Eastwood, New South Wales, 1868. Maria Ann Smith, born Sherwood, propagated a chance seedling into what became the Granny Smith apple. It is the tartest, greenest thing in any fruit bowl, and a hundred and fifty years later it turns up in a men's fragrance. The 2019 press release for Viktor&Rolf's Spicebomb Night Vision Eau de Toilette names a Granny Smith accord in its opening. An apple from a chance seedling, in a grenade-shaped bottle. I find that oddly touching.

The brand story is as playful as the bottle. Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren founded the house in 1993, and the original Spicebomb followed in 2012. Spicebomb Night Vision is the green branch of the family, and I think it is the easiest way in if the original feels like too much winter. Here is the part that trips people up: Spicebomb Night Vision is two different perfumes. The 2019 eau de toilette is a fresh, woody fougère with green cardamom, apple, black chili and tonka. The 2020 eau de parfum goes darker, with a black spice opening, green resin and clary sage in the heart, and incense and fir balsam underneath.

So the trick is to choose your Night Vision first, then the neighbours. The Eau de Parfum with Incense and Woods is the evening one, and the Eau de Toilette is the daytime one. Spicebomb Extreme is the deeper cousin, the original Eau de Toilette is the classic starting point, Metallic Musk brings pepper and musk, and Dark Leather is the smoky one. Azzaro's The Most Wanted Intense and Matière Première's Crystal Saffron are the spicy relatives from other houses.

One rule for warm, sweet scents: apply them less than you think you need. Tobacco and vanilla carry, and two sprays on the chest are usually plenty. Anything more will arrive in the room before you do.

Kilian's Smoking Hot is the one with tobacco, and Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille pairs it with tonka bean and ginger, which is the richest reading of the idea here. Armani's Stronger With You Absolutely has rum and cedarwood, and Rabanne's Invictus Victory Absolu brings black pepper and sandalwood, which is the closest to the Night Vision spice.

Azzaro's Forever Wanted Elixir and Dolce and Gabbana's The One for Men are the smooth, classic evening options. Valentino's Uomo Born in Roma Extradose and Gucci's Guilty Elixir are the two that go for concentration, made for cold weather and long dinners.

A pairing I like: the Night Vision Eau de Toilette in the afternoon, then a warmer, sweeter scent from this grid once the sun goes down. It is a small wardrobe of two, and it covers most invitations.

What I would skip: a heavy tobacco or vanilla scent on a hot, crowded commute. It gets loud in a small space, and a fresher spray does the job better.

Start with a test on skin, not on paper. Spray one scent on each wrist, walk around for an hour and see which one still smells like something you would choose. Fresh scents change the most as they warm, and the opening is a poor guide to the middle.

Kilian's Apple Brandy with bergamot is the closest relative to the apple in the Night Vision story, and Dior's Sauvage Eau de Parfum is the one everyone recognises from across a room. Burberry's Hero and Montblanc's Legend are the dependable everyday pair, and Carolina Herrera's Bad Boy Cobalt Absolute is the electric-blue one for a night that is still warm.

Yves Saint Laurent's Y Eau de Parfum has fresh geranium and sensual woods, which suits a suit. Armani's Acqua di Giò Elixir takes the familiar aquatic name into a richer place, and Valentino's Vendetta Uomo is the last one on the shelf, worth a wrist test if the others feel too familiar.

A pairing I like: something fresh in the morning, then Night Vision Eau de Toilette on top as the day goes on. The apple and green cardamom make a friendly bridge from a citrus to a spice.

What I would skip: a fresh scent as your only bottle if most of your evenings are in winter. It will vanish into a coat.

Here is a habit worth borrowing: spray your night scent before you get dressed, on the pulse points and one spray on the chest. It has ten minutes to settle before you head out, and you are not chasing your own scent in the lift.

Yves Saint Laurent's La Nuit de L'Homme is the classic evening cologne, and Versace's Eros Parfum is the louder one, made for a loud room. Rabanne's Phantom Parfum and Carolina Herrera's 212 VIP Black Elixir are the party bottles, and Carolina Herrera's Bad Boy Elixir is the darker side of that same idea.

Dior's Homme Parfum and Dior's Sauvage Elixir are the ones that suit a formal dinner, and Yves Saint Laurent's MYSLF Le Parfum is the newest way into the YSL family. Next to the Night Vision Eau de Parfum from the first grid, they are useful for working out how much sweetness you want at the table.

A pairing I like: the Night Vision Eau de Parfum for the dinner and a fresher sample in your pocket for the morning after. You will not want the same thing twice.

What I would skip: trying three new perfumes on the same evening. Your nose tires, and everything begins to smell the same.

I think Spicebomb Night Vision is best bought with a decision in mind: fresh or dark. Take the Eau de Toilette if you want an apple and cardamom scent that behaves in daylight, and the Eau de Parfum if your evenings are the point.

Try it on skin, wear it for a full day, and only then commit. Test the other bottles from the grids the same way, one wrist at a time, and keep notes on what you still smell at the end of the night. A seedling that nobody planned became the most famous green apple in the world. Sometimes the best thing is what you did not plan.

Spicebomb Night Vision asked me to decide between fresh and dark, and this last group mostly leans dark. Start with the Viktor&Rolf Spicebomb Night Vision pair, in Eau de Parfum and Eau de Toilette Pour Homme, since seeing them together is the simplest comparison. Then try the oud bottles: Van Cleef & Arpels Oud Blanc, Dolce & Gabbana Velvet Desert Oud and the Kilian Paris Angels' Share Paradis. For leather, there is the Matiere Premiere Falcon Leather and Dolce & Gabbana Velvet Exotic Leather. Montblanc Legend Elixir and Yves Saint Laurent Y Elixir are the elixirs in the group. What I would skip: the Van Cleef & Arpels Fragrance Set, unless you are happy to smell several fragrances in one night. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Dior Fahrenheit and Rabanne Perfume, from Fame to Million Gold and the Sweeter Scents Beside It.