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14 Best Summer Fragrances for Men

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By Ben McKimm - Guide

Published: 30 Oct 2024

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We’ve sourced, tried, and tested the best summer fragrances to keep you smelling fresh on a hot day and crisp in the office during warmer months. We’ve found new niche summer scents, classics you can’t do without, and some unique notes that we think you’ll enjoy to keep you ahead of the trends. We’ve also spoken to a perfume expert, David Frossard, CEO of P Frapin & Cie and Obvious Parfums, who shared his expert knowledge on which fragrance notes to look for when buying. These bottles are zesty, fresh, clean, and frankly irresistible, so let’s look at what colognes you should be wearing as the weather warms up.

Best Summer Fragrances for Men at a Glance

Highlights from our list include the following options:

• Best overall: Pour Homme Eau De Parfum by Bvlgari
• For value for money: Green by Coach
• For something luxurious: Galloway by Parfums de Marly
• For a great gift: Light Blue Summer Vibes by Dolce & Gabbana

Now you’ve read our favourites, let’s check out the complete list.

RELATED: These are our favourite fragrances for men right now.

1. Pour Homme Eau De Parfum by Bvlgari

Price: from AUD$210

• Pros: This is a great value-for-money EDP with solid longevity, a fresh smell, and a little more fruity notes than the EDT variant, making it perfect for summer.
• Cons: Ultimately, it’s a Louis Vuitton Imagination dupe. However, the performance doesn’t match. Still, it’s well over half the price, so it’s more approachable to most.

Transparent, fresh, and a touch spicy, Pour Homme Eau De Parfum by Bvlgari owns summer with layers of Darjeeling tea and ginger on the top before richer black tea and guaiac wood come through to bolster the summer cologne as it dries down. Finally, it settles on the skin with a slight musk and ambrette, adding a spice touch to the scent that moves around with you over the day.

Reviewers online like to say that Pour Homme Eau De Parfum by Bvlgari is a Louis Vuitton Imagination dupe, and that’s simply because the same man, Jacques Cavallier Belletrud, makes them. However, when you factor in the price point, the performance is almost equal, which means you’re getting great value for money here. Through our testing, we extracted more than four hours of projection on the skin but more like six hours on clothes. It’s not the longest-lasting summer fragrance but is solid for a fresh scent.

You could wear it year-round, but we’d save it for warmer months because of its freshness and overarching fruity characteristics. It would work in a professional and casual environment, and with good sillage and projection, it would work in an office setting, too.

Top notes: Darjeeling Tea and Ginger
Middle notes: Black Tea and Guaiac Wood
Base notes: White Musk and Ambrette (Musk Mallow)

2. Galloway by Parfums de Marly

Price: from AUD$398

• Pros: The ultimate ‘quiet luxury’ fragrance that’s very fresh and classic in its scent profile. Longevity is outstanding (six hours and up), and the balance of citrus and musk is amongst the best we’ve ever tested.
• Cons: It’s a lot of money to spend on a fragrance that flies under the radar. You won’t get compliments from strangers, but you will get noticed by those who appreciate a rounded masculine scent.

The perfect summer fragrance if you’re looking for a designer option that avoids too much bergamot and chooses fresh, crisp citrus, lavender and ambroxan notes instead. Our testing found that the musky middle notes fade pretty early, making room for peppery base notes that add a touch of spice to the citrus mix. Longevity is outstanding, and we didn’t have to top-up until lunchtime. If you’re sick of overly powerful fragrances that scream, “Look at me”, this is a great alternative. It’s refreshing in a classic, charming way.

Top notes: Citruses and Pepper
Middle notes: Orange Blossom and Iris
Base notes: Musk and Amber

3. H24 Eau de Parfum by Hermes

Price: from AUD$216

• Pros: The quintessential ‘green’ fragrance for summer. There’s a delightful clary sage on the first spray before the oakwood moss takes over through the heart and on the dry down. Performance is excellent at six hours on the skin and you get all of this for an affordable price.
• Cons: Very fresh and green, it works for 90 per cent of men, but some find it a little too youthful.

