The 12 Best Winter Colognes for Men, Tested by a Grooming Editor

Sweet scents abound in winter, particularly during the holidays, but while the scent of baking cookies smells really good in your kitchen, it’s not something you want to wear on your skin. This warm, ambery fragrance borders on sweet (it’s the caramel) but smells mature and grown up, not like you just rubbed yourself down with a sugar cookie.

Wearing florals in the winter can be a little counterintuitive since the cold weather makes you gravitate toward cozier vibes like spice and woods. This floral fragrance takes notes like orange blossom and geranium into the winter season with doses of just the right amount of spice (coriander, saffron) and a woody base note that give this a warming effect.

You’ll be hard pressed to find a more iconic—or winter appropriate —woody fragrance than Oud Wood. This Tom Ford cologne is deep and rich, with a very healthy dose of both woods and elegant oud, that is bold and fancy. It pairs especially well with a suit, so wear it to both the office holiday party and your New Year’s Eve blowout. It’s the ideal social scent for winter.

Vanilla is having a huge moment in fragrance right now and the warm, sweet note is perfectly suited for cold winter months. What’s good about this new cologne is that even though it’s heavy on the vanilla in the form of both vanilla leaves and vanilla absolu, it isn’t cloying or overly sweet. In fact, it’s richly layered with earthy, green and herbal vibes that bring it into an unexpected—and very wearable—territory.

This enigmatic scent evolves quickly from smooth sweet notes at the top like apple into something deeper and richer like tobacco and smoke and finally into something spicy. The dry down has the distinct cinnamony quality of those Red Hots candies you remember from childhood but in a grown up way that will have people leaning in to get another (and another) sniff.

Like all the Stetson fragrances, this new version has real cowboy-by-the-campfire vibes, but in a way that’s actually appropriate to wear every day, not just when you’re rounding up cattle. It’s heavy on the wood with a noticeable note of leather and smoke that really drive the whole Western idea home and give it a nice, cozy, wintery feel.

The clean vibes from lavender are the star in this cologne, but the freshness is only the beginning. As the top notes of neroli and bergamot disappear, musk and amber emerge to give the lavender an earthy, masculine vibe that feels modern and perfectly suited for wintertime.

Fans of Sauvage will find that this version is bolder and spicier – and lasts longer—than the original. The nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom in the top notes are perfectly suited for winter by giving this a warmth along with spice that you crave during sweater weather.

Often winter colognes are heavy and somewhat aggressive, but this warm ambery spice-laced scent is subtle enough to wear every day, but still attention-grabbing in the way that invites compliments. It’s actually pretty seasonless and can be worn with equal effect throughout the year, though the warmth and spice lends itself well to colder months.

This big, bold scent is not for the faint of heart. It’s heavy on the frankincense—an under-appreciated winter note that’s spicy and sultry—but dials up the winter vibes even more with cozy cedar and warm cardamom to create a deep, rich, masculine fragrance that lasts and lasts…and lasts.

There’s a lot going on with this elegant fragrance, but what stands out the most as it wears down is the rich, earthy oud and the smooth, smokey leather notes that intermingle to leave your skin smelling incredibly rich.

This cologne skews sweet at first, but quickly reveals spices that add a depth and warmth to the scent. Where it really shines, however, is the dry down which is musky and woody, with just the faintest hint of sweetness that adds a cozy inviting vibe without losing any of its overall sexiness.

How We Selected

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