21 Best Unisex Perfumes, According to Beauty Experts – ryan

Instead of focusing on sexuality, many perfumers and indie fragrance brands emphasize exploration and personal connection in their creations. They encourage clients “to discover scents that resonate with their unique preferences, regardless of perceived gender associations,” explains Frank Voelkl, principal perfumer at dsm-Firmenich.

That said, a perfume’s gender neutrality is up to interpretation. Ahead, fragrance experts share their picks for the best unisex perfumes—plus what to look for when shopping.

The Best Unisex Perfumes

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What Makes a Perfume Unisex?

Forget the fancy packaging for a moment and think about this: when it comes down to it, we’re projecting a story onto our fragrances. All the scent can do is smell how it does.

“Conceptually, unisex fragrances can exist. But nature may still influence you to perceive gender-neutral scents as gendered,” explains Moe. We can blame a lot of this on hormones. Estrogen is a female hormone that nourishes the nasal tissue, and when this fluctuates, a woman may pick up on notes that are more sweet, fruity, or floral.”

Voelkl adds that, rather than a note used, it’s more the absence of gender coding that makes a scent “unisex.” For example, using florals or fruity ingredients for women and aromatic fougere-type ingredients for men typically make us associate scents with those ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’ tropes,” he adds.

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What to Look For in a Unisex Perfume

All perfumes can be unisex, so it’s really up to you to decide what style you’re going for when making your selection—it’s not as easy as, say, searching for a vanilla perfume or wedding day scent.

“Within my creative process, I am not required to think of gender, which gives me a little more freedom not to respect certain structures or fragrance families. Rather, I am able to create disregarding those codes,” says Voelkl. “I like to wear fragrances mainly for how they make me feel, meaning they are comfortable and they have a feel-good factor.”

Kristi Moe, a scent expert and founder of Zodica Perfumery, says one of her favorite fragrance-related memories is when an overtly masculine customer fell in love with a scent that would “be generally perceived as highly feminine” with its rose base. “He happened to be single and wanted to attract a woman who smelled like the perfume!” she shares.

While a few specific notes often come up in fragrances dubbed “unisex” (bergamot, vetiver, and almond are all great examples), you can play with any fragrance family you crave.

“Notes as such don’t have a gender,” explains fragrance expert Izzy Yilmaz. “They don’t lean into masculine or feminine direction from themselves. It’s a tradition that categorizes them into one of the two.”

Yvan Jacqueline, Parfums de Marly’s President of the Americas adds that while the idea that florals and botanicals are inherently feminine runs rampant in the fragrance community, similar notes, like lavender, are also seen in masculine-leaning creations. The same goes for gourmand ingredients, like vanilla. There are no rules here.

While we all have our tastes, a good unisex perfume should allow some versatility in your scent wardrobe.

“Most fragrances, especially of designer brands, can be categorized into feminine or masculine scents. However, some unisex fragrances aim for a balanced blend that appeals to both genders without leaning too far in either direction,” shares Yilmaz. “Shopping for unisex fragrances offers versatility, allowing individuals to express their unique identity without conforming to traditional gender norms.”

How to Wear Unisex Perfume

The easy answer is to spritz on your pulse points and, more importantly, to be open to sharing. A scent will show up differently on your partner than it does on you.

“It’s not necessarily a matter of gender; it’s more a matter of our personal body chemistry, which can vary from person to person and can be based on several factors like nutritional habits and environment,” explains Voelkl. “Through the development of fragrances we test and do experience people having the fragrance wear differently on them. For example, some tend to push top notes versus bottom notes on their skin. But again, it’s not because of gender, just because we all have different body compositions.”

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