I Own Hundreds of Scents. My Favorite Is Only Available for a Limited Time Now

Being a grooming writer and editor is a good gig: I get to test the newest and best grooming products as they enter the market. It’s hard to use everything to completion, so I often share with friends and family. But there's one category I horde to myself: the best fragrances for men .

My fragrance collection is hundreds deep at this point, and I revisit it routinely for any articles I write about seasonal colognes, signature scents, or fragrance wardrobes.

This lineup of best-smelling colognes is my pride and joy—and I'm frequently asked if I have a top favorite. Sure, it’s like choosing a favorite kid, but in this case I do know the answer and I'm not ashamed to admit it: Le Labo Cedrat 37 .

Le Labo Cedrat 37: Notes

It’s the ultimate head-turner—an alluring, sophisticated, fresh and spicy wunderkind. It has a citron-forward intro, a spicy ginger graduation, and a musky-ambergris dry down. If you're wondering if this is technically a cologne or perfume, it's an eau de parfum, meaning. It's a genderless scent that's a tad lighter than perfume in strength. Typically, eau de parfums contain between 15 and 20 percent pure perfume essence, with a staying power of up to eight hours.

Cedrat 37 is hard to come by if you’re not in Berlin, where it's sold as a regional item... That is, except for one month out of the year in the U.S.: September!

Cedrat 37 is one of 17 "City Exclusive" scents from the French fragrance brand, now owned by Estée Lauder. Basically, there are 17 cities around the world that have a dedicated scent, which can be purchased year-round from that destination’s own Le Labo store. Berlin is the proud host of Cedrat 37, and it's pure happenstance that I've lived there for six years. More than a few times, friends have asked me to tote a bottle of Cedrat 37 when visiting them. They had sniffed its pleasures on me at some time or place, and they knew I was the key to them owning it, since I could walk down the street to the Mitte Le Labo and buy a bottle for them.

The City Exclusive assortment is a brilliant play for Le Labo, getting constant foot traffic in each city so scent lovers can sample the juice while stocking up on mainstays. (You know Santal 33 by heart, or should. Also consider Thé Matcha 26 or Bergamote 22 .) Some people even collect the City Exclusives like Pokémon as each new one emerges. (Mexico City is the latest to get a dedicated scent—the verdantly spicy Coriandre 39 .)

But for one month out of each year—September—you can buy your favorite City Exclusive scent online, too, wherever you happen to be. So it’s time to stock up.

You could even splurge on the five-scent City Exclusive Discovery Set , which features a small amount of my beloved Cedrat 37, plus the new Coriandre 39 from Mexico City, and another favorite: Tokyo’s woody-musky Gaiac 10 .

More Scents: Le Labo City Exclusive Discovery Set

Catch 'em all if you like, and determine your own personal pick, but rest assured, you can't go wrong with the complexity, versatility, and just plain addictive quality of Cedrat 37. Your partner will almost certainly agree.

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