According to a recent global fragrance report commissioned by Heathrow Airport, the average man will own eight different fragrances over his lifetime. It’s a novel idea, isn’t it? That the scents you select are in many ways milestones, olfactory markers of moments past.

So here’s a man’s life in eight scents – from the one you should invest in with your first paycheck to the one to spray once you’re old and grey – taking in some brilliant special occasion scents along the way. After all, a man’s not so much as old as he feels but as old as he smells.

A Boy’s First Fragrance

“Lynx Africa remains the pre-eminent fragrance appetizer for millions of teenage boys,” says Lizze Ostrom, author of Perfume: A Century of Scents. And though the brand has had a bad rap over the years, it’s clearly been doing something right. “Lynx fragrances are big business, and developed by some of the most experienced perfumers in the industry,” she says.

They’re not exactly scents known for their subtlety though (which probably explains their success with callow youths) and with teenagers today altogether more sophisticated customers, James Craven, perfume archivist at Les Senteurs, suggests a young man pops his olfactory cherry on a tried-and-tested classic like Chanel’s Pour Monsieur instead. Fresh, woody, spicy, it’s masculine without being polarising or too challenging.

Since fragrance can interact and intensify on contact with skin oils, fresher, citrusy scents like L’Occitane’s Verbena and Clinique Happy For Men are likely to come across as less overpowering on oilier teenage skin too.

The ‘Fit In’ Fragrance

A man’s early twenties are the years when he’s most likely to do most of his late nights (not necessarily in the office) and a lot of that time will be spent with his mates, rather than getting dressed up for dinner dates.