Men wearing Women's Fragrances? - Page 2

Dioressence
Vol de Nuit
Mitsouko
Jicky
Shalimar
...
and lots of others.

I assume you mean for going out into public, right? LOL.

Here are some I don't mind wearing in public (light application usually):

273 Indigo (Light Blue clone?)
Shalimar Light
Copelia (no idea what this is, but it seems to be a mint/anise/benzion oriental)
Tumulte
Fire & Ice
Escada Collection
Charles Jourdan The Parfum
Python
Belle en Rykiel
Joop! Le Bain
So You

IMO:

Estee Lauder Azure Soleil EDT
Thierry Mugler Angel Woman
Guerlain Jicky & Shalimar
Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb
The Different Company Rose Poivree
Ormond Jayne Taif
Tom Ford Black Orchid
Annayake Miyako

Balmain de Balmain
Mitsouko
Sous le vent
Bandit
Arpège
Cuir de Russie, Chanel
Bois des Iles
Tabac Blond
Profumo, Acqua di Parma
Givenchy III
Diorella
Dioressence
1000

Guerlain Jicky - the quintessential unisex fragrance
Caron Alpona and Tabac Blond
Chanel Cuir de Russie
Guerlain Shalimar
Guerlain Vetiver Pour Elle

Teddius

Eau du Soir (Sisley)

An obvious one would have to Bandit, as mentioned above by my fellow Basenoters
Bal a Versailles (although the opening is quite feminine)
La Baiser du Dragon
I think most Montales and Tom Ford are pretty much unisex

My appreciation of fragrance is much greater, exploring the unisex potential of fragrances marketed for specific genders. I find I like fragrances with this potential best, almost exclusively, in fact. I am a woman, btw. I also get profuse compliments from men when I wear men's fragrances, and without the revelation at all that they aren't for a woman! Black by Bulgari (marketed unisex) is perhaps my favorite, and though I really think of it as a woman's frag, I know more men that wear it, and they all consider it masculine. I wonder what other fragrances could pull off unisex marketing, or if it could be their death!


Some women's fragrances I think are great for a man are: Mitsouko, First, Private Collection, Alliage, David Yurman, Anais Anais, Chanel 19, Elle by YSL, Rive Gauche, Jicky, Cristalle, Chanel 5, and even Y by YSL.

Some men's fragrances that are great for women are: Anateus, Beyond Paradise for men, Boucheron, Lolita Lempicka, Must by Cartier, Gucci pour homme, Faconnable, Rive Gauche for men, Heritage, Insense by Givenchy, and Vetivier by Guerlain.

Some fragrances,too, are clearly not unisex, say White Diamonds or Kouros.

Any suggestions of others?
I wonder, too how many men and women regularly wear other-gendered fragrances?

What makes these fragrances accessible like this? What makes this sort of thing impossible sometimes? What associations with scents do we make that clearly categorize some components as one gender or the other? Which elements/components are more flexible?
Why? Is it all about gender training or there something inherently masculine, say, about the smell of leather and pine or inherently feminine about honeysuckle or violets?

Any thoughts are appreciated!

I recall trying women's fragrances and discovering that they can be used by men if some rules apply. However, in my case, I find fragrance appreciation being so abstract that I am blind as to these "rules".

I guess some accords make it possible for men to wear women's scents and viceversa. For example, flowery accords in the top notes of Antaeus, or the presence of leather in women's scents, like Magie Noire. Cinnamon, present in JHL and Opium, could contribute to the fact that the last one might be wore in public by a man, provided it is applied some time before leaving home, as some fellow BNoters suggested.

On the other hand, I have read here in BN that some perfumes were designed by perfumists involved in drawing subtle distinctions between their works. Thus, according to experienced members, Cabochard's drydown is similar or quite alike Aramis, while Aromatics Elixir is just like Aramis 900 - as far as I know, these were all made by the same man, Bernard Chant.

I am a huge fan of Mitsouko, and whenever I wear it I get great compliments. I also wear Angel.. but the men's version just isn't great on me, whereas the women's is amazing.

