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For Men, For Women, Gender Neutral...how to tell?

post #1 of 11
3/26/08 at 6:33am
Thread Starter 
This may seem like an obvious question but sometimes when I'm reading about the different notes in the perfume, I can't always tell if it's for men or women or if it's a gender neutral scent. Is there something to look for, or notes that are more specific to gender?
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post #2 of 11
3/26/08 at 6:44am
Marketting tradition has it that overtly floral notes are for women (e.g., lilac, tuberose). More spicy and woody notes are mostly in fragrances that are marketed towards men (e.g., vetiver, cedar). In the end it all depends on what you are comfortable with. I personally don't buy the gender distinction very much but also am not too comfortable wearing something overtly floral myself. However, I tremendously enjoy smelling it on the ladies. I find that women can get away with wearing "men's" fragrances much more easily than the other way around in our society.
There is a lot of crossover (e.g., citrus notes and lavendar are everywhere). To identify those notes, just browse through the list of an e-tailer's products. The notes are usually listed. OsMoz is also a good source. Anyway, experiment and enjoy!
RM
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post #3 of 11
3/26/08 at 10:57am
I agree with what Renaissance Man says. One thing I have started to do, as a guy, is to explore the feminine scents from houses that I enjoy, Guerlain, Chanel, and Burberry for example. That makes for a good starting point in my opinion. Aside from that, just test different fragrances, find what you like and don't like and wear what you like. And have fun!
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post #4 of 11
3/26/08 at 12:49pm
Thread Starter 
I agree that certain scents are more masculine or than feminine and visa versa....I just never thought to try something "from the other side" LOL
Do you suppose the scents have a different effect on a woman's skin than a man's? I'll check out OsMoz.


I just picked up a Creed Virgin Island Water sample, just assuming it was for women based on the description and tried it out and thought it was a bit masculine smelling. Then looked it up and realized that it's a "gender neutral" scent, I'll have to pass it off to my hubby and see what it does on him.

Thanks for your insight.
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post #5 of 11
3/26/08 at 2:27pm
I understand what you're asking, mamakat, but I'm beginning to see less gender in fragrance because a lot of things fall into a middle category. Being new to this, it was something I "worried" about at first. Now, not so much. Which doesn't mean there will be a lilac sillage surrounding me anytime soon. But you never know!

Half the stuff in my cupboard is probably considered "men's" cologne. The other half, I don't know if it's men's/women's/neutral. I read the descriptions, found some reviews by people who used it and decided whether or not to buy it. Half my cupboard could be "women's" colognes. That's OK.

For example, I would consider Gray Flannel or Burberry Brit to be a man's scent. But I've smelled them on women - they smell the same and can work. There is an indefinite of being able to "pull off" a scent. I know several women who can wear men's frags that I couldn't wear.

I would consider Chanel No. 5 to be a woman's scent but have known of men wearing it.

Then there are the "niche" frags like CB I Hate Perfume which don't seem to identify by gender at all.

To my mind, citrus and spice tend to be gender neutral areas. But then you get into floral citruses and spicy leather and things get more complicated.

Then there's incense and sandalwood and rose. All of which can be any of the above.

A lot depends on what you like and what your personality let's you get away with.
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post #6 of 11
3/26/08 at 2:39pm
Thread Starter 
I definitely see where you're cming from Brent, I think it's all a matter of trial and error...that's what I'm learning anyway
Speaking of I Hate Perfume, have you ever tried them? I've been curious about them for some time, though have never smelled them. I might have to put in an order for some samples, Black March always sounded interesting to me.
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post #7 of 11
3/26/08 at 2:42pm
I have not tried the CB line. It's likely that they're not scents I could pull off. Or maybe I'm just not that comfortable with experiement with them.

There's a great discussion with reviews here:

http://community.basenotes.net/showthread.php?t=207823

One of the posts in that discussion has links to other discussions of CB's line, too.
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post #8 of 11
3/26/08 at 2:45pm
I got some samples from Penhaligon's today, and at a cursory sniff I'd say that Endymion is rather feminine, but it's still marketed as a men's fragrance. At the same time, I think Malabah could be worn by a man without compromising his masculinity, and it's marketed as a women's fragrance. The meaning of scent is really what you make of it.
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post #9 of 11
3/26/08 at 7:06pm
If you like the way it wears on you, and you are female, then it's for women too...
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post #10 of 11
3/26/08 at 7:11pm
Thread Starter 
If you like the way it wears on you, and you are female, then it's for women too..

great motto!

I'll check out the CB thread, I'm intrigued, sounds like some interesting stuff.
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post #11 of 11
3/28/08 at 1:39pm
what about the androgynous scents? what notes usually go into those?
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Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Just Starting Out › For Men, For Women, Gender Neutral...how to tell?