Once you know Eros, it is easy to forget that Versace makes other men's colognes that have nothing to do with it. These three are quieter, and they suit a man who wants something he can wear to the office and forget about.

Versace Pour Homme Eau de Toilette is the plain, tidy one, the sort of bottle that makes sense for someone who owns exactly one cologne. Man Eau Fraiche Eau de Toilette does what the name says, and it is the one I would reach for on the hottest days of the year, when a heavy amber would feel like wearing a coat. Dylan Blue Pour Homme Eau de Toilette is the easy one of the three, a blue bottle that suits a casual dinner as much as a Monday.

I like putting all three next to Eros Energy on a shelf, because each one covers a different kind of day. Energy is for a warm afternoon when you feel like making an effort. Fraiche is for the gym bag and the commute, when you want something clean that does not need a second thought. Dylan Blue is for the evening you have not planned yet.

A simple test: wear one for a full day before you decide. The first spray tells you what the marketing wants you to smell. Hour six tells you what you will actually live with.

Sometimes the right bottle is not from the house you started with, so here are six from elsewhere. Each sits in a different corner of what a man might want to smell like.

Armani Beauty's I Will Eau de Parfum with vanilla is the sweet corner, one I would save for cold evenings. Valentino's Uomo Born in Roma Green Stravaganza is an eau de toilette with coffee and bergamot, which is the combination I would choose for a long morning. Prada's Paradigme Le Parfum, with amber and vanilla, is the one I would wear when dressed up. Azzaro's The Most Wanted Parfum, with bourbon vanilla and red ginger, is the spiciest-sounding of the group.

Then there are the two everybody has smelled, even if they cannot name them. Chanel's BLEU DE CHANEL Eau de Parfum and Dior's Sauvage Eau de Toilette are both so widely worn that you will recognize them on strangers in an elevator. That is not a criticism. It just means they are familiar, and familiar is sometimes what a wedding or an interview asks for.

What I would skip: buying a full bottle from one spray on a paper strip in a busy shop. Paper does not have your skin chemistry, and a store full of other scents blunts your nose after the third try. Spray one on your wrist, walk around for the afternoon, and only then go back.

If I had to build a small shelf from all of this, I would want one bright bottle for warm weather, one warm bottle for cold evenings, and one dependable one in the middle. Versace Eros Energy is a very good candidate for the first slot.

Try two at a time, one per wrist, and pay attention to how they change after an hour. Apply to pulse points, and keep the bottle somewhere cool and dark rather than the bathroom shelf. Notes on paper are a guide, but how a scent sits on your own skin at the end of the day is the real answer. Choose the one you keep sniffing your sleeve for, and you will have picked well. If it is one of the Eros bottles, all the better, since the family gives you plenty of room to move up or down later.

A small, sensible shelf gets easier to build once you see how many directions a good cologne can go, and this last stretch maps a few of them. For bright and clean, I would reach for Chanel Allure Homme Sport, Versace Man Eau Fraîche Extrême and the Hermès Eau de Mandarine Ambrée or Eau de Néroli Doré. Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Pour Homme Eau de Parfum and Acqua di Parma Colonia Pura keep things light as well. When evenings call, Gucci Guilty Intense, Dior Homme Parfum and Yves Saint Laurent L'Homme are good places to start. Tom Ford Vanilla Sex is the sweet one. What I would skip: Aesop Marrakech Intense for the gym, since Intense in the name points to a stronger bottle. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Versace Perfume, Starting With Yuzu, Ice and a Medusa Watching Over It and Versace Eau Fraiche.