Not sure if this is a compliment or not!

[darcy666]

So yesterday I decided to wear Midnight in paris EDT to work. A colleague comes into my office and asks me which woman has been in here recently. I asked him why and he said because sh'es got really great perfume
..
Perhaps MIP is a bit too feminine after all......

[Jack Hunter]

Sounds like a backhanded compliment to me.lol

[Possum-Pie]

So yesterday I decided to wear Midnight in paris EDT to work. A colleague comes into my office and asks me which woman has been in here recently. I asked him why and he said because sh'es got really great perfume
..
Perhaps MIP is a bit too feminine after all......

Sometimes I get that when I wear Montale Black Aoud, or Louban. The rose scent is stereotyped as a female note. Doesn't bother me b/c I LOVE them and Ultimately that is who I wear them for.

[Rüssel]

Sounds as if he was flirting with you. Do you like him?

[darcy666]

LOL. I know him very well. He wasn't being funny/sarcastic, he was genuinely enquiring as to who had been in the office!

[inc0gnito]

Got a compliment very similar to yours while wearing Dior Homme.

[Ken_Russell]

A compliment- most likely yes. Yet one based on the prejudice that it's mainly the women who have the knowledge, capacity, experience, taste, stylishness etc, to wear a great fragrance, much rarely, hardly ever, also the men.

[Renato]

If one wears women's scents, it should come as no surprise that people perceive women's scents.
Scents have no gender - other than to the 95% of the population that immediately perceive them as having gender or strong gender association.
Regards,
Renato

[cameron]

Renato is right. "scents have no gender" is a utopian philosophy. It is not reality.

[morrison74]

Isn't MIP a male marketed scent though?

[dougczar]

Isn't MIP a male marketed scent though?

Yes - but so is Dior Homme Intense. And many people consider that to be very feminine also.

I can certainly see how someone would assume that smell would be coming from a woman instead of a man.

[morrison74]

Yes - but so is Dior Homme Intense. And many people consider that to be very feminine also.

I can certainly see how someone would assume that smell would be coming from a woman instead of a man.

Sorry, I should have been clearer. I was referring to Renato's comment about the op wearing a 'women's' scent.

[Trauerkraut]

...he liked the smell so it was a compliment...!

[ChuckW]

That was a compliment. Enjoy!

[NewHaarlem]

My gf wouldn't wear my Midnight in Paris, as she thinks it's a masculine scent.

[hednic]

So yesterday I decided to wear Midnight in paris EDT to work. A colleague comes into my office and asks me which woman has been in here recently. I asked him why and he said because sh'es got really great perfume
..
Perhaps MIP is a bit too feminine after all......

If you walk in with Kouros tomorrow, bet the compliment from that colleague will be different.

[L'Homme Blanc Individuel]

So yesterday I decided to wear Midnight in paris EDT to work. A colleague comes into my office and asks me which woman has been in here recently. I asked him why and he said because sh'es got really great perfume

I got that same sort of backhanded compliment when I gave Dior Homme a test wear. I met some friends for drinks and they assumed I'd just been on a really hot date. I said no, and my friend said something like "Oh come on! I can smell her on you."

[DuNezDeBuzier]

...Scents have no gender - other than to the 95% of the population that immediately perceive them as having gender or strong gender association.

Agreed. So, in answer to the OP... it's gotta be broken into 2 parts:
1) Yes, your co-worker complimented the scent, however
2) We only know that your co-worker incorrectly associated the scent to the other gender and are left hangin' as to whether your co-worker would have thought it wrong for you to wear this scent OR would have applauded you for stretching the envelope, so to speak. The real question is did you tell him? If not, why not?

fwiw I'd probably not, but it'd probably depend on how tight the relationship was (i.e. work buddy v. co-worker)

[iivanita]

If one wears women's scents, it should come as no surprise that people perceive women's scents.
Scents have no gender - other than to the 95% of the population that immediately perceive them as having gender or strong gender association.
Regards,
Renato

Ihave no prejudices, i would wear masculine scents from time to time too, as i wear suits, not only skirts,

But some things are so feminine that it cant be true smells dont have gendre, its like clothes!! Trousers have gender depends only the way they are cut, some are unisex but some clothes are only feminine and tie is masculine only:-)

I can not imagine sacrebleu on man!! Nor fracas:-) .....but carnal flower could go on men but not every day:-)
If u wear dior homme and get such compliment i ould lough only, but if you wear sacrebleu and get it then yes you can maybe think about it not to wear it every day with that colleague hehe.......or if you like more feminine scents then they should be more like delicate type of scents not strong and heavy

[dollars&scents]

If one wears women's scents, it should come as no surprise that people perceive women's scents.
Scents have no gender - other than to the 95% of the population that immediately perceive them as having gender or strong gender association.
Regards,
Renato

I agree, and with Midnight in Paris by Van Cleef & Arpels, which does teeter on the feminine side, one cannot expect otherwise.

