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5 Best Armani Cologne For Men In 2023

Looking for the best Armani cologne for men? Then you’ve definitely come to the right place. We’ve scoured the famous Italian fashion company’s catalog to find the best of the best among their 100+ fragrances, and deliver the results to you.

Though perhaps better known for his fashion offerings than his fragrances, Giorgio Armani’s wide variety of scent formulations is worthy of your attention. With a 40-year history of successful and sought after perfumes and colognes, you know that you’re getting a quality product when you buy Armani.

In this guide, we’ll be introducing you to our five favorite Armani colognes for men. Read along, and you’ll discover fascinating aromatic profiles for each scent, as well as suggestions for how to wear each one.

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5 Best Armani Cologne For Men In 2022

While the most popular Armani colognes continue to stand up well to scrutiny, the company also offers some little-known gems that are equally deserving of a place in your collection. We’ll give you a mix of both in the five colognes that follow.

Acqua Di Gio Pour Homme (Our Top Pick)

Debuted in 1996, Acqua Di Gio Pour Homme quickly gained status as not just the best cologne in Armani’s lineup, but the best Acqua Di Gio cologne of the series. It’s an incredibly popular cologne that has spawned dozens of imitators, and remains the best selling Armani cologne of all time.

Aromatic and aquatic, Acqua Di Gio Pour Homme opens with a burst of fresh citrus paired with jasmine and neroli flowers. The exceptionally complex heart smells distinctly of the open sea, perfumed with a wild bouquet of baking spices, stone fruits, white rose, and green herbs. To round everything out, musk plays a central role alongside cedar, patchouli, and amber to give longevity to Acqua Di Gio’s base.

Offering a moderate duration of 4 to 6 hours of wear time, as well as a moderate and inoffensive intensity, Acqua Di Gio Pour Homme is poised to become many a man’s favorite cologne for daily wear. If you’re new to cologne or new to Armani’s colognes, it should be the first fragrance you pick up for your collection.

Notes: 

  • Top notes of lime, lemon, bergamot, jasmine, mandarin orange, and neroli
  • Middle notes of seawater, jasmine, Calone, peach, freesia, cyclamen, hyacinth, violet, rosemary, coriander, nutmeg, rose, and mignonette
  • Base notes of white musk, cedar, oakmoss, patchouli, and amber

Best For: 

  • Everyday wear
  • Becoming your new standby cologne

Armani Code

With the breakout success of Acqua Di Gio, Armani Code can sometimes get lost in comparison. But is Armani Code a good cologne? Absolutely, as it was even awarded the Fragrance of the Year award in 2006.

An oriental spicy fragrance that opens with simple top notes of lemon and bergamot, Armani Code is made much more interesting by its heart notes of star anise, fresh and lively olive blossoms, and resinous guaiac wood. Don’t let this light introduction fool you though, because Armani Code’s base of leather and tobacco gives it excellent staying power.

Armani Code is a fairly long-lasting cologne, with only a moderate intensity. Given its rich heart notes and powerfully earthy base, we recommend saving it for wearing when the weather turns cold. For this reason, it’s an excellent cologne to wear around the holidays or give as a gift for Christmas.

Notes: 

  • Top notes of lemon and bergamot peels
  • Middle notes of star anise, olive blossom, and guaiac wood
  • Base notes of leather, tonka bean, and tobacco

Best For: 

  • Fall and winter wear
  • Nighttime wear

Emporio Armani

The most recent addition to Armani’s line of colognes, Emporio Armani is an oriental woody fragrance that combines the best qualities of many of the designer’s favorites into one bottle. It’s an exceptionally versatile cologne, and can easily be worn to almost any occasion.

Exotic Japanese yuzu peel sets the stage for Emporio Armani’s top notes, working alongside sage and green cardamom to elicit feelings of wonder and exploration from the first sniff. Freshly grated nutmeg joins rose petals and earthy orris root in the fragrance’s heart, where a base of tonka bean and musk provides grounding to the cologne’s more ethereal components.

With its moderate longevity and approachable intensity, Emporio Armani is ideally situated as a cologne for everyday wear. If you’ve been looking for a new daily cologne that’s not the same as many of the modern classics, we think it would be an excellent fit.

Notes: 

  • Top notes of yuzu, sage, and cardamom
  • Middle notes of nutmeg, rose, and orris root
  • Base notes of vetiver, sandalwood, tonka bean, and white musk

Best For: 

  • Everyday wear
  • Year-round wear
  • Wearing to work

Armani Code Profumo

Each of Armani’s “Profumo” colognes add stronger base notes to the original formulation, making for a more masculine and intense take on the originals. So it is with Armani Code Profumo, a strongly masculine cologne with heavy amber tones that’s perfect for wearing as soon as the weather turns cold.

