Cheap aftershave for men: 10 of the best for 2022

The cost of living is rising and some fundamental staples to contemporary life are not just creeping up in price, but jumping exponentially.

The importance of attaining great value for money and making every penny count builds with each passing day. Budget spreadsheets are being populated and surplus money is all round on a tighter leash.

Some people might not consider a quality fragrance to be a necessary expenditure in this economic climate, especially considering some of the eye-watering costs that designer brands charge. However, could an excellent fragrance at a lower price be considered a beneficial investment in these difficult circumstances?

Let's consider the scenarios where the right fragrance might be useful and/or important.

You're meeting your potential new employer, they've just entered the room and are standing in front of you. In that initial splinter of time, before you even have the chance to utter a greeting or shake their hand, impressions are being made.

These assumptions are heuristic, naturally ingrained calculations based on the observations returned by someone's sensory faculties. Be that the creases in your shirt, any disorderly windswept hair or the aroma that hits them as they reach your close proximity.

In another instance, you've arranged a dinner date with a potential romantic interest. You've pulled out all the stops! Hair styled to perfection accompanied with a clean cut throat razor shave - This is your first time meeting, you inspect one another from a short distance across the restaurant table as you greet and make friendly small talk.

"What do you do for a living? Do you have pets? What's your all-time favourite movie scene?" Are just some examples of the questions you ask each other out loud.

Whilst the friendly chit-chat is in full swing, there's a whole other internal dialogue you're both undertaking. You assess one another's suitability based on everything from choice of clothing, dental hygiene to the aroma you detect from the other's direction.

The right scent can truly complement an initial first impression, creating a pleasant experience on the nose and a positive association in the mind of your muse. On the contrary, the wrong smell could be detrimental and potentially even be a dealbreaker. You don't hear many 'How we met' stories that began with:

"Well, he really smelled like BO" or:

"His aftershave was so overpowering, I thought I was going to be sick"

The optimal fragrance can help to set you apart from other candidates, be that in the professional or dating arena. It can also help you tell a story about the person you want to convey yourself as. With a carefully selected scent, you can paint a thousand pictures without people needing to ever lay eyes on you, they just need the chance to smell you.

Despite the current economic drift, life goes on and your personal endeavours shouldn't take a back seat.

So, finding the right fragrance could still be considered a high priority, although value for money and affordability are also more important than ever. Here's our list of 10 cheap aftershave for men, they're not only budget-friendly but also high quality and sure to impress every time.

DS from CopyCat Fragrances: Dupe of Sauvage

When translated from French to English, Sauvage means wild, the type of nature-infused, rugged form of wild. With such a definition, Sauvage was always going to be an alpha aroma.

Sauvage is undoubtedly a world class men's fragrance and a staple of an abundant number of male fragrance wardrobes around the globe. However, given the current climate of the economic domain, if there's another option of equivalent excellence that doesn't take such a lofty financial toll, surely it's worth having.

Enter DS from CopyCat Fragrances, which smells indistinguishable from Sauvage, yet costs a fraction of its RRP.

If DS were a person, he'd be a daring, dashing and outspoken fellow, who's also in touch with his adventurous side. When not roaming in the wilderness, he's attending black tie events, out-charming every other man in the room. Whilst he has everything to flaunt, there's no ego as he speaks.

Ultimately the personification of this exceptional fragrance is a combination of courageous nomad and quintessential gentleman who squeezes the most out of life.

DS' notes include Vetiver which brings a facet of nature to the scent. Vetiver’s strong woody, earthy qualities evoke the feeling of freedom as the sun bears down on the verges of the expansive lands around you, they're just waiting for you to explore them. The Calabrian bergamot and vanilla collaborate to inject an exotic splash of vibrancy as tranquil lavender notes help to add the smooth element that promotes a suave, laid-back edge.

Pink pepper contributes its floral and woodsy characteristics to the overall scent helping along that stunning nature-inspired aroma to evolve into a sophisticated experience that is both rugged and simultaneously glamourous.

Best Dior Sauvage Dupe

Aroma di Jean from Milton Lloyd: Dupe of Acqua di Gio

Acqua di Gio is known as a classic summer-ready scent and a citrus lover's dream. The iconic summer fragrance features an arsenal of citrus fruit along with aromatic and sea notes.

These natural notes truly open up the post-spritz journey to being one that evokes the vibrancy of a Mediterranean breeze sat by the beach as you enjoy the scented air whilst wildflowers sway and songbirds sing around you.

If you fancy something like Acqua di Gio but for a vastly reduced price, Aroma di Jean could be a great choice. Cheap aftershaves can sometimes forgo quality, Aroma di Jean still smells fantastic and highly similar to Acqua di Gio. You will be happy to know that despite its comparable smell and parallel quality, it's only a small chunk of Acqua di Gio's cost.

