Men’s Fragrance Has A New Main Character: Men

I can spot it across a subway car now, the clean snap of citrus over a mineral-amber spine. A few years ago that aura would have been a unicorn on a Tuesday. Today it’s everywhere, and no, it isn’t body spray. Men have stepped into perfume with both feet, and the footprint is big.

Perfumer Laurent Le Guernec told me what I’ve been smelling on sidewalks and in elevators: a real shift. He’s the nose behind launches for Ralph Lauren, MAC, Calvin Klein, and Clinique, so when he says men moved from “nothing” or “just deodorant” to intentional spritzing, I listen. You can feel the energy in stores. Guys aren’t hovering at the gift sets anymore. They’re testing, comparing, asking for sillage and drydown, then buying for themselves.

I’ve watched it play out in tiny ways. My barber now mists the air with Ralph Lauren Polo before a fade, then keeps Polo Blue at the station for clients who ask. My younger cousin, who once swore fragrance was “extra,” now alternates Calvin Klein CK One on weekdays and Euphoria Men on nights out. A colleague wears Clinique Happy like a sunlamp in January. Even backstage, makeup artists keep MAC Turquatic handy when they want clean, sheer lift that cuts through hours of lights and stress.

Here’s the quiet revolution: the lines are blurring. Men are reaching for what smells good, not what a shelf says is “for him.” Bright neroli, briny aquatics, suede ambers, transparent woods, a soft vanilla hiding under smoky tea. Discovery sets empty fast. Niche samplers sell out. And mass-market pillars are learning new tricks because expectations got higher.

If you’re just jumping in, start where the DNA is clear and well built. Ralph Lauren Polo for that piney leather swagger, Polo Blue for crisp aquatic ease. Calvin Klein CK One if you want the ultimate casual unisex with a citrus-musk glow, Euphoria Men for a warmer, spicy-amber night. Clinique Happy for bottled sunshine, MAC Turquatic for salt-slick minimalism that reads modern on skin.

Call it late blooming or call it overdue. Either way, men falling in love with perfume is the most romantic twist in grooming I’ve seen in years. And the drydown is changing the market, one confident spritz at a time.