Where else to start but one of the best designer fragrance houses on the planet? Hermes. The brand’s standard H24 scent is excellent, but our testing found that the H24 Eau de Parfum performs better with outstanding projection. It’s green and pleasant, full of clary sage on the first spray, and it leaves a delightful oakmoss on the dry down. We’ve also included H24 Herbes Vives lower down on this list, but if you love this ultra-green smell, check it out, too.

Performance is also outstanding. We found one-metre projection, meaningful sillage, and longevity of at least five hours on the skin and more on the clothes. We’d recommend four to six sprays on the neck and wrists. Don’t worry too much about over-spraying, but you might find the scent becomes too woody if you do.

Wear this one every day of the week. It suits men who work in an office, younger gents studying at university, and at night for formal occasions. Age-wise, we’d happily recommend this one to men between 20-60. Interestingly, the bottle is refillable and crafted from recycled glass, and the box itself is made entirely of recycled fibres.

Notes: Sage, dense high-tech moss, and warm and vibrant sclarene

4. Green by Coach

Price: from AUD$150

• Pros: The unique Kiwi scent immediately after spraying is perfect for summer. Compared to the designer options on our list, it’s top-tier value for money and is often complimented in public.
• Cons: It’s not very long-lasting and needs a few top-up sprays every three to five hours. It’s also not the strongest fragrance and the projection and aroma are generally lacking.

Green by Coach is one of the best value-for-money fragrances on our list, with strong notes of Kiwi on the nose in the first spray. The fragrance settles on the skin with rosemary and geranium middle notes, which mellows out before the classic cedar base notes take over.

Performance-wise, we didn’t find it long-lasting and could barely four hours out of it when sprayed on the skin. Still, the projection is good, and you’ll only require four to six sprays on the neck and wrists to create a lovely fragrance profile. Sillage is solid, especially at this price point.

With a price around half of the other designer options on our list, it strikes a good balance for those with value in mind. It’s a typical green scent, but it’s one you’d happily wear daily to work, the office, or around the house on the weekend. If the occasion calls, you could get away with it at a formal event. Perfect for men between the ages of 20 and 40.

Top notes: Kiwi and Bergamot
Middle notes: Rosemary and Geranium
Base notes: Cedar and Moss

5. Vetiver Musc by Narcisco Rodriguez

Price: from AUD$153

• Pros: Lovely musk that pairs with aqua-like citrus and lavender. Strong performer with four hours of longevity and great projection and sillage. Affordable as well!
• Cons: It’s hard to fault, but it’s not a great choice for younger gents under 20.

The perfect fragrance for the start of summer when the weather is just starting to warm up, Vetiver Musc might be a little niche, but it’s full of premium notes like oceanic citrus, lavender, cedar and patchouli on the dry down. It leans heavily on musk through the dry-down period.

Our typical week of testing was extended longer because we loved this one so much. It hangs around on clothes, and we can still faintly smell it days after wear. It’s a similar story on the skin, but we found it to fade to a skin scent after four hours. Still, it has a reasonable projection of around one metre and soft sillage.

We recommend this scent to younger gentlemen, especially those between 25 and 40. It’s perfect for wearing every day during summer.

Top notes: Cypress, Cardamon and Nutmeg
Middle notes: Musk, Bourbon Geranium, Lavender, Red Algae and Frankincense
Base notes: Vetiver, Cedar and Patchouli

6. Le Male by Jean Paul Gaultier

Price: from AU$120

• Pros: One of the highest-rated colognes of all time for a reason, this is the perfect blend of classic tonka bean and vanilla balanced by zesty orange and spicy cinnamon. It set the trend, while others followed. Performance is also outstanding in all aspects.
• Cons: Some reviewers online find this a little too popular and expected by today’s standards.

Le Male by Jean Paul Gaultier is one of the most famous men’s fragrances ever, but we love saving this for summer with plenty of nostalgia and classic freshness. Some reviewers online think this is a ‘played out’ or ‘old man’s cologne’, but we couldn’t disagree more; this is a timeless scent that has found popularity for a reason: it smells fantastic. One of Francis Kurkdjian’s greatest all-time best, you’ll love the clean, fresh balance between vanilla and tonka bean on the first spray, with cinnamon and orange blossom on the dry down.

