Maybe you’ve been around a bit and heard a few things surrounding the dos and don’ts of perfume. Maybe these things were pieces of well-meaning advice such as: “Men should wear cologne, perfume is for women”, or “This perfume is too old for your age”, or even “This perfume is too young for your age”. Some pieces of well-meaning advice but here’s the thing–there aren’t any hard fast rules about what you should or shouldn’t like when it comes to perfume.

I’ve seen a lot of men shy away from buying or wearing something labelled as “perfume” because they’re a man and men ought to be wearing cologne. There’s a funny bit of terminology twisting going on with regards to men cologne vs. women perfume. The truth is, if you look at this post, you’ll notice something. Cologne is less of a term used to describe a gender’s fragrance and more of a term used to describe the concentration of a fragrance. So it is with popular culture, I presume, that would insist people call men’s fragrances colognes and women’s fragrances perfumes. A bit of a dangerous tango because it makes people think that just because they’re a man, it’s inappropriate for them to enjoy something that isn’t labelled “pour homme” or “cologne”. I’ve also seen the opposite with women who were worried about wearing men’s cologne just because it wasn’t called perfume.

The truth is, it doesn’t matter. If something’s a “men’s cologne” and you’re a woman who happens to enjoy it, wear it and enjoy it. If you’re a man who enjoys “women’s perfume” then wear it and enjoy it too. By the way, you should not be ashamed of buying women’s perfume or men’s cologne if you happen to be the opposite gender. You like what you like, there’s no shame in enjoying a cologne or a perfume. It’s all about you and what makes you happy. That’s the whole point of fragrances, introducing this “men only” or “women only” garbage just muddles up something that should be fun and enjoyable.

I know I tend to indicate in my reviews if a perfume smells young, but don’t let something that smells young hinder you from enjoying or wearing it. “Young” is a label I personally use to describe a section of perfumes often enjoyed by teenagers. That doesn’t mean an adult couldn’t enjoy and wear them either. This also works in reverse with fragrances typically thought to be “too old” for someone.

If you’re a teenager who loves the scent of Joy by Jean Patou then go ahead and rock it. It just means you have good taste in classic perfumery. If you’re an older person who enjoys the smell of Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf then by all means, wear it and have fun. It probably just means you find the scent pleasing and there’s nothing wrong with that.

If you like it then rock it. 😀