Emmanuel Uddenberg, 25, uses fragrance as a form of self care, and sees it, like his wardrobe, as part of his style.Edward Row
Every day after school, a group of high-school boys saunter into Etiket, a luxury beauty boutique on Sherbrooke Street in Montreal. Backpacks in tow, they make a beeline for the fragrance shelves to take turns sniffing high-end scents, bottles of which can cost upwards of $500.
While the new-found interest from this particular demographic surprised the Etiket staff at both its Montreal and Toronto shops, a passion for beauty products is part of a growing trend amongst those in Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Tweenage girls have been generating headlines – and controversy – over their enthusiastic visits to Sephora, and now their male counterparts are following suit. In their personal quest for self confidence, self expression and self optimization, finding a cologne is often the first step.
According to a survey of youth spending patterns by investment bank Piper Sandler, the beauty category remains a top priority for teens, reaching the highest levels seen since 2018. While cosmetics continue to lead in overall beauty spending, fragrance is growing quickly at 25 per cent year-over-year. When it comes to boys specifically, annual spending on fragrance grew 46 per cent to $110 compared to the previous year’s survey, with kids as young as 11 showing interest in premium perfumes like Creed and Bond No. 9, which can run from $50 to more than $300 depending on the size of the bottle.
“They have very specific fragrances that they want – they’re strong, they’re long-lasting,” says Etiket founder Simon Tooley. Statement-making options from niche brands like Penhaligon’s, Maison Mataha, Xerjoff and Zoologist are popular choices amongst his young male customers.
Like anything that’s trending amongst young people, fragrance’s new-found popularity with boys can be traced back to TikTok. It’s the most-used social media platform amongst kids between 11 and 17, who spend somewhere around two hours per day scrolling through its bite-sized videos.
These viewers have created viral sensations out of scent aficionados like German influencer Daniel Schütz, a.k.a. Jeremy Fragrance, who has nearly 10 million TikTok followers, and Jatin Arora, an 18-year-old from Winnipeg who goes by the handle TheCologneBoy.
Arora’s two million followers tune in to watch videos that touch on fragrance-focused topics like ranking the many colognes by Jean Paul Gaultier and tips on how to be the best-smelling man in the room, as well as his picks for school, the gym and to stand out. He also offers a guide to smellmaxxing, a portmanteau for elevating your personal aroma (spoiler alert: It starts with practising good hygiene).
Etiket’s Tooley likens the boys’ interest in exploring the nuance of scent to collectible hobbies of days gone by, like trading baseball cards or queuing for a rare sneaker drop. “These can be expensive fragrances, but it’s a positive, healthy hobby for them,” he says. “There’s worse things they could be doing, as we all know.”
For 25-year-old content creator Emmanuel Uddenberg, smelling a certain way is part and parcel of his overall personal presentation. “I’ve always loved fashion and I feel like fashion and cologne go hand in hand,” he says. “I have to make sure the outfit’s nice and pick a scent to match it.”
Unlike members of previous generations, Uddenberg eschews the notion of a signature scent in favour of wardrobing various offerings from brands like Le Labo, Byredo and D.S. & Durga. “I grew up and my mom, my grandparents, they always had a signature scent. It’s very common, at least in my generation, to have multiple scents. Most people don’t stick to just one any more.”
As to why so many young men have suddenly developed a deep interest in fragrance, Uddenberg posits that it goes hand in hand with self care. “I feel like it ties into the idea of taking care of yourself – making sure you look put together, making sure you’re well groomed, and then making sure you also smell good.”
