5 greatest male fragrances of all time

[JonnyLeMale]

In sports, people usually have a common sense about how the top 5 players in the certain sport is. basketball has your michael jordans, magic johnsons, ect. baseball has your babe ruths, willie mays' , ect. you get the picture

i know everyone has there own opinion about what the bests are, but by common sense and majority opinion, what are the 5 greatest male fragrances of all time? im specifically looking to see if any recent fragrances make that list, for example a fragrance that im currently obsessing over: L'Instant de Guerlain

[Force of One]

I would have to say:

Creed Green Irish Tweed
Creed MI
Ralph Lauren Polo
Old Spice
Aqua di Gio - based on it's popularity, not quality

I'm sure I could be talked off a couple of these.....

[JonnyLeMale]

I would have to say:

Creed Green Irish Tweed
Creed MI
Ralph Lauren Polo
Old Spice
Aqua di Gio - based on it's popularity, not quality

I'm sure I could be talked off a couple of these.....

which one??

[CanwllCorfe]

nething by creed.

[boosh]

In sports, people usually have a common sense about how the top 5 players in the certain sport is.

I don't think it works like that here. It's all subjective, unlike sport...

1) Green Irish Tweed
2) Old Spice
3) AdG
4) Kouros
5) Brut

Although, I only like 1 from my own list.

[petruccijc]

Chanel pour Monsieur
Ralph Lauren Polo
YSL Kouros
Guerlain Vetiver
Aramis

[pluran]

Knize Ten (vintage)
Habit Rouge (vintage)
Sycomore
Songe d'un Bois dEte
Zino Davidoff (vintage)

[ChuckW]

Ralph Lauren Polo
YSL Kouros
Creed Green Irish Tweed
Hermes Terre d'Hermes
Creed Silver Mountain Water

[StylinLA]

Creed Green Irish Tweed
Creed Vintage Tabarome
Habit Rouge
Kouros
L'Eau de Issey Pour Homme

[Bossa Nova]

Zino Davidoff
Kouros
Yatagan
Le No. 3 Homme
Tiffany for Men

Honorable mention: Baldessarini

[MikeFromManhattan]

In no particular order:

Old Spice
Boucheron PH
Penhaligon's English Fern
Bulgari PH Extreme
Habit Rouge

[buzzley]

Aramis
Cool Water
Eau Sauvage
Obsession
Polo

[G.303]

I would have to say:

Creed Green Irish Tweed
Creed MI
Ralph Lauren Polo
Old Spice
Aqua di Gio - based on it's popularity, not quality

I'm sure I could be talked off a couple of these.....

I have to agree with this list.....The only one that I would change would be MI.....Aramis, Armani Pour Homme or Kouros would fill that slot easily.....Gary

[Primrose]

No particular order:

Habit Rouge EDT, EDP and parfum by Guerlain
Pour Un Homme by Caron
Equipage by Hermes
Derby by Guerlain
Bel Ami by Hermes

also throw in Mlouchoir de Monsieur by Guerlain

[The_Cologneist]

Thought completely subjective, this is my opinion not based on my favorites, rather based on overall statistics. In no particular order.

Cool Water
AdG
Brut
Polo
Old Spice

Top 10 it.. add Drakkar Noir, Azzaro pH, CK One and others would be in there for sure.

As for my personal top 5 greatest (keeping it mainstream).. Again in no particular order..
Fahrenheit
Paul Smith London
Corduroy
Burberry London
TdH

[MFJ]

If we stick strictly to the classification (male) as per BN directory, and in every way subjective to my own taste:

Yohji Homme
Lyric Man
Dia Man
Rose 31
Fou d'Absinthe

[JonnyLeMale]

wait im really confused (prollt becuz im so new to this),,when u guys put ralph lauren polo on your lists, which one are u talking about? there are several different colored ones. is there a main one? someone help me out on that

[tott]

jonny, there is only one Ralph Lauren fragrance named "Polo". The original "Polo".

[The_Cologneist]

Yup, what tott said. Sometimes I put "original" in parenthesis though when speaking of it. Definitely their best seller.

