We all know the OGs — Polo Green, Acqua di Gio, Cool Water, Dior Sauvage — that revolutionized fragrance and cemented their status. No doubt, they changed the olfactory game. But if you’re even remotely into cologne, you’ve likely worn them already. This list takes a slightly different approach. Think luxe indie favorites, old-school Italian staples and Parisian stalwarts, each an enduring aroma or a modern icon shaping the scent landscape. And because tastes evolve, this list isn’t set in stone, so check back because we’ll likely add more. For now, here are eight of the greatest hits worth adding to your forever fragrance rotation.
A brand strategist named Eugene Healey, who’s worked closely with New Zealand-based market research firm Tracksuit, opened this year with a series of video essays on “post-luxury status symbols.”
But here’s his overarching conclusion: in order to stand out in 2025 and beyond, many consumers will shift their priorities. They’ll go back to their roots and just be…human beings. How so? Instrumental to his forecasting, Healey says, is the idea that “being chronically offline is the new flex.”
