What are we talking here: he gets up from the table at a restaurant and is gone for five minutes, or he leaves the house and comes back four hours later?
Because the former I wouldn't be worried about and the latter I really would be. If the latter, ask him point blank: where the heck do you go, anyway? If he gives you an honest answer, you're all good. If he's evasive, press the point: something's going on and you deserve to know what it is.
if it is for a brief getaway, he might be a smoker. i have a guy friend who hides his smoking from his wife and does that. hell, maybe this question even came from her lol not making light, good answer here covers all bases all across the board.
Ya, my mom knew my dad started smoking again, cause he would come home from work, or take the trash out and grab the mail, and when he came back in he immediately went to the bathroom, washed his hand brushed his teeth and put on cologne, he thought he was being subtle, lolz. I guess he did it all rather quickly, but my mom's no idiot, and she would make comments like "honey, you're always in the bathroom, do we need to make a doctors appointment?" or "Should I be worried? Who are putting on all this cologne for, obviously its not me?" just to screw with him a bit. She said to me once "After 25 years of marriage he thinks I wouldn't notice a sudden change in behavior like this? He's either smoking or cheating, and I know your father wouldn't cheat. For all his flaws he's loyal to a fault, still pissed that he thinks he can hide smoking from me though."
On a different note, if you're out to dinner or something maybe he'd just freshening up for you?
Cracks me up that there are people who honestly think a heavy does of cologne or perfume can coverup tobacco smoke. Yet, I see it all the time too.
Unless I was sprayed by a skunk, I can't think of any reasonto be returning smelling strongly of cologne. But as RP points out, the specific circumstances would dictate if its something suspicious. A quick trip to the restroom is probably nothing to worry about.
I know it's something girls do all the time, more mascara and a spritz of perfume, and while it's certainly possible guys do the same, I don't know many guys who "freshen up" the way women do. I mean, I know girls who bring a toothbrush everywhere they go, but guys don't generally have the benefit of a purse to support those habits.
For the most part no, especially carrying around cologne. But on occasion, like an important dinner meeting or date, when we know we will be nervous and possibly sweating, if the container is small enough, we may take it with, and during a normal bathroom break might spray a *little* bit, just to make sure we don't stink. Even when going out we are, or at least I was by my dad, to apply a dab of cologne, not gobs of it.
Aside from trying to cover up smoking, the only reasons I can think of why a man would return smelling strongly of cologne is if he knew he smelled of another woman's perfume and was trying to cover it up or he doesn't apply cologne in the proper amount.