Moreover, just because a corporate decision is made to market it to men, it does not follow that it is per se a masculine scent.

You choose to put your sexuality on display with your scent, hence, you reap what you sow.

- - - Updated - - -

I think that it is kind of foolish to equate what a female does, in our society, with a corrsponding allowance or tolerance of what a male may do.

Women can wear dresses, trousers, suits, without flak, for the most part. However, a male, I believe, cannot get away with wearing what he wants, such as, wearing a dress, skirt or short shorts, without a judgment by others.

To think otherwise is evidence of losing touch with reality, despite protestations to the contrary.

[dougczar]

I think that it is kind of foolish to equate what a female does, in our society, with a corrsponding allowance or tolerance of what a male may do.

Women can wear dresses, trousers, suits, without flak, for the most part. However, a male, I believe, cannot get away with wearing what he wants, such as, wearing a dress, skirt or short shorts, without a judgment by others.

To think otherwise is evidence of losing touch with reality, despite protestations to the contrary.

Exactly.

[sjg3839]

Never smelled MIP, but if the ladies say it's OK, continue to spray!

[L'Homme Blanc Individuel]

You choose to put your sexuality on display with your scent, hence, you reap what you sow.

- - - Updated - - -

I think that it is kind of foolish to equate what a female does, in our society, with a corrsponding allowance or tolerance of what a male may do.

Women can wear dresses, trousers, suits, without flak, for the most part. However, a male, I believe, cannot get away with wearing what he wants, such as, wearing a dress, skirt or short shorts, without a judgment by others.

To think otherwise is evidence of losing touch with reality, despite protestations to the contrary.

I'm always impressed by your comments, and this one is a perfect example of why.

- - - Updated - - -

Never smelled MIP, but if the ladies say it's OK, continue to spray!

There's wisdom here too! Really, it all comes down to your priorities. As a single guy, I don't mind wearing scents that might be a bit feminine so long as I know women find the scent attractive but not too feminine on me. When in doubt, I always try something new out to get feedback from female friends. There are many scents that can smell feminine to a guy but masculine to a woman.

[change1]

He wanted to find the sexy lady with the nice fragrance

[fit&frag'd]

I have to admit, I tend to gravitate toward more distinctly masculine frags, as I don't personally care for the idea of someone thinking I smell too "feminine". I don't mind bordering the line a little bit with certain ones (as I have the confidence to pull off what I choose), but I'm definitely cautious & aware of it when selecting my frags. That's my hang-up, though and I might be in the minority....however, I wouldn't necessarily take the comment you got negatively. I still think it's a compliment if they think it smells good regardless.

[mesaboogie]

Here's a back handed compliment for ya. I was wearing Terre D'Hermes Pure Parfum a few weeks ago and a coworker told me I smelled like the armpit of a god.

[MJM_77]

I would take it as a compliment because most people that aren't fragheads would think that anything that wasn't a musk, woods or citrus bomb was a female fragrance.

[L'Homme Blanc Individuel]

Something to keep in mind: everything you wear, be it a pair of glasses, a new shirt, a pair of jeans or even a fragrance... everything you wear presents others with an image of who you are. That image isn't always right, but it is part - sometimes a very big part - of how others perceive you. I know the mantra on basenotes is "Wear what you like" but I think it makes a lot of sense to consider whether or not the thing you're wearing, be it the glasses, jeans, shirt or fragrance, represents the image you want to present. Midnight In Paris probably isn't the image you want to leave people with at work, but on a date? Definitely.

Know the old saying, different strokes for different folks? For fragrance, I think it's more a case of different scents for different events

[Oviatt]

NOT A COMPLIMENT. Really. Give it to your wife or girlfriend to wear.

[walkdogg]

i life feminine scents and wear many scents that were marketed to women such as light blue for women is great, so is beautiful mind... I too own MIP (also Blv Black which is SO SIMILAR) I have sisters who are always nicking my scents for themselves and using my mens stuff and the womens stuff I wear.

Smell has no gender. If you like it wear it.

[MikeJ]

Be optimistic, don't think "feminine perfume," think, "All I heard was great perfume..."

[darcy666]

Some great comments and I definitely agree with L'homme Blanc, different scents for different events.

I'll still wear it because I like the smell, maybe just not to work, or if I do, less sprays.

Just to confirm the very next day I doused myself in Fahrenheit

[Rüssel]

If it makes you feel more accepted to submit to social norms straight out of the 70s...

There are quite a few men's fragrances (and many that imo are worse and will make you smell like a chocolate/strawberry milkshake, etc) like this, sold by well known, highly regarded companies like Dior, Kenzo, VC&A...obviously these people, their perfumers and all the men (and women) who purchase them are all massively out of touch with reality.