Performance is great. Our test lasted more than eight hours on the skin and even more on clothes. For most of the day, you’ll find tight sillage and a projection of around one metre.

It’s a summer cologne for men that you can quickly wear daily and comfortably suit the office and on special occasions. We leave our bottle at home, spray on in the morning, and then layer in the evening with a spicier scent for formal occasions. We’d happily recommend this to all men, regardless of age.

Top notes: Lavender, Mint, Cardamom, Bergamot and Artemisia
Middles notes: Cinnamon, Orange Blossom and Caraway
Base notes: Vanilla, Tonka Bean, Amber, Sandalwood and Cedar

7. Colonia C.L.U.B. by Acqua di Parma

Price: from AUD$304

• Pros: Long-lasting, citrusy fragrance for men that would work well as a gift as it’s pretty neutral smelling. Still, it has some interesting characteristics because of the pink pepper note.
• Cons: We miss the mint note that once adorned this fragrance. It’s been replaced by a more generic smelling citrusy green fragrance.

Colonia C.L.U.B. by Acqua di Parma has all the summer freshness we expect but with an overarching lemon and pink pepper note that livens it up with some niche characteristics. There’s a musky base that comes through as the scent dries down on your skin, but you’re still overwhelmed by the citrusy top notes and rosemary heart. NOTE: Gone is the mint note! The clear bottle here (pictured) is entirely different from the cologne in the green bottle.

Performance is above average, with six hours of projection on the skin and slightly more on clothes. This makes it one of the longer-lasting men’s summer fragrances we’ve tested. Still, sillage remains tight and meaningful throughout, so we recommend this for office wear and dinner parties.

Top notes: Bergamot, Lemon, Pink Pepper, Black Pepper
Middles notes: Shiso, Rosemary
Base notes: Cedarwood, Musk

8. Invictus Platinum by Paco Rabanne

Price: from AU$163

• Pros: Next-level value-for-money, this summer cologne for men smells great and is long-lasting in our tests with more than six hours of projection on the skin and more on clothes.
• Cons: Some might find this a little sweet with a touch of bubblegum that isn’t in the fragrance notes.

One of the all-time great green fragrances for men, Invictus Platinum by Paco Rabanne, is perfectly suited for summer. Not only does it offer great value for money, but its smell is nothing short of intoxicating, albeit a little sweet for some. You’ll love the top notes of absinthe and grapefruit, balanced to perfection with mint and lavender shining through as the scent dries down. The base is strong with cypress and patchouli for longevity.

We tested this one through our usual week of daily wear and found the scent lasted more than six hours on the skin and even more on clothes. Both the projection and sillage are tight, but they’re strong and addictive. It’s a little strong, so spray no more than six times on the neck and wrists.

There’s an underlying sweetness that makes this fragrance a little more youthful. As such, we’d recommend it to men under 40.

Top notes: Absinthe and Grapefruit
Middles notes: Mint and Lavender
Base notes: Cypress and Patchouli

9. Valentino Uomo Born in Roma Green Stravaganza by Valentino

Price: from AU$169

• Pros: It’s rare to find such a fresh, green scent that performs as well as this one from Valentino. We found up to eight hours of longevity on the skin and tight but meaningful sillage.
• Cons: We’d like to see more citrus and less coffee through the fragrance’s heart after dry down.

Fresh, green, and tropical, with an exciting blend of coffee and citrus. For a designer fragrance, the brand has created a unique scent expertly balanced by perfumers Nathalie Lorson and Olivier Cresp, with vetiver at its base. We’d like to see more citrus shine through, but the underlying coffee note is pleasant.

Performance is outstanding, especially for a green fragrance. We tested this one for a week and found longevity of around eight hours on the skin and great sillage and projection to match.

Finally, we’ll note the bottle’s high quality, touch, and feel, which sticks with the staple Valentino design but finishes here in bold black leather and vivid green for an exciting look. It’s worthwhile noting that each ingredient is sustainably sourced, and we’d recommend this scent to men between 20 and 50.

