Discussion

@Gargron, 100%!

One of my favorite fragrances is DS & Durga's Rose Atlantic. I find great personal joy when I wear it for meetings in the male-dominated industry I work in. You can see the gears grinding as they try to process what they're experiencing. The look of, "I want to ask, but it would be weird" is what gets me through some of those meetings.

@Gargron so trueeeeee

@Gargron Motor oil and regret.

@Gargron
"Why sure, I would like to smell like a deer's ass"

@Gargron as a woman, I can't stand the fruity and floral scents. I want to smell musky or like a fire dammit.

@Gargron

:) Couldn't agree more!

@Gargron you can just buy women's fragrances

@Gargron

that works both ways:

i have it on good evidence that many women prefer men's underarm deodorant/ antiperspirant

some because they say it works better

others because they resent floral scents, that it clashes with natural odors

the grass is always greener on the other side

but yes: degender the entire fragrance product category

@Gargron That's right. I mean I am not sure I want to smell like a bad ginger subsiitute, but smelling like honeysuckle or lavender would be great as opposed to smelling like last night's single malt.

The good news is that even moderate applications of men's _or_ women's fragrance are enough to suffocate me.

A coworker thought I was joking when I said their lotion was making it hard for me to breathe.

Walking behind someone outdoors yesterday and I started to choke up.

No, I don't have asthma; there's just something about perfumes and colognes that I can't hand.

I have a very mild deodorant I can tolerate but that's about it; everything else I use is fragrance free.

@Gargron there's a cafe i used to live next door to that had a little shop in back that sold clothes and jewelry and stuff. i always liked that they didn't have space to partition things off by gender so the customer gets to use their own best judgement on these things. among other things they had some fancy fragrances that would be pleasant on anyone. can't remember the brand name though

@Gargron On a related theme a popular scent for fabric conditioner is so called "Summer Meadow".

I can't help thinking that summer meadows quite often smell of cow shit 🙂

@Gargron what, you don’t want to smell like sawdust and otter musk?

@Gargron are you based in Berlin? Check out the not gender specific fragrances at https://voostore.com/en-nl

I have the wonderful Kirsch from Headspace.

@Gargron leather couch!

@Gargron scents don't really have genders. Just get what suits you, it will smell like you if that's what you wear. I will here put in a plug for Neil Morris Perfumes, indie perfumer so good and most don't have any man or woman labeling.

@Gargron 😀

@Gargron I tend to always get the "Tobacco/Cigar/Whiskey" scented body wash as a gift. I really like Lavender or Cherry, though...

@Gargron Go buy what you want, don't let packaging stop you.

@Gargron that's cultural I think - in the gulf countries rose is commonly used by men, for example. But in the west I find niche perfumers tend to not divide their scents by gender, which is nice.

@Gargron Same goes with clothing. Men’s color are black and different shades of (dark) gray. If you’re a brave soul you might find white or melange colors.
Meanwhile women and kids get all the colors of the rainbow.

@Gargron in my family, when we bake, we put a drop of vanilla extract behind the ear.
Make that persistent and I'd wear it.

@Gargron the only adult men I've known that are regular uses of men's fragrance are alcoholics covering up unwanted odors.

@Gargron Don't you think that your problem is focusing on gender labels?

@Gargron someone in our building drowns themselves in cologne before getting into the lift.
You cannot breathe

And I hate when people do this before using public transport.
Just... Wash yourself. You don't need to douse yourself in smell, really. It's so icky (and gives a lot of people genuine respiratory problems!).

Smelling nice is one thing but the overdoing it can get in the bin.

Maybe we millennials can kill Fragrance like we killed laundry conditioner... 🤔

@Gargron try Fzotic. Everyone gets to smell like ink, creosote, almond, camphor, pepper, resin.

@Gargron Recently had a laugh at the men’s personal care products aisle. There was so much black and safety orange on all the packaging that it looked like the auto parts section.

@Gargron tons of unisex fragrances, usually in the women’s section. Byredo and DS&Durga are two of my favorites.

@Gargron Yep, you’re right. But despite being female, I myself rarely use(d) fragrance, and only the #organic lines, for health and environmental reasons. I also focus on sustainable packages, and also that is an issue for most fragrances.

@Gargron I actually prefer some of the “men’s” fragrances. Alas I have not found a Drakkar-noir-scented car air freshener for… at least a decade?

@Gargron fun fact, my (cishet dudebro type) favourite Axe body spray flavour is called: Anarchy for Her

So... Touche patriarchy?!?

(Well, it was. Can't find it any more because, of course not)

@Gargron
Bacon, maple, musk anyone?

@Gargron Tom Ford is one exception that doesn't split their fragrance line (with a couple of minor exceptions).

Of course, if you still _want_ to smell like a sofa, they've got you covered, but they also have some very delightful florals and fruits.

@Gargron You just stay away from my motor oil flavored body wash, shampoo, perfume, dish soap 4-in-1.

@Gargron Would you like some banana? What about bubblegum? Or candy? Maybe an exotic raccoon?

@Gargron the ingredients between male and female fragrances are identical. Only difference is ratios.