Stuck on which gift to give your favorite guy for Christmas? You can’t go wrong with one of the best cologne gift sets. Whether he’s got a go-to scent or considers himself a cologne collector and connoisseur, gifting a cologne gift set for Christmas is a great way to help your guy keep his scent in check. Because, let’s be honest, he doesn’t want to spend his coin to replenish his preferred scent or try out a new fragrance himself. He’s leaving that all on you.
When looking for the best cologne gift sets for your number one, please note what he’s either consistently buying himself or what his nose seems to gear towards most frequently. If he’s a collector, read his current bottle labels and see if you can find any consistency among the bottles. Maybe you notice more woodsy, masculine scents in his collection. Perhaps you’ll find a slew of more citrus-forward and fresh fragrances among his troupe. Just get to snooping for your own knowledge.
Additionally, note that as much as this gift is about him, it’s not all about him. Think about his current scent: do you love it? Can you not stand it? Did friends and family keep their distance from him even before social distancing was a thing? If that’s the case, use your own guidance and scent preferences when shopping around for a stellar cologne gift set. There’s a good chance he has no idea what he’s doing. Every dude could use a little bit of help sometimes.
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Wherever your in-house bottle research takes you, we’ve got several cologne gift set options from which we’re sure your man will love. From OG choices to newer subscription brands to solid fragrance sets, here are the 14 best cologne gift sets, which serve as some of the best Christmas ideas for 2022.
1. BVLGARI Man In Black Eau de Parfum Gift Set
The BVLGARI Man In Black gift set is for the kind of guy that takes pride in his sex appeal. It’s quite the modern yet masculine scent that exudes power, timelessness and total sensuality. Man In Black evokes a heated composition for a balanced yet manly scent, including aromas of leather, amber, spices and woods. With a rum-like, spice-centric opening (think tuberose, iris absolut and leather), this set will keep your guy feeling fresh and sultry after every spritz.
2. Jo Malone London Cologne Intense Collection
Jo Malone London is renowned for creating world-class fragrances, and this set of the brand’s top five opulent scents is just that. The Cologne Intense collection consists of luxury mashups such as Cypress & Grapevine, Myrrh & Tonka, and Velvet Rose & Oud, arriving in 0.3 oz bottles.
3. Dior Sauvage Fragrance Set
Dior’s fresh yet warming Sauvage allows you to unleash your inner curiosities without driving into the middle of a desert to find it. Crafted from a musky Sri Lankan sandalwood blend, fruity and zesty Reggio di Calabria mandarin and bergamot, and smoky vanilla absolute from Papua New Guinea. This does encapsulate the meaning of a warm yet rich scent and lucky for you, this set comes in a nightstand-friendly 3.4 ounce and includes after-shave balm and deodorant, too.
4. Maison Margiela ‘REPLICA’ Mini Coffret Set
Imagine a beautiful morning stroll on the beach along crystal blue waters or cozying up near an open fire during winter. This mini coffret set from Maison Margiela will help you relive moments of the past (or evoke memories to create in the future) with decadent fragrances such as Beach Walk, Jazz Club, Lazy Sunday Morning, By the Fireplace and Bubble Bath.
5. Tom Ford Oud Wood Set
Everyone knows you can’t go wrong with Oud Wood. It’s an expensive ingredient that goes a long way in this earthy-woody scent from Tom Ford. This limited edition set features the 1.7 oz Oud Wood Eau de Parfum and a 0.34 oz travel spray to accompany your guy for the next baecation. Keynotes include oud wood, sandalwood, Chinese pepper.
6. Cartier Men’s Discovery Set
Nothing is more timeless than Cartier. And your man will be forever that guy wearing the luxury brand’s finest fragrances. Packaged in its signature red box are three of its best olfactory creations. First being Déclaration Eau de Toilette — a masculine fragrance led by fresh, woody notes of cedarwood and cardamom. Then there’s Pasha Edition Noire Eau de Toilette — an appealing scent that boasts a hint of citrus coupled with powerful layers of amber and cedarwood. Rounding out the gift set is Pasha Fragrance — an intense parfum that’s beyond addictive with notes of sandalwood and amber.
