Why are perfumes no longer labelled for Men or Women?

Walk into any perfume store today, and chances are, half the shelves are labelled unisex. That wasn't always the case. A couple of decades ago, things were pretty black and white—For Men, For Women, no questions asked. Now, the line is not just blurred, it's practically erased.

But why is that happening? Why are more and more fragrance houses pushing out gender-neutral perfumes, and why are people buying them? It's not just a passing trend. It's a shift driven by performance, psychology, fashion, and yes, even rebellion.

Part of it has to do with practicality. Many women have figured out over the years that so-called 'men's' fragrances often last longer. They carry more base notes like vetiver, patchouli, and leather scents that linger. "Women's perfumes are sweet, but they don't always stick," said Epshita Hasan, an office goer from Dhanmondi who's been wearing Bleu de Chanel for five years.

"I'd rather smell bold than invisible by lunch." On the flip side, some men are gravitating toward floral or gourmand notes, often categorised as feminine, to soften their scent profile, or to attract partners who are into something more delicate. "My wife loves it when I wear La Vie Est Belle," said Nazmul Hasan, husband of Epshita. "She says it makes me smell like comfort."

What's more interesting is how this whole For Him/For Her concept wasn't even the norm until the 20th century. In earlier centuries, perfumes were often crafted from local materials—oils, herbs, spices, and flowers used by both men and women without much distinction.

It wasn't until modern marketing took hold in the 20th century that the fragrance industry leaned hard into gender roles. Think about the post-war era, rugged masculinity in a bottle for him, floral innocence or sensual sweetness for her. That binary thinking gave brands a way to target their products sharply—and sell more. But fast-forward to today, and that structure is beginning to crack.

Several books help trace this shift in fragrance culture.

In Perfume: The Alchemy of Scent by Jean-Claude Ellena, the author, himself a legendary nose, explores how the artistry of scent transcends gender lines. Fragrance: The Story of Perfume from Cleopatra to Chanel by Edwin T. Morris offers a solid history of how societal roles shaped fragrance use. All the mentioned books, in their way, show that gendered scents are a modern fabrication—functional for commerce, but not necessarily for identity.

Another angle here is the evolution of identity itself. As younger generations—especially Gen Z—become more fluid in their understanding of gender, they naturally look for products that reflect that openness. "Our customers don't want to be boxed in," said one store owner in Bashundhara City.

"They're not asking, 'Is this for a man?' They're asking, 'Does this feel like me?' A retailer from Chawkbazar, Dhaka, put it more bluntly: "Honestly, I don't even mention gender when someone asks for a recommendation anymore. It just complicates things."

There's also a subtle rebellion at play. For some, picking a fragrance "not made for you" is a small act of defiance. I decide how I smell, not a marketing department. And when people find something that clicks with their mood, body chemistry, or sense of self, gender fades into the background. After all, a bottle doesn't care who sprays it.

The thing is, scent has always been personal. People wear perfume to feel confident, to stand out, to blend in, to remember, or to forget.

The rise of unisex fragrances is just a natural next step in that personal journey. Some may call it progress, others may call it a trend, but it's just about letting people choose without the weight of a label. And that's how it always should have been.

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