February 12, 2025 • 21 mins
Gender-neutral fragrances are having a moment—and for good reason.
We’re breaking down the freshest, most luxurious scents that everyone (us included) is obsessed with right now.
Plus, we’re joined by the one and only Kate Walsh! As the founder of Boyfriend, she knows a thing or two about what makes a fragrance unforgettable. We even got a peek inside her bag to uncover her must-have products...
LINKS TO EVERYTHING MENTIONED:
Who Is Elijah Nomad $179
Who Is Elijah Cherry Fiesta $179
Le Labo Gaiac 10 $380
Le Labo Santal $383
Commodity Expressive Trio Set $72
Elizabeth Arden Green Tea EDT $37
Goldfield & Banks Pacific Rock Moss Perfume $50
Jo Malone London Wood Sage & Sea Salt Cologne $256
Jo Malone London Peony & Blush Suede Cologne $256
Inside Kate Walsh's Bag:
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
So you're listening to a MoMA Mia podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Mama Mia acknowledges the traditional owners of land and waters
that this podcast is recorded on.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Makeup is My Therapy Love. I'm obsessed and I don't
even feel guilty about it.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Hello, and welcome to you beauty this daily podcast Your Face.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
I am Sarah Marie Bard.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
And I'm Kelly McCarran.
Speaker 5 (00:34):
And this is In Her Bag, the show where we
talk about what's in your makeup bag and why.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Today we are talking gender neutral fragrances.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
Love love love, love love love.
Speaker 5 (00:45):
Both of us are huge fans of gender neutral fragrances,
and I mean we do need to caveaut this episode
by saying, like, obviously all fragrances are gender neutral. You
can wear whatever the hell you want to wear in
terms of fragrance or just regardless exactly. But when we're
talking about gener neutral fragrances, we're talking about things that
(01:06):
don't lean super firm or super mask in traditional terms
of fragrance exactly, which is the feminine fragrances will come
in a bottle with a flower on top, and it's
got heaps of apple and flowers and pretty smelling sweet
sweet will come in a brown glass bottle and it's
got heaps of woods in it.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
So it's the meeting in the middle of those things exactly.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
And they usually have really cool.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Bottles, not fam not masks, just gender neutral.
Speaker 5 (01:34):
I had to find the liner in my bag.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
I've always bought men's fragrances that I thought were gender neutral, Like,
there's some that I obsessed with.
Speaker 5 (01:47):
I agree, Like I used to especially lean more towards
masculine smelling fragrances. However, as I've gotten older, I don't
want those really deep woods. I find them like a
little bit too intoxicating andugh.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Like it's just a lot. So I just love that
the gener neutral.
Speaker 5 (02:05):
It's more in the middle, like it might have like
a little hint of leather or to bat or the woods,
but it's.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Not deep in one like a slight citrusy like it's
a rainforest.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
It's fred of wood.
Speaker 4 (02:16):
Yes, yes, one hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
It's like you want to feel fresher, not like a
drown you're going out, yeah, yeah, yeah, Whereas when you're younger,
I feel like you can go exactly, like, I agree
one hundred percent. I actually brought in gender neutral fragrance I.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
Bought that show you later.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Oh my gosh, I'm excited to have a sniff.
Speaker 5 (02:40):
We wanted to see what real women are actually wearing
in terms of gender neutral fragrances, so we had a
little check around the office to see what's popular with
women from gen Z to the baby boomers with fragrances.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
I just avoid anything super floral. I like them more
of a fresh herbal, even fruity. I don't like musk
or vanilla. Anything that smells like you can eat it
is not for me.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Some a nostalgia by who Is Elijah?
Speaker 3 (03:06):
So perfect for the summer months, feeling light and airy
and forever.
Speaker 5 (03:11):
I love that this person has mentioned the who Is
Elijah fragrance because Rachel Boris has built like she's just
a powerhouse. She's built one of Australia's fastest growing fragrance
brands and it's all about breaking those gendered scent norms.
