Body sprays are great for freshening up without the intensity of eau de toilette and eau de parfum, but with such a wide variety of both designer and affordable sprays for men, it can be hard to find the best one. It's important to choose a scent that matches your taste perfectly, after all, smells are one of the first things that we notice about one another.
We researched the market to find out which body sprays are trending and how to know what they smell of when shopping online. Of course, there are many different scents available with each blend being unique to the brand. Luckily, we've found a mix of fresh, woodsy, and floral body sprays for men from brands like Adidas, Superdry and Dior, all available from Amazon, eBay, John Lewis and Boots.
While this is a commonly-asked question (especially as some sprays have the word 'deodorant' on the label), a body spray does not have antiperspirant properties. An antiperspirant deodorant works by covering the sweat glands to avoid sweat mixing with bacteria, which is what creates the smell of BO.
A body spray, meanwhile, won't prevent the odour of sweat but it will help to mask it temporarily by clinging to your clothes as opposed to your skin. In addition, body spray is lighter and more subtle than perfume or cologne due to the lower concentration of scent oils. This also makes it significantly cheaper to reapply throughout the day.
All of these factors are what makes a body spray so convenient. You can throw a can of body spray in a bag and know that you're going to smell refreshed for the rest of the day, leaving expensive glass bottles of cologne at home for a more special occasion.
Seeing as it doesn't need to perform like an antiperspirant, the most important thing when shopping for body spray is to choose one that smells good and suits your tastes. This can be difficult when shopping online, but we've made sure to lay everything out on the table with as many descriptions as possible so that you can practically smell the scents as you browse.
There are three different groups of scents used in the make-up of a good body spray; floral, woody, and fresh. Some might appeal to you purely for their fragrance, but it's also good to know which suit certain occasions, times of the day and even times of the year.
Floral scents are light and elegant, making them the perfect choice for daytime-wear, especially during the spring. Bright and subtle, in men's fragrances this family often features geranium, jasmine, daffodils and lavender.
Woody fragrances, as the name suggests, are deeper and more natural, characterised by aromatic, crisp notes of patchouli, cedarwood, sandalwood, and musk. Woodsy body sprays are versatile with a neutral fragrance that you could wear to both the office and a nightclub.
Fresh scents can be described as fruity, citrusy and clean. They're made up of fun, bright fragrances like bergamot, lemon, grapefruit, and ginger. Fresh scents are summery and great for an energising boost in the mornings and after the gym, although it's worth bearing in mind that they don't stick around as long as bold woody or floral tones.
Within every can of body spray is a powerful hierarchy of scents. With three tiers of various notes, the fragranced formulas can be made up of a multitude of blends. While it can seem fairly complicated at first, the logic behind it is pretty simple, and understanding these tiers will further help you pick the right scent.
The top notes of the fragrance are what you notice immediately after spraying, so they're the ones that create the first impression. They're the lightest scent, and while we smell them first before any other tier, they do fade away relatively quickly.
That said, depending on the body spray, the top note can last between 15 minutes and two hours, so it's still worth making sure the top note is one that appeals to you.
Usually, the top notes will consist of light, citrusy scents such as bergamot, lemon and orange, along with fruits and herbs. The most common scents from fruits and herbs used in men's body spray are ginger, berries, and grapefruit, and basil and geranium.
After you've had a whiff of the top note and it's started to slowly fade away, you'll start to get hints of the middle notes. These notes take up 40-80% of the final fragrance and they can strongly influence the top and the base notes, making them extremely important in the make-up of a scent.
It's always best to have a well-rounded, pleasant smell that isn't too sweet or spicy as it's these scents that are going to be clinging to you for up to five hours of the day.
We recommend sticking to notes of floral tones from daffodils, jasmine, and lavender combined with herbs such as cardamom, coriander, and pepper.
Base notes are the hidden gems that shine through after the top and middle notes have evaporated. Making up 10-25% of the fragrance, they often blend with the middle notes to enhance the scent of the spray.
They can last for up to 10 hours, slowly fading away at the end of the day and leaving the last few traces of fragrance behind, so pick wisely if you want your body spray to carry you into the night. In the base notes, you can often find cedarwood, musk, amber, sandalwood, and patchouli.
Now that you're all caught up on the basics of scent identification, you probably have a good idea of what you're looking for. Let's take a look at the top ten most popular products that we are sure you'll love.
