The best unisex perfumes, sorted by scent style

For a clean scent, start with Byredo Blanche, a white-shirt floral musk. For evenings, Initio Side Effect brings rum, tobacco and cinnamon, Diptyque Orphéon a powdery, smoky bar portrait, and Amouage Outlands amber, cardamom and saffron. Seven perfumes follow, sorted by scent style from the notes each house lists. All seven come in 3 and 10 ml decants, so you can wear one before committing to a bottle.

What unisex actually means

A unisex perfume is one made or marketed for anyone to wear. The label is the house's choice, and several houses apply it to their whole range. Diptyque says its fragrances are “Free from any notion of gender”. Initio states that “All our fragrances are unisex and Made in France.” Byredo lists Blanche as “Genderless”, and Matière Première says its Vanilla Powder “has no predefined gender.”

The label also says nothing about style. The seven perfumes below run from a clean aldehydic musk to a rum-and-tobacco amber. If you want lists built around gendered labels instead, see best perfumes for men and best perfumes for women.

The idea is not new as a marketing line either: CK One, launched in 1994, was one of the first beauty products openly marketed as unisex.

How we chose these perfumes

We used four criteria. First, the house puts the perfume in a shared frame: it calls its range or the perfume genderless or unisex, or, as with Amouage, lists it in its “Universal Perfumes” collection. Second, we read the house's own note list or ingredient text. Third, the set covers a spread of scent styles and houses, with no more than two from one house. Fourth, “best” here is our editorial choice by these criteria, not a popularity claim.

Where a house page could not be read, the perfume is not a pick. Notes below are quoted as each house words them, and concentrations are as the house states them.

Fresh and clean

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  Byredo

  Blanche

  Eau de Parfum

  Byredo gives aldehyde and rose centifolia on top, peony and violet in the heart, musks and sandalwood in the base. The house says it “embodies the sensation of a fresh white shirt against the skin” and names it “a tribute to the beauty of contrasts, where purity meets intimacy with tenderness and character.” Wear it for work or every day if you want a soft, clean white floral musk.

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Floral musk and powdery

• 

  Amouage

  Existence

  Eau de parfum · 20% oil concentration

  Amouage tags Existence “Floral” and “Musky” and lists it among its “Universal Perfumes”. Lily of the valley and rose lead, followed by frankincense, mystikal and labdanum, then ambergris, white musk and benzoin. Quentin Bisch composed it. In the house's words it is “Bright, sincere and emotive”, which fits a polished everyday scent.

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• 

  Diptyque

  Orphéon

  Eau de parfum

  Diptyque presents Orphéon as an olfactory portrait of a legendary bar where its founders loved to get together. Its notes are “the warmth of tonka bean, the depth of cedar, the richness of jasmine and the vivacity of juniper berries”, with curls of tobacco smoke and powdery trails. Reach for it in the evening or in autumn, if you like powdery woods.

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Woody and spicy

For more on this family, see our guide to woody perfumes.

• 

  Essential Parfums

  Bois Impérial

  Eau de Parfum · concentrated at 16%

  The house lists the composition as unisex. Quentin Bisch built it around Akigalawood and describes it this way: “Adorned with fresh spices, it is a great woody note made of contrasts, between patchouli and Thai Basil.” It reads as green and woody, so it suits daytime.

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• 

  Amouage

  Outlands

  30% Essence de Parfum

  Amouage files it under “Woody” and “Ambery”, with Cécile Zarokian as its nose. The top holds cardamom, bergamot, lemon, Sichuan pepper, elemi and frankincense. The heart holds patchouli, rose, orange blossom, cumin and saffron among others, and the base benzoin, labdanum, amber, ambergris, vanilla, birch, musks and oud among others. The house names more notes for it than for any other of the seven; wear it in cool weather and for occasions.

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Sweet and warm

• 

  Matière Première

  Vanilla Powder

  Eau de Parfum

  Matière Première builds this around Vanilla Absolute Madagascar, with palo santo for “structure and verticality” and white musks that “envelop the Vanilla and powders”. Aurélien Guichard created it, and the house calls it “A sophisticated take on vanilla, diffusing like a bright, soft cloud.” Choose it for creamy vanilla without heavy spice.

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• 

  Initio Parfums Privés

  Side Effect

  Eau de Parfum

  Initio sums it up as “a hypnotic blend of Tobacco, Vanilla, Rum, and Cinnamon, enhanced by Hedione”. Its single set of notes adds saffron and sandalwood, with no top, heart and base split. Initio classes it as ambery and spicy and presents it as an evening scent, so save it for cold-weather evenings.

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How strength differs between them

Houses state strength in different ways. Bois Impérial is concentrated at 16%, Existence has a 20% oil concentration and Outlands is a 30% Essence de Parfum, each as the house words it. For what a stronger concentration usually adds to the price, see our guide to what a stronger concentration costs per ml.

How to choose and try one

Start with the scent style you already enjoy, then match it to the occasion.

• Clean and fresh: Blanche.
• Polished florals: Existence.
• Evenings and autumn: Orphéon, Side Effect or Outlands.
• Daytime woods: Bois Impérial.
• Soft and creamy: Vanilla Powder.

Taste and body chemistry decide the rest: the right one is simply the one that smells good to you. A 3 or 10 ml decant lets you wear a perfume through a few days before you buy a full bottle.