When people talk about the best designer fragrance houses, Armani has to be part of the conversation. I still put Dior above them overall, and Chanel is probably more refined, but Armani has done something very few designer houses have done. They have created three completely different men's fragrance lines that became huge on their own. Acqua di Giò. Armani Code. Stronger With You. That alone tells you Armani knows what they are doing. ACQUA DI GIÒ You really can't talk about Armani fragrances without starting here. The original Acqua di Giò is one of the most important men's designer fragrances ever made. Do I think it smells exciting today? No. But that's partly because we have smelled that DNA, and fragrances influenced by that DNA, for almost 30 years. There is a difference between dated and familiar. Acqua di Giò became familiar because everybody copied what worked. Where Armani did a good job was taking that original DNA and continuing to modernize it instead of just killing it off. Profondo gave it a deeper aquatic feel. Parfum made it darker, smoother, and more mature. And now Armani has pushed the line even further with Elixir. For me, Acqua di Giò Parfum is probably the best overall version today. You still know exactly what family you're wearing, but it doesn't smell like you're wearing the original ADG from the 1990s. Profondo is another one I like, especially if you still want that fresh aquatic style. ARMANI CODE I actually think Code gets overlooked sometimes. People talk nonstop about ADG and Stronger With You, but Code might be the most grown-up line Armani makes on the designer side. Code is darker. Cleaner dressed-up fragrance. Dinner fragrance. Date-night fragrance. Suit or sport coat fragrance. It doesn't need to scream across the room. Code Parfum is probably my favorite from this line. Smooth, masculine, polished, and easy to wear. This is where Armani shows that they can still make a designer fragrance that feels mature without smelling old.

Last night I went to see Roger Daltrey in concert, and for the evening I went with Amouage Beach Hut Man. This ended up being a perfect concert fragrance. Beach Hut Man opens with that sharp green mint, ivy and herbal freshness, but it is not a light summer freshie. As it develops, the woods, vetiver, patchouli and that slightly smoky Amouage character start coming through and give it some real backbone. What I like about Beach Hut Man is that it smells masculine, confident and a little rugged without trying too hard. It has freshness, but there is enough darkness underneath it to keep it interesting. For an evening rock concert, that combination just worked. And performance was exactly what I wanted. It projected enough that I could smell it around me throughout the evening without feeling like I was wearing something obnoxiously sweet or overpowering in a crowd. Roger Daltrey still brought that unmistakable rock-and-roll presence, and Beach Hut Man felt like the right fragrance to go along with it — old-school masculine attitude with enough refinement to still feel modern. Sometimes the fragrance really does become part of the memory of the night. Amouage Beach Hut Man. Excellent choice for this one.