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Weekly Scent Discussion #6: Labels of Men vs Woman and you

Weekly Scent Discussion #6: Labels of Men vs Woman and you 9 years ago
I picked up a bottle of Elizabeth Passion for Men yesterday. I've decided I like wearing it more than the Woman's version. I started digging around and found other scents are also in my wardrobe and marketed as "for men" (Midnight in Paris, Light Blue Pour Homme, AE Live for him, Grey Flannel, Acqua di Giò pour Homme, Halston Z-14, Baby Blue Jeans, Aqua Verde, Taste of Heaven).

Now my wardrobe is mostly marketed towards women or Unisex but looking at the scents I've listed above there are many that I wouldn't have pegged for "men" as much as Unisex or in one case (Aqua Verde) for "women". So I'm trying to figure out what makes a scent "man" and "woman". What specific combinations of notes draws this line in the sand. I know that there are many men who sport the feminine fragrances of Shalimar, Black Orchid and many others.

Where do you draw your line? Do you think this is just a marketing tool or are some scents inherently masculine and feminine? What combination of notes says one or the other to you? Would you be embarrassed to admit to wearing a "woman's" scent or would you sport it proudly?
9 years ago
Often the dry down of perfumes labeled for men is too much for me. So I go for Unisex or feminine fluffy scents.
9 years ago
Pipette, What is it about the dry down that is too much? Is it specific notes? Or is it just how certain notes are handled?\

I'm really curious as to what makes something feel inherently "man" vs "woman" when it comes to how we perceive scent.

I've always kinda thought a scent on me smells feminine and the same scent on my hubby smells more masculine because our own personal scents mingle with it and gives it the man or woman vibe. I think I'm in the minority in this. But I'm not sure. Or perhaps it's just that certain notes and combination of notes or perhaps how certain notes are used are more of a determination in this. If that's the case then What notes are they? or how are they used to do this?
9 years ago
I can't tell you about notes. It just the perception. I bought "Sartorial" and liked it from the bottle and on the skin it smelled masculine stuffy. I bought "L'instant" by Guerlain and it smelled like shaving lotion, although beautiful from the bottle or in the air as room spray.

"Pi" is pretty mild, have tested it, but not bought.

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I am making these incomplete comments to encourage the discussion, because this Forum is rather dead.
9 years ago
As someone who wears only unisex and masculine fragrances, I'll throw in my two cents. I've worn fragrances for women and they do create a feminine feel, which is why I do not wear them. This is the case even for scents that are "masculine-leaning" like Bandit; there is a chasm between even them and a truly unisex scent.

It is how the notes are composed and the notes themselves. For instance, florals are not common in men's fragrances, and when they do appear, they produce a different effect than soft, delicate, or gentle -- for instance, Boucheron.

I think that the composition is why there are mens' and womens' versions for the same scent. You'd think they could get away with making something like Light Blue unisex, but they didn't.
9 years ago
This is always a nice topic as it pops up every now and then Smile

I think Passion for Men fits right in with the women's trend of dark orientals. So: Good choice! A line I don't cross is: concentrated jasmine, pink 'Paris' rose (though no problem with dark rose), pink suger bombs. I prefer to avoid tuberose almost always.

Things I do consider for myself: ylang (challenging but I love the flower).I like lily of the valley but it's difficult to find that's right for me - yes I think I'm a flower guy lol. Some women's perfumes are fine for guys but I prefer to avoid them because they're too well known (Dior Midnight Poison)
9 years ago
My nickname was inspired by Givenchy's Insensé, said to be a floral for men. Let me say that I consider it very masculine, and I don't think a woman could pull it off, although in those days it was seen as too feminine Smile
In that time, men were switching to aquatics as well as unisex from Calvin Klein. And Insensé got lost in a dark night for masculine perfumery.
May I also add that one of my preferred perfumes is Mugler's Angel? And that I have it instead of A-Men? Angel is the best feminine for men. I just said it.
The best masculine for women? Please accept my suggestion: look at Dior's Eau Sauvage, wear it and become the most incredible sexy goddess in the night party!
9 years ago
Insense:
May I also add that one of my preferred perfumes is Mugler's Angel? And that I have it instead of A-Men? Angel is the best feminine for men. I just said it.

hahah, great Smile Do you get many comments?
9 years ago
Insense:
May I also add that one of my preferred perfumes is Mugler's Angel?

There's nothing cooler than doing your own thing. :claps:
9 years ago
As a man with scents mainly marketed at Women, I can happily say that Shalimar can be worn very effectively by a man. (Hey Sean Connery supposedly wears Jicky!)

I don't really like the smell of sage, lavender, rosemary, aquatic, or mint notes that are found in abundance in fragrances marketed towards men. Citrus based fragrances tend to be very fleeting, and I can't generally smell leather.

