Unisex and Gender Specific Fragrances

[mdegges]

To borrow the jacket to smell it, no. To wear it, yeah.

It would be quite alright if she were to spray MY pillow, not hers with it, or to smell my pillow.

To smell it ONLY, not to wear it.

Picky, picky.

[Eiuol]

Fragrances stay the same over the years because of the market, but there are plenty of new ones, too, over the years. There are many different men's fragrances that include flowers; fresh, clean scents; aquatic scents. Men's fragrance is defined in scent all the time, in various expressions, all designed specifically For Him.

You make it sound like males will have an allergic reaction by wearing a fragrance that says "For Her" and transform into a woman and/or melt. It would help if you provided a justification to what you're saying. At least aequalsa explained some reasoning as to why certain scents are genderized (whether it's necessary to genderize something is a different story). Which I think is sensible. You take it a step further suggest that it's *bad* for people to do anything that's outside of their gender norm.

Edited November 28, 2011 by Eiuol

[intellectualammo]

Picky, picky.

Indeed. Very much so, now.

It's kept me alone the last half decade of my life.

Marianne from Jane Austen's S&S comes to mind:

"I could not be happy with a man whose taste did not in every point coincide with my own."

But a woman, in my case, of course.

But let me not fray up this thread.

And there's a ton of people who do this: many women shop in the men's department for those airy cotton tees, fleece sweaters, boxers to use as pj's, etc. There's also really skinny guys who have to shop in the women's department just to find pants that actually fit them.

Why did said women choose the men's section, over plus size woman section for airy cotton T's, fleece sweaters, and boxers to use as PJ's, when they could wear bloomers, boy shorts, ones tailored specifically for woman's parts down there? The skinny guys could try the boys section, often clothing, like T's, jeans, socks are just scaled down versions of the men's line.

You make it sound like males will have an allergic reaction by wearing a fragrance that says "For Her" and transform into a woman and/or melt.

Very funny, and how do I make it sound like that?

You take it a step further suggest that it's *bad* for people to do anything that's outside of their gender norm.

I didn't say that either.

I noticed that when I smelled Ralph Lauren's Romance (The Woman's Fragrance), the way it is advertised in the magazine, clearly defines in scent, words, and illustration that this is For Her. The first page, guy on one horse, woman on another horse, are leaning in towards one another while riding, and he's kissing her.

Flip it open, on the right to your right you see her on her knees, head up, him kissing her neck while on bended knee in the field. All these images, words and illustrate come at ones senses nearly all at once. So you take that all in, plus you see if you personally like it. While I like that "wealth of flowers" in Clinique Happy Heart a whole hell of a lot, these flowers in Romance smell just as they describe them as - "extravagant florals" among others things in it. The image conveys feminitiy to me, the masculinity of the male, gender roles, sexual identities, and the scent matches the description they wrote of it*, and I liked it all of that. They won me over with it. All the other ads I have seen, male and a female are in it, really suggesting not only that it's for her, but for a girl into guys. If I smelled that on a guy, I'd wonder why he'd be wearing a fragrance specifically For Her, one that is marketed in the way that it is. What does that suggest to me about his sexual identity, knowing as much as I do about the perfume? Why is he wearing this, it's For Her, and in the ad a woman is wearing it, and the man in the ad is clearly enjoying the smell of it on her neck... is it because that guy wants a guy to do that to his neck? Do you think Ralph Lauren wants him to be wearing that gender specific perfume, why is he? I won't ask any questions to the guy. I don't know how appropriate that would be, and I really don't want to know the answer to them. Maybe I would say, "You know, you aren't supposed to be wearing that. It's for a woman." How appropriate would that be? Is it in my self-interest to? To come to the defense of the WOMAN's fragrance?

And, what would women think, when they clearly smell it on him, a scent specifically designed for her, marketed as a woman's fragrance, for a woman that's into men?