Much like the Acqua di Gio scent, Acqua di Jean makes a citrus and aromatic grand entrance. The zesty lemon, sweet & sour smelling bergamot and delectable hint of watery melon are the top notes that kickstart this crisp, summer-friendly Eau de Toilette.

Violet and water flowers give the scent its fragrant heart and cedar, patchouli and musk provide a deep, brooding twist to this otherwise entirely perky aftershave.

What makes this even more appropriate for the current temperate weather is that this is an Eau de Toilette, sometimes abbreviated to EDT. This simply refers to the fragrance's concentration of oils, this being lighter than the Eau de Parfum (EDP) strength of Acqua di Gio.

A reduced volume of fragrance oils in a bottle means that in warmer temperatures your scent won't overwhelm those around you. This is because heat causes a perfume's molecules to disperse faster, so you will often find that the same fragrance will not only smell stronger in summer, but disappear quicker too.

Save yourself the money and invest in a cheap aftershave like Acqua di Jean. It has a lighter concentration, a great scent and is just like the original. In fact, you might find it smells even better knowing how little you had to pay for it!

Aroma Di Jean

Polo Red from Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren is known as a classy label, associated with style, sophistication and up-market products. When you envision their average clientele, you might see golfers and equestrians wearing branded clothing that's embroidered with the iconic outline of a horseback rider playing polo. It’s often cited as a good substitute for the far more expensive Bleu de Chanel, we’re not sure that Polo Red really holds up as a Bleu De Chanel Dupe, but we can see some of the similarities.

Whilst Ralph Lauren's products are not known for budget prices, occasionally you can find something that is of exceptional value from their ranges. So much so that it's worth paying a little over the average, that is the case in the instance of Polo Red.

Polo Red has rather extravagant origins as it was inspired by Ralph Lauren's classic car collection. The bottle emulates the bodywork in sports car red and the freshly buffed shine recreated with each gleam of the bottle's curves.

Polo Red smells much stronger and more enduring than its predecessor Ralph Lauren scent, Polo Sport. Polo Sport in fact had a somewhat cult status thanks to sharing its name with the clothing brand but had a lighter scent with less projection and longevity than Polo Red. As far as value goes, Polo Red runs rings around it and is safely the best value Ralph Lauren fragrance.

What does Polo Red smell like? Well add a spritz of it to your wrist and start your engines. Top notes of red grapefruit, lemon oil and cranberry give a sweet, zesty acceleration off the mark whilst red saffron gives a warm, earthy and spicy centre at the heart notes. Smooth, relaxed lavender means that you begin to drift and the herby sage sends you onto a chicane as the notes begin to take you down a more masculine route.

Following the meandering heart notes, mature smelling base notes come in last. Amber, redwood and coffee all combine to smell sensationally virile and long lasting with minimal product applied.

With the option of 125ml bottles, you could make this number one fragrance last for a long, long while.

This is a high quality scent that goes right to the end and wins every time.

Polo Red

Executive from CopyCat Fragrances: Dupe of Aventus

All hail Aventus, the king of men's fragrance. A smoky fruitbowl of delectable juicy sweet notes with smouldering accords of leather and woods. The soft, ripe fruits in this sumptuous delight will have admirers watering at the mouth. The deep, brooding notes of the darker notes beckon those around you to come closer.

Aventus is not only fragrance royalty, it's also a nose magnet. People are drawn into it, helpless to resist its stunning scent. Those who wear it are showered with compliments and can stop passers by in their tracks as they slow down to get a better smell.

Such a revered scent of this status and quality is considered a staple by so many men around the world. With this seemingly unlimited demand for Aventus, is it any wonder that the RRP will make you flinch a bit?

During the financial drudgery of the present moment, all the pennies matter...and that's a lot of pennies.

Executive has been created by CopyCat Fragrances and inspired by Aventus. It's an Eau de Parfum that uses almost identical ingredients to Aventus. So they're practically indistinguishable from one another. Even better, Executive only costs a fraction of what Aventus does.

Executive boasts succulent pineapple, blackcurrant and apple notes which create a harmonious medley, meaning those smelling you are treated to a bit of a sweet experience as they breathe it all in. Deep mysterious, earthy oak moss and ambergris notes provide the darker side to the scent.

Together these opposing accords intertwine to give an exotic, distinctive smell. This polarising collaboration of fruits and earthy notes mean that this scent is extremely versatile. It has notes that are appropriate for both day and night, casual and special occasions. So you will get so much use out of this functional scent as it's practical for every manner of event, time of year or time of day.