I like L'Eau Par Kenzo for men much more than the women's version. I wish I could define what it is that makes it more appealing to me, and what makes it more 'masculine'. It has a depth and warmth that the women's version does not have, but why would that make it a masculine fragrance? I'd love to hear others' thoughts on this as well.....

I am glad you think Beyond Paradise for men is wearable by women! I certainly think it smells better than the women's version, but that's just me.


Other women's fragrances that men ought to wear (and do wear): Bandit EdT (which I'm told is more leather, less floral than the EdP, although I've never tried the EdP myself), Neil Morris Woodland Strawberries

Other men's fragrances that women ought to wear (and do wear): Jaipur Homme, Cuba Gold, Burberry Weekend for Men, Rose 31


I don't know about outside of Basenotes, but if you watch the Scent of the Day (SotD) threads, you see a lot of mix-and-match going on!

I'm a bit of a fragrance hermaphrodite. Cruising through the forums, I find as many women as men wearing my favorite fragrances, and most of my favorite frags tend to be niche unisex creations.

It seems to me tuberose, gardenia and the other white flowers get classed as female, as does anything that's purely sweet and powdery. There are no exclusively male notes per se, but conifers - e.g. pine, cypress, spruce and to a much lesser extent cedar - are often considered masculine.Of course, things like the hemlock spruce in Ormonde Woman - emphasis mine - prove that statement at least partly wrong.

I think the division is cultural. Flowers are cliched as "female" things, soft, delicate and pretty, which are considered female traits in many cultures. Pines are big tough trees... so I think you can see where this is going. I notice gender-neutral notes are often from gender-neutral objects - spices like cinnamon, resins like benzoin, green notes like oak moss; citrus notes like orange.

I also see other cultural parallels. The decline of traditional gender roles is paralleled by the rise of unisex fragrances, as well as the olfactory division between mens and womens fragrances shrinking.

While there are likely currently unknown biological factors in how men and women perceive smell, I do believe that gender in fragrance is almost entirely based on our cultural attitudes towards gender.

As for myself, I've never had trouble from others wearing tuberose... of course I am 6'8" and not in the least feminine, so that probably helps.

Nice analysis, Galamb_Borong!

That was wonderful, thank you.

I stumbled across Lucca Turin's take, after I posted this.

He believes that:
A. A lot of older women's fragrances have "undergone breast reduction with each reformulation", with the removal of the lusher, more natural elements (think Cabochard), rendering them -- and I quote -- "positively virile".
B. The current barrage of candy sweetness and goo marketed to women has made us rethink
gender associations to older chypres and dry aldehydes.

These points are great, but were made in reference to the unisex potential of OLDER fragrances, which was cool for me because I was especially thinking of older ones, but I was really thinking about disolving stereotypes being a more influential issue. And I am glad others feel the same.

All very interesting..

And, of course, some offerings are just so much better in one version or the other..like Beyond Paradise! Why limit ourselves? And my experimentation has been encouraged, too, by the unisex niche offerings.

Wonderful post, Hillaire, & a warm welcome to Basenotes to you. I've been wearing men's fragrances for about 4 or 5 years now. It was actually when I smelled Clinique Happy for men for the first time that something flipped a switch in my brain. Not only did I love this smell, but I could see myself wearing it. I bought a bottle that day & have gone through several now .

I love that you mentioned both Bvlgari Black & Lolita Lempicka au masculin. Those are two of my very favorites & I'm actually wearing LLAM today.

Some of my other favorite frags marketed to men:

Kenneth Cole Reaction
L'eau D'Issey
Terre d'Hermes
Clean Men
M7
Burberry Brit
Habit Rouge

As for frags marketed as unisex, I love CK be & Mugler Cologne.

Prada Infusion d'Iris can be easily worn by a man, while Infusion d'Homme can be easily worn by a woman.

I think Galamb_Borong's analysis is spot-on. My SotD today is Shalimar by Guerlain. I had never tested it before today, even after over 20 years of constant use of Guerlain (male-targeted) fragrances. I also love Un Bois Vanille by Serge Luetens (designated feminine by BaseNotes), and constantly "borrow" it from my wife.