[Neurosis]

EDIT: Lol @ me, misunderstood the OP. Here's my revised list. 3/5 of what i picked are 5 star fragrances to me, and i don't rate stuff 5 stars very often. (Varvatos is 4.5 stars, it'd be 5 if there was ANY consistence in its longevity).

Old Spice - timeless...well its existence; its the "old man" smell immortalized. I'm sure half of us exist because grandpa smelled mighty fine at the town dances...
John Varvatos - the ultimate formal man scent. To me it just oooozes James Bond, suit/tux, with essence o' sex appeal
A*Men (it had to be done...) - Gourmands are the greatest genre of fragrances imo, and nothing says gourmand like A*Men; it really opened the "gates" for ultra-sweet men's fragrances. It has perfect longevity, notes, and a gorgeous bottle.
Fahrenheit - I have tremendous respect for the Dior house for making such a beast. The first time i smelled it, i wanted to rip my nose off because it was so vile! I bought it despite my better judgment a month later and now i understand the hype. Gasoline, extremely moist, deep, rich green cut grass....a melon is being cut in the distance...what's this?! A dirty, masculine leather! Nothing defines Saturday-morning-mowing-lawns-man better than this
Le Male - On the flip side of Fahrenheit, there aren't many male fragrances like Le Male. The opening alone had me hooked instantly but overall, Le Male is on this list for being NON-masculine! From opening to closing, this fragrance seems to be wondering "why does this person have facial hair?!" the heart has something i never thought i'd smell in a man's fragrance: a big, heaping dosage of the "prettiest" floral notes i've ever smelled in a male fragrance. Perhaps Fahrenheit and Le Male aren't so different? While Dior is focusing more on the manly-man kind of smell, Gaultier is making the most feminine thing around; they're alike however, in the sense that they created these two extremes, one deep in the heart of beard growing manland, while the other flirts with femininity.



I wonder if there's a correlation between sales and placement at the counter of a retailer? For example, a lot of the best sellers are what you first see when you walk into my Macy's (AdG, Le Male, Polo has a freaking shrine to it practically)

[StylinLA]

Lol @ everyone saying niche fragrances... outside of this community those things are as popular as living in Antarctica! To be top, it must be best at sales, popularity, and good at what it does.

The question is "greatest" not best selling, or "top" or popular.

All of the choices listed are subjective.

[DustB]

Eau Sauvage
Guerlain Vetiver
Kouros
Givenchy Gentleman
Aramis

(I think.)

[phibess]

right now:

Patou Pour Homme
Patou PH Prive
AO King Fahed
Chanel Bois Des Iles
Chanel Pour Monsieur

[Johnny_Ludlow]

I don't even know to what question I'm answering. It wont stop me, though. This list is some kind of combination of my own preferences, more objective view and historical significance.

Like pluran's fine list, mine is also five or so.

Eau d'Hermes
Mouchoir de Monsieur
Derby
Eau Sauvage

[MFJ]

If we stick strictly to the classification (male) as per BN directory, and in every way subjective to my own taste:

Lol @ everyone saying niche fragrances... outside of this community those things are as popular as living in Antarctica! To be top, it must be best at sales, popularity, and good at what it does.

Old Spice - timeless...well its existence; its the "old man" smell immortalized
Cool Water - started the (unfortunate) reign of aquatics and remains very popular
Acqua Di Gio - enough said...
Polo Black - Everyone knows Polo black, and many people own/have owned it....actually that goes for almost every older Polo fragrance
personal one.... John Varvatos - the ultimate formal man scent imo

I wonder if there's a correlation between sales and placement at the counter of a retailer? For example, a lot of the best sellers are what you first see when you walk into my Macy's (AdG, Le Male, Polo has a freaking shrine to it practically)

I believe that is exactly why the question was asked here, for opinions as opposed to statistical figures that can only prove sales volume, and won't require a thread or discussion.

