Perfume vs. Cologne: What’s the Difference?

Ever since I created D&Scent, I have had a lot of conversations with people who are new to fragrances. And there is this one idea that many of them believe to be true is that perfume is for women and cologne is for men.

And honestly, I used to think that too. It’s what many of us were told growing up, and when you walk into a store, you always see the men’s side that says cologne while the women’s side says perfume, so it feels obvious. But, those words weren’t originally about gender. They were used to describe different fragrance concentrations, the amount of oil that they used to fill them.

But the fragrance industry started using those labels differently, and now a lot of people think these labels are separate categories. But, men can wear perfume, and women can wear cologne, and what truly matters is whether you enjoy the scent or not.

I have had plenty of people ask me whether Verdant Halo is a perfume or a cologne. But, my answer will always be: I care a lot more about how it smells and how it makes someone feel than what gender category someone puts it in. I am less interested in labels like “for men” and “for women.” I find myself caring more about the feeling a fragrance evokes for the person.

When I was creating Verdant Halo or other fragrances, I wasn’t thinking about whether it would smell masculine or feminine. I was thinking things like a spring morning in Utah, the cold air, the wet rocks, with the green leaves, and the sunlight coming through the trees. There is a certain feeling that I wanted to implement into them. That’s what I find interesting about fragrances, it is the experience and expressions they can hold.

I think people would enjoy fragrance more if people stopped asking whether they are supposed to wear something, and instead asked themselves whether they’d like it. And honestly, at the end of the day, perfume and cologne are only just words. The experience and stories behind it are what truly matter.