[No] Gender

After Toxic! Pink (launched in December 2017), in March 2018 Natura launched Rebel Glam in order to continue the fragrances of the Faces line, aimed at strengthening ties with the younger audience. Shortly thereafter, at the beginning of May, the company started a heavy disclosure with journalists and influencers, launching its first genderless fragrance: No Gender. No Gender follows world trends that began to be pointed at the end of 2015 and began to be discussed, with more transparency, during the year 2016, when the taste of the young began to be mapped by the fragrance houses. A number of studies have been done and the results have started to appear more recently (industry standard working time), but this issue should remain on the agenda for years to come. Natura is not the first national company to follow this trend known as genderless (or agender). Its biggest competitor - O Boticário - is also investing in this concept and even decided to remove the gender indication of fragrances already existing on the Egeo line, changing their names. But it is important to clarify a basic and very important point: the definition (or not) of genders in perfumery has no direct connection with the sexual orientation of consumers. It is no wonder that research has shown that thousands of heterosexual women prefer fragrances made for men. Likewise, homosexual men do not necessarily tend to use fragrances created for the female audience, contrary to what many people think. And that is the crux of the matter: buying and wearing perfumes for the pleasure that the fragrance offers, not the indication printed on the packaging. The gender issue has been around for longer than we can predict. Until a few decades ago, women were forbidden to wear pants or short hair, as this was part of the male universe. Reinforcing what belongs to man and woman is part of our lives before we are even born. Proof of this lies in the obligation of parents to disclose the sex of the baby before birth so that arrangements can be made, such as layette and presents. After all, if you are a man, the predominant colors will be blue or green; if it's a woman, pink or lilac. And in cases where it is impossible to discover the gender during the exams, one opts for yellow, a unisex, neutral color ... NO GENDER. This is heavily embedded in the commercial marketplace, from clothing to toys, from technological items to residential and commercial interior decorating. And, of course, it is a subject explored by the perfume industry, although most internationally renowned perfumers argue that perfume has no gender. It is true that some fragrances are clearly constructed to match a particular target audience, but that is not what the subject is about, nor will I discuss it in this analysis. The point is that No Gender comes to be the yellow color, made to move between the masculine and the feminine. Did it work? Well, the composition cites notes of orange, nutmeg, lemon, grapefruit, mandarin, and bergamot, plus a green accord on the way out. Then brings notes of ginger, cardamom, jasmine and lavender in the body. On the base, notes of cedar, sandalwood, tonka beans, and patchouli. On the skin, No Gender arrives citrus and attractive. But, as if in magic, it loses its course and shows itself synthetic and linear, becoming dull and cloying. I can not even identify what's in the olfactory pyramid. The impression I have is that a considerable amount of synthetic molecules has been used in a fragrance made in a hurry to take advantage of a commercial window, however contradictory it may seem. On the plus side, there is a success in bringing a harmless, genderless fragrance, perfect for 13- or 14-year-olds who want to wear a funky perfume at school or in language courses. It is ideal for the young person who is not ashamed to walk with people of different ethnicities, races, sexual orientation, etc. In addition, it has an effective projection during the first hours of application. The downside is that it is not a good fragrance for adults, who are still responsible for family income. Perhaps the No Gender campaign should have been focused on teen celebrities who have channels on Youtube, Instagram, etc. and influence millions of young people of the same age group. The bottle is very beautiful and current. But the price should never exceed the value charged in the other fragrances of the Faces line, although these have a smaller volume, because the price is not worth what the product delivers.