In 1980, Paul Schrader's American Gigolo put Richard Gere, who had replaced John Travolta in the role, into Giorgio Armani's soft, unstructured tailoring, and the film is widely credited with putting Armani on the Hollywood map. The jackets did the talking. Nobody in that movie has to raise his voice, which was the whole idea of the clothes.

Sixteen years later Armani put the same attitude in a bottle. Acqua di Giò arrived in 1996, made by Alberto Morillas and two colleagues, and was inspired by a holiday on the island of Pantelleria. The newest chapter is Acqua di Giò Parfum, from 2023, and Morillas, who worked on the original, made this one too. It stays in the woody, aquatic, aromatic lane but swaps some of the sea air for frankincense and patchouli. The brand says the incense adds an incandescent intensity, and I read that as the aquatic putting on a jacket. The notes Fragrantica lists run bergamot and marine on top, clary sage, geranium and rosemary in the middle, patchouli and frankincense underneath.

The trick is to start with the Parfum and then see how far the family wanders. The black-gradient bottle with the embossed Armani monogram on the cap is refillable, which the brand makes a point of. The original Acqua di Giò Eau de Toilette is the lightest and the one most men already know. The Eau de Parfum is the everyday step up, and the Eau de Parfum Intense turns the volume up a notch. Profondo comes as an Eau de Parfum and a Parfum, deeper and darker for the evenings. Elixir is the most concentrated of the set, and the Deodorant lets you carry the same smell from the shower to the office without a second bottle.

Marine scents lie a little in the first ten seconds, so judge them at the two hour mark instead. Spray one wrist, go and do something else, and come back when the top notes have burned off. Marine fragrances are the ones that change most in that window.

If you like where Acqua di Giò began, this grid is the cool side of the shelf. Prada's Luna Rossa Ocean Eau de Toilette with bergamot and iris is the clean, polished one, and the Le Parfum version with lemon and oakwood is its deeper sibling. Ralph Lauren's Polo Blue with melon and sage is the easy weekend choice that nobody minds. Jimmy Choo Man Aqua suits the office, and Dolce&Gabbana's Light Blue Pour Homme, with lemon and patchouli, is the brightest of the lot, while the Capri In Love Eau de Parfum takes the same idea and gives it a little more weight.

Two are less obvious and very good. Maison Margiela's Replica Sailing Day pairs an aquatic accord with iris and smells more like a clean, pressed shirt than a beach. Jo Malone's Wood Sage and Sea Salt is a cologne, so it is light and gentle, and it suits a friend who says he does not wear fragrance.

A pairing I like: a marine scent on the days you are in linen or cotton, and something darker from the grid below when the temperature drops.

What I would skip: a light cologne in a packed, overheated train car. Anything this fresh will fade faster than you want.

Woody fragrances tell the truth on your sleeve the next morning, long after the spray has settled. The best ones are still there, quieter and warmer, and you will know within a second whether you want to smell like that every day.

If the incense in Acqua di Giò Parfum is what caught your attention, this grid is where it goes further. Yves Saint Laurent's Y Elixir leans into oud wood and rich incense, and it is the boldest of the lot. Tom Ford's Oud Wood Eau de Parfum, with sandalwood and pink pepper, is the smooth, polished one, and the Ébène Fumé, with palo santo and ebony wood, is the smoky one you wear in winter. Hermès Terre d'Hermès Eau de Parfum Intense is the quiet classic, and Amouage Reflection Man is for the man who wants something distinctly and deliberately different.

Ranger Station's Santalum is worth a spray if sandalwood is your thing, and Jo Malone's Hinoki and Cedarwood Cologne Intense with tonka bean is a soft way into woods without the heaviness. Dolce&Gabbana's Velvet Honey Santal is the sweetest and most enveloping of the set.

I keep the woody bottle for evenings and colder days, and the aquatic for everything else. Two bottles will cover most of a year better than one that tries to do it all.

What I would skip: a heavy oud on a first date in a small restaurant. Let them come closer before they find out how much you are wearing.

Aftershave works best when it matches your fragrance family. Put a balm on clean skin after shaving, wait a minute for it to settle, and only then spray your cologne. The scent will sit better on skin that is calm and hydrated.

Armani's Acqua di Giò After Shave Balm is the obvious shortcut if you already wear the family, since it keeps the smell from the razor to the office consistent. Clinique's For Men Post-Shave Soother is a facial lotion that is quieter and more about the skin than the scent, which suits a man who shaves daily and gets irritated easily. Proraso's After Shave Balm for sensitive skin sits in the same calm lane.

Chanel's Bleu de Chanel After Shave Lotion and the matching Deodorant Stick give that bottle a proper base. Dior Homme has the same, an Eau de Toilette Aftershave Lotion and a Deodorant Stick that stay in their own family. Acqua di Parma's Refreshing Aftershave Emulsion is the one I would put out on the counter, because it makes a shave feel like a small ceremony.

Keep the order simple: balm right after the shave, deodorant after the shower, and the fragrance last, on dry skin. That order takes no extra time and saves the scent from being diluted.

What I would skip: a strongly scented deodorant under a fragrance that has plenty to say already.

The Parfum is the right answer for a man who likes the sea but has outgrown the gym bag. It keeps the fresh start of the original and adds enough incense and patchouli to hold up in a jacket, which is the exact job Armani's clothes have always done.

I would buy the Parfum, add the balm for the morning and one woody bottle for winter, and test each on skin for a full day before deciding. Gere got a wardrobe that made the room quieter. You only need a bottle that does the same.

The Parfum made the case that a sea scent can wear a jacket, so I would use the rest of this shelf to test how far that idea stretches. Emporio Armani Acqua di Giò Eau de Toilette with bergamot and cedarwood is the reference point, and Armani Privé Oud Royal is the dressed-up cousin. Chanel Allure Homme Sport comes in an Eau de Toilette and an Eau Extrême, and Jimmy Choo Man Intense and Dolce & Gabbana The One sit nearby. For something lighter, Acqua di Parma Colonia and the Hermès Eau d'orange verte are cologne style. Finish the morning with Dior Eau Sauvage After Shave and Dior Homme Soothing Shaving Cream. What I would skip: the Acqua di Parma Signatures of the Sun Oud when you want a plain cologne day. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Montblanc Explorer Extreme Parfum and Reading the Bleu de Chanel Parfum Bottle.