Choosing a perfume according to your age is one (of the many) ways of finding a fragrance in the extensive world of perfumery. This is not to say that all 30 year olds fit under the same umbrella, but for many, it is an assured movement away from the trials of adolescence, experimentation, and early independence, fresh to the adult world.
One’s thirties is a time of sensibility. Trends and fads have diminished in importance, and so does the need to be forthright. Now is the time to know thyself; to find confidence in oneself, however oneself might be. A virtuous and dutiful life – which is to say, one with responsibilities – demands a fragrance that reflects this, or even one that instils steadiness and confidence. A young family, a career, ambitions, experience – a bit of everything – this is the time of progression, where long-term goals are realised.
At 30, is it time for a signature scent? Only if that suits your style. We believe that a concentrated and curated fragrant wardrobe should reflect the many dimensions of your taste, building a sense of self that is many-yet-unified. In the same way you’d wear a beloved pair of jeans on a day off, a collared shirt to the office, and a favourite scarf on the coldest days of winter, our scented choices reflect a plentiful life excellently lived, filled with healthy variety.
Here are our picks of fragrances for men in their thirties.
Quiet Intensity: Incense Extreme (Tauer Perfumes)
Incense is prominent in numerous spicy and dry compositions, lending incredible atmosphere and texture to a fragrance. When it takes the fore, incense gravitates towards a mature sensation. In Incense Extreme, an exquisite extract of frankincense works itself through the dry and woody body of this scent. It is impactful yet tender and weightless, crisp and pure like a still night in the desert. It is extreme only in its softness, rounded out with the freshness of coriander seed, petitgrain, orris, and ambergris.
Incense Extreme is a fragrance of quality, with ingredients that speak for themselves and demand appreciation. It is staid, both calm and calming, relying on nothing but its own brilliance.
Subtle Grace: Exit The King (Etat Libre d’Orange)
Exit The King waves a revolutionary banner in an olfactory language. It is the scent of a magnificent new world, a burst of fresh air that makes us forget the powers that be. The future is a subtle one, and Exit The King pleats old and new together, borrowing a traditional chypre form whilst refreshing the body of the scent. Familiar and retro notes of oakmoss, patchouli, sandalwood, and ambergris are washed in a soapy accord of rose, pepper, lily of the valley, and aldehydes - producing a precise fragrance that is emphatically dry yet clean. It makes this list because it takes a traditional idea and modernises it - retaining bits of its shape whilst working it into a new mould entirely.
Refined and Polished: Vetiverissimo (FZOTIC)
Vetiver, the ever-metamorphic ingredient that adapts to suit any age, assumes a clean and expressly natural feeling in Vetiverissimo, which makes it perfect for adult audiences. Here it is unfalteringly suave, tessellating sweet, woody, smoky, floral, earthy, vegetal, and citric profiles. Vetiverissimo is polished so that it shimmers. It is without cheap thrill, and instead works its central vetiver note proficiently, celebrating the glories of this wonderful ingredient.
Exuberant and Charming: Pardon (Nasomatto)
Look beyond the shock factor of works like Black Afgano or Stercus and you’ll arrive at Pardon, which offers exuberance in good taste and form. It engulfs in warm spices such as cinnamon and anise, the darkest chocolate shaded with coumarinic warmth, and then rests on sturdy patchouli, oud, and sandalwood notes. Pardon is developed and complete, its contrasts form a unified whole without extraneous remainder. It is an ambery dream. In mysteriousness, it is charming. It rewards the wearer with a long and atmospheric drydown that arrests and beguiles - it is the perfect extension of a personality.
Self-Assured and Confident: Je Suis Un Homme (Etat Libre d’Orange)
If your thirties is the time for confidence, is there not a more confident declaration than Je Suis Un Homme (I am a Man)? As tongue-in-cheek as ever, Etat Libre d’Orange assembles some of the most obvious tropes of masculinity, imagining what Napoleon himself would have sprayed on before battle, ready to launch the offensive ... and perhaps for a boost in confidence? The result is a medley of lemon, orange, and bergamot, lemon myrtle, clove, cognac, birch and ambergris notes. Its citric and herbal top issues a slight medicine feel, which builds addiction, and is redolent of cologne. This trails into a warmer leathery feeling. It is modern day armour.