Men's Fragrance Women Like: How to Choose Well

"Which scent do girls like" is one of the most typed searches when a man starts buying fragrance. It is also one of the hardest to answer honestly, because no single scent is right for everyone. What people call "being liked" usually has little to do with the bottle, and a lot to do with what you spray, in what setting, and in what dose.

This article is not a list of "top scents that will make her swoon". We want to talk about something more practical: which fragrance families tend to work well in Vietnamese living conditions, why, and how you can test them yourself before spending money on a 100ml bottle you might only wear twice.

Why there is no scent every girl likes

Smell is tightly bound to memory and personal experience. Given the same warm vanilla, one person finds it cosy and approachable, another finds it cloyingly sweet because it recalls something they dislike. On top of that, a scent smells different on every skin: skin temperature, skin moisture, even the fact that you have just ridden a motorbike home in 35 degree sun all change the way a fragrance opens, because the evaporation rate of aroma molecules shifts with skin condition and temperature.

So instead of asking "which scent do girls like", a more usable question is: which scent is least likely to bother anyone, while still being clear enough that someone standing nearby notices it and enjoys it. Answer that and you are two thirds of the way there.

One thing is almost always true: a clean, moderate scent that projects about an arm's length is received better than a complex, heavy one that fills the whole lift. In Vietnam, where you regularly stand shoulder to shoulder with strangers in an apartment block lift or share an office lunch table, this matters even more.

The most complimented scent is usually not the most attention grabbing one. It is the scent that makes people want to stand near you a few seconds longer without quite knowing why.

Four families that are usually safe and well received

1. Fresh, citrus and aquatic

This family suits the Vietnamese climate, especially in the south where it is hot almost all year, and in the northern and central summers. Top notes of bergamot, lemon and grapefruit give a just showered, clean impression that does not suggest any effort at all.

The drawback here is shorter longevity, particularly in EDT and EDC versions, which carry a lower concentration of fragrance oil than EDP. In exchange, a fresh scent rarely bothers anyone.

• Chanel Bleu de Chanel EDP: grapefruit, lemon and mint up top, then ginger and nutmeg, settling into incense and sandalwood. Fresh but not boyish, equally fine for the office and an evening out. The line comes in several concentrations; the original is an eau de toilette.
• Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gio Profumo: marine in direction, with incense and patchouli underneath that make it deeper than the standard Acqua di Gio, a good fit if you are past your mid twenties.
• Acqua di Parma Colonia: very clean, very polite Italian citrus. Longevity is short, but a midday reapplication is no great hardship.

2. Warm woods and amber

This is the family often described as "a grown man's scent". Sandalwood, cedar and amber feel warm, close and layered. It suits evenings, air conditioned rooms, the Hanoi winter when the air turns cold and dry, or a cool evening in Da Lat.

A caveat: out in the heat and sun, warm woods and amber bloom hard. The same number of sprays can sit beautifully in an air conditioned café at night, yet feel oppressive at midday in Saigon.

• Le Labo Santal 33: dry sandalwood with a touch of leather, violet and papyrus. The scent is quite distinctive and does not suit everyone, but those it suits, it suits completely.
• Tom Ford Oud Wood: a gentle oud with cardamom and sandalwood, not as sharp as many expect when they hear the word oud. This is one of the easiest ways into oud based fragrances.
• Dior Homme Intense: iris and lavender laid over cedar, very polished, very well matched to a shirt and a dinner party.

3. Moderately sweet gourmands

Vanilla, tonka bean, praline, caramel. This family tends to get good feedback because it reads as warm and intimate. The risk is that too much sweetness turns stifling, especially in hot, humid weather just after you take your helmet off.

The rule for sweet scents in Vietnam: pick versions with plenty of spice or wood to balance them out, and cut down the number of sprays.

• Kilian Paris Angels' Share EDP: cognac, cinnamon, praline, tonka bean, oak, vanilla and sandalwood. Clearly sweet, but the spice and wood keep it from going syrupy. Better in cool weather than hot.
• Versace Eros EDT: mint and green apple on top pull back the vanilla underneath, so the whole thing reads far fresher than you might imagine. A youthful scent, good for a night out.
• Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male EDT: mint and lavender, then vanilla and cumin. A very familiar scent that many people recognise instantly. Familiarity is an advantage, though it also means no surprises.

4. Fresh fruity

Pineapple, apple, blackcurrant. This family is cheerful, easy to wear and suits younger wearers.

• Creed Aventus: pineapple, blackcurrant, smoky birch. A scent with clear character that many people identify on the spot.
• Parfums de Marly Layton EDP: apple, bergamot, mandarin, lavender, violet, jasmine, geranium and vanilla, fresh and sweet at once. Longevity is good, so remember to go light.
• Rasasi Hawas EDP: apple, bergamot, marine notes, musk. Fresh and clean with a touch of sweetness, good for the office on a hot day.
• Lattafa Asad EDP: pineapple, tobacco, vanilla, amber. Darker and sweeter, better suited to the evening.

Dosage matters more than which bottle

Most complaints about men's fragrance are not about bad scents. They are about too many sprays.

The wearer usually stops smelling their own fragrance clearly after a while, which is a normal response of the nose to continuous exposure to one smell (olfactory fatigue). Thinking it has faded, they spray more. Everyone else still smells plenty.

Reference amounts for everyday wear in Vietnam:

• Fresh EDT: 3-4 sprays, on the chest under your shirt and on both wrists.
• Warm woody or gourmand EDP: 2-3 sprays is enough for an air conditioned office.
• Parfum or extrait: 1-2 sprays, dabbed on the neck or behind the ears.
• Evening parties, crowded venues: keep the same number of sprays, do not increase them. The more people around, the easier it is for a heavy hand to be noticed.

One more detail specific to Vietnamese motorbike riders: the wind strips the scent away far faster than it would for someone in a car or on foot. So if you ride half an hour to work, the top notes will have all but vanished by the time you arrive. The fix is to spray onto the part of your shirt covered by your sun jacket, or to carry a 5ml decant and reapply on arrival.

A small further note: fragrance can cause contact allergies in some people. If your skin is prone to irritation, try a small amount first and spray onto clothing rather than skin.

Scent by occasion: this matters more than you think

The same bottle in the right place earns compliments; in the wrong place it gets remembered for the wrong reasons.

Work, air conditioned office. Air conditioning keeps the air dry and enclosed, so the scent has nowhere to go. Choose fresh or light woody scents and spray sparingly. Scents like Hermès Terre d'Hermès, Issey Miyake L'Eau d'Issey Pour Homme or Acqua di Parma Colonia live easily alongside colleagues.

Evening dates. This is where warm woods, gourmands and ambers come into their own. Close distance, soft light, and a warm scent doing exactly the job it was made for. Angels' Share, Dior Homme Intense and Oud Wood all work.

Weekend coffee, daytime outings. Fruity and fresh families. Easy going, nothing to argue about.

Weddings and crowded events. Lower the dose and pick something familiar over something unusual. In a crowd, a strongly characterful scent easily bothers the people at your table, particularly when there is food.

Hanoi's nom am season, the damp, drizzly spring when humidity runs high. That humidity makes scent cling longer to clothing, but it can also turn heavy. Lean fresh at this time of year and ease off the sweet.

Central Vietnam during the Lao wind season. Hot and dry, with sweat evaporating fast. Citrus disappears quickly, while ambroxan and musk hold up better. Bottles built on ambroxan, such as Dior Sauvage or Juliette Has a Gun Not a Perfume, do rather well in this weather. The central storm season is damper and cooler, and that is when warm woods become easy to wear again.