CH Men Eau de Toilette

Few men's fragrances from the late two thousands have aged as well as Carolina Herrera CH Men Eau de Toilette, and it is still the most quietly competent thing the house sells to men.

The opening is bitter and green. Grapefruit gives a sharp rindy citrus, and violet leaf follows immediately with its crushed, cool, faintly metallic greenness, a material that smells of stems and cucumber skin rather than of flowers. Saffron is the heart and the reason the fragrance has lasted: it is leathery, dry and slightly medicinal, with a hay like warmth that reads expensive, and cyclamen lightens it with something watery and clean. The base is smooth and unhurried, cashmeran giving a warm, dry, faintly resinous softness and leather a polished hide quality that never turns animal.

Six materials from 2009, arranged with a confidence that explains the longevity of the thing. Nothing in it is fashionable and nothing in it is dated either.

At eau de toilette strength expect five or six hours, with moderate projection that pulls in close after the first hour. Three sprays is the right dose, and it behaves well in company. It is aimed at men from their late twenties upwards, it is comfortable in an office and at a dinner alike, and it works across the year with a slight preference for autumn. If you want one bottle that will not embarrass you in any situation, this is a strong candidate.

A fashion house in New York, established by a designer born in Venezuela whose first collection was shown in 1981. Fragrance arrived in 1988 under a licence held by Puig in Spain, and Puig bought the clothing business in 1995.