*And I quote from RL website:

The women's fragrance that evokes the timeless essence of falling in love. Discover the sensual essence of velvety woods, extravagant florals and seductive musk.

• Spray on lavishly for a distinctly feminine sensuality.
  
• Available in 1.7 oz. and 3.4 oz. sizes.
  
• Made in the USA.
  
• This item is not eligible for promotional discounts.
  

Edited November 28, 2011 by intellectualammo

[JASKN]

What does that suggest to me about his sexual identity, knowing as much as I do about the perfume?

What do you know, really? Just marketing images and scent quality. That doesn't address all of these other bizarre conclusions you've come up with. You address the conceptual points asked of you only with perceptual descriptions of marketing.

"*Why* does it matter that it's marketed to females?"

"Well, because the way the man is kissing her shows masculinity in a way that is marketing to females. Thus, I think only females should wear this."

That's not an answer or reason, it's just restating the problem.

It's like saying that a can of tomatoes with an Italian brand name and an Italian food recipe printed on the outside shouldn't be used in Mexican food because it is clearly marketed For Italians.

[intellectualammo]

What do you know, really? Just marketing images and scent quality. That doesn't address all of these other bizarre conclusions you've come up with.

"Bizarre conclusions?"

*Why* does it matter that it's marketed to females?"

Because it is marketed to females, designed and intended for them to wear specifically.

"Well, because the way the man is kissing her shows masculinity in a way that is marketing to females. Thus, I think only females should wear this." That's not an answer or reason, it's just restating the problem.

Why should femles wear the perfume? Because it's the woman's fragrance, not the man's. RL even made Romance for men. Which I think is even more exemplary, because men and women in a romance, play different roles:

"Hero-worship is a demanding virtue: a woman has to be worthy of it and of the hero she worships. Intellectually and morally, i.e., as a human being, she has to be his equal; then the object of her worship is specifically his masculinity, not any human virtue she might lack."

This masculinity of his, can be expressed by him by choices in clothing, fragrance, the way he carries himself, etc.

It's like saying that a can of tomatoes with an Italian brand name and an Italian food recipe printed on the outside shouldn't be used in Mexican food because it is clearly marketed For Italians.

That's not a good one there, that would be like saying since Nacho Figueras wears it, only Argentinian men, or fellow Polo players can wear it, and no other man. No. He is man, period. Any can wear it, but more: those into women. That's who they are marketing to.

I'm focusing on the fragrance makers side of this.

Let me look at the consumer side of it, without the marketing initially, when you say to yourself, "I want to wear a fragrance." I would choose one that would express my maleness, express my personal likes. One already does this with picking out ones jeans, pants, undergarments, shirts, etc. In expressing my maleness, I don't go shopping for clothing in the woman's section, I go straight for the men's section and then say, "How will I express it, through that which is offered here?" "Is there another store that I can use to, or online to" This is not to mention ads, marketing. And in a fragrance I woud do the same thing. Do I want a a fruity one? A sweet one? Velvety wood? Do I want to smell clean, but want it to say more than just that, so then do I go for an aquatic? Strong smell, light? Spice, musk? And when do I want to wear it, daytime, nighttime, and where? All these factor into what I choose, but no matter what it is, I am always trying to express my maleness (me), through looks, clothing, scent, etc.. We do afterall judge everything we can or want to in regards to a person. Now marketing is super easy, it's already ready made, and can be used as a reference and guide, and ones are already gender specified by the fragrance maker, too. What I say when I pick among the fragrances for a man is this: I am a man. And this is what I like, and this is how I am expressing my maleness and my preference in a men's fragrance.

The essence of feminity, according to Rand, is hero-worship and looking up to a man, and that she is the penetrated. Can she hero-worship, look up to a man, feel he is the penetrator, her the penetrated, when he wears a fragrance that defines feminity in scent, that specifically states on the bottle that it is For Her, NOT For Him? When all the ads, marketing, are all designed specifically and utterly For Her, her who is into men? Can she to a man that wears it? And at the same time be aware of her own sexual identity and theirs? Same thing about how he dresses, etc.

