The 'Ugly' Perfume Trend: Who Gets to Smell Chic and Who Doesn't?
Lifestyle
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Firstpost•30-01-2026, 17:09
The 'Ugly' Perfume Trend: Who Gets to Smell Chic and Who Doesn't?
- •Modern perfumery is shifting from clean scents to provocative, 'difficult' fragrances with animalic, metallic, and savory notes, aiming to be noticed rather than just smelling fresh.
- •This trend, often framed as progress, masks a social truth: not everyone is allowed to embrace strange smells and be praised for it, as smell has historically been a tool for social sorting.
- •Unpleasant smells become acceptable only under specific conditions: when reframed as art, bottled expensively, and worn by individuals already perceived as tasteful, their social meaning transforms.
- •In India, the contradiction is stark; smells associated with caste, labor, and specific foods (like cumin or ghee) are celebrated in Western perfumery as luxurious, yet invite scrutiny for South Asian bodies.
- •The acceptance of oud in Western perfumery, after being reworked and rebranded, exemplifies how the social meaning of a scent changes based on its presentation and the wearer, not the scent itself.
Why It Matters: The 'ugly' perfume trend highlights how social status dictates who can embrace unconventional scents and be seen as chic.
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