Fragrances for Women That Work for Men
A two-part series by Suzanna on perfume gender bending: Fragrances for Men That Work for Women.
My significant other and Charlie Chaplin have something in common, and it’s not that both are comedians. The similarity is that both wear or wore Mitsouko, Guerlain’s legendary peachy, mossy chypre. I must say my significant other wears Mitsouko with an elegant swagger that I—a Mitsouko lover—could never pull off. And it’s not just Mitsouko that gets co-opted for the guy; it’s also Tan Rokka Aki, Chanel Cuir de Russie, and Donna Karan Black Cashmere that are likewise shared.
None of these fragrances is marketed to men; rather, they have always been on the distaff side. However, tonally they seem closer to masculine scents than to feminine ones. They feature stronger uses of woods, spice, and leather than do traditional women’s scents, and while in some instances they might be sweeter or more floral than the usual masculine, they are only just over that line. Here are some of my personal picks for scents that smell terrific on men without any prettifying.
Shan in Sweet Citrus Perfumes: Mandarins: The most recent mandarin note I’ve tried is quite literal in Byredo’s Tobacco Mandarin – its very beautiful to me but its so literal that the price point makes me… January 18, 2025 at 1:15am