When it comes to men’s fragrance trends this summer, we expect the classic marine or citrus scents brought to life by commercials where the hottest man you’ve ever seen is sunbathing on a yacht in Capri. Or, the cult-classics like Bleu de Chanel and Armani’s Acqua di Gio (most men I know are creatures of habit). But according to TikTok data analyzed by AXE, the number-one most-searched fragrance note among men isn’t anything we expected.
Unexpected Men’s Fragrance Trends for Summer
According to AXE, men are actively searching for “summer scents” and “tropical colognes” on the app, with search volume up over 1,000 percent. The top ranking wasn’t dark and woody or citrus and refreshing, but rather “tropical blends,” which has been searched for 920,000 times so far this season. Coconut is specifically on the rise, as the search term ‘coconut fragrance for men’ has increased 45 percent in interest as of late.
Men are clearly seeking more fluidity in their scent choices, and the next finding that surprised us is a prime example. AXE analyzed both “scent categories” and “fragrance notes,” and in the latter analysis, the brand determined cherry is now the number-one most-searched fragrance note among men. Cherry?! We know this was a major trend among women all year—we even added a Best Cherry Fragrance category to our Beauty Awards this year—but didn’t expect men to be hooked, too. For those who want to experiment with cherry, AXE has a men’s body spray called Cherry Spritz ($8). If you prefer an EDP, Tom Ford’s Lost Cherry ($255) and our 2025 award-winning Fine’ry Not Another Cherry ($37) are great picks.
Unsurprisingly, the “sweet gourmand” category ranked last; however, it’s still experienced increased growth on TikTok with a 56.6 percent uptick in search volume. And in the “fragrance notes” ranking, leather took second place behind cherry, and vanilla came in third. Last on that list is chocolate, though it’s still seeing some growth with an increase in search volume of 44.6 percent.
