The Best Men's Spring and Summer Fragrances

Smell that? That's vaccine, sunshine – and it has a distinct whiff of restaurants, and shaking hands, and dates, and park afternoons, and hugs, pubs, more pubs, post-pub back-to-ours and a nebulous taxi ride home as the sun rises over a new, happier land. It's all very exciting. But that really quite heady mix is missing one particular scent; one that's more important than the hoppy flora and fauna of a life after lockdown. It's your own.

Because this imminent (and frankly absurd) social calendar will require a new odeur. You haven't been out in a while, and you want to impress. Which, granted, some good clothes can do. But a fragrance is what'll stay in their mind, and as the 2020s are largely expected to be of Roaring sort (which means parties and romance and aux cables in Ubers), mark the occasion with one of the best men's summer fragrances.

For a fragrance that smells as good as the summer ahead, here are the best of the lot.

SHOP

There are two types of Sunday mornings. The first, a bad one in which a dreadnought of doom sits at the foot of the bed whispering a countdown on the hour, every hour, to your next working shift. The second is much better, and it's from Byredo's Sunday Cologne with its fresh, punchy mix of bergamot (a bitter, citrusy fruit that you really shouldn't eat), spicy star anise and geranium.

Colourless Sunday Cologne, £115, mrporter.com

SHOP

For all the marketing of yore, nobody actually wants to smell like FAST CARS and CORVETTE LEATHER in 2021. They do want to smell a bit like the coastline from said campaigns though, and Acqua di Parma's lemon and grapefruit-based Blu Mediterraneo from the Fico di Amalfi line is as close as you'll get.

Fico di Amalfi Blu Mediterraneo, £124, acquadiparma.com

SHOP

'Memoire d’une Odeur', which translates to the much less marketing-friendly 'memory of a smell', will leave a lasting impression in Gucci's safe, fey, flower hands in a mix of bitter almond and sandalwood.

Memoire d’une Odeur, £66, selfridges.com

SHOP

Louis Vuitton's Météore takes scents associated with both air and the ground, so mandarin and java with earthy notes of amber. The result? A happy medium that isn't total blue skies, but not grounded in the woody colognes every other guy has.

Météore Fragrance, £200, louisvuitton.com

SHOP

Sounds mildly threatening but smells mildly punchy, DS & Durga's Burning Barbershop is smoky (wow, really!) and distinctive, yet a firm summer season fragrance thanks to softer notes of mint and lavender. Less broiling barbicide, more Singapore Botanic Garden.

Burning Barbershop, £148, mrporter.com

SHOP

It doesn't get more tried-and-tested than Givenchy's Gentleman. And while the name of this aromatic, woody fragrance is a little on the nose, there's a reason it's been a bestseller since 1975. Spoiler: it smells great.

Gentleman, £34.33, boots.com

SHOP

Ah, sailing day. Remember that? Nor do we. But we can imagine it smells a lot like Maison Margiela's eponymous fresh and zingy fragrance from the Replica collection: unisex scents inspired by real word stuff, but interpreted through the storied brand's otherworldly prism.

Sailing Day, £98, spacenk.com

SHOP

You might think Versace is sexy, and brooding, and best-suited to a pumping Milanese club with a 'no open shirt, no entry' door policy. And you'd be right! But the Italian heavyweight is just as adept in brewing lighter, summer-friendly fragrances like the simple Pour Homme: bergamot-based, with a touch of cedar and neroli. And yes, it's still a tiny, teeny, little bit sexy.

Pour Homme, £42, thefragranceshop.co.uk

SHOP

As a consciously-sourced mix, Le Labo's Another 13 is 'better for the people and the planet', but also a better way to command the respect of colleagues/mates/absolute strangers who'll ooooh their way into a "you smell nice" compliment. Thank top notes of jasmine, and a solid mossy base.

Another 13, £130, selfridges.com

SHOP

Chanel doesn't need the breathless, gold-gilded, running-through-a-suspiciously-traffic-free-Paris campaign to shift its fragrances. They'd sell through sheer reputation and prestige alone. Because, ultimately, they work, and the buzz over the ladies' No. 5 is matched in Platinum Égoiste with its punchy, sage-based scent that's making Chanel a big deal with guys too.

Platinum Égoiste, £78, thefragranceshop.co.uk