Top notes: Calabrian Bergamot
Middles notes: Coffee
Base notes: Vetiver

10. Light Blue Summer Vibes by Dolce & Gabbana

Price: from AUD$120

• Pros: One of the best summer fragrances for gifting, this scent is simple, clean, and perfect for hot weather. The projection is solid, as is the longevity, which lasted around three to five hours in our testing.
• Cons: It is pretty inoffensive because of its fragrance profile. So much so that it doesn’t stand out for anything in particular, which is excellent if this is your first summer scent, but it’s not something for collectors.

Finally, we found a great summer scent for men that doesn’t overpower you with citrus at this price point. The more affordable options are often headache-inducing, but not here with Light Blue Summer Vibes by Dolce & Gabbana. You’ll love the balancing cypress notes that stand out beyond the basic citrus and base notes of amber wood. Longevity isn’t anything special, but as expected for a fragrance at this price point, our testing shows it lasts three to five hours on the skin. It’s also our top pick for gifting as far as summer fragrances go because it’s inoffensive and works for everyone because of the lemon.

Top note: Sicilian Lemon
Middle note: Cypress
Base note: Amberwood

11. L’Eau d’Issey pour Homme Solar Lavender by Issey Miyake

Price: from AUD$164

• Pros: This is a nice alternative to the OG L’Eau d’Issey pour Homme, which adds a delightful Sichuan pepper smell to the first spray before lavender on the dry down.
• Cons: Performance is underwhelming, and it’s technically not ‘better’ than the OG; it’s merely an alternative.

The classic L’Eau d’Issey pour Homme remains one of the best men’s summer fragrances ever. However, this Solar Lavender version spices things up with Sichuan pepper on the opening and lavender throughout the dry-down period. We wouldn’t recommend running out to get your hands on a bottle if you already have L’Eau d’Issey. However, it’s a fair alternative, and we love wearing it in the afternoon on a hot summer day. It’s an excellent alternative to fresher, oceanic and citrus scents flooding the market.

This fragrance doesn’t perform very well. Our tests showed barely four hours of longevity on the skin. Projection is also not impressive, nor is sillage. You’ll want to apply six sprays on the neck and wrists before leaving the house. Otherwise, the lovely fragrance notes are wasted. If you plan on wearing this at work, we recommend keeping a bottle within arm’s reach, as top-ups will be necessary.

We’d happily recommend this one to men of all ages, but its best demographic would be 20- to 30-year-old men. It’s perfect for everyday wear, and you’d happily wear it to the office during the week and at all times on the weekend. However, it’s not the best choice for formal events, as it performs poorly.

Top notes: Sichuan Pepper
Middle notes: Lavender
Base notes: Cedar

12. H24 Herbes Vives Eau de Parfum by Hermes

Price: from AUD$216

• Pros: It has an outstanding fresh and herbaceous scent that lasts forever, especially on clothes.
• Cons: If you don’t like fresh, green fragrances, avoiding this one is best.

Like another of our favourites, Hermes H24 Eau de Parfum, H24 Herbes Vives brings plenty of green herbal freshness. The pear note is most prominent, but the minty Physcool note at the base elevates this men’s summer fragrance to the next level, especially when it comes into contact with water. We tried this on a damp arm, and the first spray gives you a cooling feeling.

We’re unsure if this synthetic (natural-smelling) material adds to the fragrance’s performance, but it lasts forever. In our testing, the projection was excellent at around one metre for over three hours, while the longevity can be marked at more than eight hours. It’s borderline eternal, which is very impressive for a fresh scent.

This would make a great gift and is one of the rare blind buys we’d recommend with such a unique scent profile. As it’s pretty unisex, we’d recommend this fragrance to men aged 25-60 and even some women.

Top notes: Herbal Notes
Middle notes: Pear
Base notes: Physcool

13. Another 13 by Le Labo

Price: from AUD$148

• Pros: This fragrance has plenty to like, mainly the beautiful ambrette middle notes that perfectly balance the pear and apple top notes. One of the best Baccarat Rouge 540 alternatives we’ve ever tested.
• Cons: We don’t recommend this scent as a blind buy. Many people have trouble smelling the base notes of Iso E Super and Ambrettolide.

