Labels can condition how we perceive a fragrance. Why it is advantageous to choose a perfume by its scent and not solely by its category.
Sometimes it suffices to smell a perfume to say: “It is for men” or “It is for women.” The answer appears almost automatically, as if that information were written into the aroma.
But what do we really recognize? A characteristic inherent to the fragrance, or an association we learned over our lifetime? The question invites us to revisit a classification so common that we rarely stop to think about what lies behind it.
The feminine and the masculine also evolve in perfumery
We tend to talk about the feminine and the masculine as if they were stable categories. In perfumery, however, those borders can be far more flexible than the label on a bottle suggests.
The perfumer Francis Kurkdjian explains this in an interview: the ideas of masculinity and femininity are conventions that evolve along with society. What we today interpret as masculine may not have been viewed the same way a few decades ago.
As an example, he notes that fruity notes such as pineapple, pear, or apple gradually gained presence in men’s perfumes over the course of his career, even though they initially met with less acceptance within that segment.
Taste changes and perfumery accompanies those transformations.
What do we mean when a fragrance “smells like a man” or “smells like a woman”
When we affirm that a perfume has a masculine or feminine aroma, we are also telling something about how we interpret it.
We may associate it with a person, a time period, a memory, or a particular image of how someone should smell. That perception exists and deserves to be recognized, but it does not have to become a rule about who can wear that fragrance.
A floral composition does not necessarily belong to women, just as woods, leather, or intense notes are not exclusive to men. Associations can guide our reading, but they do not determine who can enjoy a perfume.
Labels can modify what we perceive
Smell does not work in isolation from the information we receive. A study published in 2021 investigated what happened when aromas were presented without a gender-marked association under feminine or masculine labels.
Those who received the feminine label perceived the aroma as more feminine than those who encountered it with a masculine label. The formula was the same, but the words accompanying it altered some of the qualities participants attributed to it.
This does not mean that all our perception depends on marketing. It does show that the name, packaging, description, and category of a fragrance can predispose us to interpret it in a certain way before trying it freely.
How to choose a perfume beyond its category
Gender-free perfumery invites exploring scents with greater freedom. But not all niche perfumery has abandoned traditional classifications: there are houses that combine unisex proposals with others aimed specifically at women or men. Maison Francis Kurkdjian is an example of that coexistence.
Anyway, that freedom of choice can extend to any perfume. A fragrance marketed as masculine can delight a woman, while one marketed as feminine can represent perfectly a man.
To discover it, you can do a simple exercise: sample the fragrance before looking at who it’s marketed to. Notice whether you enjoy its freshness, sweetness, intensity, floral notes, fruits, or woods. Then apply it to the skin and give it time to evolve.
There’s no need to stop considering that certain perfumes feel feminine or masculine. We can acknowledge those associations and, at the same time, allow ourselves to explore beyond them.
The label can guide a search, but it should not limit the choice. A perfume is also an intimate form of expression: it matters how it accompanies you, what it awakens in you, and how much you recognize yourself in its scent.
Sole Nardo is a physician and content creator specializing in perfumery and olfactory communication (@solenardoscents)
