10 Best Winter Colognes for Men
Updated January 2023
How We Found the Best Winter Colognes
5 Experts Interviewed
28 Fragrances Tested
Top 10 Picks
Updated January 2023
5 Experts Interviewed
28 Fragrances Tested
Top 10 Picks
Winter is coming. But it doesn’t have to all doom and gloom. While we love the summer, the winter months give us a chance to mix up our fragrance routine and try something a little different, more suited to colder days.
If you don’t have something suitable in your winter collection, now is the perfect opportunity to pick up something new.
To help you get started, we’ve compiled our top ten winter colognes to provide you with all you need when it comes to making your next fragrance choice.
First launched in 2018, this offering from the house of Vince Camuto opens with top notes of pepper, cardamom and papyrus. In the mid, we have moss, birch and vetiver, while in the base we have cedar, leather and musk and sandalwood.
The scent itself is spicy and intensely woody, accompanied by a smooth suede leather. Undoubtedly this is a masculine and classy fragrance for the modern gentleman.
Longevity is incredible, sitting at 8-9 hours, with a decent performance in terms of projection.
We tend to feel that Virtu is more suited towards the mature man as it gives off a very sophisticated vibe. This is definitely an evening scent, leaning towards a more formal suit and tie scenario.
Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille is one of the most popular niche fragrances on the market today. As the name suggests, the underlying scents of tobacco and vanilla make for a simple, yet intense fragrance.
As with the majority of Tom Ford colognes, performance is incredible – a few sprays of this and you will still smell it on your skin the next day.
The intensity of this cologne makes it the perfect winter fragrance, one that can be used in formal or otherwise upscale events. We recommend giving as much space to this fragrance as possible, ideal for outdoor black tie events.
Now, this bottle is pricey, but given the strength of the formulation, you won’t need to use much to achieve the desired result. A solid recommendation from us, for the man who doesn’t mind spending a little bit more on his colognes.
Last but by no means least, Kenneth Cole bring us ‘Black’, a minty (almost aquatic) fragrance which is both light and dark all at once. Blended with mandarin, ginger, incense and suede, this is a non-offensive fragrance which is a real crowd-pleaser. This is why we feel this may be the best winter office fragrance.
Projection really begins to dial down after an hour or so, making it the perfect choice for more intimate occasions when someone could enjoy this in close proximity.
We feel that Black can be worn all year round due to its initial freshness, but the base notes are where it finds its true wintery feel as it’s woody, musky aromas ooze through.
This cologne has quite a reputation. When it was first released, it quickly gained notoriety for being the possibly the best Creed Aventus clone on the market. If you’re looking for a much cheaper alternative to Aventus (merely 10% of the price), look no further!
Compared to Aventus, Club de Nuit Intense focuses much more on the citrus aromas. However, once dried down, you can immediately recognize the smokey Aventus notes.
We love Armaf Club de Nuit Intense for its performance and its ability to get a lot of compliments. A let down for us is the presentation, notably the bottle which we find a little gimmicky.
If you’re working with a lower budget but want something classy, elegant and timeless, we definitely recommend this popular fragrance.
Dolce & Gabbana The One for Men is a true superstar in the fragrance community and rarely attracts any negative comments – many label this as the best men’s perfume for winter.
Released in 2008, D&G classify this as a woody and spicy fragrance. Basil, coriander and grapefruit open this fragrance moving to a mid full of orange blossom, cardamom and ginger. In the dry down, the classic winter notes of cedar, tobacco and amber shine through.
The scent itself is a very safe, sexy and uncomplicated. A spray or two of this on your skin will leave your loved one cosying up to get a closer sniff.
We love the elegant and classy bottle which looks perfect on any mans vanity shelf
Dior re-imagined their entire Homme line for 2020, releasing Dior Homme Intense 2020 last year.
Dior has really dialed back on the intensity of the 2020 formula meaning its now suitable for use during the day time, where we tended to use the original mainly in the evening. We think this is an international move by Dior to make the fragrance much more versatile.
The main notes in Intense are lavender, iris, pear, vetiver and cedar. Most pleasing for us is the almost buttery chocolate aroma you get from wearing this on your skin.
We think Dior Homme Intense is an exquisite option for a winter evening, perfect for relaxing in front of the fire with a glass of whisky.
