
There's absolutely no rule against men using women's perfumes, just as women are free to wear pants instead of dresses. Interestingly, women's and men's fragrances share many similarities, even though marketing strategies often emphasize gender-specific packaging and advertising to target particular audiences.
Fragrances for women are typically characterized as sweet, fruity, or floral, whereas men's scents are often labeled as woodsy, green, or leathery. However, all perfumes are essentially chemical blends, and both men's and women's fragrances frequently include overlapping ingredients. While floral and citrus notes are often seen as feminine, they are also present in many men's fragrances. Similarly, musky and spicy scents, commonly linked to men's colognes, are also found in perfumes designed for mature women.
The range of fragrance compositions is incredibly diverse, leading to many scents that appeal to both men and women. If women experiment with men's fragrances and men explore women's perfumes, we'll likely start associating a variety of scents with both genders. In fact, when a fragrance marketed to one gender gains popularity with the opposite gender, companies often rebrand it as a unisex product.
Men need not avoid floral or citrus fragrances; many popular men's colognes already include notes like lavender and bergamot. Additionally, each person's unique body chemistry alters how a scent develops on their skin. Choose what appeals to your senses and ignore the gender-specific labels on the bottle.