I always "field test" colognes before wearing them with some very honest (and very blunt) female co-workers.
Axe got a unanimous thumbs way way down. Surprised me cause I kinda liked it. Seems sometimes stuff I like they hate and what I hate they like. BTW this wasn't just a few ancedotal opinions in my sample survey, I work with a lot of women and they are pretty consistent on what they like and dont.
Okay with the risk of sounding too Metrosexual, here's the list of thumbs up I got.
Bvlgari pour homme
Angel for men
Acqua di gio
Vera Wang for men
Marc Jacobs
Pi by Givenche
Sonya Rykiel
Kenneth Cole Black
Chanel pour homme sport
(You should see my shelf of colognes, the friggin thing is sagging in the middle)
Anyway YMMV since some fragrances will react differently with your body chemistry than mine.
Try some of these out but make sure to sniff some coffee beans in between testings to clear your nose.