7. Chanel Bleu de Chanel Gift Set
As potentially one of the most memorable scents for men he’ll ever try, gift your guy this Bleu de Chanel gift set and have him see what it’s all about. This classic cologne is instantly recognizable by collectors and connoisseurs everywhere for its woody yet aquatically aromatic scent. Chanel makes this scent in a variety of intensities, but we love this one for the manly yet not-so-manly, overpowering yet not-so-overpowering smell. If that doesn’t make any sense to you, buy it. You’ll know exactly what we mean.
8. Le Labo Eau de Parfum Discovery Set
If the modern man were trapped inside three bottles of cologne, this would be the set. This essentially genderless discovery set will let your man test and try out six of Le Labo’s most desirable fragrances on the market that are easy to throw inside your toiletry bag or gym bag for easy on-the-go situations. Each scent is super unique, like the Another 13 fragrance blends mixing notes of ambroxan, green citrus and ambrette seed. The popular scent, Santal 33, layers notes of cardamom, iris and violet, before giving way to Australian sandalwood and cedarwood. Individually, these scents aren’t always the most affordable, so $65 to experience three is a great way to introduce your man to these modern must-haves.
9. Byredo La Grande Sélection
Do you ever find yourself torn on choosing just one daily scent? Your decision will inevitably become harder upon smelling this super-sized set of fragrances by Byredo. But that’s a good thing. With 24 x 2ml individual vials, the collection features cult classics and the latest additions, from Bal d’Afrique, Blanche, Mojave Ghost to De Los Santos and Eyes Closed. It’s something in here for your man (and most likely yourself).
10. Boy Smells Exploratory Set
Gender-neutral fragrance sets are becoming more and more popular as the years go on. Because who decided that fragrances have to be deemed either masculine or feminine? Seems silly. If you’re looking to gift one of the best cologne gift sets working to break the binary, check out the Boy Smells Exploratory Set. Each contains six tiny 1.5ml samples of the brand’s eclectic Marble Fruit, Rose Load, Flor de la Virgen, Tantrum, Violet Ends and Suede Pony scents to test out and discover a favorite. These fragrances are hard to nail on the head; you simply have to try them out to understand them.
11. Fulton & Roark Total Package
If a solid and subtle scent is more your speed, then you can’t go wrong with adding a balm cologne into your grooming kit because it’s much more gentle on the skin and is easy to re-apply during the day. We ranked Palmetto best overall out of the Fulton & Roark collection for its clean, coastal and masculine notes of Brazilian Pepper, Cedarwood, and Magnolia. We couldn’t resist including this as an excellent gift for yourself or someone special. The Total Package consists of a 0.2-ounce solid fragrance, a fine fragrance soap bar, aluminum-free deodorant and multipurpose oil. You can’t get more solid than that.
12. Dossier For Him Set
Inspired by the leading brands and popular scents in this list, Dossier has introduced a trio of fragrances that capture the essence of true masculinity and embrace the bolder things in life. Carrying notes of pepper, amberwood and ginger, these three are bound to gain our guys some serious attention. All fragrances are vegan and cruelty-free, qualities our SPY team looks out for in our products.
13. Mind Games Black Collection Extrait de Parfum Discovery Set
Make the move he never saw coming and gift him The Black Collection set from Mind Games. Housed in a luxurious chess-inspired coffret, are five 8 mL extrait de parfum atomizers that bring you to test your character, skill and intellect. Your guy will score big compliments wearing fragrances such as Rose Absolue Coffee, Vetiver Cedar and Pomegranate Suede.
14. Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male Gift Set
Le Male is one of those timeless scents that feel as warm and familiar as an old classic. In JPG style, the bottle is reminiscent of a Greek god’s torso that would be gawped at in a museum. Also, even though the brand has since released a variety of aromatic blends, Le Male is one you can never tire of and will find yourself returning to time and time again. This set includes a 6.8-ounce eau de toilette and a 0.34-ounce travel spray which contains notes of lavender, mint and vanilla.