I believe my bias so far has been the cultural/cliche type: Flowers=female, wood=male, and so on. Very self-limiting, i confess, for the short time we have on earth. It must be the same reason some men won't be caught wearing pink or lemon coloured shirts (but i have always liked and worn them - strange!).

I also believe that marketing efforts and the widening of access to information have (and will continue to) broadened minds and toppled ender-based mindsets.

Two modern men's scents that I think would work well for women are:

Kenzo Power - my wife steals it. The subdued floral nature is very appealing to her.
Gucci by Gucci Pour Homme - very low-testosterone wood - the chypre edge, I think.

I have samples of MDCI Invasion Barbare, Caron 3rd Man, Chanel Pour Monsieur, and PdN New York, all of which I adore, and most of which I would love to purchase in a full bottle size.

At a time when nobody had produced any uniscents yet, Luca Turin encouraged perfume wearers to try perfumes offered to the opposite sex. In Perfumes:The Guide he published a list of best, i.e. 5-star, feminines for men, and best masculines for women (ten each) I wouldn't agree with all of his choices but his suggestions for men are still interesting. For those who do not own The Guide, they are: 1000; Après L'Ondée, Arpège; Bandit; Calèche; Diorella; Dzing!; Jicky; Mitsouko; Tommy Girl.
I don't know two of those and wear three others very occasionally. 1000 is a heavenly perfume all by itself. I couldn't wear it, and consider it wasted on most people anyway. Personality, situation and perfume must never clash, I find. But even if people want to make fools of themselves: as long as they are happy under their fragrant veil, who cares?

I've known quite a few ladies who like to wear the conservative classic Knize Ten.

I generally prefer to wear fragrances that are specifically marketed to women. I just seem to like them better. But sometimes I'll wear one of my husband's fragrances (e.g., Antaeus, Grey Flannel); I love Terre d'Hermes, Dior Homme, Eau Sauvage. I'm sure there are other frags at the men's counter that I would enjoy if I took the time to explore them. I suppose I'm prejudiced by memories of bracing, tonic men's aftershaves - I can't wear those. When I was a teenager I bought myself Givenchy Gentleman because I just loved the smell of it. I haven't tried it in ages but I think it's not as nice as it once was. These days, if it's well composed of quality ingredients, I'll definitely try it. It's too hard to find a good 'un not to. My husband thought Black Orchid smelled like a man's fragrance on me, though he liked the smell, which makes me think he should wear it himself. He likes Fracas on me. I think the new woodsy women's releases would be fine on a man.

I wonder if it's appearance that makes no one comment when I wear "masculine" fragrances. I pretty much wore Montana Parfum d'Homme all last week, and I didn't feel it was really "me." (But couldn't get anyone else to wear it. So, hey!) Being just under 5-feet and 52 kg, I don't think anyone can really call me "masculine" (although I did used to be able to do more weights than another guy my size). Or did they just think I'd hugged my husband really good before I came to work? Perhaps I should ask them.

Growing up, I used to steal sprays from my mom and my dad's perfume wardrobes. I remember wearing Dad's Aramis and Grey Flannel, and Mom's Diorissimo. I think a great deal of fragrances are unisex though they may not be marketed as such. I wear my husbands Guerlain Vetiver and I have even moved it to my perfume tray. I am expecting Habit Rouge this week and I can't wait to sample it. I think you should wear what you like unless it turns sour or rancid on you.

Ok, here are a few (imho)...

Obsession (original)
Secret Obsession
Tom Ford Black Orchid, of course.
Thierry Mugler Angel
Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue
Vera Wang Look
Dior Addict

With super-sweet florals and gourmands dominating the department store market for the last 20 years, you'll find more contenders dipping back in the catalog:

Estee Lauder Cinnabar
Estee Lauder Youth Dew
YSL Opium
YSL Elle
Hermes Caleche
Dior Dolce Vita

Chanel No.19
Chanel No.5
Lolita Lempicka
Guerlain Shalimar extrait or EDP
Guerlain Vol de Nuit
Guerlain Samsara

I'm now extra bitter about my local department stores, since even the Nordstrom has less than half of Asha's list in stock. "But...." they say, "we can special order anything!" ARGH.

