Article updated: April 26, 2023
When it comes to choosing the best smelling body spray for men it really all comes down to personal preference.
Scent is, after all, highly subjective.
Something that smells great to one person might smell absolutely terrible to another.
That’s one of the reasons why purchasing body sprays or cologne online can be so difficult. As consumers we have to rely entirely on other people’s opinion or description of a scent.
And while this does present somewhat of a risk, I’ve come to find that it can also be very helpful.
One of the huge advantages of shopping for body spray online is having access to literally thousands of user reviews.
And even though scent is very subjective, it’s always reassuring to see a men’s body spray get a lot of positive reviews from not only other men, but also women as well.
So after spending weeks testing out various products and reading literally thousands of user reviews, I’ve come up with the following list of best smelling body sprays for men.
Each one of the following sprays not only gets the Trouserdog seal of approval, but each one is backed by hundreds of positive reviews from consumers just like you and me.
I figure that many noses can’t be wrong, right?
So without further ado, here’s my list of best smelling body sprays for men. Enjoy.
The Lineup:
- Jack Black – All-Over Body Spray
- Jack Black – Black Reserve Body Spray
- Calvin Klein – Euphoria Body Spray
- Tommy Bahama – Set Sail Martinique
- Nautica – Blue Sail Body Spray
- Kenneth Cole – Reaction Body Spray
- Calvin Klein Eternity – Aqua Body Spray
- Kenneth Cole – Black Body Spray
- Bath & Body Works – Bourbon Body Spray
- Axe – Dark Temptation Body Spray
Best Smelling Body Sprays for Men Reviewed
Jack Black – All-Over Body Spray
If you’re familiar with Jack Black’s line of grooming products then you know they offer some really premium quality stuff. While their products aren’t exactly known for being cheap, they are however known for their extremely high quality and excellent performance. One of my favorite offerings from Jack Black is their All-Over Body Spray for men.
This crisp smelling body spray is perfect for everyday use and contains notes of: Amber, musk, oakmoss, sandalwood, jasmine, lily of the valley, fern, orange flower, bergamot, lime leaf, mint leaf, and rosemary.
It smells incredibly fresh, clean, light, and downright masculine as hell. It’s perfectly suited for all-day wear and is a huge step up from those cheap smelling body sprays that leave you smelling like high school.
Bottom line: Jack Black All-Over Body Spray is a fresh, clean, refreshing, and unique smelling body spray that will absolutely help you stand out from the crowd. Two thumbs up.
Jack Black – Black Reserve Body Spray
Another offering from Jack Black that has earned a top spot on this list is their Black Reserve body spray for men. This bold and rugged smelling body spray is distinctly different from Jack Black All-Over Body Spray (top pick) due to it’s scent profile that is heavy on wood, earth, and musk notes.
While I personally consider this scent perfect for a night out, I think many men will opt to use it as an every day scent due to the fact it smells so damn good.
The full scent profile contains notes of: Cedarwood, leather, sandalwood, patchouli, coriander, fir balsam, sage, cardamom, bergamot, lavender, and mandarin.
It’s a very complex scent that smells bold, rich, warm, rugged, and masculine, but also contains subtle citrus and floral top notes that help soften and balance out the aroma.
Bottom line: Black Reserve body spray for men smells bold, rugged, and distinct. Its unique scent is truly one-of-a-kind and absolutely stands out in a sea of uninspiring, grocery store bought body sprays for men.
Calvin Klein – Euphoria Body Spray
If you’re looking for a body spray that oozes sex appeal, you might want to check out Euphoria body spray for men by Calvin Klein. This masculine smelling body spray is perfectly suited for evening wear, or pretty much whenever you want to attract members of the opposite sex.
Euphoria is a bold, complex scent that contains notes of ginger, pepper, basil, cedar, suede, amber, and patchouli. I would describe it as smelling very warm, spicy, musky, fresh, and unmistakably masculine.
