When my 12-year-old grandson, Louis, asked me for a fragrance for Christmas, I went straight to an old favourite, David Beckham EDT ($30 for 100ml), for its scent and soccer appeal. It was a huge hit.
As with most fragrances, a little goes a long way. Remember, you want to wear the scent, not the other way around.Credit: Getty Images
He is not alone in his obsession; teenage boys are among the fastest-growing cohort of consumers in the fragrance category, with the hashtags #smellmaxxing and #scentmaxxing racking up millions of likes on social media.
On the influencer front, a teenager who goes by the name The Cologne Boy, aka 18-year-old Canadian Jatin Arora, encourages his 3.1 million followers to wash, moisturise and pay attention to oral hygiene to help their fragrance smell its best. βItβs common sense, but I saw kids in my high school whoβd skip showers for days and then put on fragrances, which made them stink even more,β he says in one video.
Arora only began collecting fragrances when he was 16, after begging his mother to buy him one (she ended up buying three). βI was ecstatic,β he says. βIβd wake up in the middle of the night and Iβd just be smelling the fragrances.β And even though heβs still a teenager, he has top-shelf taste; his floor-to-ceiling shelves stacked with scents by Jean Paul Gaultier, Maison Margiela and Creed, among others.
So, what smells are adolescent males liking? Popular notes include white musk, amber, cedar, vetiver, cinnamon, patchouli and florals. Our favourite scents for boys include: Nautica Voyage EDT ($20 for 100ml) for its green apple, cedar, amber, water lotus and musky notes; Armani Beauty Acqua di GiΓ² EDT ($199 for 100ml) with its clean, fresh notes of bergamot, neroli and jasmine; the delectable Maison Margiela Replica By the Fireplace EDT ($120 for 30ml), with clove, chestnut and vanilla for boys who like to make a statement. For a cute training-wheel starter, try The Lion King Cologne ($19 for 75ml).
Perennial favourite Calvin Klein CK One Essence EDP ($60 for 100ml) still has plenty of appeal, with heightened notes of bergamot and geranium evoking woody mountain slopes. As with most fragrances, a little goes a long way. Remember, you want to wear the scent, not the other way around.
For a versatile gift, Versace Dylan Blue EDT ($160 for 100ml) has universal appeal. I attended its launch in 2016 with my son Jonah, who was a teenager at the time, and he loved the spicy combination of bergamot, grapefruit, black pepper, patchouli, violets, musk, saffron, incense and tonka beans.
For a subtler starting point, a hair fragrance is a great introduction. We love Bleu de Chanel Fragranced Hair Care ($130).
