Surge of Dispreferred Scents: Women Asserting Authority Through Rebranded Perfume
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In the world of perfumery, a significant shift is underway. Gone are the days when fragrances were primarily designed to evoke traditional female sex appeal. Today, a new wave of perfumery is emerging, one that emphasizes self-discovery, personal empowerment, and inclusive identity.
This evolution reflects broader cultural changes emphasizing individuality, emotional storytelling, and breaking free from gender stereotypes in scent. Holly Dugan, an assistant professor of English literature at the George Washington University and the author of "The Ephemeral History of Perfume," explains that this shift is echoed in academia. "Scent's volatility enhances its power and makes it elusive and uncontrollable," she says.
One key aspect of this shift is the rise of genderless and unisex fragrances. Modern perfumers create scents that transcend the binary "for him" or "for her" labels, favoring compositions that emphasize story, emotion, and personal expression rather than traditional gender clichés. Christophe Laudamiel, a Master Perfumer, challenges the industry's olfactory orthodoxy and sees fragrance as a form of truth-telling. He scoffs at the "for him" and "for her" designations, describing them as marketing relics out of step with a generation who no longer sees gender as binary.
Personalization and signature scents are another important aspect of this shift. Advances in molecular design and clean-tech production produce musk and oud-based scents that blend with an individual’s natural body chemistry, creating a unique personal aroma rather than a prescribed seductive trope. These modern musks offer lighter, more natural, and breathable experiences.
Contemporary fragrances also incorporate rich, sophisticated notes such as smoky, earthy, woody, or unexpected accords like pistachio, plum, and bamboo, which convey complexity and groundedness rather than purely romantic or overtly sensual messages. This supports a sensory journey of self-awareness and strength.
The democratization of traditionally regional notes like oud into universally appealing formulations mirrors the contemporary consumer’s desire for connection, authenticity, and empowerment beyond conventional norms. These unlikeable fragrances smell of ink, ash, barnyard hay, cumin-laced sweat, and bruised fruit, and are seen as a medium of narrative, memory, protest, and power.
The author, in their teenage years, wore a masculine scent called "Masculine" and Lacoste Touch of Pink and Prada Candy, which were considered suitably saccharine and perfectly pretty. However, they did not wear the masculine scent in public because they did not want to smell like a boy. Today, they have a preference for bold, synthetic scents.
This new wave of perfumery offers a personal journey of self-discovery and empowerment through scent. The scented equivalent to the 'clean girl' aesthetic is skin scents, but there is a growing resistance to this scented suppression with the rise of unlikeable fragrances. Dugan sees perfume as a site of subtle resistance and a way women historically reclaimed autonomy, citing examples like scented gloves in sixteenth-century receipt books.
In conclusion, the perfumery trend for 2025 signals a dramatic cultural shift: fragrances as tools for self-empowerment and identity exploration replace the classic role of solely enhancing female sex appeal, aligning with movements of personal freedom and gender inclusivity. Scent, unlike sight or sound, is remarkably elusive and uncontrollable, making it feminine in the most unruly, feral sense of the word.
- In academia, the shift in perfumery is mirrored, as scent's elusive nature is investigated for its power in self-expression and personal empowerment.
- Today's perfumers create fashion-and-beauty products that transcend traditional gender stereotypes, favoring unique styles and stories over traditional gender clichés.
- Education-and-self-development resources now focus on the exploration of personal growth and individuality through the lens of lifestyle choices such as wearing perfume, emphasizing empowerment.
- As lifestyle preferences continue to evolve, modern celebrities increasingly embrace and embody the culture of authenticity and self-discovery by choosing to wear unlikeable fragrances.
- Personal-growth enthusiasts might find inspiration in the fashion-and-beauty world's emphasis on self-discovery and empowerment, incorporating unique scents into their everyday lives as a symbol of their personal style and identity.
