Instead opt for light, clean-smelling citrus scents, barely-there fragrances and herbaceous colognes that will leave you smelling great but won’t endanger the lung function of your colleagues.

Wardrobe Essentials

Clean-smelling colognes like 4711 are ideal for the office, as is Paul Smith’s latest fragrance, Portrait For Men, which is light, sherbety and based around the refreshing smell of green tea.

Also perfect for work is Commes de Garcons’ “anti-perfume” Odeur 53, which uses a raft of synthetic ingredients to create a fantastically light, ozonic fragrance that’s slightly reminiscent of that smell you get from photocopiers (but in a good way, honest).

• 4711 Original Eau De Cologne
• Paul Smith Portrait For Men Eau De Toilette
• Odeur 53 Comme Des Garcons

Timeless classics

We all know there are certain items of clothing every man should own – a great white dress shirt, a slim pair of beige chinos and a pair of sturdy brogues immediately spring to mind. They deserve a place in a man’s wardrobe because they’re true classics that prove their versatility season after season.

Well, there are a few classic fragrances worth investing in too. They’re classics because they’ve managed to survive fads and fashions and have continued to sell year in, year out. Men keep buying them for one simple reason: they’re great.

Wardrobe Essentials

There might be a somewhat bewildering array of fragrances in the Hugo Boss portfolio but one, Boss Bottled, stands head and shoulders above the rest. Fresh and fruity to begin with but then warm, woody and sensual, more than sixty million bottles have been sold worldwide since its launch in 1998, and one is sold every eight seconds.

Aramis Classic is a sure-fire bet too. Around since the mid sixties, it’s intensely spicy, woody and leathery and like the authentic masculinity it embodies, never goes out of fashion.