A unisex perfume is one its house does not reserve for men or for women. The label tells you how the fragrance is marketed and says nothing about how it smells: no raw material has a gender, and the split between masculine and feminine perfume is a commercial convention that took hold mostly in the twentieth century. In niche perfumery, most creations are offered as unisex, and the only reliable way to choose is the composition.
Where the split between men's and women's perfume came from
For a long time, scented waters and pomades were worn by everyone. Jicky, launched by Guerlain in 1889, was worn by men and women alike, and its pronounced lavender first led part of the public to see it as rather masculine.
Segmentation took shape in the twentieth century. In 1934, Ernest Daltroff created Pour un Homme for Caron, which presents it as the first perfume designed for men. Its formula pairs lavender with vanilla. Vanilla, now filed among the feminine codes, was part of the reference masculine perfume of its time. After the war, fashion houses multiplied their launches and set lasting codes. Dior's Eau Sauvage, in 1966, fixed for decades the idea of a fresh, citrus masculine.
The opposite movement exists too. Diptyque launched L'Eau in 1968, often cited among the first perfumes presented without a gender. In 1994, Calvin Klein's CK One, composed by Alberto Morillas and Harry Fremont, was promoted as a perfume for everyone and became a huge success. Since then, the unisex label has become common, especially among small houses.
Masculine and feminine codes, and what they are worth
In mainstream Western perfumery, some families are tied to a gender out of habit. Citrus, lavender, aromatic notes, vetiver, cedar and leather read as masculine. Rose, jasmine, tuberose, powdery iris, fruit and vanilla read as feminine. These associations come from the perfumes that sold well and from the advertising behind them.
They vary from one culture to another. In the Gulf states, rose and oud have long been part of the male wardrobe. They also shift over time, as the vanilla in Pour un Homme shows. These codes are useful for understanding what a house wants to suggest. They do not decide who may wear a perfume, or on whom it will smell good.
A perfume does not change its formula depending on who wears it. It changes with the skin, its warmth and its hydration, which have nothing to do with gender. Our article on why a perfume smells different on every skin covers these factors.
Why niche perfumery often ignores gender
A niche house usually starts from an idea, a material, a place or a memory, and more rarely from a target customer. It produces in small batches and does not pay for advertising campaigns segmented by audience. Its customers are often enthusiasts who choose by the notes, not by the store aisle. Gender has little commercial use for such a house, and many no longer state it.
Not all of them have dropped it. Some niche houses still class part of their range as masculine or feminine, because their audience asks for it or because that is how they conceived the perfumes. This is the case for several creations by Aaron Terence Hughes in our catalog. Our guide to niche perfume explains what sets these houses apart from mass-market perfumery.
Reading the gender label on a Passion Parfum product page
Our product pages show a gender label: Unisex, Masculine or Feminine. It follows the way the house presents its perfume. Treat it as information about the creator's intent, which you are free to ignore. To know whether you will like a perfume, the other parts of the page are more useful:
- the olfactory family, which places the perfume among the main categories described in our guide to the eight olfactory families;
- the top, heart and base notes, to be read as explained in our article on the fragrance pyramid;
- the sillage, longevity and projection gauges, which tell you whether the perfume stays close to the skin or can be noticed from a distance;
- the concentration, which indicates how much aromatic material is in the bottle.
If you like dry woods, explore our woody collection without paying attention to the stated gender. If flowers draw you in, the floral collection holds dark, leathery roses as well as bright bouquets.
Our selections of niche perfumes for men and niche perfumes for women apply this principle: twelve perfumes grouped by family in each, ten of which are presented as unisex by their house.
Seven perfumes from our catalog to judge by the notes
The following examples show that the gender label and the composition do not always match. The notes are those listed on our product pages.
Two opposite labels, similar bases
Slut, by Aaron Terence Hughes, is presented as feminine. It opens on lemon, mandarin and bergamot, moves through vanilla, plum and rose, and settles on white musk, patchouli and sandalwood.
Zeus / Daddy, from the same house, is presented as masculine. Its top pairs apple and bergamot, its heart tonka bean and nutmeg, its base soft oud, sandalwood, patchouli, vanilla, benzoin and ambergris. The two perfumes share bergamot, vanilla, patchouli and sandalwood. What separates them is rose and plum on one side, tonka, nutmeg and oud on the other. Anyone who likes vanilla and woody bases should try both, whatever the label says.
A classic masculine anyone can wear
Hombre, also by Aaron Terence Hughes, is a Cosmos certified extrait de parfum. Bergamot, lemon and sweet orange at the top, clary sage in the heart, vetiver and cedar in the base: nearly every code of the aromatic masculine is there. Its sillage gauge sits at 3 out of 5. It is a fresh, dry and discreet perfume that will suit anyone who enjoys this style.
Unisex perfumes built on "feminine" codes
Onyx, by Aaron Terence Hughes, is presented as unisex. It opens on rose absolute, continues with raspberry, saffron and blackcurrant, and rests on a dense base: Ambrostar, truffle, musk, 5% oud, vanilla and civet absolutes, patchouli. Rose is paired here with oud and an animalic note, as in the Gulf tradition.
Rose & Thorns, by Tada Parfumeur, combines violet and sugar at the top, a lipstick accord, orris and rose in the heart, then leather, amber and musk. Lipstick and violet are among the most strongly coded notes of feminine perfumery. The leather in the base pulls them toward a darker register, and the house presents it as unisex.
Unisex perfumes built on "masculine" codes
Timber Suit, also by Tada Parfumeur, brings together lemon, cardamom and spearmint, then pine, juniper berry and cypress, and finishes on ambroxan, suede and cedar. The name suggests a suit and the notes belong to the aromatic woody register. Yet it is presented as unisex.
Principalities, by Cæleste, escapes these categories. Hyssop, black tea, rose thorn, violet and ylang-ylang at the top; mineral notes, petrichor, Assafi oud, galbanum, leather and immortelle in the heart; ash, elemi resin, saffron, incense and sandalwood in the base. It evokes a landscape more than a person. It was a finalist at the Art and Olfaction Awards in 2025.
Frequently asked questions
Can a man wear a perfume labeled feminine?
Yes. The label depends on how the perfume is marketed, not on its formula. A perfume does not smell different depending on the sex of the person wearing it. Choose by the notes and by how it feels on your skin.
What is the difference between unisex and gender-neutral perfume?
There is none. Both terms describe a perfume the house does not intend for any particular gender. You will also see "genderless" or "gender-free", with the same meaning.
Does a unisex perfume smell the same on a man and on a woman?
It can smell different from one person to the next, but for reasons unrelated to gender. Skin temperature, hydration, body hair and whatever else you apply change how the materials evaporate. Two men can get results further apart than a man and a woman.
Are unisex perfumes more discreet than others?
No. Strength depends on the concentration and the base materials, not on the gender label. Onyx, presented as unisex, shows a sillage gauge of 4 out of 5 and longevity of more than 12 hours, while Hombre, presented as masculine, stays at 3 out of 5.
How do I choose a unisex perfume if I don't know where to start?
Start from the perfumes you already wear and identify their family. The Passion Parfum quiz then suggests leads based on your tastes. Finally, test two or three samples over a full day before buying a bottle.
To go further, our Choosing your perfume page gathers our advice on finding a composition that suits you. Every perfume in our catalog is available as a 2 ml sample, presented on our samples page: it is the simplest way to judge a perfume on your own skin, without relying on the label.