kinda like the Marvel Cinematic Universe model. Use one big umbrella to dump out a bunch of products to ever-hungry consumers.

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Oh yes...I'm very clear that at the level Chanel or Dior operates, our opinions are meaningless.

The indifference that was shown at the Bleu introduction made it clear that this place is not a good representation of the market at large. The current general consensus here that Sauvage is awful seems way out of step with what people are buying. I'm still seeing traditional television ads for Sauvage. You don't spend that kind of money on something that's not selling.

Even though it's from 2012 , I'd have to say Spicebomb. It's just really good in every way.

Brooks Otterlake said:

By "technical" definition, at least the one I'm familiar with, a designer scent is a scent released by a house that is primarily associated with other types of products than fragrance, such as clothing.

In this model, fragrances are an accessory for designer houses that expand their brand cachet and make the brand more accessible. Designers typically license out their fragrances because it's not their core business.

I think that's true of everything I listed. Still, I agree this definition doesn't help us navigate the very clear market delineation between things like Chanel's Bleu and Le Lion.

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Yes, that definition in many of our heads about "niche" and "designer" is kind of amorphous.

Celine and Tom Ford are clearly companies with a primary focus on clothes and accessoires so by the usual designer definition- they are designer.

In practice, I think some consider them "niche" because they are very pricey and not as readily available.

There is clearly a gray area between offerings like Bleu and the Les Exclusifs or Sauvage and the La Collection Privee offerings. It's kind of like Le Lion is a niche scent from a designer company which kind of makes no sense.