While I personally consider this scent ideal for a date or evening out, it’s commonly used by many men as an everyday body spray due to the fact that it’s fragrant but not too overpowering.
Bottom line: Euphoria body spray for men smells excellent and is well received by both men and women. It’s perfectly suited for a night out but can be used for all day wear due to the fact that it’s not too strong or overbearing.
Tommy Bahama – S.S. Martinique
Commonly known for their casual clothing line for men, Tommy Bahama also offers some excellent smelling body sprays for men that are inspired by the sea.
Their S.S. Martinique body spray is tropically inspired and it features a clean, fresh fragrance that contains notes of bergamot, citrus, pepper, lavender, and musk. Not only does it smell very fresh and masculine, but it’s also suitable for pretty much any occasion.
One of the things that I like most about the Tommy Bahama line of body sprays is that they kind of fly under the radar. More mainstream body sprays like AXE, Old Spice, and BOD Man are very common. Which is why I like having a unique, “signature” scent like Tommy Bahama in my arsenal that really stands out from the crowd.
Bottom line: Tommy Bahama S.S. Martinique is a very fresh and clean smelling body spray with a heavy emphasis on citrus and musk notes. It’s great for everyday wear and is perfect for men looking for a unique signature scent.
Nautica – Blue Sail Body Spray
You don’t actually have to be a man of the sea to smell like one. Nautica is an American fashion and lifestyle brand that takes inspiration from the sea. And just like their clothing line, Nautica body sprays for men elicit thoughts of the ocean, ships, and, dare I say, adventure.
Blue Sail is one of Nautica’s most popular selling body sprays (they have about 4 or 5) and it features an incredibly clean, fresh scent that contains notes of green leaves, apple, orange zest, bergamot, blue cyprus, and sandalwood.
As you can tell by the description, this scent is intended to smell fresh, clean, and light. And for all intents and purposes — it does just that. It’s perfectly suited for all-day wear, and makes for an excellent spring or summer scent.
Bottom line: If you enjoy light, clean smelling body sprays — you simply can’t go wrong with Nautica Blue Sail. The citrusy fresh scent of Blue Sail is perfectly suited for everyday wear, and is ideal for pretty much any occasion.
Kenneth Cole – Reaction Body Spray
If you’re looking for a body spray that smells like it was designed for a man and not a teenage boy, you might want to check out Reaction by Kenneth Cole.
This fresh and energetic smelling body spray for men features a complex blend of fragrance notes that are designed to smell intensely masculine, bold, and incredibly sexy. Just how the ladies like it. The scent profile includes notes of mandarin, grapefruit, green apple, lily of the valley, melon, patchouli, musk, and sandalwood.
The unique scent can be described as smelling very fresh, citrusy, woody, and slightly earthy. In my opinion it makes for an excellent everyday body spray, and is definitely worthy of adding to any collection.
Bottom line: Kenneth Cole Reaction is perfectly suited for gentlemen who enjoy fresh, citrusy scents, that contain earthy and woody notes.
Calvin Klein Eternity – Aqua Body Spray
If you are in search of the best smelling body spray for men, Eternity Aqua by Calvin Klein is certainly worthy of a sniff. Originally launched in 2010 as a cologne, Eternity Aqua for men has quickly become one of the most popular men’s fragrances available on the market.
This body spray contains the same great scent as the cologne, but it’s designed to be light, fresh, and easy to wear. The fragrance notes include: cucumber, citrus, lotus, green leaves, Sichuan pepper, mirabelle plum, lavender, cedar, sandalwood, guaiac wood, patchouli, and musk.
The scent is very complex and requires a few focused sniffs to appreciate everything it has to offer. It can be described as smelling light, fresh, clean, woody, citrusy, and slightly spicy. It’s perfect for casual every day wear, but certainly would not be out of place in any formal setting or date night.
Bottom line: Calvin Klein Eternity Aqua is ideal for gentlemen who enjoy light, fresh, citrusy and woody scents. The inclusion of Sichuan pepper adds a touch of spiciness that is not only unique, but also gives the scent a bit of edge.