Edited November 28, 2011 by intellectualammo

[JASKN]

Because it is marketed to females, designed and intended for them to wear specifically.

Here you go doing it again, ironically when (presumably?) trying to provide a real explanation.

[DonAthos]

The essence of feminity, according to Rand, is hero-worship and looking up to a man, and that she is the penetrated. Can she hero-worship, look up to a man, feel he is the penetrator, her the penetrated, when he wears a fragrance that defines feminity in scent, that specifically states on the bottle that it is For Her, NOT For Him? When all the ads, marketing, are all designed specifically and utterly For Her, her who is into men? Can she to a man that wears it? And at the same time be aware of her own sexual identity and theirs? Same thing about how he dresses, etc.

Does she continue to have a vagina, and he a penis? If so, then she can continue to feel that he is the penetrator (which sounds like a porn parody of "The Terminator," but I digress). Because he is. Right?

Is he heroic? Then she can continue to "worship" him in that respect, if she's so inclined.

At what point, and in what specific manner, will his smelling of violets rather than pine render these things impossible?

[mdegges]

Why did said women choose the men's section, over plus size woman section for airy cotton T's, fleece sweaters, and boxers to use as PJ's, when they could wear bloomers, boy shorts, ones tailored specifically for woman's parts down there? The skinny guys could try the boys section, often clothing, like T's, jeans, socks are just scaled down versions of the men's line.

Since you definitely don't shop in the women's section, I will fill you in: it is easy to find a men's tshirt in a fitted size that has longer sleeves and a longer waist; men's basic clothes (band tshirts, cotton tees, etc) are cheaper than women's (and usually much softer. They also last much longer than those thin babydoll tee's which get holes in them really fast); and men's clothes tend to be more roomy which is nice for lazy days/pj's. Also, I'm not sure if you've shopped there, but girl's geeky shirts (like the one's on thinkgeek) are really really lame compared to the male ones. All the funny jokes and prints are in the men's section, so if you want a cool design you have to get it from there. There's actually quite a few articles about this.

Imo, wearing men's/women's clothes occasionally isn't a weird thing. I mean we all wear the basics, jeans and tshirts, which are practically the same for both sexes except for the durability & length. There are certain clothes that portray your sexuality much more, like dresses and skirts, or suits and ties. But no matter what you're wearing, to the outside eye, people WILL be able to distinguish your sex (for obvious anatomical reasons).

All these factor into what I choose, but no matter what it is, I am always trying to express my maleness (me), through looks, clothing, scent, etc.. We do afterall judge everything we can or want to in regards to a person. Now marketing is super easy, it's already ready made, and can be used as a reference and guide, and ones are already gender specified by the fragrance maker, too. What I say when I pick among the fragrances for a man is this: I am a man. And this is what I like, and this is how I am expressing my maleness and my preference in a men's fragrance.

The essence of feminity, according to Rand, is hero-worship and looking up to a man, and that she is the penetrated. Can she hero-worship, look up to a man, feel he is the penetrator, her the penetrated, when he wears a fragrance that defines feminity in scent, that specifically states on the bottle that it is For Her, NOT For Him? When all the ads, marketing, are all designed specifically and utterly For Her, her who is into men? Can she to a man that wears it? And at the same time be aware of her own sexual identity and theirs? Same thing about how he dresses, etc.

To the first point, women and men have different levels of femininity and masculinity, and they will usually wear what makes them comfortable. Not all men consciously try to express their masculinity.. I know I don't consciously try to express my femininity unless I'm dressing up for a special event. Why? Because we're busy with other things. Clothes and perfume are not super important in day-to-day life. I think this concept is portrayed in most of Rand's fiction: none of the characters (Galt, Dagny, Leo, Roark, Dominique) really cared about what they wore. Of course they always seemed perfect, but that's because their bodies complimented everything they wore - not the other way around. It's about the man, not the clothes.