Let's not forget the following;

Bois des Iles, Chanel
No. 19, Chanel
Chamade, Guerlain
L'heure Bleue, Guerlain
Shalimar, Guerlain
Mitsouko, Guerlain
Vol de nuit, Guerlain
Nahema, Guerlain
Samsara, Guerlain
Jicky, Guerlain
Chant de Aromes, Guerlain
Hiris, Hermes
George Sand by MPG
Guerlainade, Guerlain
Perles de Lalique
Lolita Lempicka
Dark Crystal, Versaci
Fendi

I second:

YSL Opium
Estee Lauder Youth Dew
MPG George Sand
Tom Ford Black Orchid (although this is sometimes marketed as unisex)

I add:

Hermes Kelly Caleche
Balmain de Balmain
Balmain Jolie Madame
Gres Cabochard

Dior Dolce Vita
Cartier Le Baiser du Dragon

Please don't forget Estee Lauder's Private Collection & Clinique's Aromatics Elixir

Oh, yes, ubuandibeme! Those are two marvelous herbal, vegetal scents!

I would have to say the easiest to wear is Light Blue, and perhaps Mitsouko, if you want to go all old school

L'eau D'Hadrien EDP & Les Nuits D'Hadrien also EDP
Lauder - Alliage, Azuree, Knowing

Guerlain Vetiver pour elle

I forgot to add:

Cuir de Lancome.

Anything and everything you desire to wear !
The ladies' Gucci By Gucci is very unisex ,also Dior Dolce Vita ...so many ... I think you should wear what you like whether it is labelled pour femme or not .......

Hi guys,

Dior's Dune for women-- "light" oriental. Positively butch compared to the syrupy dreck they've been making so much of lately.

Dior's Diorella - great citrus, better and more interesting than Eau Sauvage

DKNY Women - gorgeous frothy lemon opening, great for a summer day

Estée Lauder's Azurée

Turin and Sanchez recommend Arpège and White Linen for men, but I found them both overly floral for my tastes.

yes ofcourse

I'm looking forward to trying Gucci by Gucci & as many of those mentioned that i can obtain samples of .
In addition to those I mentioned near the top when i started this thread
I have also used Fendi & it wasn't for me & Samsara which i found to be "absolutely brilliant !! .
I also own a bottle of Cardin ( 1975 ) which i use a few times a year .
Thanks for all your input so far .
cheers

I guess I ought to start out by saying that although some folks will insist that it is all "in the nose of the beholder," and others that there is no difference whatsoever...if we start with the idea that words have meaning and that we actually can communicate something of significance to each other by respecting those meanings...then the fact that words such as "masculine" and "feminine" even exist implies that there are real differences between the sexes and that these words describe characteristics and preferences associated with gender that are almost universally perceived across many cultures.

So....it follows then that some notes, some fragrances, must bring to mind aspects of masculine and feminine in ways that other fragrances do not...and much more readily. Some notes must resonate more with masculine sensibilities than others; and some more strongly with the feminine.

What are those notes?

For me, I associate wood and metal and smoke and leather and whisky (no "e") with the masculine; and food smells, flowers, and to a lesser extent, citrus, with the feminine.

I don't have gender associations with smells that aren't cultural references. I could say I associate cigars and their smell with guys, but that's because more guys smoke them than women, at least back home in Canada. If they were a female-only item, no doubt I'd think they were female-smelling. I have yet to identify a smell I feel to be distinctly masculine or distinctly feminine outside of cultural contexts such as this.

Here we go again...

I don't think that smells in themselves are inherently masculine or feminine, it's a cultural issue. Flowers like jasmine and rose are considered as masculine or feminine in different parts of the world.

I'm not saying that we should or that we can ignore our cultural biases, just that we should realise that they are a product of society and not biology. Perceptions are relative and shifting.

Some fragrances that are considered masculine today would've been supergirly a few decades ago, while some older feminine fragrances are superbutch today by practically anyones standards.

Men: Snips and snails and puppy-dog tails

Women: Sugar and spice and everything nice

DWFII, I do agree with you. But labels are tricky: Dior Homme feels femenine (floral and gourmand) while Cabochard by Gres feels masculine (leather). As a matter of fact, I feel more comfortable wearing Cabochard than Dior Homme.

