They might not be as obvious as runway trends, but there are subtle shifts in what’s hot in perfumery happening all the time. And if you’re the kind of guy who likes to keep his wardrobe up-to-date, why wouldn’t you freshen up your fragrance line-up too?

“Fragrance trends tend to be less noticeable compared to trends in clothes, purely because clothes are more noticeable than perfume – but there are trends,” says award-winning fragrance writer, author and blogger Persolaise. “Not only does the fragrance world look to the catwalk for inspiration, perfume designers are always trying to find new olfactory territories to explore,” he says.

“When one avenue of creativity – like the recent oud craze, for example – reaches a dead end, they try to seek out another and as with fashion […] many of them inadvertently end up going down the same road, which results in the appearance of a trend.”

So what trends are worth paying attention to right now? Here are five to get your nostrils into.

Spice Bombs

From cool cardamom and zingy ginger to piquant black pepper and red hot chilli, spices are everywhere this season, challenging the sweet gourmand and oud trends of the last few years for dominance in the male fragrance market.

“The spice facet in fragrance is roughly split into two – fresh spices like ginger, pink pepper and cardamom; and hot spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and saffron,” explains British perfumer Roja Dove.

Spicy scents are to your fragrance wardrobe what jumpers are to your clothing one – warm and comforting. But sexier too. To spice up your life this winter try Joop! Red King (chilli pepper); Aramis Voyager (ginger); Penhaligon’s Endymion Concentré (nutmeg); Jean Paul Gaultier’s Le Male Essence de Parfum (cardamom); and Commes des Garçons’ BLACKPEPPER (the clue’s in the name).