Unisex fragrance has moved from a niche corner of perfumery to one of the industry’s defining trends, with heritage brands and indie houses alike rethinking the old “for him” and “for her” labels entirely. Here’s why this shift is happening, and how to choose a gender-neutral fragrance that suits you.
Why “His and Hers” Fragrance Is Fading
Fragrance marketing has traditionally split scents into rigid gender categories, floral and fruity for women, woody and aromatic for men, despite there being no actual chemical reason a floral note should “belong” to one gender over another. That framing is increasingly being replaced by a focus on mood, identity and personal expression rather than gender at all.
What Makes a Fragrance Read as “Unisex”?
Unisex fragrances typically balance note families traditionally associated with both “masculine” and “feminine” perfumery, woods and spices alongside florals and musks, rather than leaning heavily into one side. Notes like ambroxan, oud, vetiver, iris and white musk appear frequently in gender-neutral formulations precisely because they don’t carry strong traditional gender coding.
Popular Unisex Fragrance Styles
- Amber and oriental blends — warm and rich, equally at home on any wearer
- Oud-forward compositions — traditionally worn across genders in Middle Eastern perfumery long before Western brands adopted the note
- Clean musk and skin-scent fragrances — inherently gender-neutral, designed to enhance rather than mask natural skin scent
Our guide to best oud perfumes and best musk perfumes both cover note families that work particularly well as gender-neutral choices.
Yodeyma Nº22: A Genuinely Unisex Standout
Yodeyma Nº22, inspired by Baccarat Rouge 540, is a particularly good example of a fragrance that wears convincingly across genders, its jasmine-saffron-ambroxan structure doesn’t lean distinctly masculine or feminine, which is part of why the original became such a genuinely unisex phenomenon.
Should You Shop “Men’s” or “Women’s” Categories at All?
Not necessarily. If a fragrance’s note profile appeals to you, the marketing category it’s filed under shouldn’t be a barrier. Many people build their signature scent entirely from fragrances marketed toward a different gender than their own, with no issue whatsoever in how it wears or is perceived.
How to Start Exploring Gender-Neutral Fragrance
If you’re used to shopping strictly within one category, start by testing a genuinely unisex-marketed fragrance first (rather than jumping straight to something marketed at a different gender than your own), to get comfortable with how balanced note profiles feel on your skin before exploring further.
The Business Case Behind the Shift
Beyond cultural change, there’s a genuine commercial logic driving brands toward gender-neutral fragrance too: a single unisex release can address a much larger potential audience than two separately marketed, gender-specific versions, simplifying both product development and marketing for fragrance houses.
Gender-Neutral Doesn’t Mean Scentless or Bland
A common misconception is that unisex fragrance means something deliberately neutral or unremarkable. In practice, some of the boldest, most distinctive fragrances on the market (Baccarat Rouge 540 among the most famous examples) are explicitly marketed as unisex, proving the category can be just as memorable and characterful as gendered fragrance.
How Retailers Are Adapting
Increasingly, fragrance retailers (WhiffDrop included) organise stock less rigidly around strict “his and hers” categories, recognising that shoppers are just as likely to choose based on note preference as on marketed gender. Our own Unisex Fragrance collection reflects this shift directly.
Where This Trend Is Heading
Given the pace of change over just the last decade, it’s reasonable to expect gendered fragrance marketing to become considerably less rigid over the coming years, with note preference and personal identity increasingly taking priority over traditional category labels entirely.
A Practical Starting Point If You’re Curious
If you’ve always shopped strictly within one gendered category, browsing our full Unisex Fragrance collection with genuinely fresh eyes, rather than mentally filtering by who it’s “supposed” to be for, is a good first step toward exploring this trend for yourself.
An Invitation to Explore Freely
Whatever your gender, the fragrance world is increasingly yours to explore without restriction, and that’s a genuinely welcome development for anyone who simply wants to wear what smells good to them.
A Trend With Staying Power
Unlike some fleeting fragrance trends, the move toward gender-neutral perfumery reflects a genuine, lasting cultural shift rather than a passing marketing fad, worth taking seriously as a long-term direction for the industry.
A Real Example of This Shift
YSL’s Libre is a good illustration of this trend in action, built around lavender, a note traditionally reserved for men’s fougère fragrances, and reimagined as a bold women’s release. Our Best YSL Libre Alternatives guide covers this specific fragrance in more depth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is “unisex” fragrance actually formulated differently?
Not fundamentally, it’s more about note selection and balance (avoiding leaning too heavily into traditionally masculine or feminine note families) than any different chemical approach.
Can I wear a “women’s” fragrance if I’m a man, or vice versa?
Absolutely, fragrance marketing categories are a commercial convention, not a rule, and plenty of people cross these lines happily.
Why has unisex fragrance become so popular recently?
It reflects a broader cultural shift toward personal identity and self-expression over rigid categorisation, both in fragrance and more broadly in fashion and lifestyle marketing.
Ready to explore? Browse our full Unisex Fragrance collection at WhiffDrop.