I'll stick with flowers and spices ... Smile
9 years ago
Insense:
The best masculine for women? Please accept my suggestion: look at Dior's Eau Sauvage, wear it and become the most incredible sexy goddess in the night party!

I will definitely look at getting my hands on this. thanks for the lead.

Mill4r4, you are not alone in your love of Shalimar. That's the one woman's perfume I have heard many men admit to using.

Sleuth, I can definitely see drawing the line at sugar bombs, pink rose and heady white florals. Perhaps it's because these scents tend to effectively cover up a persons natural scent instead of working with it. Hmm food for thought.

I've noticed that vetiver can be very masculine on me when it's handled a certain way. Black Vetiver Cafe by Jo Malone comes to mind. If I had to choose just one scent out of my wardrobe that I could not live without, I would have to say Taste of Heaven. Not a women's scent but it smells wonderful on me.
9 years ago
I have 48 perfs in my favorites collection so far and only 3 are labelled male: Montale's gorgeous Black Aoud, second only to Dior's Oud Ispahan for me, and Slumberhouse Jeke and Vikt. I think I want to be wearing one of the latter two when I take my last breath. To me they are achievements in scent, fit for entering the presence of God. Periodically I open and smell them without wearing them--not being ready for the pearly gates just yet. Laughing Black Aoud I wear.

Monegal's Agar Musk also says masculine to me. It has no florals or resins. Also Fueguia's fabulous, all-wood Otro Poema de los Dones, though it's labelled unisex. Aqua di Parma's Colonia Intensa Oud is a definite masculine. Hmmm, it also has no florals or resins, except amyris which smells like sandalwood, so maybe that's it. Bergamot and orange in the Aqua di Parma theoretically could add sweetness, but the powerful wood notes with the oud overwhelm. Because they're not the least feminine to my nose, these last five, especially Colonia Intensa Oud, are among my favorite male fragrances. All tend to make me think of well, you-know-what. I've also liked many a unisex on a man and the occasional amazing feminine like Bal a Versailles.
9 years ago
@scentfan : i love montale's black aoud, too....actually i never could understsnd why this one is labelled masculine so often....i find it very unisex, there is so much rose in this scent....

another masculine one that i simply adore is habit rouge. currently i own the edt but am thinking of getting the edp version as well. it is so soft and cuddly in a nostalgic way. gorgeous.

dior homme is very likeable, too, for us ladies, i think......and i like eau sauvage as a cologne-like alternative for the citrus genre.

not to be forgotten : bel ami by hermes, i like spicy leather.
6 years ago
I draw no line at all. Nevertheless, I own exactly one fragrance that is specifically marketed at men. But I too fail to grasp what precisely (or supposedly) makes a given note or combination of notes masculine or feminine. At best there seems to be a continuum rather than two separate clusters of odour quality (for lack of a better wording), within which most male/female fragrances can be located.

Assigning gender to fragrance I deem a mere marketing tool devoid of any substance beyond targeting specific consumer groups. It simply is cliché.
To quote Roja Dove, "[t]he idea that roses are feminine and woods masculine is nonsense. It supports Victorian values that women are delicate flowers ... and that men are some sort of strutting beasts from the woodland who should be viewed with apprehension as if they only have one thing on their mind. A rose on a man is a masculine rose; a rose on a woman a feminine one."
Source: Uncommon Scents: The rise of unisex fragrances

Not only is this kind of differentiation a rather recent phenomenon, which started with the dawning of the age of hygiene and had never existed before.
But also assigning gender appears to beat retreat. The current increase of unisex releases relative to male/female fragrances would support this.
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* "[Well] into the nineteenth century, perfume wearing and perfume type were ungendered, and men and women adorned them equally. [With t]he deodorizing drive of the mid-nineteenth century, however, (…) wearing fragrance became gender stereotyped."
Neurobiology of Sensation and Reward, 17.2. Brief history of perfume
* "Last year [2016], unisex fragrance releases topped women's fragrance releases for the first time, according to perfume guide Fragrances of the World, which estimates there were 923 so-called shared fragrances geared to men and women compared to 836 women's fragrances."
Will Fragrance Be The First Non-Gendered Beauty Category?
6 years ago
Though I haven't been on the forums much since Baby 3, I've revisited this topic much in mind and I think MiaTrost you are on too something with the social norms angle and I see those norms shifting since the advent of the edible scent, at least here in Miami, FL. I think with more women wearing the spun sugar confectioneries, more men scents are adding a floral edge, or perhaps the men around me are selecting scents with a floral edge. This is a development I really like.
6 years ago
My rule could not be simpler: ^anyone^ can wear ^any^ perfume.
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