Kenneth Cole – Black Body Spray
If there’s one word I would use to describe the scent of Kenneth Cole Black body spray, it’s manly. Originally launched in 2003, Kenneth Cole Black is full of fragrance notes that are bold, rugged, and unmistakably masculine.
The full scent profile includes notes of: ginger, mandarin orange, basil, water mint, nutmeg, incense, cedar, lotus, wood, amber, musk, violet leaf, and suede.
While the scent is a bit complex, it’s the ginger, mint, and wood notes that are the most prominent at first whiff. As the scent wears throughout the day the musk and suede notes become more apparent. In my opinion the scent is perfect for everyday wear, but is really ideal for an evening out or date night.
Bottom line: If you’re looking for a very masculine smelling body spray that his heavy on woody and mint notes, Kenneth Cole Black is the body spray for you. The scent is perfect for special occasions, but isn’t too strong or overpowering to be used as an everyday fragrance either. It’s very versatile.
Bath & Body Works – Bourbon Body Spray
What better way to make an impression than to smell like a raging alcoholic all day? While the smell of this body spray for men is inspired by bourbon, don’t worry, the scent is much more complex and it won’t leave you smelling like you just finished a 3 day bender.
While Bath & Body Works offers quite a few great smelling body sprays for men, their Bourbon body spray just so happens to be my favorite. It features a bold, rugged fragrance that contains notes of white pepper, dark amber, vanilla, and oak. The scent is very warm, spicy, woody, and undeniably masculine as all hell.
In my opinion it’s perfectly suited for nights out, but also makes for an excellent all-day body spray for gentlemen who simply enjoy smelling bold, masculine, and refined.
Bottom line: Bath & Body Works Bourbon body spray elicits thoughts of smooth whiskey, a well worn leather chair, and a delicious earthy cigar. If you’re a man that actually enjoys smelling like a man, this might be the perfect body spray for you.
Axe – Dark Temptation Body Spray
When most men think of body spray, Axe without a doubt comes to mind. Whether you like it, love it, or hate it, there is no denying that Axe is largely responsible for popularizing body sprays thanks to their highly effective ad campaigns during the late 90’s and early 2000’s.
While there are an absolute ton of Axe scents available on the market, one of their most popular scents amongst men (and ladies), is their Dark Temptation scent.
As the name suggests, this fragrance is intended to arouse the ladies and even “stimulate the clothing-removal section of the female brain.” It features a unique blend of fragrance notes that includes: Pear, coriander, ginger, cherry, basil, sage, red pepper, amber, patchouli, vanilla, and dark chocolate.
While I can’t personally attest to its “clothing-removal” effectiveness, I will say that it does smell fresh, bold, musky, slightly sweet and very masculine. And if women do begin spontaneously dropping their panties while in my presence, I will surely update this article.
Choosing the Right Body Spray for You
As we already established at the beginning of this article, choosing a body spray really all comes down to personal preference. But when it comes to making a buying decision, it’s important to approach the process with a few key variables in mind.
Scent
Perhaps the single most important factor when considering a body spray is the scent. After all, the primary reason for using body spray is to smell good, right?
Let’s take a look at some scent types that are most commonly found in men’s body spray so that you can make a more informed buying decision.
• Musky scents
These are the types of scents that are most commonly associated with men. The scent of a musky smelling body spray is unmistakably manly, and can usually be described as bold and rugged. Some common notes that can be categorized as musky include: Cinnamon, pepper, vetiver, and patchouli.
These body sprays tend to be a bit heavier and longer wearing, and therefore ideal for dates or nights out.
• Fresh/Clean scents
What guy doesn’t want to smell fresh and clean? A fresh or clean smelling body spray is perfect for every day use. They’re generally not strong or overbearing, but instead offer a nice subtle fragrance that make you smell like you just stepped out of the shower.
Fresh and clean body sprays for men usually contain citrusy notes and are perfect for work, school, or after gym wear.
