Men wearing Women's Fragrances? - Page 13

Byredo - Bal d'Afrique

Sycomore
Coromandel
Bandit

I saw a thread earlier this morning about Angel Liqueur de Parfum, and it got me wondering about other frags marketed towards women, that guys can pull off. Can you guys list some that arnt too feminine? Im a big fan of the Mugler house, but other houses are definitely welcome.

I reckon Cabochard by Gres is do-able. It's SO close to Aramis I'm sure I could get away with it...!

I own Chanel Bois des Iles and Coromandel, both are considered female fragrances within Chanel's Les Exclusifs.

+1 on Cabochard...

Many, many, many more...here are some...

Mitsouko
Jicky
Sous le Vent
Bandit
Diorella
Jolie Madame
Feminite De Bois
Onda
Nu
Cristalle
Portrait Of A Lady
Tabac Blond
Donna Karan signature EDP
Donna Karan Black Cashmere
Metal
Givenchy III

...many more....

Aaaaand ...

- Midnight Poison
- Hypnotic Poison
- Sycomore
- Dioressence
- Chanel's Eau de Cologne

... to add just a few more!

Not too many. I even find some already mentioned way too feminine for me. In fact many that are called "unisex" are a little to feminine to my nose.

The one that comes to mind as marketed towards women that is not really feminine is Portrait of a Lady. That seems pretty unisex IMO.

Tubereuse Criminelle/Jonquille de Nuit which are both surprisingly similar even though the main player Tubereuse/Narcissus dominate each respective scent.

I'd +1 Portrait of a Lady.

Many guys seem to wear Dior Homme Intense too [my pleasure Tropics]

Habanita, Azuree.

Lets not forget Shalimar.

There are far too many to list, but these two immediately come to mind.

good calls...

31 rue Cambon

Since you're a big fan of Mugler, you should try the original Angel EDP. I find it completely 'unisex.' Just go easy on the sprayer!

Almost any concentration of Chanel No. 19 and Dior's Escale a Portofino.

I own and wear the following fragrances marketed towards women:
Shalimar: Vanilla and a hint of spice
Shalimar Parum Initial: DHI's outrageous younger brother
Hypnotic Poison: Almond and vanilla gourmand
Midnight Poison: Should have been the first male Poison. Rose and patchouli.
Coromandel: Divine white chocolate
Sycomore: Classy Vetiver
Black Orchid: Should have been unisex. Amazing.

Amen!

I can't believe I didn't think of that first.

Bal a Versailles, Miss Balmain, Rochas Femme, Lolita Lempicka L, etc.

+ 1 on these

A Lot!

Almost the entire Tom Ford Range, specially Black Orchid EDP and White Patchouli (this is ultra masculine)

Almost the entire Poison range, specially Hypnotic and Midnight Poison (this is also very very masculine)

Almost the entire Chanel Les Exclusifs range, specially Bois des Iles, Coromandel, Cuir de Russie and Sycomore (this is a manly powerhouse)

Almost the entire Shalimar range, specially Shalimar EDT, EDP and Parfum, Shalimar Parfum Initial Shalimar Parfum Initial L'Eau and Eau de Shalimar (this is more masculine than Habit Rouge)

Almost the entire Thierry Mugler range, specially Womanity (figs are not only for women), Angel (similar to Angel Men but better) and Alien (this is a woodsy floral clearly masculine)

Also,

Black Kashmere
Cuir Ottoman
Bal a Versailles
D&G Light Blue
I Love Love
Opium
Sun Moon Stars


And much, much more.

Danny ... I bow down to you!

I have never purchased fragrances specifically targeted to the female gender, but I am certainly going to snif several of the recommendations listed in this thread. Thank you so much.

Perhaps Dior's Escale a Portofino

Mitsouko and Jicky.

Any that you feel comfortable wearing. If you love the smell on you, please go ahead and make the world a better smelling place-whether it's "feminine" or otherwise.

Honestly, when I sniff perfume on anyone, regardless gender, I am not thinking whether whatever he/she is wearing is "masculine" or "feminine", but more about the smell itself (whether it's wonderful, different, poetic, etc.) I admit, I may be in the minority, but IME and IMO, a great smell always trumps whichever its gender/age/etc. target may be.

Of course, you must feel comfortable wearing it, so it should match your personality/personal taste; you should love it. Otherwise, I don't see why we should limit our choices to scents with supposedly "masculine" or "not too feminine" notes on them. Wear whatever you like, that smells good to you and suits your persona.

Guerlain's S. Double Vanille is considered a female fragrance.

