The Scent Spectrum: Unisex Fragrances

Modern, unisex fragrances are shedding the rigid structures of traditional perfumery and embracing more ambiguous, conceptual scents. 

It’s logical that the nature of creating a fragrance would be vague and ambiguous. After all, even the most premium scents are invisible, and “good taste” in perfume is almost completely subjective. A fact known only to enthusiasts and those working in perfume adjacent fields is that creating a fragrance is a science. 

Like any other cosmetic, perfume is a mixture of oils, chemicals and materials, combined in infinite combinations to create a product that feels emotional. To make sense of this art, perfumery is a technical practice. “Noses”, or trained perfumers, study defined fragrance structures, where layering notes follows an established method. A classic pyramid of top, heart and base notes guide the architecture of a scent, blending combinations of natural and synthetic materials. 

This science to create a perfume is almost like the study of painting techniques, formalized in school and preserved in text. As the fragrance industry is also dominated by a class of legacy perfumers, the execution of this history is well-preserved by the most successful fragrance houses. 

Fragrances are identified by their olfactive family, categories that help us name combinations of notes. Florals (singular or bouquet), Gourmands (sweet with an edible quality), Amber (previously called Oriental), Citrus and Woody categories are rather self-explanatory. Aromatic scents (herbal) and Ozonic or Aquatic (fresh, marine and aldehydic) scents are more ambiguous and modern. Leather, Smokey and Incense fragrances are also common to perfume or home scents. Fougéres are the quintessential, traditional “male” cologne blending lavender, oakmoss, coumarin and bergamot. Chypres also have an earthy, mossy quality that’s a well-defined classic. 

These categories were once neatly mapped with their own fragrance pyramid, fitting into clear, structured boxes. However modern, niche perfume houses and a new generation of independent perfumers are defying the conservative rigidity of perfumery. They abandon the limiting descriptions of notes by their literal materials or place in a fragrance pyramid, and are more conceptual. Unique accords like milk, clouds and even mochi desserts play center stage in the most popular new fragrances. These cerebral fragrance concepts relate to the wearer’s emotion - summoning memories of feelings and atmospheric moments. Maison Margiela’s Replica is an early pioneer of this style with scents like “Never-ending Summer”, “Jazz Club” and “Lazy Sunday Morning”. 

More transformative is the shift away from gendered perfumes and the non-inclusive marketing and merchandising that comes along with it. Historically, brands who marketed themselves as unisex offer woody, citrus or clean aldehydic scents as appropriate for all, taking “masculine scents” and marketing to women. Now florals, gourmands and other “feminine” coded notes are reimagined as inclusive.

Aesop’s newest scent (and first addition to their collection in a decade) defies conformity as a unisex floral, fresh and opulent while focusing on the Magnolia Leaf. Described as “drawing on the poetic tensions between tenderness and strength” it signals a new norm: scent for all. 

We’ve seen this evolution in body care, but its emergence in fine fragrance represents a more open environment in the perfume aisle. Brands like D.S. & Durga lead with scents like Debaser, featuring a crisp combination of fig and wood, while Steamed Rainbow is more conceptual with the scent of “soft, weightless water steaming upwards”.

Source: Tsu Lange Yor

Tsang Lange Yor’s fragrance, named Sala, is a beautiful example of a modern green scent, with “freshly cut stems, humidity and nectar” summoning the feeling of a morning walk across morning-dew speckled grass. 

This moment opens creative doors and invites imagination for perfumers, while paving the way for a trickle-down effect into the mass market. 

“Unisex fragrance” shouldn’t equal “masculine scents women can buy.” Instead, the definition can include ambiguity, joy and a new way of experiencing scent without limitation.