Published on July 15, 2025
Parfums de Marly, Ormonde Jayne, Le Labo
I cannot think of a year that’s had so many stellar men’s fragrance launches. Indeed, the category has picked up a lot of momentum recently, thanks in large part to the efforts of budding niche brands and the designer houses that have launched entirely new collections. But in terms of “hit rate,” the frequency of great scents coming across my desk has never been this frequent.
That’s why I have to tip my hat to the best launches from the first half of 2025. I wish this list could be 100 deep, but 20 will suffice for now. There is something for every taste, season, and occasion on this roster, so have a scroll through and see which ones will define your year. You might even find something you’ll want to wear for the long haul.
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The Raconteur Daintree Rain Tea EDP
Image Credit: The Raconteur Fragrance Family: Woody fresh
Hero Notes: Black tea, bergamot, Australian buddawood, rainforest leaves, chamomile, sea salt, vetiver
The Raconteur has gone from Aussie niche brand to global smash in just a couple of years, thanks to its attention to every design detail and its innovative recipes. “Daintree Rain Tea” might be a tongue twister, but it sure is a stress reliever, too. This is a botanical meditation, as the brand calls it, “born from the serenity of Australia’s Daintree Rainforest,” and you can feel its soothing, damp greens as it lights up your brain’s olfactory bulb.
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Amouage Decision EDP
Fragrance Family: Woody aromatic
Hero Notes: Bergamot, pink pepper, frankincense, juniper, cedarwood, vanilla
I had the opportunity to visit Oman with Amouage last year, when they launched three of 2024’s greatest scents. And somehow, this new fragrance, Decision, sends me back to the juniper-lined crags of the Al Hajar and Jebel Shams mountains. I felt so far removed from the noise of the world, experiencing a perspective-centering that I may never get to replicate. But I can summon the sense with Decision, whose sweet-resinous potion smells positively drinkable.
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Fulton & Roark Fulton EDP
Image Credit: Fulton & Roark Fragrance Family: Spicy-Amber
Hero Notes: mandarin twist, peppercorn, osmanthus, saffron, amber, resin, incense, cistus, smoky guaiacwood
A love letter to Atlanta, Fulton & Roark’s namesake scent teems with hefty, broody notes, yet manages to feel as perennial as an ice-cold Coca-Cola. Its effervescent mandarin and osmanthus notes do a lot of heavy lifting, adding carbonation to this deliciously spicy, smoky concoction.
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Boadicea the Victorious Opal EDP
Image Credit: Neiman Marcus Fragrance Family: Woody floral
Hero Notes: coffee, bay leaf, metal notes, rose, suede, orris butter, moss, cedar, musk
This one promises danger, rather, mischief, but it’s the good kind. We’ve all got a rebellious side, and Opal brings that out in each of us, then projects it far, wide, and for hours on end. Like all Boadicea the Victorious scents, this one announces itself loudly, and those delicious notes keep the danger levels high at all hours.
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Pigmentarium Brutal EDP
Image Credit: Pigmentarium Fragrance Family: Floral amber
Hero Notes: Negroni, orange blossom, coffee, tuberose, tobacco, amber
Orange blossom and tuberose are to thank for Brutal’s very uplifting nature. Still, its vicey anchor notes and negroni-tinged intro provide structure and definition for those florals to stand out. I’ve always thought that “weird” is one of the best compliments you can give a niche fragrance; this one is so wearable yet weird—one of a few terrific scents that is creating more space for tuberose as a common consumer category.
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Blind Barber Speakeasy EDP
Fragrance Family: Aromatic fougère
Hero Notes: Lavandin oil, bergamot, tonka bean, violet, vanilla, musk
At long last, Blind Barber has ventured into fragrance—a trio of them, in fact. It was hard to choose a favorite from the three, but after some consideration, Speakeasy emerged as the best of the bunch. It’s a quintessential barbershop juice, with stimulating lavandin oil, crisp and refreshing bergamot, Blind Barber’s signature tonka tinge (it’s in all of the brand’s hair care products), and it coasts all day on an invigoratingly fresh musk.
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Parfums de Marly Castley EDP
Image Credit: Parfums de Marly Fragrance Family: Fresh spicy
Hero Notes: Bergamot, ginger, black pepper, timut pepper, neroli, resin
I can practically feel my IQ going up when I wear this stirring fragrance: it evokes a sense of intelligence without smugness, and lots of guys will enjoy wearing it without fielding any “What are you wearing?” queries. For some, that’s a big win. Not everything has to turn heads; sometimes the best scent is one you can savor yourself.
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Ormonde Jayne Vetiveria EDP
Image Credit: Ormonde Jayne Fragrance Family: Citrus woody
Hero Notes: Lime, timur pepper, vetiver, sage
Vetiveria has all the trappings of a crisp summer scent, but all the nuance and magnitude of a perennial power player. This is true signature scent mastery, right here.
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Maison Psyché Éclat d’Ombre
Image Credit: Maison Psyché Fragrance Family: Chypre
Hero Notes: Iris, cocoa, sandalwood, ambrette, blackcurrant, jasmine
Maison Psyché is the fragrance house inspired by Rémy Martin. Its sixth scent, the atmospheric Éclat d’Ombre, is aged in oak barrels just like its predecessors. However, whereas they zero-in on a single ingredient’s interaction with the oak, this one puts multiple notes in play—namely, bergamot, rose, and patchouli, and casts their collective essence like a pure base-note accord; the deliciously fun result is what RM’s cellar master Baptiste Loiseau calls “the paradox between light and the shadow that we have in the Rémy Martin cellar.”
