Welcome to Fragrance Friday, where each week we’ll be keeping you abreast of the newest and most iconic releases in the dynamic world of men’s fragrances. Born out of the desire to showcase one of the most overlooked, yet versatile, elements of any discerning man’s style this weekly column will help you finesse your own signature scent. This week we look at the best luxury fragrances out right now.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve looked at some of my favourite fragrances right now that sit at different price points. You first had the under $100 set with affordable men’s perfumes like Dior Sauvage and Giorgio Armani Code. Then there was the mid-rangers under $250 such as the unstoppable Costume National Homme Parfum and Maison Tahite Vanilla2.
Now I want to climb up the social ladder a bit and nod to fragrances for the luxury set. These are colognes, perfumes and fragrances often well above $300. All of which I feel are worth the investment if you can justify treating yourself with what is truly one of the most underrated elements of a man’s style there is.
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Best Luxury Fragrances 2022
Kilian ‘Kologne, Shield of Protection’
Ever since a bottle of unapologetic gourmand perfume Rolling In Love landed on my desk earlier this year, I’ve been quite obsessed with Kilian by Paris. The reliable label – a favourite for Rhianna – is one of the more creative names in niche perfumery and the oddly named Kologne, Shield of Protection continues that distinctiveness.
French master perfumer Calice Baker, whose best-known work is Dior J’adore, has created this incredibly luscious Citrus Aromatic unisex fragrance that dances with those typical bursts of citrus but splashes that with a fresher take thanks to juicy green mandarin, bitter orange and mint set against rosemary and neroli. It’s exceptionally fresh from the get-go, keeping in step with some of Kilian’s other alcohol-inspired perfumes with an almost botanical opening reminiscent of a freshly made gin and tonic.
Top Notes: Green mandarin, bitter orange, mint
Heart Notes: Rosemary, lemon, petitgrain, neroli
Base Notes: Cedarwood, cashmeran, elixir of life
Clive Christian ‘Jump Up & Kiss Me Hedonistic’
I’ve written about this perfume a few times this year so I’d be remiss not to include it while rounding up some of the best luxury fragrances of 2022. It’s stunning, really. The poetic inspiration behind this perfume is expressed through sheer sophistication and outrageously strong projection, offering a show-stopping fragrance that does a lot to justify its $800 price tag.
The busy recipe is cobbled together with the likes of super fresh clary sage, bergamot, lemon and neroli, bridging into the deeper, smokier notes of orris, tobacco and papyrus before ending with hardy cashmere, leather, sandalwood and vetiver. It’s quite the ride for the olfactory bulb and if you can afford it, the ticket is worth it.
Top Notes: Bergamot, Lemon, Mandarin, Grapefruit, Neroli, Cherry, Clary Sage, Violet Leaf
Heart Notes: Jasmine, Orris, Tobacco, Papyrus, Addictive Fusion
Base Notes: Amber, Cashmere, Leather, Cedarwood, Sandalwood, Tonka Bean, Vanilla, Musk, Labdanum, Patchouli, Moss, Vetiver
Amouage ‘Opus XIV Royal Tobacco’
It should be no surprise that a new Amouage perfume makes the cut for what I think are the best luxury perfumes out right now. That is, if you’ve been reading this column occasionally throughout the year. I have a deep love for the Omani house’s peculiar way of creating perfumes that go hard or go home. And that penchant for those big, dramatic and often divisive profiles rings very much true with the label’s new Library Collection.
One of the standouts from the selection is Opus XIV Royal Tobacco, which ventures outside of Oman in terms of inspiration and pays tribute to Cuba – countries bridged by the two primary notes of frankincense and tobacco.
The rather busy woody aromatic fragrance opens with that unmistakable hit of frankincense oil and works that with elemi, cardamom, anise, basil and bergamot before really opening up into those passionate smoky notes from tobacco absolute, osmanthus, rose and liquorice root. The complex woods of the dry-down just reiterate how gorgeous this perfume is.
Top Notes: Frankincense oil, elemi, cardamom, anise, basil, bergamot
Heart Notes: Tobacco absolute, liquorice root, lavendar, prunol, fenugreek, orange blossom, osmanthus, rose
Base Notes: Frankincense resinoid, peru balsam, benzoin, labdanum, myrrh, birch tar, tonka beacn, vanilla madagascar, vetiver, guaiac wood, oud assam, musks
Roja Apex
Here’s another one I’ve written about a few times before. And yes, another one that I would be foolish not to list as one of the best luxury fragrances of 2022. The high-end freshie is just too irresistible, with a complex bill that wastes very little time getting to the dry-down and feels rewarding to wear given how long it lasts and how beautifully it projects.
As I’ve written before, there’s a lot of bite to Roja Apex, taking on an animalistic approach with a whopping 18-note base that’s set up by a brilliant opening of lemon, mandarin, bergamot and orange. I actually like the hear the most, as fleeting as it is, as the jasmin de grasse, citrus and pineapple notes really carry the perfume well as the creamy base takes over almost immediately.
Top notes: Lemon, bergamot, mandrain, orange
Middle notes: Jasmin de Grasse, citrus, pineapple
Base notes: Galbanum, elemi, patchouli, oakmoss, rum, tobacco, cypress wood, fir balsam, juniper berry, Casimir wood, sandalwood, benzoin, amber, frankincense, labdanum, leather, ambergris, musk
Tom Ford Ebene Fume
I didn’t really expect to be including a Tom Ford this year. I really love the brand, but Tom Ford fragrances are sometimes a bit lacking when it comes to projection and longevity for me. And at that price point, these are non-negotiales. Yet Ebene Fume is a brilliant take on marrying spice with smoke, presenting as one of Tom Ford’s finest in years. Definitely the most unique.
Coming from the label’s Private Blend collection, the amber woody fragrance sticks close to its resinous profile from top to bottom, never really lingering off that scene set by a rapid onset of black pepper and spiced violet leaf. It keeps a bit of an airy spice to help enliven the grounding resins in the base, eventually making way for a complex showing of leather, labdanum, cade oil, papyrus and rose.
Top notes: Incense, palo santo smoke, black pepper, violet leaf
Middle notes: Leather, papyrus, labdanum, cade oil, rose
Base notes: Resins, ebony tree, guaiac wood
