We get it. Picking out gifts is hard. Buying gifts for men is even harder. (Why do they all want expensive gaming consoles and Apple devices?)
If your stuck in a gift-giving rut, colognes are always a safe bet. Who doesn’t love to smell good? Everyone loves smelling good! Even though taste is subjective, here are 7 of the best “safe bet” colognes for men that make excellent gifts.
Dior Sauvage
Dior Sauvage is one of the most popular fragrances for men in recent years, and it’s easy to understand why. It’s hard to communicate fragrance through a screen, but the best way we can put it is “burst of lime with a hint of spice.” Sauvage is so fresh in the opening notes but dries down to a lavender and tea-based scent.
It’s also a universal scent, making it great for winter and summer, as well as daytime and night time.
Top notes: Bergamot, black pepper
Middle notes: Lavender, vetiver, patchouli
Base notes: Ambroxan, cedar, labdanum
Narciso Bleu Noir For Him
Narciso Bleu Noir For Him is the ultimate date night fragrance. It smells like freshly cut cedar and basil leaves — an immediately familiar, sexy scent. It’s also enveloped in a heart of musk, meaning the dry down will smell uniquely like you, and no one else.
Top notes: Citrus, basil, ice
Middle notes: Musk
Base notes: Cedar, ebony
Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male
Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male created in ’95 by Francis Kurkdjian, makes a great staple in any guy’s cologne collection. Unlike the brusque, spicy scents that you’d typically associate with cologne, Le Male is creamy and soft, but still clean and fresh.
Le Male is just so friendly and happy, it’s no wonder that it’s still a bestseller 25 years on.
A great gift, and a totally safe blind buy for any guy on your list.
Top Notes: Lavender, mint, cardamom
Middle notes: Cinnamon, orange blossom
Base notes: Vanilla, sandalwood, cedar
Bleu de Chanel
Bleu de Chanel is so classic. Man or woman, who wouldn’t love to get Chanel under the tree?
Bleu de Chanel has that classic aftershave smell but with a lemony twist. It’s sharp but not acidic, and very typically masculine. A memorable scent for a night out.
Top notes: Grapefruit, lemon, mint
Middle notes: Ginger, nutmeg, jasmine
Base notes: Incense, vetiver, sandalwood
Hugo Boss Bottled
Hugo Boss Bottled is winter in a bottle. It smells sort of like the Mahogany Teakwood cologne from Bath and Body Works, but better. Boss Bottled is an unconventional fragrance that’s still very safe and classic, making it a safe gifting choice.
Notes of apple, vanilla, bergamot and sandalwood make this a delightfully fresh fragrance that he’ll be able to wear well past New Years’ Day.
Top notes: Apple, lemon, bergamot
Middle notes: Cinnamon, mahogany, carnation
Base notes: Vanilla, sandalwood, cedar
Creed Green Irish Tweed
If you’ve got the budget for it, Creed Green Irish Tweed is another classically masculine fragrance that will last him for ages. It’s so strong and sexy — the kind of cologne worn by a very important man, like an Ivy League professor or Wall Street Exec. It’s pricey, but you get what you pay for. Plus, the bottle will last for ages.
Top notes: Lemon verbena, iris
Middle notes: Violet
Base notes: Ambergris
Viktor & Rolf Spicebomb
On the flip side, Viktor & Rolf Spicebomb is the perfect gift for the unfussy man that doesn’t care about cologne. It’s a fresh, easy, everyday scent. If you want your man to ditch the AXE body sprays and Old Spice, buy him this.
Top notes: Pink pepper, bergamot, grapefruit
Middle notes: Cinnamon, saffron, paprika
Base notes: Tobacco, leather, vetiver