Cabochard by Gres
Light Blue
Black Orchid
Dune

Kenzo Power lol

Aromatics Elixir a while after applied, Brit by Burberry.

It all depends on your tastes:

- If you are offputed by amazing sillage and longevity, rest assure you will find many femenines unbereable.
- If you realize that masculine versions of femenine scents don't have many differences, then you will find them quite good.
- Aldehydes and white florals are markedly femenine.
- Spices and woods are markedly masculine.

For instance, I personally find Chanel N° 5 and Lanvin's Arpege way too femenine because of the aldehydes. Coromandel, a patchouli prominent scent - an ingredient widely used in masculine scents - , is a powerbomb to the point of annoyment. Cabochard is way too similar to Aramis. And Obsession for women works quite well if layered with its masculine version, for it gives the last one the presence it used to have before it became reformulated. Mitsouko is great, but it does smell old fashioned. Chamade is a nice chypre, but with marked floral notes, thus quite femenine. Quartz for women was described as masculine when compared with Dior Homme, which was described as femenine when smelt by family members without a clue as to their brands. Knowing has been referred to a fragance easilyworn by men, not to my nose. Aromatics Elixir has a prominent rose note that subsides after minutes because of the patchouli. First can be layered with VC&A for men if you want to get an idea of how it used to be years ago. The pre reformulated version of YSL's Opium makes a wonderful room deodorizer. And so forth.

Try and judge by yourself.

Rochas "Femme" is totally suitable to men. I gave a bottle to my hairdresser, and her (macho Latino) husband swiped it! Guess I won't tell him "Femme" means "woman" in French.

Gres, Cabaret
Mitsouko
Chanel no 19 (NOT the EdP which is the most floral of the concentrations)
Dune

Vol de Nuit parfum
Narcisse Noir in the EDT and parfum
Jolie Madame
Balmain de Balmain
Infusion d'Iris by Prada
Ambre Gris by Balmain
Dior Miss Dior (not the new one)
Chanel Cuir de Russie in the parfum
Mugler Womanity
Shalimar Initial
Chanel No.5 Eau Premiere

In essence, what was said so well, any scent you enjoy wearing with comfort.

The only "female" fragrance I´ve had (besides Midnight Poison) in my collection. I wear this proudly and with confidence and have received good feedback. The kiss of the dragon is out of this world!

The only one I have is Chanel's Cuir de Russie. I remember asking my wife if she thought it smelled feminine at one point and she said "Oh no, that's most definitely a men's frag."

i'll vouch for this

i have the edp of no. 19 and it smells gorgeous, i get compliments all the time!

Hey guys thanks for all the speedy responses. Looks like my fridge has got some emptying to do to make space for some of these frags. I actually picked up 2 bottles of angel liqueur de parfum for 75.50 brand new today. I also remembered i had samples of Angel and ToF Angel...not having sampled those in a few months and comming back, I realized I MAY in fact like Angel better than A*men.

Cuir de Lancôme, Bandit, Vol de Nuit, Chamarde, Calèche.

No absolute rule. It is down to individual skin chemistry.

Feminines that would work for men:

Chanel Cuir de Russie
Chanel Sycomore
Chanel Coromandel
Chanel Bois des Iles
Chanel Eau de Cologne
Chanel 31 Rue Cambon
Chanel Bel Respiro
Guerlain Vol de Nuit parfum
Guerlain SDV
Guerlain Sous le Vent
Guerlain Jicky
Guerlain Mitsouko
FM Carnal Flower
FM Portrait of a Lady
FM Une Rose
FM En Passant
Dior Hypnotic Poison
Donna Karen Black Cashmere
Amouage Lyric Woman
Tom Ford Black Orchid
Kilian Liaisons Dangereuses
Kilian Love
Kilian Beyond Love
Kilian Love and Tears
Kilian Rose Oud
SL Tubereuse Criminelle
SL A la Nuit
Helmut Lang EDP
Givenchy Insense
Rochas Globe
YSL Nu
Paco Rabanne Metal
Piguet Bandit
Caron Tabac Blond
SSS Tabac Aurea

Insensé de Givenchy
is a male fragrance!

The male counterpart
to Amarige actually.

We've all done it, found that scent made for the girls but loved by the guys. So what is a favorite feminine scent that you love to wear and that you totally pull off. I have mentioned mine already on the forum With Love by Hillary Duff, a spicy woody tropical fruit mix that reminds me of being on a hot tropical beach. Coconut and mango very reminiscent of Virgin Island Water. So what's your favorite feminine and do you wear it often?

too many to mention...

http://www.basenotes.net/threads/169...ale-Fragrances.

http://www.basenotes.net/threads/175...n-s-Fragrances

http://www.basenotes.net/threads/266...es-used-by-men

http://www.basenotes.net/threads/248...earing-perfume

http://www.basenotes.net/threads/260........be-honest

None. Unfortunately they don't mix with my body chemistry and remain recognizable as feminine scents. Just sitting there, on my skin, wearing a pink dress.

