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Next time you take a walk through your local perfume shop or health and beauty store, have a look at the differences between fragrances for men and fragrances for women. You'll notice that there is a clear distinction between them, not only in the way they smell, but also in the way they are marketed. You won't for example find a rugged men's fragrance in a delicate bottle with pretty flowers all over it because, well, flowers are for girls right? But haven't you ever wondered why this is the case when male and female skin is essentially the same and perfumes are simply chemical compounds? So who was it that decided that men and women were so different that we needed our own particular scents? A century ago, all perfume was considered unisex (although the term 'unisex' hadn't been coined back then) and we seemed less hung up on his and hers when it came to perfumes, and simply chose whatever we liked. But times have changed and we as a society (with the help of fragrance designers/perfume noses and very clever marketers) have created this separation based on what the ideal man or women is supposed to smell like. She is a soft, delicate floral or sensual spice. He is bold and rugged with the scent of citrus, wood, leather and tobacco. But there's no reason why this should be seen as some unbreakable rule as if you'll shunned by your friends and peers if you happen to wear the 'wrong' fragrance. The fact is that we all have unique body chemistries, which means that the same fragrance can react differently on different skins. Some fragrance ingredients will work for you and others won't so it's less about gender and more about simple chemistry. There's now a growing trend towards more sensual spicy fragrances for men and even a few woody or aromatic scents for women (although the traditional aromatic 'fougere' family is still dominated by men's fragrances) as well as an increasing number of unisex scents. There's some debate as to who created the first modern unisex fragrance although from a marketing perspective, Calvin Klein's CK One launched in 1994, could claim to be the first to call itself unisex. Since then, many of the top designer brands have released unisex fragrances, Comme des Garcon's Wonderwood, Gaultier2 and D&G's Anthology to name a few but that doesn't mean your choices should be limited to the relatively few unisex fragrances available if you're after something different. So next time you visit your local perfume shop to do some testing, don't get too caught up in the differences between men's and women's fragrances. Be a little daring and try something intended for the opposite sex - you may just be surprised.
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