£2.10
Scent | Floral |
---|---|
Top Notes | Geranium, vanilla |
Middle Notes | Not specified |
Bottom Notes | Not specified |
Volume | 150 ml |
£28.00
Scent | Floral |
---|---|
Top Notes | Grapefruit, orange |
Middle Notes | Pelargonium, pepper |
Bottom Notes | Cedarwood, patchouli |
Volume | 150 ml |
£23.00
Scent | Fresh |
---|---|
Top Notes | Grapefruit peel, marine accord |
Middle Notes | Bay leaves |
Bottom Notes | Guaiac wood, patchouli, amber gris accord |
Volume | 150 ml |
£17.95
Scent | Woodsy |
---|---|
Top Notes | Mandarin, sweet orange, quince, rhubarb |
Middle Notes | Black pepper, ginger, jasmine, almond |
Bottom Notes | Cedarwood, amber, vanilla, musk |
Volume | 150 ml |
£24.20
Scent | Floral |
---|---|
Top Notes | Pepper, bergamot |
Middle Notes | Geranium, lavender, sichuan pepper, elemi, pink pepper, vetiver, patchouli |
Bottom Notes | Cedarwood, labdanum, ambroxan |
Volume | 150 ml |
£3.00
Scent | Fresh |
---|---|
Top Notes | Green apple, bergamot, mandarin, coriander |
Middle Notes | Jasmine, cedar leaf, muguet |
Bottom Notes | Precious woods, musk, amber |
Volume | 150 ml |
£2.95
Scent | Woody |
---|---|
Top Notes | Bergamot, mandarin |
Middle Notes | Cardamom, pepper, coriander |
Bottom Notes | Amber, musk, sandalwood |
Volume | 200 ml |
£4.50
Scent | Woody |
---|---|
Top Notes | Bergamot, pink pepper |
Middle Notes | Lavender, geranium |
Bottom Notes | Tobacco, rich cedarwood |
Volume | 150 ml |
£17.95
Scent | Floral |
---|---|
Top Notes | Ginger, maninka fruit |
Middle Notes | Lavender |
Bottom Notes | Black leather |
Volume | 150 ml |
£1.80
Scent | Fresh |
---|---|
Top Notes | Mint, grapefruit, lavender, yuzu, bergamot, kiwi, mandarin orange, anise |
Middle Notes | Geranium, sandalwood, patchouli |
Bottom Notes | Pepper, ambergris, musk, vanilla and tonka bean. |
Volume | 150 ml |
Image | 1 ![]() adidas | 2 ![]() Hugo Boss | 3 ![]() Ted Baker | 4 ![]() Superdry | 5 ![]() RockFace | 6 ![]() Dior | 7 ![]() Lacoste | 8 ![]() Paco Rabanne | 9 ![]() HERMÈS | 10 ![]() Lynx |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Ice Dive Deo Body Spray for Men | Boss The Scent Deodorant Spray | Body Spray Graphite Black | Sport RE:charge Body Spray | Active Body Spray | Sauvage Deodorant Spray | L'Homme Deodorant Spray | Invictus Deodorant Spray | Terre d'Hermès Deodorant Spray | Africa Fresh Body Spray |
Features | A Friendly Favourite That Costs Next to Nothing | A Grown-Up Mid-Range Designer Option | Rich, Spicy, and Slightly Flowery | A Strong-Smelling Spray Offering Great Value for Money | A Refreshing Choice for Lovers of the Outdoors | A Fancy Spray for Special Occasions | A Classic Sporty Scent From a Leading Brand | A Revitalising Morning Boost | Divine and Earthy Citrus With a Designer Label | A Basic Yet Popular Scent Loved by Teenage Guys |
Price | £1.80 | £17.95 | £4.50 | £2.95 | £3.00 | £24.20 | £17.95 | £23.00 | £28.00 | £2.10 |
Scent | Fresh | Floral | Woody | Woody | Fresh | Floral | Woodsy | Fresh | Floral | Floral |
Top Notes | Mint, grapefruit, lavender, yuzu, bergamot, kiwi, mandarin orange, anise | Ginger, maninka fruit | Bergamot, pink pepper | Bergamot, mandarin | Green apple, bergamot, mandarin, coriander | Pepper, bergamot | Mandarin, sweet orange, quince, rhubarb | Grapefruit peel, marine accord | Grapefruit, orange | Geranium, vanilla |
Middle Notes | Geranium, sandalwood, patchouli | Lavender | Lavender, geranium | Cardamom, pepper, coriander | Jasmine, cedar leaf, muguet | Geranium, lavender, sichuan pepper, elemi, pink pepper, vetiver, patchouli | Black pepper, ginger, jasmine, almond | Bay leaves | Pelargonium, pepper | Not specified |
Bottom Notes | Pepper, ambergris, musk, vanilla and tonka bean. | Black leather | Tobacco, rich cedarwood | Amber, musk, sandalwood | Precious woods, musk, amber | Cedarwood, labdanum, ambroxan | Cedarwood, amber, vanilla, musk | Guaiac wood, patchouli, amber gris accord | Cedarwood, patchouli | Not specified |
Volume | 150 ml | 150 ml | 150 ml | 200 ml | 150 ml | 150 ml | 150 ml | 150 ml | 150 ml | 150 ml |
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A body spray is a great addition to any bathroom cabinet or wash bag, but for many guys, it's not the only fragrance in their arsenal. Check out our related articles to find antiperspirants, perfumes for special occasions and more, several of which include options in the same range as some of our body spray recommendations.
Body sprays are the decision-maker on people's initial perception of you, and we all know first impressions are the most important! That means that you should really think about which scents match your personality and preferences. Once you've found the right one, you'll feel like a new man.
Author: Annie Speight
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