• Floral/Plant scents
While you might think of a floral or plant smelling body spray as being feminine, that’s not always the case. In fact there are a ton of floral/plant scents used in men’s products that have grown quite the reputation for being masculine. This includes lavender, patchouli, bay leaf, juniper, mint, and countless varieties of woody scents.
Floral and plant scented body sprays are great for anytime wear.
Strength
When it comes to wearing body spray, the more you apply the stronger the scent will be. Makes sense, right?
That being said, it’s important to understand that some body sprays are going to be stronger than others based on the fragrance notes that it contains.
If your looking for a strong smelling body spray that is sure to get other people’s attention, consider a body spray that contains notes of musk, vanilla, pepper, vetiver, and wood.
If you’re intent is to simply smell fresh and clean in case anyone gets close, I recommend you stick with citrusy or floral smelling body sprays. These types of scents tend to be more subtle and are great for everyday use including school and work.
Price
One of the big advantages that body spray has over cologne is that body spray tends to be a hell of a lot cheaper. While many men’s colognes can cost as much as a few hundred dollars, most body sprays for men fall under the $30 mark with many costing less than $10.
So even if you are on a very tight budget, there are a ton of body sprays available on the market that are highly affordable.
How to Apply Body Spray for Men
While you don’t exactly have to be a genius to know how to use body spray, I do however have some tips that can help you get the most out of your body spray and also help you to use it more effectively.
One of the great things about body spray is that it can be used pretty much whenever you want throughout the day. Unlike cologne, most body sprays feature a very lightweight, subtle fragrance that isn’t too strong or overbearing.
This not only makes body spray perfect for daily use, but it also makes it much easier to apply without accidentally overdoing it.
Most men typically use body spray during their morning routine, but it’s also great for a midday freshen-up, or even on those days or nights when you simply don’t have time to shower.
When it comes to applying body spray, here is a few useful tips that every guy should keep in mind:
1. Don’t use it in a steamy bathroom
One of the most common mistakes men make when applying body spray is using it immediately after getting out of the shower. Humidity and steam can have a significant impact on the scent of body spray and greatly reduce its longevity on the skin.
If you intend to use your body spray after showering, it’s actually best to apply it when your skin is completely dry and the humidity from the shower has dissipated.
2. Don’t spray it on your clothes
While it may be tempting, you should resist the urge to apply body spray to your clothes. Not only can this lead to greasy stains on your clothing, but natural and synthetic fibers can distort the scent of your body spray and make it smell noticeably less appealing.
3. Target the hot spots
The hot spots or “pulse points” are areas where blood vessels are located very close to the surface of the skin. These areas tend to be where the skin is most warmest.
Since body spray is activated by heat and tends to project better when applied to the pulse points, you should be targeting at least a few of these spots during application.
Pulse points are anywhere on the body where you can feel a heartbeat, and include the wrists, neck, inside the elbow, below the ear, chest, and even behind the knees.
Ideally you should only target a couple of these areas and not all of them at once. Smelling like you bathed in body spray is not the goal here.
4. Don’t spray it in your hair
Body spray is meant for the body, duh. That means you really shouldn’t be applying it to your hair. One of the primary ingredients found in most body sprays is alcohol. Alcohol is not only very drying to the hair, but it can also make it very coarse and brittle which can eventually lead to breakage.
Thanks for checking out my list of best smelling body sprays for men. If you found this article helpful, be sure to check out my list of best smelling body washes for men. As always, if you have any comments or questions feel free to drop me a line in the comment section below.
Great list of body sprays for men. I am bored with the same old smelling body sprays that everybody wears from the grocery store so I appreciate some different variety for me to consider. I used Axe and Bod Men for years when I was younger but I feel like those scents are for juveniles now that I’m older I prefer to try something a bit more refined smelling body spray that is geared more towards mature men and not kids. I appreciate your detailed breakdowns of the scents and the descriptions it certainly makes picking a scent option a lot easier. Thanks