Three types of green hold hands in Profumo’s introduction: Green cardamom, green apple, and unripe green orange peels. This gives way quickly to a heart of spicy nutmeg, floral-tinged lavender, and sweet orange blossom. Anchored by a foundation of earthy leather and resinous amber, Armani Code Profumo is a memorable cologne.

Exceptionally long lasting and possessing a powerful intensity, Armani Code Profumo ends up being a fantastic value for a special occasion cologne. It may be a little bit too strong for daily wear, but there’s no replacing its intensity of base notes when you’re going out on a date and looking to impress.

Notes: 

  • Top notes of cardamom, green apple, and green mandarin orange peel
  • Middle notes of nutmeg, lavender, and orange blossom
  • Base notes of tonka bean, amber, and leather

Best For: 

  • Date nights
  • Fall and winter wear

Acqua Di Gio Profumo

Debuted in 2015, Acqua Di Gio Profumo is a new take on a modern classic. It embodies the paradox of opposites in perfuming by being simultaneously airy and deep, elegant yet powerful. If you enjoy the original, you’ll almost certainly love the renewed vigor of its Profumo reformulation.

Notes of the open sea are lightly scented with bergamot peel in Acqua Di Gio Profumo’s top notes, while strongly herbal rosemary and sage are backed by subtle geranium in its heart. Throughout the entire scent, you’ll notice the smell of burning incense and unmistakable patchouli that make up the cologne’s generous base.

Acqua Di Gio Profumo is a very long-lasting cologne, with a moderate intensity that makes it friendly for everyday wear. If you’ve enjoyed the classic but want to switch things up, this is the perfect choice — and it may just become your new signature scent.

Notes: 

  • Top notes of seawater and bergamot peel
  • Middle notes of rosemary, sage, and geranium
  • Base notes of patchouli and incense

Best For: 

  • Switching up from the classic
  • Your new signature scent

Is Armani Cologne Good?

As with their fashion, all of Giorgio Armani’s colognes have a reputation for incredible craftsmanship. You’ll also notice that where some cologne brands fade quickly, Armani’s tend to stick around much longer — meaning that you get more hours of wear out of a single bottle, even if it’s a bit more expensive than another brand.

In the end, we think that the combination of quality ingredients, thoughtful formulations, and excellent staying power make Armani cologne a great choice for any man. If you’ve never had the pleasure, try their Acqua Di Gio Pour Homme to get a taste of what makes this brand so special.

What Does Armani Cologne Smell Like?

While the details of each Armani cologne are wonderfully different, many of their fragrances have one detail in common: A strongly aquatic or woody base that the other ingredients play around.

For the aquatic fragrances, you’ll notice a heavy presence of citrus and floral components to increase their freshness. In the case of woody fragrances, it’s much more common to find warm baking spices to accentuate the resinous qualities of whichever wood is showcased.

Between the two main styles, Armani colognes have every season and occasion covered. You can easily buy a bottle of both woody and aquatic styles of scents, and have a perfect cologne to wear any day of the year.

What Cologne Smells Like Armani Code?

As one of the latest additions to Armani’s line of colognes, Armani Code occupies a unique space in the fragrance world. Impeccably balanced between deep leathery notes and high floral tones, it’s a unique scent that almost occupies a category of its own. That said, here are a few colognes that have aspects in common with Armani Code:

Salvatore Ferragamo’s Acqua Essenziale Blu shares Armani Code’s top notes of citrus and base notes of tonka bean, but emphasizes different aspects of the composition with lavender, cedar, and patchouli.

Issey Miyake’s L’eau D’Issey Pour Homme Nuit is the closest in spirit to Armani Code that we’ve found, thanks to its abundant presence of citrus and leather. It has a smokier base tone that makes it deeper and longer lasting, though.

For a different take, consider Yves Saint Laurent’s Kouros — a leathery cologne that matches or exceeds Armani Code in complexity. Thanks to its excellent longevity, it’s a wonderful alternative to Armani Code for special occasions.

Brian has been fascinated with fragrances since his 8th birthday, when his Dad gifted him a bottle of Acqua di Gio. Since then, he has become a men's grooming & style aficionado who teaches men how to look sharp. Backed by personal experience, Brian's articles are known for his no-holds-barred style where he holds nothing back. You will get his real opinions on the latest men's grooming products and best practices where he reveals the best (and worst) style advice every man should know.