Scents with androgynous or genderqueer themes?

[Hazy]

I don't mean unisex scents -- I mean scents inspired or influenced by stories or ideas containing androgynous, genderqueer, or otherwise non-binary characters or themes.

 

Some examples I'm already aware of are Aizen-Myoo (which smells feminine on me but still merits a bottle purchase) and Tiresias, the Androgyne (which I can't wait to track down and test). Am I missing anything? Suggestions of scents that evoke this type of imagery for you, for personal reasons, are also welcome. Thanks in advance!

[Dusk]

There's Mary Read (Salt air, ocean mist, aged patchouli, sarsaparilla, watered-down rum, leather-tinged musk, and a spray of gunpowder). Don't know how she identified, but she spent a good amount of time living as a man for various reasons (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Read). Bearded Lady isn't quite right but it's still about gender non-conforming I guess? ( Turkish rose, stargazer lily, violet, honeysuckle, amber, star jasmine and vanilla) Schrodinger's Cat also comes to mind (tangerine, sugared lime, pink grapefruit, oakmoss, lavender, zdravetz, and chocolate peppermint) I guess because of the neither one nor the other thing (or both at the same time? can't remember my theoretical physics ). That's all that comes to mind right now. Oh, and Jareth (Ethereal lilac fougere and gleaming leather with ti leaf, tonka absolute, white musk, and oudh). But that's really just because of David Bowie in general, haha.

Edited December 22, 2014 by Dusk

[Hazy]

Excellent suggestions, thank you, Dusk! I think Mary Read is already on my wishlist, but absolutely should be if not. Schrodinger's Cat is one I actually hadn't heard of that I think I'd enjoy. I don't know if Bearded Lady will work on me because of the violet, although I will give her a try if I ever have the opportunity, and Jareth/David Bowie -- well, how can you go wrong with him?

 

I'm curious about whether you have any personal favorites on this list? Judging by your signature, I think we may have some likes in common.

Edited December 22, 2014 by Hazy

[Dusk]

I haven't tried Schrodinger's Cat or Jareth yet, but I have high hopes for Jareth because I like Dorian but find it a bit too sweet for me sometimes, and I've seen a lot of people describe Jareth as a less sweet, more masculine Dorian. I'm not a big fan of aquatics so Mary Read sadly isn't for me.

 

In terms of my personal favorites that don't necessarily have a genderqueer inspiration but kind of strike me that way, there's Dorian (because despite being inspired by a male character, it smells very femme on me) and Xiuhtecuhtli, which I *love.* Inspired by, according to the BPAL description, "the personification of light within darkness, warmth in the cold, and life in, and after, death. ... a creative and destructive God of Fire and Light." So that's some anti-binary stuff right there, first of all. The notes are: "Copal, plumeria and sweet orange and the smoke of South American incense and crushed jungle blooms," and by the end it's smoky sweet and resinous and really androgynous, but it starts out with a really soft fresh floral and sweet orange, not super-femme but definitely feminine enough so that I always forget it's not inspired by a Goddess rather than a God.

[Ashmedai]

It might be a little bit of a stretch, but "Kabuki"? Female roles are traditionally acted by males in Kabuki theater.

[lady_pandora]

This isn't an androgynous story but pops to my mind when I think of androgynous scents. It's one that doesn't work on me, but The Sea Foams Milk. It reminds me for all the world of one of the CK unisex fragrances. I'd also agree with Dorian, and of course the story was written by Oscar Wilde who was nonconforming in so many ways.

[ModderRhu]

I don't know if this counts at all, but I really enjoy dressing extremely """girly""" and then wearing a scent like clockwork couture: male. (leather, sandalwood, iron, patchouli)

 

I also enjoy pairing that one with super sweet delicately pink scents like hope, antique lace, and morocco. it just tickles me

 

oh, also the blockhead. it's from the carnival so might be hard to find. but it's bubblegum with leather and metal.

 

great thread!

[Balame]

Might be a little hard to find since it's an '09 Lupercalia, but there's one called Glukuprikos (Ambergris, pale musk, peru balsam, golden amber, cedar, lavender, spikenard, narcissus, vanilla caramel, white sandalwood, and woodmoss) which is based on the label image featuring a very androgynous man (I assume).

 

There's also Haloa (Wine grapes, pomegranate, myrrh, frankincense and olive leaf, and the warm scent of offertory cakes), which is a recurring Luper. It's based on a celebration for Demeter and Dionysus, of which Dionysus is the important one here. Although he's very famous for the, er, phallic symbolism people used to celebrate him, he actually was described as "womanly" and often depicted wearing women's clothes back in the day. He is a god of fertility. Yet he clearly possesses "manly" traits as well such as being a superior hunter, marrying a princess, etc.

 

He's quite interesting, really. A lot of people feared him because when his female followers were possessed by him, this allowed their naturally "passionate and irrational" natures to run wild, abandoning chaste behavior and wifely duties. This was the "dark side" of femininity according to the men who wanted them tending to their food and kids at home.

