There's nothing sensual about it."**CREED ZESTE MANDARINE PAMPLEMOUSSECreed. Both thought the advertising "sexy", but the fragrance merely "fresh". Helen Galdes confirmed that it was attracting "a younger market than we've ever seen in the perfume department - clubby types". Justin Silk chose it as the only fragrance of those tested that he would wear; Philippa Yeoman liked it too, even though "it slaps you in the face, it's so lemony". pounds 19.95 for 50ml of eau de toiletteThis was the best known (because most heavily advertised) of all the genderless fragrances tested; indeed many believe it to be the only unisex perfume. Calvin Klein insists on describing it as a "shared fragrance", on the basis that "unisex" sounds sexless and that is not the image he wants to create.
Roja Dove thought the cinnamon and clove notes would develop into something "warm and comforting" and described the perfume as "resinous" - a quality that reminded our other testers of incense in church.*CK ONEMade by Calvin Klein. Helen Galdes said the scent was "very Christmassy" and thought that women would probably buy it as a gift for men. Neither liked this spicy fragrance itself, Philippa likening the smell to "wearing the ingredients of a mulled wine sachet around your neck". The radically banal packaging made Justin Silk think of "those rip-offs you buy at three for a tenner on Oxford Street", while the plastic bags had Philippa Yeoman wondering whether she "should throw away the perfume with the packaging". For our testers, the adverts showing a green sponge with soap suds on a white page listing worldwide stockists backfires: it suggests only that "you'd want to scrub the perfume off afterwards".
pounds 33 for 50ml of eau de parfumHeavily promoted as a style and concept of fragrance quite unlike all others, Comme des Garcons rejoices in plain white packaging with its name and a utilitarian bar code graphic on the front The bottle comes encased in a vacuum-sealed plastic bag. "It smells grapefruity and sophisticated," she commented, "and friends of mine wear it." Roja Dove confirmed that Annick Goutal deserves her enormous following: "She has a lot of very interesting perfumes, and none of them are mainstream or samey."*COMME DES GARCONSMade by Comme des Garcons. Justin Silk said he thought Eau d'Hadrien was too feminine for him, but Philippa Yeoman seized on it as the fragrance she would most like to wear - if only someone would buy her some. Sales of this perfume suggest that she may be on to something: according to Helen Galdes, Liberty sells "truckloads of the stuff". pounds 29.75 for 30ml of eau de toiletteAnnick Goutal began her career as a musician and antiquarian with a strong belief in the influence of childhood experiences on the pleasures we derive from smells. Roja Dove explained that citrus oils were the basis for all early eaux de Colognes, which were unisex. "They were the easiest oils to obtain," he explained, "but for that reason they are often used in household cleaning products, so people often associate them with things like bathroom cleansers."***EAU D'HADRIENMade by Annick Goutal.
Justin Silk thought Citreum smelt "like washing-up liquid", while Philippa Yeoman pronounced it "like expensive soap". Gravida was described respectively as "too bitter for a perfume" and "horrible". Both testers said Inspiritus reminded them of Vicks' Vaporub. They liked the frosted glass bottle, but thought it irrelevant because they wouldn't buy the perfume anyway.Helen Galdes of Liberty said the range was "innovative" and appealed to people who weren't traditional fragrance wearers but liked the idea of essential oils. Our testers, however, greeted this idea with derision - in fact, they were unlikely to stay with the scent long enough to test the theory.
pounds l5.95 for 30ml of eau of de Cologne; available in three "essential fragrances": Citreum (Super-fresh), Gravida (Supergentle), and Inspiritus (Supercalm)The aromatherapist Lyn Harris believes her range of "essential fragrances" (eau de Cologne made with natural essential oils) has a positive effect on mood. One expert commented on the technical merits of the frag-rances, while the other assessed what kind of person would be most likely to buy them.THE PANELPhilippa Yeoman and Justin Silk, twentysomething consumers; Roja Dove, Professeur des Parfums at Guerlain and guest lecturer for the Comite Francais des Parfums' touring exhibition, "Heavenly Scents"; Helen Galdes, the perfume buyer for Liberty's, the London department store .MIOMade by Harris Oils. (We tested the less expensive eau de Cologne or eau de toilette rather than the eau de parfum.) The potential buyers considered whether they would wear the fragrance, its suitability for both men and women, value for money, the appeal of its packaging, and the effectiveness of its advertising. Women still sometimes wear men's perfumes: one of our testers, Phillippa Yeoman, cited Kouros for Men as one of her regular choices.These days, unisex fragrances are aggressively marketed as such. But do these perfumes really appeal to both men and women? And what do they actually smell like?THE TESTWe asked two potential customers and two experts to assess six unisex perfumes, priced from pounds 15 to pounds 40. The first frag-rance for men, Mouchoir de Monsieur, was launched by Guerlain as late as 1929. Since then, a small number of unconventional consumers have opted for perfumes made for the opposite sex.
