In my opinion a lot of the aftershaves that are sold are pretty nasty and all smell very similar. They tend to remind me of those cheap body sprays teenage boys douse themselves with under the impression that the stronger they smell the more girls we like them. So here is rule number 1 – people shouldn’t be able to smell your aftershave until they are close to you. If they can smell you coming thats BAD. The scents I tend to go for are those like Geo F Trumpers shaving creams and aftershaves in particular Ajaccio Violets Cologne (which is a lot more masculine than the name suggests) and West Indian Limes which very fresh and unlike anything you’ll find in your average department store. I also quite like Penhaligons Blenheim Bouquet which they’ve been making since 1902. All these fragrances tend to be quite light and fresh but the main reason I like them is they all remind me of my fathers old fashioned gentlemans barbers shop with the full on wet shave with hot towels and a straight razor.
At the moment during the day I tend to wear Jo Malone Amber and Lavender and in the evening I combine the Amber and Lavender with Jo Malone Pomegrante Noir. Unfortunately Jo Malone is at the err… fancy end of the market but if you want to be continuously complemented by random women in the street on how nice you smell then they do work pretty well.