Neskuchny Garden – Style – Kommersant

“Kommersant Style” talks about new products and bestsellers among unisex fragrances.

At the beginning of the calendar year, the formula “new year – new fragrance” works without interruption: you want renewal, freshness and dynamics, including in matters of perfume wardrobe. It is worth taking a closer look at the category of so-called gender-neutral, genderless fragrances – as it turns out, they cannot be called boring at all (contrary to the stereotype that “genderless” and “neutral” sound like something inexpressive).

Roman Romaniuk, an expert at the Rive Gauche chain, believes that the topic of perfumery gender neutrality is heard more and more often today, and this is not only from the point of view of the technical construction of aroma accords, but also from a marketing point of view: advertising image, package color, appearance and the shape of the bottle, the name of the fragrance, its color, storytelling. “As a result, a general image is formed in the buyer’s head, which is not associated with masculinity or femininity, but rather associated with the individuality of the person himself. Therefore, it is more correct in this case to talk not about a gender-neutral smell, but rather about an individual approach,” he says. Choosing a fragrance “for yourself”, not as a gift, not because it’s fashionable and not “like someone else’s” today is both more difficult and easier to make at the same time – the perfume market is oversaturated and it seems almost impossible to give preference to one or another composition when there are so many all around. The expert advises to pay attention to the already established olfactory rules: “There are certain stereotypes: for men they produce fresh citrus aromatic or fougere fragrances (lavender, geranium, eucalyptus, ozone aquatic), rich woody (cedar, vetiver, oud), and for women – floral (rose, jasmine, lily of the valley), fruity (raspberry, peach), sweet gourmand (vanilla, caramel, sugar, benzoin, praline). However, lately, this division has become blurred and much depends on the combination of these notes with other chords. Today you can find both women’s “glasses” and sweet gourmand fragrances for men. But in the gender-neutral zone, there are usually non-irritating, calm compositions – almost imperceptible, aquatic, light fragrances with notes of musk, bergamot, sandalwood, powder and iris: they sound soft, intimate and, on the whole, are intended just for themselves.

Irina Kirienko