In the UK, "Hugo Boss aftershave" almost always means the men's fragrance, the bottle you spray on before you leave the house, not the splash for after shaving. If you want the difference spelled out, what is aftershave covers it. This page is about the bottles.
The hard part is the number of them. Hugo Boss has close to a hundred men's fragrances on our site, and many are flankers that share a name and smell quite different. Boss Bottled alone comes as an Eau de Toilette, an Eau de Parfum, a Parfum, an Elixir, an Infinite, an Absolu and more. Buy the wrong one and you get a different fragrance.
Everything below is drawn from the verdicts on our own perfume pages, compiled from wearer reports, and each pick names its concentration so you know exactly which bottle it covers. The picks were chosen by the size of the community behind each one, then grouped by who they suit.
Start with Boss Bottled
Bottled is the name most people mean when they ask for Boss. The original is the 1998 Eau de Toilette, built on apple and cinnamon. Each later version keeps the name and changes the character. The Eau de Parfum is spicier and richer. Infinite is a crisp woody aromatic. The Parfum and the Elixir turn dark and resinous, and Absolu goes to leather.
Boss Bottled - Eau de Toilette
Apple, plum and bergamot over cinnamon, mahogany and carnation, drying down to vanilla, sandalwood, cedar and vetiver. Composed in 1998 by Annick Menardo and Christian Dussoulier.
It has more than 13,000 wearer votes, the largest community of any Hugo Boss men's fragrance we hold. The verdict describes a timeless crowd-pleaser: crisp apple, sweet cinnamon, warm woods, easy to wear all year. If you want one answer to "which Hugo Boss aftershave", this is it.
Boss Bottled - Eau de Parfum
Apple, pepper and bergamot over cinnamon, cardamom and chestnut, on musk and vetiver. Honorine Blanc, 2020.
A spicier, richer version of the classic that keeps the apple. It reads as office-ready but has the depth for dates and crisp evenings. Choose it over the Toilette if you want more warmth.
Boss Bottled Infinite - Eau de Parfum
Apple, cinnamon, sage and mandarin over lavender, rosemary and patchouli, on sandalwood and olive tree. Menardo again, in 2019.
A crisp woody aromatic with a juicy apple twist. Projection is subtle, so this is a quiet everyday signature rather than something people notice across a room.
For cold nights and evenings
Boss Bottled - Parfum
Frankincense and mandarin over fig and orris, on cedar and leather. 2022, by Suzy Le Helley and Menardo.
Richer and darker than the versions before it, a woody leather for colder months. About half of the wearer votes on longevity call it long-lasting or better. It is the Bottled to buy when you want the darkest, richest version.
Boss Bottled Elixir - Parfum
Frankincense and cardamom over patchouli and vetiver, on labdanum and cedar. Le Helley and Menardo, 2023.
Dense, resinous, smoky and spicy, with incense and labdanum doing most of the work. Our verdict calls it a commanding, grown-up choice for cold nights and formal occasions. It is a long way from the apple of the original.
Bottled Absolu - Eau de Parfum
Incense and leather over patchouli and myrrh, on cedar and davana. Le Helley and Menardo, 2024.
It has the highest rating of any Boss Bottled we hold, 4.46 across more than 5,000 votes, and a polarising verdict: people adore the dark leathery mystique or recoil from the intensity. Most wearer votes put its projection at strong. Sniff before you buy.
The newest in the line, Boss Bottled Beyond (2025, Eau de Parfum), is a fresher spicy leather built round ginger, and the verdict calls it distinctive and versatile.
Boss Bottled Night - Eau de Toilette
Lavender and birch over violet, on musk. Olivier Gillotin and Claude Dir, 2010.
A quiet woody-violet with a powdery edge, aimed at the man who prefers subtle intrigue to loud projection. Its notes share nothing with the apple-cinnamon original, so do not buy it expecting one.
Boss The Scent - Eau de Toilette
Ginger, mandarin and bergamot over lavender and maninka fruit, on leather. Bruno Jovanovic and Pascal Gaurin, 2015.
Fresh ginger spice, exotic fruit and smooth leather. Understated and easy to like. The Scent is its own family, with its own flankers below.
Boss The Scent For Him Magnetic - Eau de Parfum
Maninka over bran and vanilla. Delphine Lebeau, 2022.
A gourmand with powdery vanilla and that maninka fruit, sensual and made for cooler nights.
Boss The Scent Elixir For Him - Parfum
Lavender and sandalwood, with pimiento up top. Nelly Hachem-Ruiz, 2024.
The Scent pushed into deeper territory: spicy-sweet, with a rich leather and maninka core. It carries a rating of 4.36 and most wearer votes call it long-lasting. One for making an impression.
If you see Boss The Scent Private Accord, an Eau de Toilette from 2018, the verdict calls it a gorgeous chocolate and coffee gourmand, but it is discontinued.
Fresh, easy and warm weather
Boss Bottled Unlimited - Eau de Toilette
Mint, grapefruit and violet leaf over pineapple, cinnamon and rose, on musk, labdanum and sandalwood. Alexandra Kosinski, 2014.
Minty, green and juicy with a pineapple punch. A breezy crowd-pleaser for warm weather and everyday wear, with moderate staying power.
Hugo Man - Eau de Toilette
Apple, lavender and pine. A green, crisp, minty-apple fragrance with subtle woods and a herbal lift, energetic without being overpowering. The verdict puts it as an everyday scent for the young or young at heart.
The older Hugo is a proper 90s time capsule, divisive for its synthetic edge and widely loved for its fresh green apple charm. Both are Eau de Toilette.
Boss Selection - Eau de Toilette
Pink pepper, grapefruit, mandarin and bergamot over star anise, cedar and geranium, on musk, vetiver and patchouli. Olivier Pescheux, 2006.
Crisp, understated, a professional's fragrance. It will not make a statement and does not try to.
Not for everyone
Several well-known names are polarising or short-lived on skin, and the verdicts say so.
Boss Bottled Intense, Eau de Parfum. The 2015 version, not to be confused with the newer Absolu. Some wearers call it a nostalgic apple pie, others a synthetic and bubblegum-sweet mess. Hard to find, and not one to buy unsniffed.
Hugo Dark Blue, Eau de Toilette. Love-it-or-hate-it. Fans like the fresh, spicy-sweet "cola" character and the nostalgia, while others find it generic, synthetic or even nauseating.
Boss Bottled Tonic, Eau de Toilette. Bracing citrus and ginger, safe and office-friendly, but fleeting and linear. More than half of the wearer votes on longevity are weak or very weak.
Boss Number One, Eau de Toilette. An 80s powerhouse with a controversial honey opening. Bold and masculine if you get past it, and not a crowd-pleaser.
Three more come with a performance warning. Hugo Energise has fans for its zesty punch but may leave you short-changed on staying power. Hugo XY smells pleasant and does not stay around. Boss Orange for Men is a warm, inoffensive fruity vanilla, with some performance hiccups and a "generic" tag from critics.
Which to buy
For a first Hugo Boss aftershave, start with the Bottled Eau de Toilette, or the Eau de Parfum if you want spice. For winter and evenings, the Bottled Parfum and the Elixir are the strongest picks, with The Scent Elixir if you prefer a sweeter leather. For hot days, Unlimited. Buying for a partner? The women's range has its own flankers, and best Hugo Boss perfumes for women sorts through them.
