ELLE TOP: The 6 Best Gender-Neutral Fragrances for Spring

ELLE TOP: The 6 Best Gender-Neutral Fragrances for Spring

Scent is entirely subjective as our olfactory senses guide us to the fragrances we love, regardless of how we identify. However, if you’re struggling to find that perfect middle ground between fresh florals and a warm, woody cologne, it may be time to upgrade your signature scent to something a little more neutral. Here are the six gender-neutral fragrances we’re loving for spring.

All Inclusive: Beauty Industry Pushing Boundaries with Gender Neutrality

Next Story : A New Chapter

For as long as we can remember, makeup and beauty have been associated with women. From the colour of the packaging to ads and brand billboards, beauty products have primarily been targeted at women.Last year when global pop singer Rihanna launched her skincare range Fenty Beauty with a video that featured her alongside a couple of male models, it seemed different, to say the least. That was soon followed by the much-anticipated launch of Humanrace by American singer Pharrell Williams, who describes it as “a collection of all-gender skincare products”. The beauty industry is now untagging gender on products with phrases like ‘all-gender’, ‘genderless’, and ‘gender-neutral beauty’.Contrary to the idea that makeup is synonymous with women, history shows how men of different ethnicities used makeup centuries ago. For instance, makeup was deep-rooted in Egyptian culture; it was unusual for men to leave home without putting on their eye makeup. It’s interesting to note that they used pigmented colours to create an almond-eye shape, and that the colour on their nails indicated their power and status in society. Similarly, Roman men were quite known back then for their elaborate skincare routines. The use of fragrant oils and mud baths was common, but they also used powder to lighten the complexion and put rouge on their cheeks.It’s equally interesting to note that even Indian men were not oblivious to the power of makeup. While kohl was one of the products most widely used by Indian men (the tradition is still prevalent among a few cultural groups), they also flaunted a bindi (now associated with married women) for spiritual purposes.So, when did makeup become gender-specific? Beauty products have certainly been sold to men for years, but under the repackaged category termed ‘grooming’ or with tags like ‘for him’ and ‘for her’, which worked to create the gender divide.The global industry took note of genderless beauty when a brand as big as Fenty Beauty started that conversation, but this change isn’t recent; the industry has been welcoming the concept of gender fluidity for a few years now. The process, however, has been slow. It was an iconic moment in the history of beauty when, in 1994, Calvin Klein launched CK One—‘a fragrance for a man or a woman’. It ignited an entirely new conversation around gender-neutrality in the beauty industry. In 2016, when the globally-regarded makeup brand CoverGirl chose James Charles as its ‘cover boy’, it led brands to talk about the wide scope of makeup for men. The bigger players in the industry are certainly keeping the conversation alive. Last year, Gucci Beauty launched Gucci Mémoire d’Une Odeur, a fragrance positioned as genderless with Harry Styles as the face of the campaign.So, to what do we owe this change? Khayl Reis, co-founder and CEO of Glutaweis, believes that gender-wise categorisation of beauty products will soon become a thing of the past. “The main impetus to develop genderless beauty brands is to fulfil the future market need of the shifting consumer mindset of Gen Z who are more socially conscious and oriented towards broader lifestyle choices. Eighty per cent of new consumers from the current generation adhere to the ideology that gender doesn’t define a person but is a reflection of culture. With shifting mindsets, and cultural and boundary blending, this new generation of potential consumers does not buy into the concept of traditional identity markers,” explains Reis. “In this day and age, the concept of gender is rapidly evolving and becoming more inclusive,” agrees Dhruv Bhasin, Co-Founder, Arata. “We aren’t restricted to traditional gender norms anymore.”And, more importantly, men today are not averse to the idea of wearing makeup, and social media is helping them build confidence. Influencers like Ankush Bahuguna and Siddharth Batra have gained a fan following eager to consume relatable content about men wearing makeup and their skincare routines. “Influential campaigners and representatives of the beauty segment have used social media platforms as their mouthpieces,” Reis points out. “They have actively campaigned for genderless products and inclusivity, and what started out at one point as a bold or progressive idea has now become very acceptable.” The idea is to break stereotypical shackles, which, in turn, is fuelling the idea of gender fluidity among beauty brands. “Social media has always played a key role in disrupting pre-existing gender norms and pushing for a genderless societal view,” agrees Bhasin. “It is such an essential tool in this regard, and we ought to use these platforms to promote inclusivity, tolerance, and a genderless worldview.”While Gen Z and the influencers are challenging gender-based norms, we still have a long way to go. Brands need to diversify their product offerings and rework their marketing strategies. Gone are the days when products were labelled for the use of a specific gender. “We also need as many male models and creators as we have their female counterparts in the beauty industry,” aver Megha Asher and Pritesh Asher, founders of Juicy Chemistry, a range of certified organic products. “This will help everyone resonate better with the concept of beauty and self care.” The duo also talks of the role of packaging in fighting the gender-based divide. “We have grown up to believe that certain colour palettes belong to a particular gender, but times have changed and we are all evolving now.”Reis talks of how we still attach colour theory to branding and, at the outset, as consumers, we immediately typecast products and packaging based on their tooling, colour, look, and design. “For example, think of a pink box with satin lace; there is no way packaging like that can claim to be unisex. It just does not work with the mindset of the unisex target audience, who would already have labelled that product for feminine utility,” he explains.It’s time for brands to embrace the change. Today’s consumer is young and enthusiastic, and doesn’t want to accept the beauty norms put forward by the generations before them. Their style icons are unique too; they hype personalities like Billie Eilish and Ranveer Singh who are constantly challenging stereotypes through fashion. Needless to say, they expect nothing less from the beauty industry.

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