Often rated as the best fragrance Le Labo has ever produced (we still love Santal 33), Another 13 was created in limited numbers in collaboration with AnOther Mag. However, it was so well received it has stuck around for the long haul. This is unlike any other summer fragrance on our list and is best described by comparing it to another scent legend, Baccarat Rouge 540, in which it shares many of its ambroxan and rustic notes. Like some reviews online, we did find ourselves going a little scent blind after an hour of wearing this, but others still complimented us on the scent, so it has plenty of longevity.

Top notes: Pear, Citruses and Apple
Middle notes: Ambrette (Musk Mallow), Amyl Salicylate, Moss and Jasmine
Base notes: Iso E Super, Cetalox, Ambrettolide and Helvetolide

14. Royal Water by Creed

Price: from AUD$439

• Pros: It might be one of Creed’s less ‘in your face’ options, but it’s a classy, luxurious, and masculine scent perfect for everyday wear. The herbal elements and cedarwood base perfectly balance the citrus top notes.
• Cons: As many in the fragrance community noted, Creed’s quality has gone downhill in the last few years as popularity and demand continue to rise. As good as this fragrance is, it’s sometimes hard to justify buying a larger bottle for everyday use, so we’d recommend a smaller bottle.

One of the longest-lasting summer fragrances we’ve tested, Royal Water by Creed is one to add to your list if you like luxurious scents. If we had it our way, we’d wear Royal Water in summer and Royal Oud in autumn/fall and winter – it’s that good. That said, it edges out another great fragrance, Terre D’hermes, for a spot on this list because of its longevity. Some reviews online state that it’s a ‘basic’ scent you can find anywhere, but we strongly disagree. There’s also a herbal element that combines with an ambergris and cedarwood base to form a rounded, classy fragrance that you don’t smell very often.

Top notes: Citruses, Lemon Verbena, Mandarin Orange and Bergamot
Middle notes: Basil, Allspice and Cumin
Base notes: Musk and Cedarwood

Alternatives to These Summer Fragrances for Men

Most of the summer fragrances for men we’ve recommended have been chosen through extensive hands-on research with a minimum of one week of testing. However, it would be wrong to dismiss the great fragrances we’ve worn for shorter periods, including those that gave us a great first impression when tried on in-store and from the brands themselves in smaller ‘tester’ sizes. As such, when we can test the following fragrances in-depth to judge their performance, we’ll likely move them up our list. Now, let’s take a quick look at some great alternatives:

• Moonlight in Heaven by Kilian (from AU$385): So fresh and summery, this unique fragrance could transform any ordinary day into a tropical dream. Moonlight in Heaven by Kilian is a leading example of a successful unisex perfume, with dual citrus notes of lemon and mango complemented by lightly spicy tonka beans, resulting in neither a female nor male-dominating scent. If this isn’t enough to have you bowing down in its glory, the heavenly aroma means you and your partner will feel lighter and carefree upon the first whiff, making it one of the best summer fragrances for men or women, a win-win.
• Blu Mediterraneo Mandorlo di Sicilia by Acqua di Parma (from AU$230): If you want to return to that summer holiday in Sicily, look no further than Acqua Di Parma Blue Mediterraneo Mandorlo. If your idea of summer is Sicily in full blossom, then look at this scent. Fresh vanilla is the most powerful note, but you’ll also find jasmine and orange blossom. This is balanced by a nuttiness courtesy of almond, cedar, and sandalwood. This isn’t a great option if you prefer a citrus-led summer fragrance, as the notes are creamier and have strong sandalwood at the base.
• Le Beau by Jean Paul Gaultier (from AU$130): Coconut! You don’t often come across a fragrance that’s so refreshing and summer-ready. It’s virtually built for Australian summers. While it’s strong on the nose, the projection seems to end within five metres, which is perfect for those who don’t want to come off aggressive. Not only do we love the cheeky bottle, but we love how Jean-Paul Gaultier Le Beau is so iconic that it suits almost every occasion and taste. The predictably muscular scent retains a clean edge thanks to big notes of coconut, vanilla, neroli, and mint, making it an all-rounder we don’t see falling off the ranks anytime soon.
• L’Eau by Serge Lutens (from AU$217): One of our friends described this as ‘fresh linen’ and we must agree. There are notes of salty sea and nautical vibes attached to it, but it remains a quality luxurious musk scent for everyday wear during summer. We also found plenty of mint and sage on the middle notes, perfectly balancing this linen-like scent. Longevity is as expected and no better or worse than the other Serge Lutens fragrances we’ve tested in the past. Maybe our only critique is that the scent is fairly bland in that it doesn’t scream anything in your face and is merely a luxurious, musky scent.
• Dior Homme Sport by Christian Dior (from AU$135): This might be one of the best value-for-money options on our list. It delivers longevity that fragrances two or three times its value cannot. In our testing, we found the scent lasted nearly 12 hours in the summer heat. Middle notes of pink pepper perfectly balance the lemon top notes, while the base is nice and woody to round out the scent as it dries. It is one of the most challenging summer colognes to fault because it outperforms its price. If we had to be critical, we generally prefer a citrus-driven scent for summer, but the peppery spice and woody base don’t help achieve that here.
• Azure Lime by Tom Ford (from AU$310): It’s in the name, but you instantly bring notes of fresh lime with this Tom Ford fragrance for men. This makes it a great summer cologne and offers a unique scent that mimics the most luxurious gin and tonic you’ve ever made. By far the freshest option in the Tom Ford product line-up, the smell begins to round itself out with musk-based middle notes that create longevity on skin and clothes as the scent dries down.