To the second point, if they are comfortable with themselves and with each other, then yes. I feel there are some clothing boundaries (men wearing dresses, for example), but who knows what will happen in a couple decades? Maybe that will become common. Women used to only wear dresses, and now they wear a lot of what men do. Some women and men really care about these issues (you really seem to hate the idea of crossing the streams), but I think artificial scent the least important issue when it comes to matters of attraction.

[Dante]

Because it is marketed to females, designed and intended for them to wear specifically.

The point of the question is this: how do the firms determine which scents are masculine and which are feminine? Do they make decisions in reference to objective principles that we can all understand and apply? If so, what are these principles? Or do they simply go by tradition, conventional wisdom, and marketing trials to see what the public at large responds positively to? If the latter is the case, then there is no objective definition of a feminine vs a masculine scent, at least not one being used in the manufacture of colognes and perfumes.

Let me look at the consumer side of it, without the marketing initially, when you say to yourself, "I want to wear a fragrance." I would choose one that would express my maleness, express my personal likes. ... no matter what it is, I am always trying to express my maleness (me), through looks, clothing, scent, etc.. We do afterall judge everything we can or want to in regards to a person. Now marketing is super easy, it's already ready made, and can be used as a reference and guide, and ones are already gender specified by the fragrance maker, too. What I say when I pick among the fragrances for a man is this: I am a man. And this is what I like, and this is how I am expressing my maleness and my preference in a men's fragrance.

Okay, great. You accept the options that are marketed to you specifically as a shortcut, and then choose within those options. That's great; I do that with most products too. But there are plenty of times that I think that the paradigm presented to me is wrong, and I choose instead to exercise my independent judgment. One would think that sort of behavior would be applauded here. Of course, that is not always appropriate, specifically when there are objective principles underlying the paradigm which is being rejected. In that case, one's 'independent vision' is in conflict with reality. That seems to be what you are arguing here, but in order to do so you must put this particular paradigm on objective grounds rather than simply those of tradition and appealing to popularity and marketability. Can you?

[dream_weaver]

The closely guarded secret of the perfume industry is the carefully selected pheromones used to mix their aromatic concoctions. Examined under high powered microscopes, these highly essential ingredients to the scent industry, were sorted based on the response observed by highly trained specialist when exposed to photographs of mature earthworms. For many years a significant portion of this raw material had to be discarded due to either a mixed response or no response what-so-ever. Due to tightening economic concerns, the bean counters, three former U.S. Navy bean counters and three from Lima, Ohio, summoned their marketing strategists to a meeting to express their concerns. The marketing strategist, after some consideration, charged their development team with finding a use for these undeveloped resources. The rest, shall we say, was history, or was it herstory, - or should we say it was theirstory.

As an aside, studies investigating the longterm side-effects of females using the male pheromones, or males using the female pheromones have been kept quietly under lock and key as to not alarm the general public. Studies regarding gender-neutral, gay and lesbian pheromone effects are as yet inconclusive.

Edited November 29, 2011 by dream_weaver

[intellectualammo]

Since you definitely don't shop in the women's section,

I definately do a lot actually, but not for me at all though, for my dolls.

Imo, wearing men's/women's clothes occasionally isn't a weird thing. I mean we all wear the basics, jeans and tshirts, which are practically the same for both sexes except for the durability & length. There are certain clothes that portray your sexuality much more, like dresses and skirts, or suits and ties. But no matter what you're wearing, to the outside eye, people WILL be able to distinguish your sex (for obvious anatomical reasons).

Good point!

