Smellmaxxing – the art of enhancing your scent. This past weekend, the NYT had an article about the trend of teenage boys buying, wearing, and collecting high-end perfume – we are talking about perfume that costs over $100 and having more than one bottle. Not only are they buying it but they also seem to be knowledgeable about scent terms like “sillage” and “top notes”.
Clearly, the trend seems more prominent with kids that can afford the perfumes – or their parents can. When one mom was interviewed about the cost, she didn’t tell her kid to find something cheaper, but asked that he do more chores around the house to earn the money. What’s surprising to me is not the trend, but the perfume community’s reaction to it, saying that kids buying luxury perfumes is “too much” and what’s next, a Prada bag? The irony is that Prada bags are so last century – did nobody watch the movie Clueless back in the 90’s. Yes, it was a satire of a rich LA teenager but satires are based on real life.
Truly, isn’t it better that teenagers are more interested in perfume as a means of self-expression? Whether they’re spending $10 or $100, wearing perfume and then smelling it throughout the day is a means of checking in with yourself, of adding another layer of enjoyment to your day, and can even help in times of anxiety. It may be a sign of the times that kids are now into scent – maybe it’s the balm they need, just like it’s what we all need and have already discovered.
Get them started young, I say. The other part of the commentary surrounding the article is that kids are being “influenced” to buy these perfumes and they might not even really know what they’re getting. Clearly, some of these commentators don’t remember being young and impressionable. It’s a time for people to figure out what they like, and what they do in the meanwhile is follow the trends. That’s part of being an adolescent.
My first perfume as a teenager was Ralph Lauren Blue even though my mom tried to hoist her vintage Dior on to me. I said, no! I knew what worked for me. Lucky for me, the Dior is still there, and the Blue was the right thing for that time.
