The best long-lasting perfumes for men, and how to test them first

What makes a perfume last

Three things decide how long a fragrance stays with you, and only one of them is on the label.

• Concentration. Eau de parfum, parfum and elixir versions usually carry more fragrance oil than an eau de toilette, so the same scent often lasts longer in its stronger form.
• The base notes. Woods, resins, amber, leather, tobacco, vanilla and musk are heavy materials that evaporate slowly. A fragrance built on them will generally outlast one built on citrus and herbs.
• You. Skin type, the weather and how you apply it all matter. The same perfume can last noticeably longer on moisturised skin in cool air than on dry skin on a hot day.

Every pick below leans on a rich base, and most sit in our long-lasting scents collection. None of them is a guarantee of a number of hours, because nobody can honestly promise that for your skin. They are simply the fragrances we would reach for first if staying power is your priority.

The shortlist

Aventus by Creed

The modern classic of the list. Aventus opens with apple, bergamot, blackcurrant and pink pepper, turns fruity with pineapple and patchouli, then settles into a smoky base of birch, oakmoss, musk and ambroxan. That smoky, mossy drydown is what keeps it with you long after the fruit has gone.

Le Male by Jean Paul Gaultier

Le Male is a barbershop fragrance with a sweet heart. Lavender, mint and cardamom up top, cinnamon and orange blossom in the middle, and a warm base of vanilla, tonka bean, amber and sandalwood. The vanilla-tonka base is the reason it lingers on a scarf into the next day.

Oud Wood by Tom Ford

Part of Tom Ford's Private Blend line, Oud Wood is oud made smooth and wearable. Rosewood and cardamom open it, sandalwood and Sichuan pepper sit in the heart, and amber, tonka and vetiver carry it for hours. A good first oud if the more animalic ones have put you off.

Red Tobacco by Mancera

Red Tobacco is dense from the first spray: cinnamon, saffron, incense, nutmeg and oud, lifted by green apple and pear. The base of tobacco, vanilla, amber and vetiver is built to last. It is a cold-weather scent; one or two sprays are plenty.

Interlude Man by Amouage

The most complex fragrance here. Interlude Man moves from oregano, pepper and bergamot into a smoky heart of incense, amber, labdanum and opoponax, then a base of oud, leather and sandalwood. It is resinous, serious and very persistent, so it rewards a light hand.

Prada L'Homme Intense by Prada

For something quieter that still lasts, Prada L'Homme Intense is powdery iris over amber and patchouli, finishing on leather, sandalwood and tonka. It stays close to the skin rather than filling a room, which makes it easy to wear at the office.

Grand Soir by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Grand Soir is an amber fragrance in the truest sense: labdanum and benzoin warmed by orange and lavender, over amber, vanilla, tonka and musk. It is shared rather than strictly masculine, and it is one of the most comforting evening scents in the catalogue.

Invictus Victory Elixir by Rabanne

The elixir version of the Invictus line trades freshness for warmth. Invictus Victory Elixir opens with lavender, cardamom and black pepper, runs on incense and patchouli, and finishes sweet with tonka and vanilla pod. It is bold, so start with fewer sprays than you think you need.

Back to Black by Kilian

Back to Black is honey and tobacco, spiced with cardamom, saffron and nutmeg, softened by chamomile and finished with vanilla, patchouli, cedar and oak. A sweet, smoky shared fragrance that suits autumn and winter evenings.

Greenley by Parfums de Marly

Proof that a long-lasting fragrance does not have to be heavy. Greenley is green apple, mandarin and bergamot over cedar, violet and cashmeran, resting on oakmoss, amberwood and musk. It is the one to choose if you want freshness that still makes it to the evening.

Choosing by season and setting

Staying power is only useful if the scent suits the moment you wear it in. As a rough guide to the ten above:

• For the office and daytime: Prada L'Homme Intense and Greenley stay polished and close without overwhelming a room.
• For cool evenings and dinners: Grand Soir, Back to Black and Oud Wood are warm, smooth and made for sitting across a table.
• For cold weather and statement wear: Red Tobacco, Interlude Man and Invictus Victory Elixir are rich enough to hold up in cold air, and strong enough that one or two sprays will do.
• For almost anything: Aventus and Le Male are the two most versatile picks on the list, fresh enough by day and warm enough by night.

How to test longevity with a decant

Forums and comment threads can tell you how long a perfume lasted for someone else. The only test that counts is how it behaves on you, and a 10ml decant gives you around 200 sprays to find out, roughly two months at three sprays a day.

1. Spray once in the morning on the inside of a wrist, on skin rather than clothes, and write down the time.
2. Check at lunch and in the evening. Smell the wrist directly, not the air around you. Note whether the scent has changed and how strong it still is.
3. Ask someone close whether they can smell it after a few hours. Your nose gets used to your own perfume quickly, so other people often notice it long after you stop.
4. Repeat on different days, ideally one warm and one cool. Longevity can change more with the weather than you would expect.
5. Compare two at once if you are choosing between them: one on each wrist, same morning, same routine.

A week of this tells you more than any number printed in a product description. If a fragrance fades too quickly on your skin, our guide on how to make perfume last longer covers the habits that help most.

Wearing a strong scent considerately

Long-lasting fragrances tend to be rich ones, and rich fragrances are easy to overdo. Two sprays of Red Tobacco or Interlude Man can carry further than five of a fresh citrus. In a small office, on public transport or at dinner, it is kinder to wear one spray fewer. Spray on skin and let it develop, rather than into the air to walk through, which wastes fragrance and does little for longevity.

Finding your own

Longevity only matters if you enjoy wearing the scent for all those hours. That is the real case for trying before buying: live with two or three of these for a week each, and let your own skin choose the winner. Start with the picks above, or browse the whole long-lasting collection and the men's fragrances.