Come to think of it, I was just eyeing up a shirt yesterday, that I was considering buying it to wear myself and with what you just brought up, one can clearly distinguish the male from the female wearing the same shirt, since there are not gender specific ones available, only one, and it doesn't say for who, or unisex. This can definately act to emphasis ones maleness and femaleness, especially when together, it outlines it, defines it. It's a shirt Meytal Cohen designed herself. You can find it in her shop http://www.meytalcohen.com/shop.html on this site: http://www.meytalcohen.com/

She's a drummer:

Now, as aequalsa brought up before, the idea of contrast in scents. Well, I was doing some thinking tonight, and to continue to use my RL Romance example, let us take a look at the two, the one designed specifically for a woman, and one specifically designed for a man. Not only do you get the contrast between the male and female fragrance, but more - a polarity, just like in a heterosexual relationship, of masculinity and femininity. And the marketing of that does well to show that, too. As Rand said, masculinity is what the woman specifically worships in a man, since all other things being equal, intellectually, morally between them. So this is one area that should be distinguished, contrasted, polarized, because they are NOT the same. Unisex fragrances, worn on either gender, there is no such distinction, unlike a genderless T-shirt, for example, where you put it on, and you can SEE the male and female, with a unisex fragrance you can't SMELL a distinction of any kind.

I listed the description of RL Romance (woman's fragrance) let's look at the men's description from RL site:

Ralph Lauren Romance Men.

Feel the excitement with this masculine blend of crisp, cool freshness, exotic spices and seductive spice.

As you can see we clearly have a polarity going on here, a contrast of different fragrances to be worn.

Rand said: "the higher her view of masculinity, the more severely demanding her standards." A female aware of her own femaleness and a man's maleness, may not like the idea of him wearing a fragrance specifically designed for a woman, for she doesn't want a single solitary drop of feminity on him, in him, her standards might be so severely demanding. Or his, in regards to her femininity.

Edited November 29, 2011 by intellectualammo

[Ninth Doctor]

I don’t think this subject is well suited to an online discussion forum, since you can’t assume everyone has sampled all the different fragrances cited.

I particularly like Hermes Eau D’Orange Verte, with basically combines orange and mint. Never mind that it is marketed as unisex, I think of it as ideal for daytime and outdoors, and wouldn’t wear it on an evening date, it seems wrong for nighttime. However, I also associate it with the Paris Metro, since I repeatedly found myself near women who were applying the cream version as a hand moisturizer there.

I wonder what fragrance the uber-sexy Lord Flashheart wore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCbsVfmDVSo

Joy by Jean Patou, I’m sure of it. He needed all the floral he could get, to balance those natural oozing musk notes. Woof!

[ASUK]

I tend to like unisex fragrances. When cK One first came out, my wife bought me some, and, after wearing it for only a short period of time, it was hard for me to go back to wearing more typically masculine fragrances. Scent can be very evocative/associational, and cK One, to me, was a very fresh, clean scent that wasn't intrusive (and it didn't smell feminine on me), so, then when I would wear male-specific fragrances, in comparison they seemed so overbearing and lacking in subtlety that I kept thinking that I smelled like a group of neanderthal frat boys and obnoxious used car salesmen on their way to Vegas.

J

CK one is a really nice fragrance. I also love Coolwater by Davidoff. Both Unisex I believe. OPh and I agree that most male fragrances are overbearing like that.

[intellectualammo]

I don’t think this subject is well suited to an online discussion forum, since you can’t assume everyone has sampled all the different fragrances cited.

To an extent. We can leave the descriptions unchecked and just go by the descriptions for conversational sake. I personally can vouch for all the ones I mentioned, as fitting their descriptions, except for RL Romance Men's, because I have not smelled it firsthand.

"Her worship is an abstract emotion for the metaphysical concept of masculinity as such" so she would enjoy then fragrances, clothing, that can emphasize her femininity and his masculinity. I think the market plays a large rule in this. And it's interesting to look at the gender specific fragrances, their descriptions and what's in them, how popular they are among their respective genders, how they are marketed which is very important not only to the fragrance maker, but also that can be used by the consumers.

CK one is a really nice fragrance. I also love Coolwater by Davidoff. Both Unisex I believe.

Looking at the site, CoolWater has gender specific fragrances, I don't see any unisex.