By choosing Executive you will get so many compliments as the deluxe quality of the fragrance oils that are included will impress everyone lucky enough to smell you. The versatility, longevity and stunning scent make this a great value aftershave.

You don't need to pay much to smell like a king.

Best Creed Aventus Dupe

Scandal pour Homme from Jean Paul Gaultier

This irresistible knockout is a top contender to be the new value champion of the men's fragrance world. A chivalrous warrior, Scandal toes the line that intersects flirtatious, elegant and virile. Personified, it's a gentleman in boxing gloves, an infallible fighter and lover whose celebrity status precedes him.

Jean Paul Gaultier has even illustrated the man that this scent portrays through Scandal's visual advertising and the illustrious bottle is decorated with a jewelled crown. Executive might have to watch out for its title as king of value men's fragrance!

Gourmand lovers everywhere will likely have been waiting for an entry like Scandal. Don't be surprised when you give it a spritz and receive endless compliments about your ‘good enough to eat’ smell.

Sage and mandarin orange accords give a citrusy and aromatic face-off as they weave together creating an irresistibly interesting scent. The heavyweight base notes of tonka bean and vetiver take the scent to deep, sensual depths lasting long into all events that you may be attending.

Overall the fragrance packs quite the projective punch and is noticeable from first spray to hours and hours following.

Thanks to its long endurance and heavy sillage, many believe that this fragrance's ideal wearability errs on the side of nighttime and colder temperatures. Whereas the rest swear that it smells so good they just want to wear it all the time.

With that level of esteem, Scandal is good enough to be a signature scent for any man who wants to convey sensuality, gentility and star-studded charisma all in one glorious spritz.

The gloves are off, Scandal means business.

Scandal By JPG

London from Paul Smith

Paul Smith is a bit of a buzz word in the fragrance industry, an iconic British brand with a prestigious line of high quality, well-loved scents. Their addition, London is perhaps the best value fragrance of the bunch much to the local city-dweller's delight.

With a spray to the pulse points, London's scent brings to mind the bustle and urban energy of its cityscape namesake. Despite the dark angular glass of its bottle that almost infer this is a nighttime only fragrance, once you smell it you find out otherwise.

London's refreshing vibes mean that it's also perfect for summer days sat out on the slickest rooftop bars and is also ideal to accompany you on meals at the trendiest restaurants.

This exceptional, low cost Eau de Parfum has all the plush glamour of a Mayfair townhouse and won't be breaking any budgets any time soon.

After you spritz, London's top notes glide in with such effortless grace, a refreshing dream team of mint, violet, orange and green mandarin. They're followed by an eclectic medley of heart notes that are jasmine, lavender and vetiver, they combine to provide an aromatic presence with a modest sillage.

Intriguing, smooth base notes of sandalwood, amber and tonka bean contribute to the metropolitan feeling of this sleek scent. They ensure that it's a long lasting, enjoyable experience which will impress all of your fellow diners in the swanky restaurant or stay with you despite the breeze on the up-market top floor bar.

Thanks to this everlasting endurance and London's overall exceptional smell and high standard of ingredients, it's a fantastic buy for those who are looking for a real bargain. You will fit right in adorning it for whatever occasion of finery that you attend. You will most likely feel great comfort in the discreet knowledge that you didn't pay London prices for the London smell.

So if you're looking for a city-inspired scent that won't leave you with a morsel of buyer's regret because of a skyscraper-high cost, London is your go-to.

Paul Smith London

Cool Water from Davidoff

Ask many people about the first men's summer fragrance that springs to their mind, there's a good chance they could say Cool Water. As we still have a fair bit of the summer to go, a great quality summer-optimised scent for a bargain cost can't be a bad thing.

To get a feeling of what Cool Water smells like, imagine standing on the precipice of a beautiful, rugged coastline as tremendous waves leap from the sea below sending layers of salted air in your direction. This seemingly invisible salt tastes good on your tongue and the marine accords from the great blue before you are luxuriously refreshing to inhale.

You take in the supreme serenity, there's not a cloud in sight and the sea birds that dot the cerulean sky soar against this endless azure. The warm breeze that ripples your clothing feels good countered with the cold spray of the ocean.

The breeze transports traces of woods and earthy notes to your nose, they smell divinely raw and remind you how free you feel right at that moment as you stand with the ungoverned nature.

Top notes of seawater, lavender, mint, rosemary, coriander and calone give the iconic, refreshing introduction to this ocean inspired scent. Middle notes of geranium, jasmine, sandalwood and neroli give an aromatic middle and base notes of musk, cedar, ambergris, oakmoss and tobacco make up a rather masculine team of ingredients towards the end.