If you think there’s a fragrance we should test for potential inclusion on this list, please use our contact form.

Why You Should Trust Our List

When it comes to our list of the best summer perfumes and colognes for men, that expertise is critical. This list has been written and curated by Ben McKimm, who has gone hands-on and tested these colognes, ranking them based on their scent profile, performance, and value for money. He’s also taken original photography for those he’s spent an extended time testing. Finally, his opinion has been influenced by the wider editorial team here at Man of Many and reviews via the perfume forum Fragrantica and Australian retailer Myer. He ignored opinions from people on user-generated forums such as Reddit as often they are not experts in the matter and cannot compare and contrast competing products.

What Are Summer Fragrance Notes?

When it comes to summer fragrances, freshness will be desired, but not with classical “marine notes” like “cool water” type of Scent nor the traditional cologne because summer is a time to express your inner self. David Frossard, the CEO of P Frapin & Cie and Obvious Parfums, says, “Fresh but Stylish and different like a “Gin & Tonic accord” that you find in l’Humaniste of Frapin classical but different, or the new Obvious Parfums: Scoville expressing the red pepper scent through a fresh vegetal note followed by warm woody notes reminding the bites of the red pepper.”

Updates to This Article

We periodically update this article when we get our hands on new summer colognes to test. This section is a good way to see when older bottles become discontinued because you might be able to find them on sale at grey-market retailers. It also indicates how some scents we test lose popularity as trends change.

• UPDATE 13/08/2024: Some of our readers made us aware that other publications online are taking our test results and fragrance suggestions. As such, we revisited this list to check all our inclusions were still relevant and ordered correctly and that the performance information was correct after further testing of these scents. We made minor amendments to the list, including removing some alternatives as they’ve become hard to find.
• UPDATE 19/06/2024: We tested three highly rated men’s summer perfumes: Valentino Uomo Born in Roma Green Stravaganza by Valentino, Le Male by Jean Paul Gaultier, and Invictus Platinum by Paco Rabanne. Each delivered aromatic notes matched with citrus undertones and great performance with outstanding longevity, projection, and sillage. All these are worth your money, so we added them to our list. We moved Dior Homme Sport by Christian Dior, Azure Lime by Tom Ford, and L’Eau by Serge Lutens down.
• UPDATE 29/04/2024: We tested four new summer fragrances: H24 Eau de Parfum by Hermes, Vetiver Musc by Narcisco Rodriguez, L’Eau d’Issey pour Homme Solar Lavender by Issey Miyake, and H24 Herbes Vives by Hermes. Each deserved a spot on the list for its price point, quality, and scent profile. They replaced Voyage by Nautica and Artisan Blu by John Varvatos, as they both became hard to find.