What is unisex perfume?

A plain white shirt doesn't say "for men" or "for women" on the label, and plenty of perfumes don't either. Unisex perfume is made for anyone who likes how it smells, whatever their gender. This guide explains what makes a scent unisex and how to find one that suits you.

What the word unisex means

Unisex perfume, also called gender-neutral fragrance, is not marketed to men or to women. It tends to sit between the two styles that perfume counters have long kept apart: not as sweet as many perfumes sold to women, and not as heavy or woody as many sold to men.

That split was always a convention, not a rule of chemistry. A note of jasmine or cedarwood has no gender. What changes is how brands group the notes and who they sell them to.

What makes a scent unisex

A unisex perfume usually blends notes from both sides of that old divide. CK One from Calvin Klein is a well-known example. It pairs notes that perfumery has long linked with men's scents, such as woods, spice and green notes, with notes long linked with women's scents, such as jasmine, lily of the valley and rose. The result reads as neither one nor the other.

How to choose a unisex perfume

Check the concentration

The concentration on the label tells you how strong a perfume is and how long it stays with you. From strongest to lightest:

• Parfum (Extrait de Parfum): more concentrated than the others, and it lasts longer too.
• Eau de Parfum (EDP): high concentration, long-lasting.
• Eau de Toilette (EDT): one step lighter than EDP.
• Eau de Cologne (EDC): light and fresh, and it fades quickly.
• Eau Fraîche: lighter still, there and then gone.

EDT and EDP are the two you will meet on store shelves again and again.

Spend time with the Middle notes

A perfume unfolds in three layers. The Top notes are what you smell the moment you spray, and they fade early. The Base notes stay on the skin after the others are gone. The Middle notes sit in between and form the body of the scent, so they set its main character.

The Middle is often where the floral notes are. In a blend, they bridge the fresh, sweet notes of fruit or spice and the warm notes of wood, musk or oakmoss. If you want a perfume that feels balanced rather than clearly masculine or feminine, get to know its Middle notes before you decide.

Match the scent to the season

Heat makes perfume evaporate faster. Fresh, citrus and green scents feel cool on a hot day, while woody and spicy scents suit cooler weather. In a warm city like Saigon, a light, fresh scent is easier to wear through the day.

Think about where you will wear it

People often notice your perfume before you say a word. For the office, choose something soft and clean. For an evening out, you can go bolder.

Test on paper, then on skin

Begin on a paper strip. Paper has no scent of its own, so it lets you follow the perfume as it moves from the Top notes to the Base. If you still like it, spray it on clean, dry skin at the wrist, holding the bottle 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8 inches) away, and see how it settles on you before you decide.

Choose on a good day, and trust your own nose

After too many scents in a row, your nose stops telling them apart. When you are tired or in a low mood, it is also harder to know what you like. Go on a day when you feel relaxed, on your own or with someone who knows you well, and pick the scent you actually want to wear, whatever the label says.

Try perfume at NOTE in Ho Chi Minh City

NOTE - The Scent Lab designs its perfumes in Saigon and makes them in Vietnam, using IFRA-compliant ingredients. The surest way to know whether a scent works for you is to wear it for an afternoon. NOTE - The Scent Lab perfumes are sold at three stores in Ho Chi Minh City: 2nd Floor, 42 Nguyen Hue (inside The Cafe Apartment), District 1; 34 Nguyen Duy Hieu, Thao Dien; and 3rd Floor, 26 Ly Tu Trong, District 1.

What each store has on the shelf changes from day to day, so message NOTE before you go, on WhatsApp or Messenger. NOTE delivers to addresses within Vietnam. If you are visiting, buy in store and take the bottle home with you. You can also browse the NOTE perfume collection.

Next time you are in Ho Chi Minh City, stop by one of the three stores and let your own nose decide.

The same three stores carry R Parfums, a Vietnamese niche perfume house that tells stories of East Asian culture through scent. Find out more at r-parfums.com.

To blend a perfume of your own, book a perfume workshop with 9base at https://the9base.com/