Have you smelled many of her fragrances, because they're also
designed to layer, like oh luck.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
You know.
Speaker 5 (03:32):
I was talking to my friends EA recently and I
was like, oh my god, you smell so good, and
she was wearing no mad and one of the other
ones I don't even remember what it was, but it
just created the most unique, beautiful fragrance.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
You know.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
I like that so working in beauty.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
When I first got into beauty, I was working retail,
and I used to spray fragrance when people like were
walking past me.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
Do you want to snaw?
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Oh I am haf you missed.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Outst annoying you would get done to you. But like
I used to be that pirpecially if it was stinky.
Oh yes, thank god. I always picked a really good one.
But the whole thing with fragrance before was you cannot
layer another frameagrance on top of the fragrance.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
And bruce it. Don't bruise anything.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Well, you know, put your moisturize there on and then fragrance.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
And I love now.
Speaker 5 (04:19):
Things people take fragrance a lot less seriously, kind of
like have fun with it.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
It was taken so seriously before.
Speaker 5 (04:25):
It was very old school, like this is how it's
This is for a man aged forty five, precisely.
Speaker 4 (04:30):
Yeah, you're a Lacey is a young fragrance. You know.
Speaker 5 (04:33):
I love that she's designed them to be laid have you.
This is my latest fave. This is called the cherry
Fiesta I think it launched at the end of last year.
It's so actually, it smells a little bit sweet in
the bottle.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
It's sexy and like fresh. I love it, but not
I don't know.
Speaker 5 (04:49):
I agree with the person that said that they don't
like the Gormard because I hate like yuck fruit any
candles that smell like food as well, But if it's
like cherry or peach or lemon or something, if it's
a fruit or of vegetable, that I'm awful, like basil
and mandarin. Well, coming up after the break, we've rounded
up some gorgeous fragrances ginger neutral fragrance says, which we
(05:10):
think are so on trend and absolutely anyone can wear them.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Okay, let's get into some recommendations.
Speaker 5 (05:23):
Sarah Marie and I have both put in three of
our favorite ginger neutral fragrances to share, So you hit
me up first place.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Okay, the one that you've got in a box.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
I'm going to have a caveat here.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
I've got the two of the fragrances I recommend Personally.
Price points are quite high because generally when I buy
a fragrance if I'm traveling, my tradition is wherever I go,
I bay a fragrance I can only get in that area.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Okay, that is such a nice tradition.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Love love love it.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
We love a beautiful fragrance, yes, but to justify some
of the expensive ones, we do buy something that's gender neutral. Yeah,
that's always been our think, right. So my first one
is by Le Labo. This one I got in Tokyo.
When you buy these, you can have your name written
on the label and it says the city where you've
(06:15):
purchased it.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
That is so lovely.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Yeah, So they customize it on the day so it's
a very light scent.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
You can have a smell of this.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
So it's called gay yak ten gayic.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
So that way is like, you can only get that
one too, it does you can only get.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
To you wear this one alt because it smells like.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
You know, here and there, here and there.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
I wear it.
Speaker 5 (06:36):
That is beautiful, that is so light but sexy.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
And you walked past the store and it made us
stop because they spray and they do a lot of
the fragrance and I'm like, what is the fragrance you've
got and they're like, it's this one, because this is
the one for our store.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
So you can't get this one in Australia.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
You can't get that particular one in Australia. You can't
get it even in another city in Japan, you could
only get it from Tokyo, right. But they have another
fragrance that I loved, which is called santal Santa I
think is how you pronounce it.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
I don't love that one. I just think it's so
overworn at this point.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
I think on the skin, I secretly preferred it over
these the way it's sat But this is you know,
you can only buy it in one city.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
Yeah, just like I'm going to be buying it in
one city.
Speaker 5 (07:18):
That is such a cool little travel because then you've
always got the story and the memory. And also when
you smell the fragrance, because they're so tied in with
our olfactory sense, yes, you'll always be taken back there.