Edited November 29, 2011 by intellectualammo

[JASKN]

Rand said: "the higher her view of masculinity, the more severely demanding her standards." A female aware of her own femaleness and a man's maleness, may not like the idea of him wearing a fragrance specifically designed for a woman, for she doesn't want a single solitary drop of feminity on him, in him, her standards might be so severely demanding. Or his, in regards to her femininity.

This would be an example of your bizarre conclusions I mentioned, which you questioned. If you're going to relate fragrance to Rand's theory of masculinity and femininity, it needs to be substantiated.

I definately do a lot actually, but not for me at all though, for my dolls.

This would be an example of bizarre, otherwise.

And your post containing those quotes addresses none of the points raised in this thread countering those bizarre conclusions of yours. Dante's post, that you ignored, was especially articulate.

Why did you make this thread?

Edited November 29, 2011 by JASKN

[intellectualammo]

Why did you make this thread?

Looking for others thoughts on it, and then stated some of my own. If you think what I said is bizarre, if other think it's trivial, or even irrational to want a woman to only choose perfumes that are designed for women, or any of you view it the way I do, as just an especially heightened awareness that is so severely demanding, the fact that I just cannot dissassociate not only it being specifically made for a woman to wear only, but also in just what it says in the description, marketing of it, and also the choice of just which one among them, then so be it. I'm not answering certain questions, because I am not the one making any claims about the masculinity or femininty of the actual fragrances, clothing, etc.. The fragrance makers might make such claims, they bear the burden. Me, I only am stating my preferences. And only quoting Rand on what she says is the essence of feminiity, and how that can possibly be applied to choices in fragrance, clothing, etc.

Edited November 29, 2011 by intellectualammo

[JASKN]

I'm not answering certain questions, because I am not the one making any claims about the masculinity or femininty of the actual fragrances, clothing, etc.. The fragrance makers might make such claims, they bear the burden. Me, I only am stating my preferences. And only quoting Rand on what she says is the essence of feminiity, and how that can possibly be applied to choices in fragrance, clothing, etc.

This site is a forum -- it's for discussing. It's also a forum to promote Rand's ideas -- which are always substantiated. It is expected of users to substantiate claims, even when using Rand's own ideas to make claims. A personal blog would be appropriate if you were only looking to make claims without backing them up.

You said it yourself, you're stating your preference. But not just that, you're using Rand's words to back up your preferences. As such, it is up to you to provide the "proof" for doing so.

[intellectualammo]

You said it yourself, you're stating your preference. But not just that, you're using Rand's words to back up your preferences. As such, it is up to you to provide the "proof" for doing so.

A woman can wear a big dress that does not show off her shape, her femaleness, she can wear skinny pants, she is expressing her femaleness in those ways. She can wear a man's fragrance, and wear skinny pants, a man might be attracted to her, until he gets close enough to her and smells the very same fragrance he has been wearing for many years on her, one he knows is specifically designed for men and men that are attracted to women, wonders why she's wearing it, and he may be confused, turned off by that, is sent the wrong kind of message by it. Is that bizarre? Or severly demanding of a woman, like in my reference to Ayn Rand? Or just trivial? Irrational?

Edited November 29, 2011 by intellectualammo

[JASKN]

Who knows if it is irrational or not, because you're not providing reasons why for any of this.

[intellectualammo]

Who knows if it is irrational or not, because you're not providing reasons why for any of this.

Well, I found out why one fragrance set that just hit the market this month (which I just HAD to buy!) the SOUL2SOUL collection, was inspired by. One bottle in the collection is Faith Hill fragrance, the other Tim McGraw. This sheds light some on why this particualar set was designed the way that it was. Obviously marketed for heterosexuals, and when you smell it there is clearily a differentiation between the male and the female fragrance, to excentuate the differences between males and females, but also something that is shared between them, while capturing in a fragrance the 'all-American dream couple'. Faith Hill SOUL2SOUL is very delicate smelling to me, while Tim McGraw is more like a powerful, stronger, but definately not at all overpowering complimentary fragrance to that one, and if you smell them between you and a lover, or open up both sides of the flaps in a magizine ad sample of the two and take them both in at the same time, you can see how well they go together - perfectly:

Commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se7yRR--HGs&feature=player_embedded

More about it:

I don't know much at all about this couple, as I don't normally listen to such music, but the point comes across to me.

