We have all been there, birthdays, Christmases, anniversaries, men are notoriously difficult to buy presents for. We have also all resorted to getting aftershave as a part of the present as that is something they will at least use. But how to choose the right mens aftershave considering there are so many available on the market? It is hard enough to choose your own perfume, right?!

Here are a couple of things that will hopefully help you and guide you in the right direction. Firstly, know your man. Have a rummage through his current scents when he’s not looking. Pretend to tidy up and have a smell, get an idea of what type of scent he normally goes for, is it something fresh and light, something masculine or something spicy and mysterious. In a simple terms, does it smell like he just come out of a shower or rather like a sweaty gym? Or the local take-away..

It is more difficult to choose aftershaves for someone you do not live with. You cannot exactly go through your uncle’s stuff on the next random visit... In this case, know what they are like as a person and get some ideas from their other halves as to what they like in terms of smells. Do your research into what is new on the market and what it is like, and also, take your time deciding. The staff at any perfume shop will be more than happy to advise you on the topic of mens aftershave. At the end of the day, that is what they are there for...

Try dropping some hints. Go out of town and try some sneaky phishing questions while shopping, like: "What do you think of this?" or "This smells nice, do you think so?" Or listen out for hints and winks. The easiest way of course is to get them to write you a list of the tried and tested safe favourites but what is the fun in that? You will be safest doing this if the person you are buying for really detests surprises and they are never happy unless they have vetted all their presents beforehand.

Mens aftershave is a subject we could be talking about almost as much as ladies fragrances. And remember, it is always worth taking risks once you have done your legwork!