Azzaro Chrome launched in 1996, and Fragrantica credits the nose behind it to Gerard Haury. Olfastory says the house made it an object of transmission, dedicated to the bond between a father and his son, and elsewhere describes Loris Azzaro crafting a fragrance between land and sea that he dedicated to his grandson. I like that it came from a couture house with one idea: clean, cool and a little salty. It is a scent for people who do not want to smell like a dessert or a barrel of whiskey.

The note lists you find online disagree with each other, so I will keep it simple. It smells citrusy, woody and musky, in the aquatic family. If you are searching chrome azzaro because you want that clean shower-and-linen feeling in a bottle, this is the reference point.

It also had a long life of flankers. Olfastory lists Chrome Aqua, Pure, Intense, United, Sport and Legend, and then Chrome Extrême in 2020, the first Chrome eau de parfum.

The first grid is Azzaro, from Chrome to the Wanted family, plus two Versace colognes. The second grid is citrus and aquatic colognes from other houses. My tip: spray it on pulse points after a shower, and keep it for daytime and warm days.

Azzaro Chrome Eau de Toilette is the hero here, a clean aquatic with bergamot, transparent musk and mate leaves. It is crisp, clean and the lightest thing in this grid, and note that it has only one review so far on the shelf.

Everything else from Azzaro in this grid is warmer, so know that before you buy. Forever Wanted Elixir pairs raspberry and cardamom with a leather accord. Forever Wanted Absolu goes deeper, with incense, a whiskey accord and vanilla, and the brand describes an amber and woody 24-hour trail. The Most Wanted Eau de Parfum Intense is the toffee and amber wood one, with green cardamom up top. The Most Wanted Parfum is spicier, with red ginger and bourbon vanilla. Wanted Eau de Parfum with Sage and Vetiver is the greener, more herbal one, with juniper berries.

If you want a cleaner scent more than a sweet one, the two Versace picks are closer to Chrome. Versace Man Eau Fraiche is a softer, fruitier take on Versace Man, with white lemon, rosewood and sycamore wood. Versace Pour Homme is a Mediterranean citrus cologne built on bergamot.

What I would skip: the Wanted Elixir or Absolu on a hot afternoon. They are dense, sweet and leathery, better on a cool evening than at a desk in July.

This grid is for the nights when Chrome is the one you want but you fancy a different angle. Armani Beauty Acqua di Giò is the marine benchmark, with Calabrian bergamot and cedarwood. Dolce&Gabbana Light Blue Pour Homme is brighter and lemonier, with rosemary and patchouli. Versace Dylan Blue is aquatic with violet leaves and fig leaf, so it feels greener and a little sharper.

Jo Malone London makes two salty ones. Sea Salt and Bergamot is bright and mineral with a driftwood base, inspired by the Celtic Sea. Wood Sage and Sea Salt is more herbal and woody, and both are colognes, so they are lighter and fade faster than an eau de parfum. Rabanne Invictus has a marine accord and grapefruit over guaiac wood, and it is the loudest of the group.

Maison Margiela Replica Sailing Day is the soft, airy one, and the closest to a sea breeze, with aquatic accord, iris and red seaweed. Yves Saint Laurent Y Iced Cologne has mint, sage and a cooling effect, and it is the one I would pick for a gym bag or a summer commute, since the icy mint feels cold on the skin.

What I would skip: Invictus in a closed office. It projects hard, and the others here are much more polite.

I think Chrome has lasted because it never tried to be a statement. It smells like a clean shirt on a warm day, and that is a rare thing to find in men's fragrance, where so much is built to be loud. Start there, especially if you wear fragrance to work. If you find it too light, move to the Wanted line for warmth, or to Acqua di Giò for a bolder sea breeze. Treat chrome azzaro as the starting point of this edit, not the finish line. Whatever you choose, try it on skin for a few hours before you decide, because a cologne can smell very different after the first ten minutes settle. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together A Shelf of Coach Blue Cologne and the Fresh Scents Beside It and Hugo Boss Cologne, From Metzingen in 1924 to Boss Bottled.