Edited February 22, 2012 by intellectualammo

[JASKN]

Your argument is still, "The rose smells good on a woman and should only be worn on a woman because it is a rose and because it is red and because the marketing said so."

[intellectualammo]

Your argument is still, "The rose smells good on a woman and should only be worn on a woman because it is a rose and because it is red and because the marketing said so."

That's not my argument.

[JASKN]

That's not my argument.

What is your argument?

[intellectualammo]

This is:

"It is the very nature of men that gives rise to masculinity and the nature of women that gives rise to femininity. Femininity and masculinity are the conscious, chosen behaviors of women and men to act in accordance with their nature as women or men respectively."

"Hero worship is based on the metaphysical natures of men and women, i.e., what a woman is and what a man is. The less efficacious woman looks up to and admires the stronger man. A male’s sexuality is wrapped up in heroism, and a woman’s sexuality is wrapped up in admiring him because this is, after all, what has allowed civilization to exist and to prosper. Sex is a celebration of life. Life is the standard of erotica."

(Both quotes from The Roots of Gender Roles chapter in Amber Pawlik's book Objectivist Sexuality) (the chapter can be read here: http://www.amberpawlik.com/Gender.html)

When I chose a men's fragrance to wear from the one I am currently wearing Santos de Cartier, to Cartier Declaration, to my favorite Nautica Voyage, I am choosing to wear them in accordance with my nature as a man: I test them, see if I like them, see if it can be used to express my masculinity to a woman through the air when I walk by. They responded most to Nautica Voyage, Tim McGraw SOUL2SOUL. I wouldn't wear a woman's fragrance and when a woman asks what I am wearing and I say "it's Cartier' s Baiser Vole fragrance for women" "for women... hmmmm" she'd say, then I couldn't say to her "I'm secure enough in my masculinity to wear that." I am secure in my masculinity, so I don't wear it. I want one that can make her look up at me as the man I am and be like "fuck me!", not over at me and be like "what the fuck?" so to speak. I would not want the attention of a women who would be attracted to me if I was wearing Baiser Vole. Which I wouldn't be wearing anyways. I don't want one that would raise such questions, but produce such exclamations, letting her know I am a man, masculine, and not mistaking that any.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBMOOGYCF7g

Edited April 9, 2013 by intellectualammo

[Alfa]

The perception of certain scents or notes as either masculine or feminine is very much marketing, culture and context. Just take flowery scents for example. In the past and in some cultures today they are worn by men(roses are popular among arab men for instance). Flowery fragrances are mostly marketed towards women. Interestingly flowers like roses have a rather sharp and strong scent, and there are some very heavy florals. The way the notes mix with the skin makes a big difference though, and of course perceptions are altered depending on who's wearing the fragrance.

 

It's not so different from wearing a pink or a blue shirt.

 

Personally I love perfume. Chanel's Egoiste on the right woman is divine. On my skin it's a warm, sexy, amber with an edge of spice. Frederic Malle's En Passant is another of my favorites, smelling lika a garden after a warm summers rain. I also love lilacs, so Guerlain's Angelique-lilas gets worn when it's hot - it's a light and soft fragrance. Chanel No. 5 (not the new one with Brad Pitt as a poster boy) is very classy and sexy as well.

 

To me it's simple. If I like the fragrance and it mixes well with my skin, i'll wear it. Doesn't matter if it's Coco Mademoiselle or something that smells like gasoline mixed with chest hair. I also dress in colors that I like (and I like colors). Nothing feminine about it, because i'm not feminine - I very much enjoy my masculinity.