Scents can be incredibly evocative, a power I was reminded of during a trip to Australia not long ago. I lived in the Sydney suburb of Manly when I was a child (the irony is not lost on me), but I hadn’t visited the country for a few decades. The moment I arrived on Manly Bay beach as an adult, I felt an incredible surge of memory. It was not triggered, as might be expected, by the sight of the beach I once trotted on, but by the smell of the South Pacific Ocean mingling with the fragile, sun-beaten pines that surround the bay. It was powerful, surreal and not a little moving.

The same rush also hits me whenever I wear certain colognes. The original formulation of Polo Ralph Lauren, for example, reminds me of my father’s perfectly ordered sock drawer, where he hid his bottle from my prying teenage hands. Issey Miyake’s Eau d’Issey reminds me of my difficult college years, when I subsisted on a diet of Granny Smith apples and Campo Viejo (but I smelled good while doing it). The classic Terre d’Hermès by Hermès It reminds me of moving to London and getting a job at a magazine – the first moment I really felt like I was on my way to becoming a real adult in real life. It’s the latter, a fragrance that people have worn and loved for years, that we’re shining the spotlight on today, not only because it’s currently discounted by almost 50%, but because even at the price of full detail, it’s one of the best. perfumes with excellent value for money on the market.

Terre d’Hermès was created by master perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena in 2006. It was an almost instant success for the famous Parisian house, which until then had focused almost exclusively on women’s perfumes. To this day, its intense yet balanced blend of orange, pepper, cedar and vetiver remains decidedly modern, and its reliable masculine scent makes it a valuable addition to your arsenal. Moreover, it is massively on sale now – almost half off – making it an even more attractive choice if you’re looking for value.

When I picked up a bottle recently, it smelled as good as I remembered it – a cheerful earthy, citric scent, instantly making my nostrils tingle with the spiciness of hopeful youth. It’s sophisticated yet simple, timeless yet complex, and unlike so many other scents that defined my adolescence (or, uh, me), it ages incredibly well. It’s also much more affordable than most of its counterparts in the designer cologne space and, in my opinion, is the better option.