It’s easy to pick a fragrance from a big brand. You swing by the counter at your local department store and sample until you find something you like—and chances are, the big fragrance houses will have something you’ll love. (The best classic colognes earned that status for a reason.)
But there are lots of reasons to consider hunting for something a little more obscure. Whether they’re just starting out or are a century and a half young, the best small cologne brands and up-and-coming fragrance companies often offer scents that often outlast and overpower the the big brands. That’s because many are made with more potent, or sometimes rarer, ingredients. They're also in a better position to take risks with weirder scents. You're more likely to encounter something that you don't like when dealing with a smaller brand, but you're more likely to be pleasantly surprised, too. Best of all, the odds of you bumping into someone who wears the same scent are next to none. (It’s a little disheartening when two of your coworkers wear the same exact thing as you, right?)
Shopping for a small brand is a little more complicated, but it's worth it. Many of our favorites offer an inexpensive pack of tiny sample bottles. (One of our very favorites, Sigil, will even essentially refund the cost of the sample pack if you later commit to a full-size, which is very cool.) And if not, for a couple of bucks, you can get a tiny vial of what seems like any fragrance ever made from online scent depot Luckyscent.
If you're ready to stray from the beaten path with your next cologne, here are 11 of the best small cologne brands to consider.
KriglerThe first company on the list is also the most storied, dating all the way back to Berlin and Moscow, 1879. That’s when Albert Krigler made his first perfume, a love letter to his bride-to-be Charlotte. The scent built a foundation that would please the Berlin bourgeoisie pre-WWI, and his assortment would expand steadily.
My favorite of late is also their latest, Mont Suisse 67. It’s a crispy, fresh recollection of train excursions through the Alps. Yes, it’s $425 for 1.7 oz., And yes, you’re worth it.
Krigler
SnifSnif’s schtick is that they cut the puffery out of perfumery (that is, the markups, the highfalutin advertising...). They’ll have you smelling good without breaking the bank. They’ll even send you a sample pack of full-size bottles—you simply return the ones you don’t want to keep.
Of their three launch scents, I’m going to nudge you towards Ex on the Beach. It was a tossup between that and the musky-woody Way with Woods. But Ex on the Beach has a grounded, floral grip that feels so unique to me, that I found myself thinking about it days later, even. I feel like this company won’t be small for long, but they’re fresh out the gate now, so it’s not too early for you to claim “I found them first” status.
Snif
ColektSwedish newcomers Colekt brag that their assortment is vegan, and they smell that way, too. What I mean by that is they smell like plants: like you've crushed a particularly fragrant bunch of fresh leaves in your hands, or overturned a pile of brush on a rainy summer afternoon
The brand currently offers three scents, and my current favorite is Void. It's wild and wooly with a bright sense of citrus and herbs.
SSENSE
Shocks of LoveShocks of Love positions itself as an overall wellness company that works with aromatherapy. Along those lines, the company launched with an assortment of 6 “scent rituals”, which are fragrant, therapeutic scents, utilizing vaporized water molecules and fragrant essential oils. The result is akin to an eau fraiche given their lightness. (In 2021, they’ll expand into proper perfumes, as well.)
Of the scent rituals, I best love Dreamlover for its soothing combination of lavender, chamomile, and cucumber.
Shocks of Love
World of Chris CollinsChris Collins started out as a model, and a very successful one; you’ll know his face when you see it, probably from his many Polo campaigns. But then he parlayed that luxury-level experience into a career of his own: As a perfumer, with an assortment as traffic-stopping as his stony stare. Collins carries a trio of fragrance collections: The high-potency parfums of Dark Romance, the Renaissance signature-scent staples, and the ruby-red glowing Rubeus.
My pick is from Renaissance—the magnificent plum, cognac, and cedar blend that is Danse Sauvage.
World of Chris Collins
GallivantIt’s all in the name: Each of Gallivant’s scents takes on the persona of a city, to which each is a love letter. And just as it’s hard for a seasoned traveler to pick a favorite city, it’s equally difficult to choose the most superior scent in this lineup.
For me, it’s a three-way tie between the smooth-but-spicy Istanbul, the crisp-and-clean Brooklyn, as well as the woody-and-wasabi-tinged Tokyo. But I give the edge to Kings County, since it wears the most universal and perennial of this trio.
Lucky Scent
StrangeloveStrangelove CEO and founder Elizabeth Gaynes spent years in Rome, witnessing the quality and value of small-batch, artisan-made goods. She next worked closely with Bornean oud farmers and developed a particular inclination for agarwood’s fragrant powers. Soon her own venture surfaced: Strangelove centers the coveted, powerful, and sustainably-sourced oud in parfum and pure-perfume potencies (In other words, these are top-tier, gold-medal blends).
Of their five options, I’d first suggest fallintostars, a grounded but heavenly melange of Indian oud, rosewood, amber, and pink peppercorn.
Strangelove
Guy FoxIf you have a hard time relating to the fragrance industry—”why do I want to smell like the Mediterranean summertime seaside?”—then you might relate to the founders of Guy Fox. Their approach to perfumery is so SoCal, and each of their six blends is named after their friends. (I also love their candles. Pick PCH, a blend of pineapple, lavender, and musk.)
As for the best friend of their six… Mikul takes the cake for its snuggle-ability. Mikul smells (positively) of tobacco, with a strong undercurrent of grapefruit and basil. He seems chill!
Guy Fox
SigilSigil is all plants, all the time. It’s a true-to-the-word natural perfumery, everything derived from plant oils, tinctures, and absolutes, and thus it produces perfumes in a very old-school, pre-sciencey kind of way.
I think Anima Munda is the best banner scent of the batch, for its floral-smoky-woody balance, and which artfully aims to embody the unconscious spirit that connects all living things.
Sigil
HereticThe bad boy among the bunch is the 100% natural Heretic, which moonlights as a cheeky, sexually awakened trouble starter. By day, however, Heretic honors ancient scent-making traditions that utilize essential oils and plant-based recipes. (Here’s another company that makes exceptional candles.)
My favorite is Smudge, for its ingredients roster that sounds as suggestive as it smells… labdanum, styrax, sichuan, frankincense, and patchouli. Mmmmm. Call me sometime!
Heretic Parfum
Cultus ArtemCultus Artem is not just small as a company: They pride themselves in the small batches they make, so as to focus on quality, minimal time spent in storage, minimal waste, and artistic integrity in each formula. It’s haute perfumery, perfected, with a bottle as artisan as the liquid each contains.
From their roster, pick Ilex for its rapturous marriage of floral and smokey flavors.
Cutus Artem
Read MoreThe Best “Green” Fragrances Are a Walk in the ParkThese ten scents are the second best thing to forest bathing.
By Adam Hurly
