The 17 Best Spring Colognes, From Acqua di Parma to Dries Van Noten

Much as we hate to start with a contradiction, many of this spring’s best new scents zig where others zag, leaning into heavier, more complex, longer-lasting formulas. The best example is Dior Homme Parfum, created by Francis Kurkdjian. It’s a real celebration of iris—the perfumer told Robb Report, “Basically, we cleaned up the market” buying all of the available flowers to have the right quantity. “It took us two years to create the stock that we needed.” He paired the bloom with amber, patchouli, and cut hay for a balanced take on woody, masculine scents.

Inspired by the Croatian island of Lopud, A Grove by the Sea conjures the smell of Adriatic salt air blowing over a fig grove near the coast. The evocative blend is rounded out with rosemary, olive oil, pine needles, and a hint of red clay. It’s agrarian yet elegant, and refreshing on days when the air is warm and humid.

Les Eaux Primordiales quickly became one of lifestyle director Justin Fenner’s favorite fragrance brands after it launched in the United States earlier this spring. While many of its fragrances are available stateside, thanks to Nordstrom, one of the best is Cedre Superfluide. It’s a sophisticated take on the oft-combined cedar and rose notes, and has what can only be described as a creamy presentation and non-stop longevity.

Inspired by a real living legend—a cypress tree in Oaxaca that is estimated to be over 2,000 years old—this scent from Eauso Vert is green, woody, fresh, and intensely grounding. It opens with cypress, grapefruit, and pepper before drying down into vetiver and labdanum. It makes you want to hug a tree, in the best way.

The brainchild of Hermes’s charming in-house perfumer, Christine Nagel, the newest version of Terre d’Hermes ups the ante on longevity without overloading your nostrils. In Eau de Parfum Intense, she used a natural licorice wood accord, which had never been used in perfumery before this bottle. To warm up the flagship scent’s signature flinty nature, she devised a lava rock note that gives the scent its structure. The result is a warm, woody scent with remarkable longevity and an intimate wearing experience. In other words, people have to get close to you before they catch its fragrance.

Fashion designer Francisco Costa has been applying his creativity to his eponymous grooming line since 2018 and launched his first fragrance, Aroma, in 2022. It quickly became a favorite among fragrance cognoscenti for its imaginative take on Breu, a resin that grows in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest. It smells of citrus, myrrh, cedar, and amber, and its wooden bottle is a stylish homage to its natural source of inspiration.

Perfumer Francois Coty invented chypre, the fragrance classification referring to scents with floral top notes that give way to a woody base, when he devised a cologne of the same name in 1917. (Chypre is a variation on the French word for Cyprus.) Over a century later, the house that bears his name has honored his original masterpiece by releasing Aristo Chypre, one of 14 fragrances that launched with the new brand Infiniment Coty Paris. It uses a chypre accord along with roses and patchouli for a uniquely noble scent, evoking the aura of a confident, self-made man.

If you’re an aesthete who calls it “consuming cannabis” and not “smoking weed,” this fresh, spicy, and citrusy scent may be the one for you. Its vibrant formula opens with a welcoming burst of lime, orange, and clary sage; settles into geranium and algae; and brings up oakmoss, vetiver, and patchouli on the earthy drydown. It’s an elegant eau de toilette, so you may have to reapply it before cocktail hour, when it’s sure to get compliments.

This light cologne is one of the first scents Williams rotates in each spring. “It’s a mood-boosting citrus and super-classy,” he says of the bergamot-, neroli-, and grapefruit-tinged cocktail, which also has herbaceous, mossy, and floral notes. “To me, it’s like pulling on a crisp white shirt and a pair of jeans. Suitable for most occasions, timeless and extremely well put together.”

Buy Now on Nordstrom: $212

The days might be getting longer, but the moon still rises in spring. And if you’re tethered to a signature scent by day, this makes a great alternative for the nighttime. Moonrise makes a doubly crisp, refreshing first impression with bergamot and green apple, then takes a turn for the sultry with an orange blossom heart and a spicy base.

Buy Now on Philip Noir: $150

With Excentrique Moi, Art de Parfum is showing some serious artistic chops: This extrait manages to be sweet but spicy, floral but woody, sophisticated but carefree, everything as contrasting and contradictory as you’d expect with a name like this. Excentrique is comforting above all else, perfectly paired with a book as you spend a not-so-eccentric Sunday with your favorite person in the world—yourself.

Here’s one of my favorite 2024 launches to date, a supremely fresh and crisp citrus squeeze that hovers on a dry-woody base. Its cleanliness borders on soapy, in the best way possible; I genuinely feel fresher when I wear Perseus, and that carries over into my general disposition.

Buy Now on Nordstrom: $365

Rhubarb, as a note in perfumery, is one of William’s favorite unsung heroes, especially in springtime. And Rhubarb, as in this delicious EDP from Perfumer H, is one of his favorite expressions of the tart veggie, in this case paired with red fruits, rose water, and cedar. “You get juicy freshness, but with a complexity and depth from the rhubarb,” he explains. “It’s great for spring, when you want to try something other than the regular citrus notes.”

Buy Now on Atelier New York: $190

Here’s one leather you needn’t pack away with the spring cleaning: Tumi’s 19 Degree feels perfectly cozy for those 19-degree Fahrenheit winters, but also buoyant enough for those 19-degree Celsius spring days. The marriage of leather, suede, raspberry, and saffron gives it some serious dimension, and the extrait concentration gives it some powerful all-day leathery-musk projection.

Buy Now on Neiman Marcus: $175

Williams loves Voyeur Verde as much for its backstory as for its aromatic-woody radius: “The idea for Voyeur Verde came from a photo [founder] Maya Nije took of a faded vintage Mercedes which had been abandoned in thick undergrowth. The juice itself is herbaceous and green with a bright citrus opening and then it evolves into something deeper, more resinous and leathery—as though the car and its wood-and-leather interior are becoming one with the foliage and the elements. Voyeur Verde is a unique take on a spring scent that has all of that green, juicy lushness, but then takes a sharp left turn, crashes the car and lets nature run its course.”

Buy Now on Muse Experiences: $148

Colorful Madurai reads like a tag-teaming of two cartoon heroines—Jasmine and Peach. This scent reminds me of how beautifully interpretive perfumery can be, because this floral-sweet essence reads feminine on paper, yet it stays in unisexy territory thanks to suede and sandalwood underpinnings. Madurai might turn a head or two, in a good sense, if only because it steers from the predictable script.

Buy Now on Neiman Marcus: $310

Tea-tippled fragrances are among my favorites to prescribe as signature scents, especially for anyone who wants to cast a sophisticated air. But Wulóng Chá is mentally medicinal, too: I love to wear this one any day when I need a sense of calm and centeredness. Its oolong heart beats strong, long after its citrus top notes evaporate, and its plum and musk base notes are extremely centering. Perfect pairing for a season focused on rebirth and replenishment.

Buy Now on Saks Fifth Avenue: $350