Thunder or lightning then baby said ...

Cultures and cultural biases don't exist in a vacuum. They are expression of deep seated predilections and preferences....sensibilities that speak to us on a level that no amount of rationalization can refute. At one level, I think the case could be made that many of them are genetically based. But either way they are not just crepe paper hung on the rafters--they are the rafters themselves...the structure upon which society and civilization is built. That's why they are so hard to change...or, as is au currant, eradicate.

But the original question/thesis is not intended to be an exploration of sexuality or sexual preferences or even lifestyles, but simply a consideration of why some fragrances express masculine and feminine better than other fragrances...and what those notes are. Is there a commonality or a thread running through them?

Most boys like playing with sticks, like carving wood with pocket knives, love climbing trees, love chopping wood when camping etc.
Most girls love sticking flowers in their hair, picking flowers, smelling flowers, making those interminable daisy chains with real daisies.
Most boys and girls like eating oranges and drinking lemonade.

Most men wear woody scents, or scents with a significant woody component.
Most women wear floral scents, or scents with a significant floral component.
When wearing unisex scents, until recently most men and women went for citrusy scents.

Amazing coincidence is it not?
I think some things are just innate in this world.

Despite the best efforts of some teachers trying to enforce their gender neutral philosophy in schools, boys still climb trees and play with wood, and they might give making daisy chains a try every now and then, but they'd still prefer a Daisy BB Gun.
Cheers,
Renato

Oh dear... can we also talk about Creed and just get it all taken care of in the same thread? (sarcasm )

Most, perhaps... but a large number of boys and girls do NOT enjoy the things as labeled (I was one of them, as was my tom boy sister).

As it pertains to smells, DWFII, I'm just going to have to disagree with you. I don't think there are elements in smells that are the rafters, as you suggest and I have little doubt that exceptions could be found to every "identification" of an element as a rafter.

We do have responses with our conditioned noses, however, and smells conjure up slideshows of who would wear them (male or female) and despite how many "marketed to women" scents I have and like, there are smells out there that I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing because of my "conditioned" nose, but that does not mean there is an anchor to these perceptions that is inherent in our species.

The original question is unanswerable. It would be like saying vanilla is a feminine flavor and chocolate masculine. Our senses don't work that way.

I think you are certainly correct...fragrances themselves have no inherent gender but aren't certain notes associative?

That said, food smells seem to be neutral...or moreso, than wood notes or floral notes. Everybody likes food.

^To a certain degree they do work that way for many substances found in nature, and synthetics as well, but not in any definitive way that is uniform for all humans, especially when the composition is a very busy one.

As for my answer, almost all smells can be used by either sex.
No notes are forbidden i think.

But the ratio and proportion of the notes within the composition is what gives it it's underlying charaxter, not the notes themselves.
These characters definitely do correlate to feelings and personalities, across the entire range of femininity and masculinity, as many plant sources and animal sources for perfumery ingredients themselves have sexually dimorphous hormones, or sexually amorphous substances and such.

It's very easy to use exactly the same classic ingredients and make such starkly masculine and feminine scents, just by varying the ratios.
This industry has an over-stated dichotomy in some of it's lineage.

I know you won't agree but I don't think conditioning has anything to do with it. As if we were entirely receptive to brainwashing and could not ever transcend it. I think we come into this world with certain innate character traits and characteristics. And certain propensities--likes and dislike, as who should say.. So many "untoward" notions spring from the proposition that we are a product of our conditioning that I am surprised anyone even takes it seriously anymore.

There is an old saying (and old sayings tend to be condensed bits of real wisdom) ...that "the hand that rocks the cradle controls the world." If conditioning were the answer, we'd all like just what our mothers liked.

Agree with both of these. There are certainly psychological differences between men and women (the hunter/gatherer vs. the nurturer) that may account for some acquired fragrance tastes.

But I'm sure a good deal of the difference in "standard" feminine/masculine notes arises from abstract cultural associations, too.

The impact of one factor vs. the other? Who knows.