The power of scent-- it's ability to connect a person to a moment in history, another person or a favorite memory-- is one of the reasons why we do what we do at Beard and Lady. Our unique scents in each of our products are meant to encourage people to experience a connection to something or someone else-- to, "experience the chemistry."
This great power helped guide us in creating a fragrance for our friends, Rhett and Link. We didn't want to limit anyone's ability to be transported to a special memory, time, place or person, however, so we set out to create a unisex fragrance.
What does that mean exactly, though? Unisex is another word for anything that is gender-neutral or isn't associated with gender stereotype. Basically, it's something that is marketed and meant for everyone, no matter how they identify.
It was important for us to create a product like this for many reasons. One of them is that the fragrance industry is heavily divided into scents for either men or women.
Here are a couple of examples:
Marc Jacob's Daisy is a feminine fragrance, otherwise known as a perfume. Everything about this fragrance, from it's flowery cap and notes of strong florals and berries to it's advertisements highlighting only women interacting with the product, stereotypes Daisy as a woman's product. While men are perfectly able to use it, it's not marketed or typecast as the ideal product for men to use.
Giorgio Armani's Aqua di Giò is an example of a more masculine fragrance, commonly known as cologne, that is primarily marketed to men. It's packaging and contents is a bit different from the example described above as this is more sleek, minimalistic and has primary notes of water and wood (no flowers!). The model in the advertisement is a male model with a physical appearance associated with stereotypical masculinity: facial hair, muscular and a structured jaw bone. Again, while women can use it, it's not marketed as a product for them to use.
(photo: jasonmorgan35 Instagram)
So remember how we said we didn't want to limit anyone's ability to experience chemistry? We wanted to create a scent for both men and women so everyone can experience the chemistry together. Our Mythical No. 9 unisex fragrance combines fresh scents that work on everyone, no matter how you identify. Also, notice how we call it a fragrance. This is not a cologne or a perfume. It is both. It is inclusive. It smells amazing.
We may be a little biased on that last one, but other people seem to think so too!
The ability for a specific scent to bring people together or allow them to experience something truly incredible shouldn't be limited to one specific gender.
If you're looking for an inclusive scent to call your own-- one that can connect you to another time, person or place-- head to our store to try Mythical No. 9.
Let us know your thoughts on the fragrance industry, our fragrance or the importance of creating gender-neutral products in the comments below or on social media!