 

In that same vein there's Dionysia (Wild plum, pomegranate, raspberry, Siamese benzoin, plum blossom, patchouli, frankincense, and mahogany) which is one of the ladies of the Grindhouse, but it was also the name of the main festival to celebrate Dionysus in ancient Athens.

 

Lastly Harvest Moon (The autumnal scents of dry leaves, mulling spices, balsam fir, cedar, juniper berry, clove, saffron, damson plum, sage, yarrow, and lily twined with Dionysus' sacred grapes and ivy, a bounty of apple and pumpkin, and the amaranth and lingum aloes of Janus, all touched by a gentle breath of festival woodsmoke and sweet wine) has several inspirations, including Dionysus. His fellow god Janus is decently relevant as well. He's the god of transitions, gateways, beginnings and endings, thus his two faces see into the past and future. He is often linked with Jana, who some speculate is Diana, and so together they represent the union of femininity and masculinity.

Edited December 23, 2014 by Balame

[keltiejean]

What about Jarreth? David Bowie defiantly had his gender f*ck moments (it's lovely- musk and vanilla and leather...yum!)

Edited January 21, 2015 by keltiejean

[Hazy]

Lovely suggestions. Thank you again, everyone, and I'm glad some of you appreciate the thread!

 

Jareth sounds like a definite winner from all these descriptions. I am really interested in Xiuhtecuhtli, and while Kabuki may be a little different from what I'm looking for, it did pique my curiosity the first time I ran across it.

 

I've gotten sooo curious to try The Sea Foams Milk lately. The Blood version wasn't...as bloody as I'd hoped, but I recently discovered that milk agrees with me, and unisex beachy/aquatic-ish fragrances are the only commercial ones I've ever really enjoyed anyway.

 

I don't know if this counts at all, but I really enjoy dressing extremely """girly""" and then wearing a scent like clockwork couture: male. (leather, sandalwood, iron, patchouli)

 

I love doing this. Old Demons of the First Class goes ultra masculine on me and so of course I love wearing it with lace. I need to try out feminine scents with men's clothing sometime -- I have this one cosplay character who's just begging to get me out of the house in a suit and tie and the sweetest possible Beaver Moon.

 

Balame, amazing choices as always. I had no idea about any of that in regard to Dionysus, and it's fascinating to learn. Haloa sounds like it will be a definite win for me personally. The others could go either way on me, but I love the imagery behind all of them, and something about Harvest Moon is striking me as a must-try ASAP.

[BetteNoire]

Since Dorian has been mentioned, I have to add Wilde as well. Oscar Wilde probably would have at least experimented with genderqueer; he was ahead of his time and flamboyant, and as it was he went to jail for it.

Also, the scent itself is a very insisting bridge between masculine and femme. Way more floral than most men are comfortable with, but still is unmistakably a cologne.

[Hazy]

Since Dorian has been mentioned, I have to add Wilde as well. Oscar Wilde probably would have at least experimented with genderqueer; he was ahead of his time and flamboyant, and as it was he went to jail for it.

Also, the scent itself is a very insisting bridge between masculine and femme. Way more floral than most men are comfortable with, but still is unmistakably a cologne.

 

This is so bizarre since I'm not that new, but I didn't even realize there was a scent called Wilde. Thank you! Looks like a bunch of notes that will work on me, too.

 

Dorian turned out gorgeous and androgynous on me, and as a wonderful bonus, it's one of very few BPALs that my partner loves to smell on me! I have a couple others from this thread yet to test, and will be ordering more soon.

[JasminDreams2010]

I realize this isn't entirely what you were looking for since the thread is about theme, but I'm a drag King sometimes and my go-to drag self is captain jack sparrow. He wears incantation, elegba, or body, remember. So maybe we need a separate thread for drag pirates but I think those fragrances help me explore my other side, if that makes sense. Cool thread

Edited March 23, 2015 by JasminDreams2010

[Hazy]

I realize this isn't entirely what you were looking for since the thread is about theme, but I'm a drag King sometimes and my go-to drag self is captain jack sparrow. He wears incantation, elegba, or body, remember. So maybe we need a separate thread for drag pirates but I think those fragrances help me explore my other side, if that makes sense. Cool thread

 

Oh gosh no, this is perfect. I have all those scents on my wishlist (not to mention drag kings and pirates are some of my favorite things).

 

This could well be NSFW/private, but if not, do you have any pictures from when you're performing? It would be so neat to see.

[Cactus]

No suggestions that haven't already been made...

 

But this is making me think we really should have a "scents we've worn for Drag" conversation in BPAL Chatter.

[Dusk]

No suggestions that haven't already been made...

 

But this is making me think we really should have a "scents we've worn for Drag" conversation in BPAL Chatter.

Using scents for not just strictly drag but also performative gender in general is the best thing, A+.