Speaker 4 (07:30):
Yeah, and it's a meaningful purchase. And my husband and.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
I were like, great, it's our perfume because it's gender neutral,
so it's become like a group perfume.
Speaker 4 (07:38):
Now.
Speaker 5 (07:39):
I think that perfume is not always but sometimes you
will get what you pay for in terms of quality
and in terms of the nose that was behind. There's
only a couple of noses in the entire world, and
they're basically the fragrance experts, and they've got supersonic noses
that can smell different things and put beautiful fragrances.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
Together literally a handful.
Speaker 5 (08:02):
Yeah, in some cases you are getting what you pay for.
And there's also different layers of fragrance. Like you're either
getting a pure puffum, which is very rare, like it's
actually quite strong.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
You probably wouldn't want to be pure.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Well, you're only putting that on your pulse pot exactly anyway.
Speaker 5 (08:18):
And then you've got the EDP, which is the highest
amount of the actual perfume oils and perfume concentrate in
the perfume.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Then you've got the EDT.
Speaker 5 (08:29):
They're edit a toilet, so that's got a little bit less,
and then the cologne, which is more.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
Of a splash exactly, and.
Speaker 5 (08:34):
That's got even less of the actual fragrance in it,
so it just lasts less time exactly exactly.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Yeah, And it also just depends on the skin some people,
you know, an EDT a toilet might last you the
whole day.
Speaker 5 (08:45):
Well, then it also depends on the ingredients because woods
and stronger fragrances tend to sit and sink into your
skin and last that little bit longer, whereas more fruity
or aquatic.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Notes will not last as long.
Speaker 4 (08:57):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
The next one that I love, and I've had this
one for ages, the Commodity Gold. Really really love Commodity Gold.
They're range in general, they're all unisex. Actually even buy
like a smaller pack like they've got the duo thirty
meal sets as well. One hundred meals are two forty five.
The two thirty mil sets are one hundred and ninety dollars.
Me personally, if I was buying for myself, I'd be
(09:21):
going for the duo. Yeah, because thirty meals and you're
not always going to use this one large perfume. It's
got sand Award. Definitely a fragrance. Light enough for every
day so it is something that you can use this
in every Both of these are a beautiful every day one,
but strong enough that you can use it in the evening,
so it's quite versatile. They also sell discovery kits, which
(09:41):
are love all right, So I love a discovery I
love a Discovery kit. They came in like smaller sizes.
I love them because you can literally put those in
your bag with you. You get such a wide range,
and it's forty four dollars and now that's so good
one hundred percent, because you don't know how some things
are going to sit on you exactly, so you get
something like the Discovery Kit before you actually do anything.
(10:02):
I did though, because these two fragrances are quite expensive,
I found a website.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Are Oh yes, yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
He has a selection of unisex fragrances inspired They don't
say dupe, it's inspired by famous brands. They have La
lab oh, so just as if you needed something to try.
But yet the pricing rate they've got even the La
Labo center. Oh, they've got like a whole bunch of
unisex fragrances, and some that's labeled as like non unisex,
(10:34):
like men's and women's. But because they're inspired by other fragrances,
they're like a fraction of the price.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
So I think, why not if you wanted to try
something out.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
I wanted to try something out.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (10:46):
The first one that I've brought is the one that
I talk about all the time. It's the Elizabeth Arden
Green Tea eedt. I've recently got my husband onto this
because I was so sick of them wearing colognes, like
just to the gym, Like, bro, you do not need
to smell like you're going to a nightclub at four
pm in the afternoon.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
It is so zesty, it is so fresh.
Speaker 5 (11:05):
It is the most non fragrance fragrance you will smell.
You just smell clean when you wear this fragrance. So
I mean, at the time of recording, you can go
into price Line and get it for twenty eight dollars
for one hundred meals.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
It is so affordable. Does it last on your skin?
