Scent-sational: Forget Lynx, teen boys want big brand name scents

Teenage boys as young as 13 are getting a nose for appreciating high-end men’s fragrances. Here’s everything we know about the obsession with “boyfume”.

Next time you’re tidying up your teenage son’s bedroom you may notice a whiff of something that isn’t smelly socks or leftover pizza … the boyfume.

You know perfume and “manfume” (male fragrance) but now there’s boyfume, a term invented by The Advertiser to describe the scents a growing number of teenage boys are obsessed with.

Yes, the days of parents having to beg or bribe their pubescent sons to wear deodorant may be over.

Boys as young as 13 are into boyfume.

While sneaking a splash of Dad’s Brut before a Blue Light Disco was a rite of passage for gen Xers, today’s teenage boys want big name brands. Lynx body spray from the supermarket just won’t do.

Sebastian Cox, 16, and his brother Leonardo, 14. Picture: Mark Brake

Parents and the beauty industry are attributing the trend to Tik Tok influencers, rather than the celebrities who are the “face” of a fragrance.

For example, a spokeswoman for Coty’s luxury arm said Matt Lord aka @nose_blind “runs a wildly successful Tik Tok account, speaking directly to young men and feeding into their obsession with luxury fragrances”.

Others Tik Tok accounts include @TheCologneBoy and @ThatFragranceKid.

When it comes to which big name brands are hitting the (fragrance) note, she said there had been a “significant increase” in sales of male fragrances to teen boys, “particularly from our Hugo BOSS and Burberry brands”.

The Jean Paul Gaultier range, which comes in a torso-shaped bottle is also popular. Its Le Male Elixir sells for $145 for 75ml.

Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male Elixir EDP 125ml Gift Set, $200, davidjones.com

School mums have told The Advertiser the brand is the “must-have” and that teen boys are swapping samples of fragrance with their mates, the way previous generations would trade footy cards.

Leonardo Cox, 14, and his brother Sebastian, 16, both have a boyfume wardrobe, with scents by names such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Burberry and Versace.

“It’s a massive part of my daily routine,” Sebastian said, adding he was “always happy” to receive fragrance for a birthday or Christmas present.

Leonardo, who started wearing it at age 13, said he liked “smelling good and feeling fresh”.

David Jones beauty managing buyer Jessica Pittam said Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male Elixir, Valentino’s Born in Roma and Who is Elijah’s Wall Street were bestsellers.

Sebastian and Leonardo Cox. Picture: Mark Brake

Burberry Hero parfum, $244 for 100ml, myer.com.au

While they were popular with customers of all ages, she said the up-market retailer had “definitely noticed an increase in teenage boys shopping in our fragrance departments”.

“It is a new customer demographic for us,” she said, adding: “It’s become quite common for groups of young teens to visit and explore the fragrance range together. In fact, we’ve had to request more tester cards from our brands, as teenage boys want to try every fragrance before deciding.”

Ms Pittam said teens, rather than their parents, were making the purchases.

“Thanks to Tik Tok and the #colognetok trend, teenagers are now very comfortable coming into stores on their own, with friends, to test and purchase their fragrances,” she said adding: “That said, fragrance gift sets are flying off the shelves … We expect to see plenty of Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male Elixir sets under the tree this Christmas.”