Eight & Bob are a niche fragrance house relatively new on the scene. Despite this, they have still made it into our top ten which goes to show that you don’t have to be an established couture designer to produce a really great scent.
Nuit de Megève offers a blast of green and earthy accords, and the top notes feature grapefruit, petitgrain and clove. As you move towards the mid, the fragrance opens up to a rich mixture of tonka, and orris, settling to a base of vetiver, tobacco and musk. Vetiver is the main note dominating Nuit de Megève.
Longevity on Nuit de Megève is average at 6 hours, and projection is as well in the moderate range at 1-2 hours.
Nuit de Megève is definitely a sophisticated and refined fragrance, another cologne more suited to formal occasions.
Some cologne experts refer to Versace Eros as the ultimate ‘party’ fragrance, suitable for nights out, especially during the winter season. The prominence of cedar in this fragrance puts it in the woody oriental category. If you’re a fan of Paco Rabanne’s 1 Million, you’re sure to love this.
At the first spray, your attention is immediately grabbed by the intensely fresh smell of mint, green apple and lemon, which will dominate the first few minutes. Vanilla also plays a critical role as the fragrance develops and dries down.
Because of its similarities to other fragrances, if you’re looking for a unique, signature scent, Eros may not be the best choice. It’s also Incredibly popular. Longevity is excellent, coming in over 8 hours and projectivity performs solidly.
We think Eros is a fantastic winter fragrance for the younger man, and wouldn’t hesitate to buy this as a gift for perhaps a teenage son or nephew.
One of the behemoths of the fragrance world, Creed Aventus. Aventus gets a lot (and we mean a LOT) of praise, and we think it deserves every bit.
For us, Aventus is a genuinely timeless fragrance consisting of a smokey pineapple aroma. We don’t believe this can be confined to any particular season: spring, summer autumn or winter, this is suitable for all. As it’s an all-time classic, investing in a bottle of Aventus means you don’t run the risk of it falling out of fashion, and given its intensity, will last a long time indeed.
Creed focuses heavily on quality on ingredients, making this cologne an incredible performed in both longevity and projection.
Creed are notoriously pricey, so this cologne is definitely for the established man who doesn’t mind spending a bit more on their fragrances. That being said, there are plenty of other great additions in this list for those working with smaller budgets. Check out our list of alternatives.
In our opinion, this is one of the best winter fragrances for men.
Another popular cologne amongst those in the fragrance community is Carolina Herrera’s CH Men Prive.
In terms of smell, CH Prive is a seductive and boozy men’s fragrance which also has a touch of sweetness. Whisky and leather dominate the main notes making it incredibly masculine.
Through the mid, you get a concentration of cardamom, lavender and thyme which gives it a real herbal and almost menthol, accord. Performance is exceptional at 8 hours, and it doesn’t lack in the projection department either. A few sprays of this should give you around 3 hours.
We love the black and gold colour scheme with the unique bottle cap fastener, which helps to give this a real elegant and exclusive feel.
Undoubtedly a perfect winter cologne, this is one for the leather jacket-wearing contemporary man, owing to its rich leather undertones.
Much like our clothing, our fragrances should adapt to the seasons. While in the spring and summer, aquatic and floral scents are much more fitting, during the fall and winter, heavier scents are more appropriate.
This time of year, woody, rich, musky and smokey scents are our favorite. Switching up your scent depending on the season is a wise choice for the fragrance fanatic, as perfumes are developed to evoke certain moods and feelings. Winter colognes exude warmth and spiciness which are lacking in their summer counterparts.
The weather has a significant impact on how your cologne works, simply because heat is required to evaporate the perfume molecules, dispersing the sweet-smelling atoms into the air.
When you apply cologne or perfume to your skin, the warmth of your body slowly dissipates the scent into your surroundings. Naturally, the warmer, or colder, your body, the rate at which your cologne evaporates changes.
In colder weather, our skin becomes drier, which makes it more challenging to hold onto the smell of the cologne. This is why some may notice reduced performance of their cologne during winter months. For this reason, winter colognes are often heavier and dense, allowing them to retain their smell much longer.
CologneCritic.com is a participant in the Amazon Services, LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Researched by a team of fragrance experts.