Speaker 5 (11:21):
No, but it's just light and fresh, and for that
price you can just chuck them in your bag and
have them everywhere. I mean, it's always going to be
under forty dollars at Priceline.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Like, it's just so good.
Speaker 5 (11:31):
The next one is they're kind of actually similar because
it's having a look and I was like, what would
I classify as ginger neutral, very fresh? Anyone can wear it.
It's neither superfer or super mask. And the next one
is Pacific Rock Moss by Goldfield and Banks. It does
come in ten meals from Sofara, which I would recommend
you trying because the fifty meal is one eighty three
(11:53):
and then one hundred mil is two five eight. Goldfield
and Banks is an Australian brand and they basically use
all ingredients and notes that you would find in Australia.
It's very earthy, it's very aquatic, so it's inspired by
waves crushing upon sun kissed rocks and long days that
turned into warm summer nights. Have a little sniff. It's
(12:16):
lemonye it's zesty. Oh yeah, it's got that warmth. It's
got sage at the base, which is like a different
I don't know, it's just different to wood, but it's
still it's very unique.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
It's very uniaque, it's lovely.
Speaker 5 (12:29):
The last one is the Joe Malone Wood sage and
sea salt cologne. So for one hundred miles it's two
five six, So those two are very expensive. I've just
got the thirty meals and it's lasted me so long.
I think it does have the woods in it, but
the sea salt just adds so much freshness. Joe Alone
(12:49):
is another brand that's designed to layer, so I know
someone that wore that mixed with the peone for their
wedding day and.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
It was just beautiful.
Speaker 5 (12:58):
Okay, So once again, it's light, it's ginger neutral, it's fresh,
it's zesty, but it's got like it's also just very unique.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
It's funny how like with fragrances, because the way I
buy them, I buy them as a treat or I
ask for them as a gift when I need it.
Speaker 4 (13:14):
It's the only thing where I'm like, if something's a little.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Higher in price for me, I can justify it because
I keep them for so long.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Oh I've had.
Speaker 5 (13:21):
Those, like I've had that one even in that tiny
little bottle for maybe seven eight years, and then the
Pacific Rock Moss for about five And I mean I go.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Through those bottles all the time. The Elizabeth Iden.
Speaker 5 (13:33):
But if you store your perfumes in a cool, dark place,
they shouldn't go off. Yeah, like they might eventually, but
they shouldn't not the fridge cool duck, Yes exactly. So
those were some of our favorites. And with Valentine's Day tomorrow,
places like Priceline or your local chemist will have so
many similar premium options on sale. So now it's a
(13:55):
great time to go in have a little sniff. If
you're on the market for a new cent, and then
when you're there, have a sniff of some of the
ones that we've recommended to see if they're up your ali.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
I love a Priceline fragrance sniff, like I love it
because I'll walk past the Fragrance aisle and they're also
well prized and I'm like.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Oh my god, I just try just so well priced.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Coming up after the break, we are welcoming our very
first celebrity guest on the show.
Speaker 5 (14:28):
So who better to chat with about this shift towards
gener neutral fragrances than with someone who created their own.
I had the absolute pleasure, and Sara Marie, as a
huge Gray's Anatomy fan and private practice fan, I can't
tell you how much I was squealing on the inside
to sit down with the one and only Kate Walsh,
her Fragrance brand boyfriend has been breaking boundaries and she's
(14:52):
just launched some stunning new gener neutral Well they're all
gener neutral since in the range. So let's hear what
she had to say. Hi, Hello, welcome Kate, to you beauty.
It is so good to have you on.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
Thank you you were first of all, you're beautiful, so
Oh well.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Okay, thank you, you're welcome.
