Top Hugo Boss Fragrances Every Man Should Own

Based out of Germany, Hugo Boss is a lifestyle and clothing company that focuses on many products under the two core brands of Boss and Hugo. In addition to clothes, Hugo Boss also makes great smelling perfumes and colognes. We review several of their scents to come up with our list of the best Hugo Boss fragrances for men.

Hugo Boss offers affordable designer colognes that will not break the bank. These are great for beginners as well as experienced fragrance collectors.

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Our Hugo Boss Cologne Top Picks

• Best Overall Hugo Boss Cologne: Hugo Man EdT
• Best Smelling Hugo Boss Cologne: Boss The Scent Absolute
• Best Hugo Boss Cologne For Dates: Boss Bottled Night

Best Overall Hugo Boss Cologne

1. Hugo Man Eau de Toilette

Best for: Everyday Wear
Concentration: Eau de Toilette
Fragrance Family: Aromatic
Pros: Versatile, Pulls Compliments, Affordable
Cons: Smells similar to other colognes; generic scent

Hugo was released in 1995, and it comes in a distinctive bottle shaped like a water flask. I like this because it is an easy fragrance to wear, and it is inoffensive. This is truly a classic scent that I can spray on almost any time.

I rank this number one because it is easy to wear, affordable, and it is hard not to like. If you are an avid collector, this may not be unique to you, but you should have a bottle because it is one of their iconic scents.

The opening notes of apple, mint, and rum make this a great warm weather fragrance.  The herbal middle contains notes and accords of lavender, sage, geranium, and spice.

This is anchored by scents of woods, vetiver, and leather.

Hugo is pleasing and inoffensive, and it is good for any season, but probably best for the spring and summer warmer months.  It also has good sillage.

If you are looking for a fresh, green, and clean scented cologne, you should give Hugo a try.  The best thing about this fragrance is it is so easy to wear, and the freshness of the scent is incredible.

Best Smelling Hugo Boss Cologne

2. Hugo Boss The Scent Absolute

Best for: Formal or Professional
Concentration: Eau de Parfum
Fragrance Family: Amber Spicy
Pros: Unique Scent, Pulls Compliments, Great for Fall
Cons: Not Versatile, not great for hot weather

Boss The Scent Absolute is the best flanker for The Scent Collection in my opinion. The star of the show is the Maninka fruit scent. It smells warm and sweet at the same time. Even though it has some sweetness, it is a very mature smelling cologne.

It leaves a great smelling scent trail of warmth and soft spice. I love to smell this in the air.

If you were not a fan of the regular Boss The Scent, try this one out. It is much different. Very classy, mature and refined smelling fragrance.

This is my personal favorite cologne from Hugo Boss. I made it #2 on the list because it is not going to be for everyone due to the unique Maninka fruit scent that is dusty.

Best Hugo Boss Cologne For Dates

3. Boss Bottled Night by Hugo

Best for: Dates, Evening Wear
Concentration: Eau de Toilette
Fragrance Family: Woody Aromatic
Pros: Sexy, Affordable, and Masculine
Cons: Average longevity and projection

Boss Bottled Night by Hugo Boss was released in 2010 with the idea of seduction and masculinity that is appropriate for evening wear.  This is a great fragrance from Hugo Boss for night time wear.  You can read our review of Hugo Boss Night here.

The scent opens with lavender and birch, followed by notes of violet, woods, and musk.  This has good sillage, and men or women around you should enjoy this fragrance.

Featuring advertising by celebrities like Ryan Reynolds (the badass from Deadpool) and Chris Hemsworth (the badass from Thor,) you can sort of get the idea of the picture they are trying to paint.  Will you turn into these men by wearing a cologne from Hugo Boss like this?  No, but you will smell great, and the women around you will appreciate that you smell nice.

While it is great for a date scent, it is still suitable for the office.

Best Of The Rest

5. Boss Bottled Intense by Hugo Boss

Best for: Everyday Wear
Concentration: Eau de Parfum
Fragrance Family: Woody Spicy
Pros: Great for Fall and Winter, Casual or Formal
Cons: Not great for hot weather, a bit synthetic

Boss Bottled Intense, a refined interpretation of the original from 1998, is an intense, warm, and woody scent that is great for fall and winter.  It’s opening of apples and spices is perfect for that type of cooler weather.

Top notes are apple and orange blossom, followed by notes of clove and cinnamon.  Those notes are anchored by sandalwood, cedar, vetiver, and vanilla.  Because of those note, some even refer to this as a gourmand fragrance.

Compared to the regular Boss Bottled, it is a bit heavier, darker, and spicier.  If you are looking for that, then this is the best choice of the two.

The Eau De Parfum is only slightly more than the Eau De Toilette, and brings out the best notes a little more, so it is worth the few extra dollars.

This is a great mainstream fragrance, and is a solid choice for those exploring fragrances.  It is a very pleasing scent, and not risky. I like this better than the regular Boss Bottled EdT.

