Biggest fragrance pet peeves to outsiders?

I make this post partially humorous but also to seriously ask you what your biggest pet peeves that beginners or people not as invested in this hobby as us are. I say outsiders carefully as not to say it in a clique kind of sense.

Because I’ve unlocked a pet peeve that’s so weirdly specific, to anyone outside of the bubble, I look psycho! So asking you guys, what are yours? And do any of you relate to this specific one that I have?

My biggest, most frustrating issue is so irritating to me because of how ridiculously widespread it is, and it comes with the misconception of cologne, perfume, and gendered fragrances.

It strikes a positively DISSONANT chord within me when someone refers to all men’s fragrance as “cologne”.

Makes me like unreasonably irritated. Crazy right! But hear me out.

One of the biggest misconceptions in fragrance is the idea of A), gendered fragrance, and B), men’s fragrance is all “cologne”.

Traditionally, cologne is a concentration of alcohol to oil, and actually one of the weakest concentrations. Most fragrances nowadays for men aren’t colognes at all but Eau de toilettes and Eau de parfums! They don’t wear cologne! They wear perfume!

Gendered fragrance in and of itself is a western marketing construct used by companies to get men to start wearing it, to make the market less intimidating and fit in with the stigmas and social values at the time.

Along with that, the word “perfume” had a largely feminine connotation, and men at the time did not feel comfortable wearing something with the name of something that sounded so well… feminine.

Considering there WERE popular men’s fragrances that were cologne concentrations like from Acqua di Parma, and the word “cologne” sounded rugged, masculine, and less feminine, so it became synonymous with all men’s fragrance.

Now as to why this particular stereotype and misconception bothers me so much, I’ll get into that.

A), I hate the word cologne. Always have. When I bought my first Versace my girlfriend at the time was like “how’s the cologne?” And bro it bothered me. I wasn’t mad at her or anything lol, but I associate the word with the absolutely terrible chemical bomb my dad would wear with his axe body spray. So when I hear “cologne”, I think of that. Even I look at my older posts and see myself use that word and I criiiiiiinge

B), The originations behind this are honestly based in such a silly stigma. I’m a man. You’re a man. We’re all men in this. And I think it’s honestly unnecessary, and dare I say, a bit fragile to say “well I can’t say I wear this specific smell because it’s too FEMININE”. If you’re comfortable enough in your masculinity, I seriously doubt you’ll feel a need to do so. Maybe you disagree with me, and that’s totally fine. But that’s my own take.

And that honestly is where the main point for this still stands for me. Saying the word “cologne” for men’s fragrance is not only simply incorrect, but in my opinion, also is rooted in such a ridiculous stigma, that any man comfortable in his masculinity (myself included) would not care about.

Being a man has nothing to do with wearing a specific kind of smell. It’s your courage through hard times, devotion to your loved ones, accountability and honor, physical, mental, and spiritual health, and work ethic. And that right there, is the main takeaway.

So now with that out of the way, what do you think of this? Has this pet peeve officially earned me a niche snob badge lol. And what are yours?

Yes you’ve earned the perfume snob title! Welcome!

Nooo you charlatan!

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Biggest fragrance pet peeves to outsiders?