I'm not going to let an average mediocre choice of (any) majority (hypothetically speaking), represent my tastes, preferences. expectations and purposes. I love cool water. It's cheap (price) and highly-reliable. Do I think it is the greatest, or even top 5 greatest masculine scent, of all time? Definitely not. Selling-well doesn't exclusively mean it is the greatest-smelling (I assume this is our context), and vice versa, due to costs/prices and other variants.

Thus, I don't think there should be a "designer-only" parameter default here.

The answers you gave are highly subjective (like mine), and you're just "rough -guessing" the statistics of some of those scents. If you're going to set parameters, you should at least first provide actual figures (is this possible if you're not in the relative marketing departments?).

I'm not laughing at your answers, I respect that they are subjective.

If the OP was asking for specific recommendations/suggestions, I'll be sure to tailor my answers to what he/she's seeking. The first post seemed like an invitation of broad opinions, the only condition being it must be "recent".

Edit: OK I think I'm sounding defensive, so don't take what I said too personally.

[Le Grand Duc]

Dior Homme
Égoïste
Fahrenheit
Kouros
Jaïpur Homme

[Ken_Russell]

Creed BDP
Knize Ten
Armani Eau pour Homme
Guerlain Mouchoir de Monsieur
Penhaligons Blenheim Bouquet

[sirsmellzalot]

Well, I've only probably experienced a hundred or so fragrances, so I'll have to pick my top 5 from those. There are many, many others which I've heard rave reviews about (here on BN) which I'm sure might make my top 5, but I've simply no experience with them so I'll stick with what I know;

1) Malle's Vetiver Extraordinaire
2) Creed's Original Vetiver
3) Dior Homme Intense
4) Creed's Royal Scottish Lavender
5) Chanel's Bois de Illes

[StewartGallacher]

Limiting myself to fragrances from my own collection:

Objective greatests:
Knize Ten
Creed Green Irish Tweed
YSL Kouros
Ralph Lauren Polo
Dunhill (1934)

Personal favourites:
Creed Royal English Leather
Creed Vetiver 1948
Knize Ten
Ralph Lauren Polo
Hermes Eau d'Hermes

[joelarner]

Derby
Patou Pour Homme
Eau Sauvage
Chanel Pour Monsieur
Bel Ami

[Neurosis]

The question is "greatest" not best selling, or "top" or popular.

All of the choices listed are subjective.

I believe that is exactly why the question was asked here, for opinions as opposed to statistical figures that can only prove sales volume, and won't require a thread or discussion.

Alright, i believe i've misunderstood the topic then. The OP was naming famous athletes as examples so i assumed popularity had to be a factor. Time to edit my list!

[Furriner]

Zino
Dunhill Edition
Égoïste
Eau d'Hermès
Knize Ten
Idole de Lubin
Yatagan

[Jock_With_Scents]

Terre d'Hermes
Green Irish Tweed
Habit Rouge
Eau Sauvage
AdG

[MFJ]

Alright, i believe i've misunderstood the topic then. The OP was naming famous athletes as examples so i assumed popularity had to be a factor. Time to edit my list!

Nah, I was also being a little grumpy today.

Cheers.

[LucasKane]

GIT
Kenzo Homme
Cuir Pleine Fleur
Comme des Garcons 2 Man
Pour Monsieur

[fraddicted]

Mem's English Leather
Dior's Eau Sauvage
Aramis by Aramis (Estee Lauder)
Habit Rouge Guerlain
Mouchoir de Monsieur Guerlain

Edit: Can't help but think Dior's Jules deserves a mention as well.