Marquis de Sod ... I love that screen name!

Thankfully, though, it is a title below my own in the royal rank.
Thus, I'm still the highest ranking selfproclaimed nobleman here
on Basenotes.

As I mentioned on a couple of more or less similar threads:

any given concentration of Chanel No. 19
Dior Escale a Portofino
any given concentration of Bvlgari Jasmin Noir

among others, also eager to look into some of the L'Occitane creations, including feminines.

Tabu was my first. I've told the story in the past so I won't bore you guys, but this just works for me. The vintage especially smells like some fancy niche oriental on my skin and it lasts and lasts, and projects and projects. Opium is another. It was the second I tried because I find it simmilar to Tabu, albiet richer. Opium could be re-released as a masculine oriental and it would rock so many peoples socks, especially those who are used to the wimpy Opium Pour Homme. YSL really gave men the finger with that one. To make it fair they should do a Kouros pour femme and turn it into a wimpy, watered down mess.

Arpege. It's practically an aromatic fougere already. Amazing soapy goodness, and quite cheap. Why anyone would buy Arpege Pour Homme is beyond me. Extra points for the vintage which my grandmother wore quite often as it brings back very fond memories.

Obsession. Another scent that blows the 'pour homme,' version clean out of the water. I'd love to try the vintage, but I'm happy as it stands with this lovely little cheapie. A 30ml bottle goes a long way on me and costs next to nothing.

Does Bandit even count as a feminine? I'll wear anything by Germaine Cellier for that matter with the exception of her Nina Ricci's (although I'll enjoy them on women, I'll enjoy the hell out of them!) but Visa, Fracas, Jolie-Madame, etc. All very much in play. Although Bandit and Jolie-Madame are the only ones I dig in their reformulated styles.

Jicky, obviously. This is another that's just a no-brainer. Mitsouko only slightly less so, but I don't use these often because I only have a small supply of the vintage which has officially reached the 'insane' price-threshold and the reformulations smell awful to me. Apres l'Ondee is another, but again the price is insane and the reformulation is dull.

Many from the Aqua Allegoria series. Actually I'll go out on a limb and say I'd cheerfully spritz anything made by Jean Paul Guerlain, regardless of who it was made for, as I've never come across an authentic (vintage) scent of his I didn't love, and even many of the reformulations hold up quite well when it comes to his newer work.

Perles de Lalique parfum (especially); my no.1 chypre. Light years ahead of the reformulated Mitsouko, which should be called Shitsouko. The flacon is a work of art.

Tabac Blond. I even enjoy the reformulation of this one.

A couple of Yardley's cheapies, oddly enough, which I find to be almost soliflores i.e English Rose and Peony; English rose layered with the equally super-cheap Mont St. Michel rose cologne makes me feel like a great dandy, but I love it.

Just about anything with a good vanilla presence. From niche (Annick Goutal) and designer exclusives (Guerlain) to the hugely overlooked Cool Water for women flanker Sensual Essence and the insanely cheap and sadly discontinued Diesel Plus Plus feminine.

This might sound bizarre, but Miss Worth vintage parfum (a hyper-delicate, spring-scented aldehydic floral with many fruity notes and subtle gourmand accords) works on my skin. Big time. Although the EDP stinks. On everyone. It could be because it reminds me of my late wife, but she wore Je Reviens and Dans la Nuit even more and I don't think it is suitable for me at all so who knows. The new Worth oriental gourmand by Mr. Cool Water: Courtesan is another I dig. I bought it for my fiance, and a few bottles to gift around (I wanted to support Worth's attempt to push upmarket) but I keep having to steal it from her.

Ysatis; better than the reformulated Xeryus, although I do like that too.

Hypnotic Poison, pending a suggestion on Basenotes I went and rummaged around in my garage for those 'little luxuries,' Dior mini sets (awesome packaging here, Dior really do go the extra mile in many cases) I used to have on the shelf when I was in business. Now there's a stack of Hypnotic Poison minis in my rotation, good stuff! All I need to do is decant them into an atomiser.

Wow! I loved every word you wrote,
and every frag you mentioned! Well,
except most of the Aqua Allegorias.
You go, boy!