A revitalising, renewing experience to smell with that virile twist, Cool Water is the perfect men's fragrance that's not only satisfying to smell but also at a brilliant cost. It's an Eau de Toilette which means that it contains less concentration of fragrance oils than the likes of an Eau de Parfum. Its EDT strength also means that it will be lighter and better suited to hot temperatures than some EDPs.

Cool Water is a bargain cost scent that gives you that just out of the shower level of refreshment, smells great especially during summer and is the right mix of masculinity with light and stimulating. Even better value, you can find the oversized 125ml bottles for sale, also for a very affordable price.

Overall, this cult classic fragrance still holds strong as an all time favourite of many men for the good reason that it smells great and provides unbeatable value. Just what you need from an aftershave when budgets are a bit tighter.

Davidoff Cool Water For Men

Bad Boy from Fleur No.735: Dupe of Bad Boy le Parfum

Bad Boy can be described as deep, mysterious and striking in its performance. A sensual gourmand delight that features a warm spicy side and isn't for the faint hearted. Its bold projection and practically edible scent mean that lovers of powerful fragrance adore the smell of it on them and/or their lovers.

In a bid to save pennies where possible, an alternative similar smelling fragrance at a lower cost could be a fantastic choice. Perfect, Fleur No.735 have a low cost 50ml EDP which has been inspired by Bad Boy le Parfum.

They smell highly comparable to one another with Bad Boy boasting a mix of black and white pepper which helps to heat things up a bit post-spritz. Bergamot gives a sweet zest to the mix and sage adds a dash of aromatic romanticism.

Tonka bean and cocoa add a deep chocolatey layer of enjoyment which can be savoured and devoured by all who smell you. The amberwood and cedar provide the nutty earthy depths that give Bad Boy the same mysterious allure as Bad Boy le Parfum.

This inspired scent gives a lot of big, bold projection and sticks around for a good while. It's the ideal scent if you need something that portrays a rebellious enigmatic man who is confident and knows what he wants.

This is a delectable, high powered aroma which could make a great signature scent, ideal for the times when a man needs a little boost and can just let Bad Boy do the talking.

Find It on amazon

Only the Brave Tattoo from Diesel

To characterise Only the Brave Tattoo, it is outspoken, it is strong and willful. With a stunning bottle design that is shaped like a fist, it was always going to have a slightly edgy facet to its smell. Yet, despite all this toughness, Only the Brave Tattoo also has a sweet side.

Add a spritz of this to your pulse points, you take in the initial fruity notes of apple and mandarin orange. That first inhale will be succulent with the finest smell, so good you almost wish you could take a bite.

Next up, you detect the heart notes of earthy, herbaceous sage and spicy pepper. They provide a warming kick to this loud and proud aroma and combine with the fruit accords to give a tantalising sweet and spicy collaboration.

Woodsy notes, benzoin, patchouli and tobacco base notes take the spirited fragrance to new levels bolstering that bold personality.

A couple of spritzes of Only the Brave Tattoo will last and last through the day and night and its projection means that it won't go unnoticed. With this strength and endurance, it could be a great option for those looking for a big statement from their fragrance that doesn't overpower and is optimal value for money.

Only the Brave is a top value scent with boundless personality that will make a big impact on all who smell it.

Only the brave

Boss Bottled Night from Hugo Boss

Hugo Boss is an alpha brand of the fragrance world, when it comes to aftershaves you don't get much bigger. The quality ingredients and addictive aromas that Hugo Boss create are revered and most men's fragrance collections will include at least one of their products within their circulation.

Boss Bottled Night is most likely going to be one of those scents that is considered a favourite by many men out there. Another popular scent is Boss Bottled Unlimited, although this doesn't smell quite as good as Night or have the same longevity or projection so can't be considered the same value.

The top notes in Boss Bottled Night are lavender and birch, they create a sweet, sharp aromatic introduction. The sole heart note of violet makes an entrance and whilst being the only heart note, that doesn't stop it from doing a stunning job all of its own accord. Violet's complex soft palatableness provides a superb middle to this deluxe fragrance.

The base notes of musk and woodsy notes complete this rather simple yet elegant men's scent that is perfect for all nighttime occasions. The fragrance oils included are luxurious with fantastic projection and long endurance.

The cost of Boss Bottled Night won't entirely deplete your balance and is highly affordable for the value that you get from it. You won't need to spritz much on yourself to get the full enjoyment of its aroma and with it being so long lasting, you truly get your bang for your buck.

If you're looking for a low cost, designer fragrance option that offers optimal value and will get you endless compliments, you might want to invest and treat yourself to a bottle of Boss Bottled Night.

Boss bottled on amazon

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