[Pontifex Maximus]

01 YSL Kouros

[Addict]

1. GIT
2. Windsor
3. Bois du Portugal
4. Amouage "Homage" [male? ummm.... ]
5. Les Hesperides de la Grande Serre [discontinued]

[rmlj]

Eau Sauvage
Chanel Pour Monsieur
Guerlain Vetiver
Dior Homme
Fahrenheit

[Dimitrios]

Kouros
Versace L'Homme
Oscar Pour Lui
Giorgio
Ungaro 1 or II

[adonis]

GIT
YSL Pour Homme - I know YSL is in heaven for this reason alone
ADP Colognia
Guerlain Vetiver - I don't like it but I can't deny it's greatness

[DeepSilence]

Drakkar Noir
Rochas Man
Must De Cartier
Safari by Ralph Lauren
Opium

[TJMAC]

My Top 5
1. Dunhill '34
2. Chanel Egoiste
3. Chanel PM
4. Polo
5. DK Men

[Chasing the Dragon]

Chanel Pour Monsieur
Dior Fahrenheit
Aramis
Creed Acier Aluminium
Paloma Picasso Minotaure

[Scent-e-mental]

1) Kouros
2) Grey Flannel
3) Givenchy Gentleman
4) Polo
5) Lapidus pour Homme

[Suppressor]

Le Male
Acqua di Gio
Fahrenheit
Kouros
Cool Water

This is not based on personal taste but on sales.

[SculptureOfSoul]

I don't even care about the other 4. Without a moment of reservation I have to add Amouage Reflection Man to the recommendations. Yes, this is completely subjective, but I don't care!

My more objective list would include:

Caron Yatagan
Dior Fahrenheit
RL Polo
Ungaro II
Amouage Gold Men

My entirely subjective list
Amouage Reflection Man
MPG Bois de Turquie
Les Nez Let Me Play the Lion
Amouage Lyric Man
C&S Oxford and Cambridge

[Larwiz]

JPG Le Male
Dolce & Gabanna ph
Cool Waters (for popularity alone)
Old Spice

[CanwllCorfe]

Hm.. I didn't think I'd be able to do this so I acted like a scent newb.. very stealthy. Now that I've thought about it (in no particular order):

L'instant de Guerlain Pour Homme Extreme
Gucci Pour Homme II
Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille
Bond no. 9 New Haarlem
Creed Millesime Imperial

I'm sure it will change in no time

[fountain]

New York by Parfums de Nicolai
Grey Flannel by Geoffrey Beene
Polo by Ralph Lauren
Giorgio Beverly Hills for Men
Van Cleef & Arpels pour Homme

[Morning Star]

Old Spice
Polo
Aramis
Chanel pour Monsieur
Kouros

[Makassar]

Patou pour homme
Monsieur Carven
V.O Jean Marc Sinan
KL homme-Lagerfeld
Antaeus

[Sensual]

Greatness as defined by mass appeal and what I think will stand the test of time...

1.) Old Spice
2.) Aqua di Gio
3.) Green Irish Tweed
4.) 4711 Echt Kölnisch Wasser ( yeah I know it's classified as unisex...I may be bending the rule)
5.) Knize Ten

If I were a betting man, I'd bet that 4 or 5 of these will be around in 30 years.

[Mudassir]

Aramis JHL
Zino Davidoff
Guerlain Habit Rouge EDC
Domenico Caraceni 1913
Hermes Bel Ami (vintage)

[ohhmygod]

Amouage Tribute
Amouage Gold
Amouage Lyric
Frederic Malle - Musc Ravageur
Montale - Black Aoud

plus another 10 more.

[Snafoo]

YSL Kouros
Patou Pour Homme
Azzaro Pour Homme
Guerlain Derby
Chanel Pour Monsieur (1955 formulation)

Honorable Mention
GIT
Dior Homme
Aramis
Habit Rouge
Knize Ten

[Adesor]

Dior Eau Sauvage
Dior Fahrenheit
Creed Green Irish Tweed
Bvlgari Pur Homme
YSL Opium

[AromiErotici]

Patou Pour Homme
Aigner Super fragrance for Men
Balenciaga Pour Homme
Capucci Punjab
Gucci Pour Homme 1976
Lapidus 1978
Chanel Antaeus original

*****could not stop@only 5****

[checker]

Gendarme EdP
Green Irish Tweed
Rochas Man
Bvlgari (the entire line except BLV)
Geir

[tigrushka]

Chanel Égoïste
Caron Pour un Homme
Boucheron Jaïpur Homme
YSL M7
Thierry Mugler A*Men