Contents
In most stores, fragrances are clearly divided into men’s, women’s and a small unisex segment. However, many perfumers and buyers believe that in perfumery, the boundaries of the sexes have long been erased.
In any perfume shop, women’s and men’s fragrances are immediately guessed by the bottles. The former are characterized by graceful forms, fancy lids and bows. The second is poured into laconic black-and-blue vessels.
Finally, the dots over the “i” place the names. Girls should be attracted by flirtatious Miss Dior and Modern Muse. And their companions are gender-determined Le Male (“Male”) by Jean Paul Gaultier, Invictus (“Winner”) by Paco Rabanne or simply L’Homme Idéal (“Ideal Man”) by Guerlain. But is gender really that important in perfumery?
Until the end of the XNUMXth century, fragrances were not divided into men’s and women’s. Louis XIV was scented with water with notes of orange blossom, and Empress Eugenie was scented with Guerlain’s citrus Eau de Cologne Impériale. “Only the upper classes, which had sunk into oblivion after the French Revolution, could afford to smell fragrant. When citizens were no longer divided by origin, the issue of gender came to the fore. And there were perfumes for men and women,” explains sociologist Jane Mezias, author of Gender and Society. The strong half of humanity was ordered to smell like tobacco and wood, and the weak half – flowers: roses, violets, lilies of the valley.
Men’s club
This division has survived to this day. But many still look for their fragrance on the shelves for the opposite sex. So, 35-year-old Alexandra admits that Le Male, Jean Paul Gaultier is a symbol of her carefree youth. “All night long I danced with different men in clubs. By morning, clothes were saturated with this smell, popular in the early 2000s. I still wear this perfume on weekends to this day,” she says.
And for 25-year-old Veronica, Dior Homme Sport perfume is a connecting thread with her lover: “When he is on a business trip, I put a drop of this fragrance on my wrist in the morning and inhale it all day.” 40-year-old Anna claims that women’s compositions do not fit her wardrobe. “I wear minimalist menswear and have been loyal to Acqua di Gio, Giorgio Armani for many years. It makes me feel strong and confident. And female compositions seem either candy, or frivolous, or vicious,” she explains.
Gender balance
Perfumer Serge Lutens sees other reasons that make us violate the boundaries of gender. “Carl Gustav Jung introduced the terms Anima and Animus, denoting the feminine in a man and the masculine in a woman. Anima is the influence of emotions and moods. Animus – categorical, principled decisions. In this sense, the invasion of the perfume territory of the other sex may be an unconscious way to restore the balance of our male and female components,” says Serge Lutens.
On the women’s team
But what about men? Of course, among them, few use women’s perfume. But there are exceptions: such as Artem, a 35-year-old broad-shouldered fitness instructor. He confesses his love for unabashedly sweet and tart fragrances Alien or Angel, Thierry Mugler: “I love to be different. And scents help me stand out. Everyone notes their originality, not realizing that these are women’s perfumes. Alexander is 45 years old, and he admits that he sometimes wears perfume from the collection of his late mother: “They remind me of her, even though they reveal themselves differently on the skin and most of them sound quite masculine.”
Most perfumers do not recognize the gender division of scents.
Most perfumers do not recognize the gender division of scents. “70% of our creations are sexless. We create our compositions like paintings, connecting notes like strokes on a canvas. You won’t look for sex in landscapes, will you? Why designate who the fragrance is addressed to? Let everyone who likes it use it, ”says Christine Nagel, head perfumer of the House of Hermès.
Not very fond of the creators and the word “unisex”. “It’s as if you wrote that the fragrance turned out to be characterless, none,” says Jacques Cavalier “nose”. But what about paired fragrances where gender separation is inevitable? In fact, often in male and female compositions, united by one name, there are no identical notes, but there is only a general concept and advertising campaign. If you like them, go to the store, listen and choose any of the duo. After all, as we found out, there are no more gender laws in perfumery.