How to Pick a Cologne That Lasts, According to the People Who Smell Best

The best long-lasting colognes for men are gifts that keep on giving. They work like any other scent on your bureau, but instead of fading an hour or so after application, they linger (in a friendly, unobtrusive way) long after weaker fragrances disappear. Which is great for your wallet and your schedule—you don’t have money to waste and you definitely don’t have time to haul it back to your pad for a re-up.

We know it can be a little, uh, difficult to tell how long a cologne will last based on its bottle, so to get the low-down on what you actually need to know we rang up a couple of the biggest fragrance wonks in our rolodex. Looking for the ingredients to keep an eye on? We got you. Eager to extend the shelf life of the colognes already in your rotation? We got you, too.

If you’re still not sure which scent to go for, read on. We rounded up nine long-lasting colognes for men to keep you smelling good around the clock.

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The Best Long-Lasting Colognes, According to GQ

The Date Night Pick

“Patchouli is a cherished and versatile perfume ingredient, derived from the leaves of the patchouli plant, renowned for its earthy, woody, and slightly sweet fragrance,” says Almira Armstrong, a fragrance developer and founder of Sydney-based fragrance house Lumira. “In the base notes, it reaches its full potential, with an intensified sweetness and a lingering presence that acts as a fixative, anchoring the entire fragrance and enhancing its longevity.”

The Late Night Pick

“Orange blossom is my favorite ingredient,” says Arquiste founder Carlos Huber. “It’s got citrusy, floral, mineral, and even musky and animalic facets, so depending on how it’s treated in both concentration and how it’s blended with other notes it can be either extremely fresh or very deep and carnal.” Arquiste’s GQ-favorite Misfit scent blends citrusy bergamot with patchouli and sweet tonka bean—and it lasts way longer than the competition.

The Fresh and Clean Pick

Ever wish you could bottle the feeling of a fresh shave? Parfums de Marly actually did it. Layton is simultaneously inviting and invigorating, blending notes of bergamot and sweet jasmine along with vanilla in one long-lasting formula.

The Woody and Warm Pick

Woodsy and warm, Metamorph is a unisex fragrance that makes for an excellent gift—for a loved one or just for yourself. That sauna-in-a-bottle feeling is largely due to the the staying power of vetiver, which is sweetened up with juniper. The result is eau so fresh.

The Adventurous Pick

Like the great outback, Cowboy Grass gives you an exhilarating rush at first sniff. The long-lasting scent is a blend of sweet rosewood, fresh basil, and grass (!) formulated to inspire your next great adventure—even if that’s just deciding where to go for Brunch.

The Rosy Pick

Frederic Malle makes a number of intoxicating scents, but our favorite is Portrait of a Lady, a scent that’s spent the last 15 years gracing our nostrils, making life feel like it’s actually worth living. It’s essentially a super-concentrated concoction of roses, complemented by cinnamon, patchouli, and sandalwood. Portrait of a Lady is a scent that’ll linger wherever you go, and it’ll let people know you were somewhere long after you’ve made your exit.

The Dark and Mysterious Pick

Like the intensely rich liquid that’s housed in this bottle, Rouge Chaotique is a deeply concentrated cologne that’s packed with notes of stone fruit, baking spices, and dried flowers. From the first spritz, the scent evokes the image of a mysterious stranger at an outdoor bistro, and as it warms up to your body temperature, the cologne softens into something sweet and familiar like a freshly baked cake.

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More Long-Lasting Colognes We Love

The Ingredients to Look For, According to the Experts

“Parfum and eau de parfum contain higher levels of fragrance oils and generally offer prolonged scent duration,” says Almira Armstrong, a fragrance developer and founder of Sydney-based fragrance house Lumira. When it comes to the particular notes that should be on your radar, Armstrong recommends patchouli, sandalwood, vanilla, and musk.

Carlos Huber, the founder of Arquiste, agrees. “Look for deeper, darker scents: woody, resinous, gourmand, carnal florals and smoky scents that will have more complex molecular structure to stay longer on your skin.” Does that mean you have to stick with the ouds of the cologne world? Not necessarily—but you won’t get the same lasting power from a “fresh” scent. If you don’t want to haul around a travel-size bottle for mid-day touch-ups, Huber’s advice is to treat the green, citrusy notes as lighter fragrances and keep it pushing.

How to Extend Your Cologne’s Shelf Life

You’ve likely heard of the key pulse points—the neck, nape, forearms, wrists, and chest—when it comes to getting the most wear out of a single application. But there are additional steps you can take to make your colognes last longer.