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, as one of our final Fragrance Fridays of 2022, we’re looking at five brands we’ve been wearing the most this year. Are they the best fragrance brands around? They are definitely up there, but this one is based on personal taste.
We’re lucky enough in the BH office to sample plenty of fragrances year-round. And while sometimes it gets a bit too much, it’s always fascinating to see how labels, both niche and designer, are constantly reinventing themselves and experimenting with different profiles to create something new.
Perfume can be an incredibly lucrative venture and if you want some of the best on the market you’re looking at a fairly hefty investment. A lot of these perfumes run well over a couple of hundred bucks, with niche perfumery often equally as expensive as apparel. It’s all part of your overall style, after all, so it’s worth reaching for those higher-priced perfume if you want something a bit more unique and interesting than your standard men’s fragrance.
These are the five brands that have impressed us the most this year, from super niche like Roja and BDK to reliable designer brands like Montblanc.
RELATED: Best Perfumes & Colognes For Men
Best Fragrance Brands 2022
Kilian
Favourite perfume: Rolling in Love
Kilian, officially Kilian Paris, has been a major player in the market of niche perfumery for over a decade now. Part of the Estee Lauder brands, the label was founded in 2007 by Kilian Hennessy whose surname is no mistake. Being part of the Hennessy empire, his tastes clearly skew towards those liquor-like notes so you’ll find gems like Apple Brandy and Vodka on the Rocks. Or, one of my favourites, Angel’s Share which smells like a gorgeously refined XO Sherry cask cognac.
But it’s the freshies and gourmand scents from this label that really make the biggest impact. I’ve written about Rolling in Love extensively on BH this year, so I’d be remiss not to call it out as my favourite fragrance of the year. The newer Kologne Shielf of Protection, which was released this year, is impressive as well. Although not as strong and unique as Rolling in Love, Shield of Protection has those fantastic botanical notes that smell great in summer.
Roja Parfums
Favourite perfume: Apex
Roja Dove is one of the most valuable perfumers of our time, so him starting his own brand is of course going to turn a few heads. And it did. When Roja Parfums was founded in 2011 it almost immediately became a hit amongst fragrance enthusiasts and is now known as one of the few labels that can easily justify such high prices.
Roja Apex was released in Australia just a few months ago and is an incredibly focused, sophisticated scent with very strong projection without being overwhelming. It’s not as divisive as some of the perfumes I like to wear, making it super reliable much like a Creed or a Montblanc. Given it has ridiculous-on-paper 25 notes (at least the ones listed), Dove has demonstrated immense talent by presenting something that’s so direct while still being nuanced and complex. A sure-shot winner in our books.
Montblanc
Favourite perfume: Legend Red
Montblanc is the only designer label on this list and it certainly earns the praise with Legend Red being one of this year’s most valuable when you want something that’s simple, versatile and affordable. The brand’s Legend series has long been regarded as one of the most consistent when it comes to those one-and-done freshie-type fragrances and Legend Red is certainly no exception.
It’s a very alpine scent, mainly worked with cedarwood, clary sage and tonka beans for something that’s just as viable in the office as it is on a date. Similar can be said about most of the Legend series, but Red dials up that juicy, citrus freshness to make it much more accessible.
BDK
Favourite perfume: Tabac Rose
Prior to this year, I was only familiar with the excellent Rouge Smoking, but BDK has really impressed me in 2022. Two of my favourite men’s fragrances of the year, Tabac Rose and Villa Neroli, have come from the French label, which was founded by David Benedek in 2016, when he was just 24.
It’s hard to choose between the two, but I’m going with Tabac rose as the essential here. Neroli is excellent but its an overdone ingredient, whereas the fruity Tabac Rose is ideal for someone who likes those divisive, gourmand scents like me. with notes of plum, pink pepper and Italian lemon on the top, setting the scene for the incredibly warm dry-down filled with notes like Indonesian patchouli leaf – smokier than usual patchouli, I find – and Spanish labdanum.
CoSTUME National
Favourite perfume: Homme Parfum
Anyone who has read some Fragrance Friday pieces on BH knows that we’re big fans of CoStume National, so it shouldn’t be a surprise to see it on this list. I’ve been really loving the sophisticated spiciness of Secret Woods this year, but the older Homme Parfum is still one of the best perfumes out there in my opinion.
Both I and some colleagues have bottles of Homme Parfum, and we all agree that it’s the scent we’ve been getting the most use out of this year. My bottle right now is less than half full, while most of the other bottles on my shelf are over 3/4 full.