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Marc-Antoine Barrois Aldebaran EDP
Image Credit: Marc Antoine Barrois Fragrance Family: Floral
Hero Notes: Tuberose, paprika, mate, tonka bean
Call it “tuberose gold”: This Robb Report Grooming Award winner is “a white light in the darkness,” its radiant tuberose entry and smoky warmth giving it both levity and grandeur.
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L’Objet Blindfold EDP
Image Credit: L’Objet Scent Family: Musky Animalic
Hero Notes: Musk, saffron, milk, suede, tobacco, patchouli, tonka bean, amber
An intimate skin scent that also wears wonderfully as a signature aroma—especially if you want to project a sophisticated and mysterious vibe. I’ve been wearing this one the most out of everything on the roster, perhaps because I find it inherently familiar and self-assured.
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D.S. & Durga Golfjazz EDP
Image Credit: D.S. & Durga Fragrance Family: Chypre green
Hero Notes: Grass, lime, leather, mint, moss, patchouli
D.S. & Durga is having a blast this year, fresh off its tennis ball accord Crush Balls, and a trio of men’s colognes that includes this number, Golfjazz. And while this scent opens with a curious accord of putting-green turf and golf-cart leather, it has one of the single best dry downs I have ever encountered. I spray it on whenever I want someone to compliment my fragrance, or when I want to feel like I’m sipping a cocktail on the back nine.
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Arquiste Tropical EDP
Fragrance Family: Tropical floral
Hero Notes: Guava, ginger, jasmine sambac, amber, vanilla bean, mahogany
This squeezable juice teleports you to Mérida in the humid, verdant throes of the Yucatán. You’re poolside, with walls of green and blooming birds of paradise, tucked away from the bustle of the city. It’s a new standard for guava in fragrance, and an instant summer classic.
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Krigler Octave Aurum 25 EDP
Image Credit: Krigler Fragrance Family: Fresh woody
Hero Notes: Oud, black pepper, cedar wood, coffee, lavender, vanilla, tonka bean, patchouli
Think of this as the perfect black-tie scent. It’s a tribute to Paris’s Palais Garnier, designed to replicate the scent of “polished wood, cool marble, the soft hush of satin gloves and the warm rustle of velvet curtains.” It’s grand and confident, which is exactly how you should feel whenever you put on a tuxedo.
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Bianco Profumo Acqua Gardenia EDP
Image Credit: Bianco Profumo Fragrance Family: Floral aquatic
Hero Notes: Sicilian lemon, cucumber water, jasmine sambac, gardenia, sandalwood, benzoin
A spritz of this scent offers an instantly soothing feeling. Acqua Gardenia is instantly at home in this very playful brand’s Grade-A lineup, and this inventive fragrance is a new warm-weather staple for me.
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Henry Rose Windows Down PCH EDP
Image Credit: Henry Rose Fragrance Family: Woody Aromatic
Hero Notes: Earl Grey tea, cypriol, orange blossom, jasmine, lemon, tangerine
An unexpected flanker of the beloved Windows Down EDP, this Pacific Coast Highway remix transports you to the open road. Its crisp, woody essence successfully captures a real breath of fresh air.
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Horace Vetiver Primavera EDP
Image Credit: Horace Fragrance Family: Citrus green
Hero Notes: Lemon, yuzu, mandarin, orange blossom, vetiver, cashmeran, frankincense
I’m shocked this one doesn’t double as Vitamin C essence. It smells like fresh-squeezed citrus, and has an optimistic, super-juicy character.
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Perfumehead 1272 ‘Coltrait’ Extrait
Image Credit: Perfumehead 1272 ‘Coltrait’ Extrait Fragrance Family: Citrus Floral
Hero Notes: Bergamot, petitgrain, mandarin, orange flower, jasmine, patchouli, tonka bean, vetiver, cistus
1272 is Perfumehead’s clever solution to the light-wear cologne versus long-perfuming extrait dilemma—this “coltrait” hybrid delivers the immediate freshness of citrus and orange flower you want for summer wear, but with a staying power that actually justifies the price tag. It’s inspired by its founder Daniel Patrick Giles’s restored Palm Springs modernist house, and the result is refreshingly wearable.
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Le Labo Eucalyptus 20 EDP
Image Credit: Le Labo Fragrance Family: Aromatic herbal
Hero Notes: Eucalyptus, frankincense, lavender, cedarwood, musk, labdanum
I cannot say it better than the brand itself: this one is “crisp, camphoric clarity” thanks to its hyperfocus on the head-clearing eucalyptus. It feels equal parts isolating and omniscient. In terms of wearers, this one will polarize: you either like it or you don’t. But if you do love the refreshing scent of its titular ingredient, this is a bottle you’ll reach for again and again.
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Hermès Terre d’Hermès Eau Intense EDP
Image Credit: Hermès Fragrance Family: Fresh spicy
Hero Notes: Bergamot, burning wood, lava stone, vetiver, Sichuan pepper, cedar
The latest Terre d’Hermès flanker has the mineral-citrus DNA of the best-selling original, but the addition of bitter coffee and licorice notes makes it both richer and more contemporary. This feels like the definitive version that brings the classic scent into the modern era; it ups the projection and staying power without compromising the original’s elegant sophistication.