4. Boss Bottled Eau de Toilette

Best for: Everyday Wear
Concentration: Eau de Toilette
Fragrance Family: Woody Spicy
Pros: Extremely Versatile, Easy Blind Buy
Cons: Not the strongest scent

Boss Bottled also known as Boss No. 6 is a perfect everyday fragrance.  It is a versatile scent that is appropriate for all age ranges. If you have no experience with fragrances and wanted a Hugo Boss, I would recommend this one.

It is a mainstream fragrance that is non-offensive to most, and works in most settings which is why it is such a big seller.  This fragrance is commonly compared to a vanilla apple pie scent.  That is probably a simple description of it, but it is a little more complex than that.

It begins with fresh fruity top notes of citrus and apple, followed by soft notes of geranium then clove, with base notes of sandalwood and vetiver.  The fragrance accords of this cologne are fantastic.

If you are new to colognes and fragrances, this is a great choice because of its versatility and smooth, inoffensive scent.

While, you likely won’t turn heads or impress perfume aficionados, you will smell nice in almost any setting.  This is a great and best smelling fragrance from their collection.

6. Hugo Energise by Hugo Boss

Best for: Everyday Wear
Concentration: Eau de Toilette
Fragrance Family: Woody Aromatic
Pros: Fresh and Sporty, Affordable
Cons: Not unique, no wow factor

Hugo Energise is a woody aromatic that is very vibrant and fresh. I like to wear this when I want a pick me up, or when I go to the gym. It is light and refreshing, and it will not bother people around me.

With notes of mandarin, mint, nutmeg, leather, and vanilla, this fragrance is best for men of all age ranges, and it is good for everyday use.  The fragrance accords mix well here, and the freshness of this scent is great.  It is a very refreshing scent.

It is more appropriate for casual wear, and if you like citrus and spicy colognes, you may like this fragrance.

If you are looking for a citrus, spicy, sporty, and fresh cologne that you can wear everyday, and you want to smell pleasant in casual settings or at work, Hugo Energise is a solid choice.

7. Boss No. 1 by Hugo Boss

Best for: Everyday Wear
Concentration: Eau de Toilette
Fragrance Family: Aromatic Fougere
Pros: Classic Scent, Pulls Compliments, Affordable
Cons: Smells similar to other colognes, poor projection

Boss No. 1 was the first fragrance launched by Hugo Boss, and it was released in 1985.  This Hugo Boss cologne is what started everything for their line of fragrances and perfumes.

This is an aromatic cologne, and it is fresh, spicy, and earthy.  It starts off with bright citrus notes, and then it dries down to warm notes of honey and tobacco.  For men looking for a tobacco scented cologne from Hugo Boss, then this is a good choice.

This is a very classy and sensual scent, and it works great as a scent to wear to the office.

The thoughts of Wall Street and Success come into mind with this fragrance.

If you are looking for an 80’s style scent that smells of success, you should give Boss No. 1 a try.

8. Boss Bottled Parfum

Best for: A Night Out, Formal
Concentration: Parfum
Fragrance Family: Leather
Pros: Masculine, Rugged, Strong scent
Cons: Fig note is not for everyone

One of their most recent releases, Boss Bottled Parfum is a leather forward fragrance. Overall, I smell woods, spices over leather. The fig is well mixed in with the other notes. Personally, I love the scent of fig in fragrances, but it is not for everyone which is why it is lower on our list.

If you are looking for a more rugged and masculine scent from Hugo Boss, then the Parfum is a solid choice.

History Of Hugo Boss Cologne

The Hugo Boss brand was founded in Germany as a fashion and lifestyle house.  Based in Metzingen, they offer colognes for men and perfumes for women.

The first Hugo Boss fragrance was launched in 1985, named ‘BOSS Number One’. This masculine scent was designed to match the brand’s premium fashion line, with a warm, aromatic, and spicy profile. It helped to establish the brand in the fragrance market and was well received.

In 1993, the company launched ‘Hugo Woman’ and ‘Hugo Man’, targeting a younger, urban demographic that the brand had not previously tapped into. This move proved to be a great success. The ‘Hugo Man’ in particular, with its crisp green apple top note and bold packaging design, became iconic.

In 1998, ‘BOSS Bottled’ was released, a fragrance that would become a flagship for the brand. This masculine scent, with its warm and woody undertones, has been described as the embodiment of the contemporary man. It has been reinterpreted and re-released in many versions, such as ‘BOSS Bottled Night’, ‘BOSS Bottled Infinite’, and ‘BOSS Bottled Tonic’.

In 2000, Hugo Boss released ‘BOSS Woman’, a counterpart to its men’s line, which was designed to cater to a modern, fashion-forward female audience. Like its male counterparts, it was well-received and has since been released in various editions.

The 2000s and 2010s saw the release of various Hugo Boss fragrance lines, including the ‘Hugo XX/XY’ series, the ‘Boss Orange’ series, the ‘Boss The Scent’ series, and the ‘Boss Ma Vie’ and ‘Boss Nuit’ series for women. Each line has its own distinct identity, often associated with a particular lifestyle or personality type.

FAQ’s

references: Fragrantica, Hugo Boss website