Yup - A lot of threads on this already.

I think there was even a thread about which fragrance could not be worn by women, and there was no agreement on that, either, because women kept admitting to having worn even the most "masculine" fragrances we could think of.

I guess these threads serve a purpose, in helping guys ease into the cool water of the pool, by suggesting the feminines which are the least of a departure from typical labeled masculines.

I'm wearing Coco Noir right now - I'm finally realizing that it has a very subtle woody radiance and persistence, a lot like Timbuktu. I had caught it in the store, but now I'm getting it at home. I was really not expecting this feminine to have so much appeal to me. Extremely wearable by guys. Cacio was right about this one.

Just embrace your inner lady and enjoy the scents :-)

IMO, fragrances are just like wines--really preferences. No one would dare to say a Chardonnay is girlier than a Bordeaux. One is free to enjoy all kinds of wines.

True, true, alas, unlike most food, fragrances have been divided by gender for generations in this part of the world, so I'd say fragrances are somewhere between clothing and food. Or perhaps one could compare them to music, whilst all music can be consumed by everyone, there certainly are certain styles that mainly attract women whilst others attract mainly testosterone filled men, and of course some that attract everybody (unisex music, if you wish). A man listening to Kylie and Dido mainly would equal a man wearing mainly Lolita Lempicka, florals and such and perhaps raise just as many eyebrows in some circles.

In the end it's, of course, in the nose of the beholder if something smells feminine, masculine, mature, young, rich, casual, sexy, and whatever else people might seek/find in a fragrance.

It all comes down to what sexuality you wish to project from your scent.

Add to this list "Any fragrance the man enjoys and feels confident wearing."

Great compilation hobbes22! The beautiful Globe by Rochas, however, has been created as a masculine when men didn't believe in buying from the other counter the way we do now.

Gender in fragrances is a complete marketing/cultural mirage. Unlike clothing, which is cut to accentuate and compliment the physical differences between genders, fragrances are fragrances, just like food is food. Is a hamburger masculine or feminine? And if you assign it a gender, should the opposite gender feel self conscious eating it?

Wear what you like. I've worn "feminines" regularly, most often because it is easier for me to find a feminine that appeals to my nose than a masculine. I wore SL "Une Bois Vanille" to the hardware store and a woman stopped to ask me what I was wearing. Good is good. I have spent a good part of this summer wearing "Jennifer Aniston" which smells of white florals, Coppertone, and chlorinated pool water. Last summer was "Bronze Goddess" because it had a Hawaiian Tropic suntan lotion vibe. Is suntan lotion masculine or feminine? I also like "Clean Provence", Bulgari "Au The Rouge", "Route du The", and Bond No. 9 "Fire Island" (which is allegedly unisex but is the most feminine fragrance I've ever worn).

As long as you like it and feel good when you wear it, nothing else matters.

It's not just the cut when it comes to clothing. Men could easily wear pink, floral skirts. It would be very comfortable. I'm sure we could design nice floral dresses cut for men too. Food and sun lotion get used by everybody, young, old, male, female, so there is no devision, as artificial as it may be (debatable if it is completely learned/cultural), like when it comes to perfume.

If scents can smell young, old, rich, assertive, sexy, romantic, etc they also can smell feminine and masculine. I find it somewhat droll that some people, instead of admitting that feminine perfumes suit them, rather try to claim there are no feminine scents, just scents. It almost could seem as if some see femininity as something less than masculinity. Personally I think everybody just should admit that they like feminine scents cause they enjoy smelling like a lady.

Edit - Perhaps Sweden will lead the way to a new approach to gender
http://www.smh.com.au/world/his-hers...413-1wxra.html

i suggest angel schlesser oriental edition 2 or costume national 21 also try guerilla perfumes at lush stores these are the ones i am currently using i have an equal amount of male and female fragrances. Wear what makes you feel good regardless if its mens or womens a scent dosent have a sex till it lands on the wearer in my opinion. Happy hunting matey.

- - - Updated - - -

iI absolutley love that line about being twice the man i am going to use that on the next biggotted idiot i come across which is usually in my experience tomorrow lol

I think everyone should wear what they like and not care what anyone else may think. Fragrance like all other parts of fashion should be an individual expression that fits ones personality and mood. So express away with wherever your personality or mood takes you.

What facinates me is when a man wears a fragrance designed to be feminine, it takes on a little of a five-o-clock stubble in the way that it smell. It seems the natural muskiness of men's skin give feminine fragrances a bit of a masculine vibe.

The same is true in the opposite direction when women wear masculine fragrance, they seem to smell a bit softer.