Eternity for men is very nice. Only cologne I’ve ever bought as a gift for my husband, who’d never worn the stuff in his life, and he immediately fell in love with it and is now never without some.
Think twice. Do you really want to wear cologne or do you think it’s expected?
Just smell clean. At most, use a scented body wash that will be much more subtle than cologne. Maybe in one of the scents recommended here.
I know its an “ask ladies” thread, but I’ll share my 2 cents…
I really like Cool Water and Lacoste for men. My girlfriend likes them too, but she prefers Calvin Klein Obsession. You can get them at most higher end department stores. I saw them the last time I was at Lord & Taylor.
Very Sexy for Him by Victoria’s Secret. If it works for you, it will really work for you; its not too common and I have always got amazing responses from it (i.e. one girl said “You smell orgasmic”). Fair warning: the scent does seem to conflict with natural body odors when worn by some people. Try to get a woman’s opinion while you’re shopping. If possible bring a lady you trust to be objective, but some of the girls behind the counter can also provide invaluable input (and often samples to take home).
Also, shop around online as there are often cologne sampler kits you can buy to really test drive a scent.
Yes, don’t go by how it smells when you first put it on. Let it dry and walk around for a while and then have someone else smell it.
Mania by Armani was recommended to me by one of the most beautiful young women I’ve ever known (think a young Kylie Minogue :)) who also happens to have exquisite taste. I’ve gotten more compliments on it by far than any cologne I’ve ever worn. (FWIW, she recommended Very Sexy for Him by Victoria’s Secret as second best.)
I like Bulgari Black. Unfortunately, I also kinda like Axe, so you might want to ignore everything I suggest.
Bulgari black is a really nice scent, I like this one also.
I hate Axe because it just smells synthetic to me, same with cool water.
I’m sorry if I’m coming off as a cologne snob, its just a hobby of mine.
One more recommendation… HANAE MORI very powerful gourmand scent. And it is cheap! Never wear this at any temp above 70 degrees or your co-workers will hate you. This requires serious dry down time, but the pay off is great.
Truth by Calvin Klein.
Yum.
That’s Carolina Herrera’s new fragrance for men. I believe the “212” refers to the NYC area code.
VCNJ~
Yet another vote for both Acqua di Gio and Clinique Happy for Men. I always perk up a little when I smell these two, no matter how many times I’ve smelled them before (and I have no exes who wore them or anything like that). Must be pheremones in them or something. Mmmm. Especially Clinique. So much better than the women’s stuff.
Fantastic replies by everybody. In the end, Happy won out for me, although Acqua is a close second.
Since I anticipate being knee-deep in women for the next few months, I really should find out if I can buy this stuff in bulk.
Thanks for your input!
Okay, I went and smelled a huge amount of colognes. Here are my results:
Didn’t like:
Blue Polo/Ralph Lauren
Polo Sport/Ralph Lauren
Eternity for Men/CK
Drakkar Noir
Fahrenheit
Acqua di Gio
Burberry Brit
CK One - Summer
Allure Homme
Dior Homme
Gaultier
Del Mar/Baldessarini
Boss Selection/Hugo Boss
Boss/Hugo Boss
Ice Man/Thierry Muegler
Okay, but not great:
Chrome/Azzaro
Sport Allure
Cool Water/Davidoff
Liked:
L’Eau Par Kenzo
Obsession/CK
Be Delicious/DKNY
Pi/Givenchy
Envy/Gucci
Ambre/Baldessarini
Energise/Hugo Boss
I’m seriously tempted to try some of the ones I really liked on myself - I seemed to like the men’s colognes a whole lot more than I like the women’s colognes. The majority of women’s colognes have some horrible, musty, over-ripe note to them that I can’t stand.
ETA: Of course, the bottom line is how it smells on YOU, and how the women in YOUR life react to it. 
You really should. Most colognes smell fab on women (and, some say, attract men).
This post is going to be unhelpful.
There’s this one cologne. I wish I knew the name of it.
I once worked with a guy who was neither attractive nor unattractive – I didn’t exactly swoon at his feet, but he was good looking and in fine shape and well groomed. I was never actually attracted to him, though.
One day I got up to show him something at his computer and bent over him to point at something on the monitor. I caught a whiff of his cologne.
Gnh. I actually had to stop myself from nibbling on his neck. :eek: I was too shy to ask what he was wearing because I would’ve started to stutter. But holy cow did that just strike me in the right place!
Rather cruel of you to tell us you had that kind of reaction to it, and then not give us a name. 
My daughter and I both wear men’s cologne. It just works better for our chemistry – not to mention that neither of us are overly fruity/flowery/powdery types.
It has been my experience that I get hit on (by men) like mad when I wear men’s cologne whereas on the rare occasion I wear perfume I might get the occasional compliment. I have always chalked it up to the fact that men’s cologne is designed to be liked by men – so they naturally find a woman more likeable if she smells like something he likes. I am sure it also works for men.
You are right, though – wearing what smells good on you is the most important factor to buying any scent. (seriously, I love the smell of Red out of the bottle but if I wear it, people walk around me going “dayum, who got pissed on by a drunken bum???” – it’s not a good thing!)
I started wearing men’s deodorant when I was at all-girls high school. I just really really love the smell of men (or my perception of how men are supposed to smell) Nothing like catching a whiff of yourself and being like “mmm hot man…damn its only me” but its still a nice sensory reaction.
Well, that’s kind of…weird.
I think I will try some men’s cologne and see what my husband thinks of it (he virtually never wears scents himself, and doesn’t care much about what perfume I wear).