Speaker 5 (15:13):
Sorry, nice tell us about boyfriend, tell us about your
amazing fragrance. What made you want to design a fragrance
and what sort of life experiences did you choose from
when you're creating it, or like, was it more just
putting together things that you love.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
I came up with this idea of boyfriend years ago,
based on a real life boyfriend. I actually missed his cologne,
like the scent of you know him. And I was
walking through the now defunct Jeffrey's department store, which was
like an iconic department store in New York on Fourteenth Street,
and I was like, oh, I missus, Frank, I miss
(15:49):
his column boyfriend. I'm like boyfriend, Oh my god, I
miss I missed my boyfriend. I missed my boyfriend friend
and my boyfriend. What a great idea for a fragrance,
Like what a great name boyfriend. Just the stories of
it were great for me. I was like, oh my god,
everyone loves my boyfriend. One wants my boyfriend, my mom
loves my boyfriend, my husband loves my boyfriend. Everybody you know.
I was just thinking of these taglines and the creative
(16:11):
aspect but the idea wouldn't leave me alone. So I
just called to see if the IP was available and
it was. My lawyer checked it. I was like, neck,
I'm like, what boyfriend's available? Like how could I even be?
And this was about a few years into my tenure
on private practice, and I had a ton of energy
(16:31):
and I wasn't I'm not going to say I was
bored playing Adison, but I knew the part pretty well
and I was like, I'm going to make this. So
we put a whole pitch deck together and I went
to HSN at the time and so four at the
time and sold the idea in the room. And the
idea was that I would have boyfriend and then other
boyfriends and Brent and then expanding the line, but each
(16:53):
boyfriend would hit a certain olfactive category. And so we
just recently have finally come good on that with our
two new boyfriends that are inspired by Australia. Ones called
down Under literally and the other ones called morning Wood.
Speaker 4 (17:07):
Is just a pole.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
But really what I ended up with, what I wanted
was a fragrance that was a mix of At that time,
it was deemed masculine and feminine, like woods and florals together,
so the memory of him, if you will, on your
skin or on the sheets or on So it's a
really gorgeous, juicy, beautiful. Original Boyfriend is that, and then
(17:32):
the other two that had just we just brought out
this last year that are now available to Amazon Au,
which is exciting. There's limited supplies, but more's coming. Are
more florals. There's always the little woods. We work with
Jievat on our perfumer that we've worked with from the
very very beginning, and they're incredible, and so it feels
very expensive, but it's I think a very accessible price
(17:53):
point too. That was one of my visions, is wanting
to make it people who want it can get it.
It's not like this is, you know, five hundred dollars
a bot.
Speaker 5 (18:01):
It like, it's not that out of the three boyfriends
that you have, do you have a favorite boyfriend?
Speaker 1 (18:07):
If you will? And what are the north that are
part of that? Okay?
Speaker 3 (18:11):
I love the Original Boyfriend. That's my go to fav
because it's a little more nusly and ambery. It starts
off like the top notes of Original Boyfriend is a
juicy plum, juicy dark plum. So it's got All of
them have this sort of juiciness at the top which
makes you kind of want to eat it. It's very salacious.
And then it's got night blooming jasmine, and then the
middle notes are more of an amber, and then the
(18:34):
night blooming jasmine is an afrodisiac. In case you're wondering,
it was inspired by all the time I spent in
California and here in Australia and the spring your smell,
those of the Fringeapani and all that. So I love that.
Speaker 5 (18:47):
Okay, Well, I think everyone that's listening to this is
going to want to try all three of them.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
Yeah, I'm really proud.
Speaker 5 (18:53):
Well, finally, because this is a beauty podcast, we can't
have you on and not ask you, if you were
to open your bag, what beauty products do you have
to have with.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
You at all times? What are your all time faves?
Speaker 3 (19:05):
Okay, I always have Craper Risk because it's actually so
I have it if I have a big bag, I
have a little jar of it. I have Grand Lip
lip plumping lip gloss, but it actually works and it
doesn't stink, so I have that in my bag. And
then the hand this is dope serum that it's like
people are like, why are your hands look so good?
(19:27):
I'm like, because I'm a magical unicorn from heaven.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
I've had a hand lift.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
See, I've had a hand lift. I think it's called
bio Effect and they are amazing. They're a brand out
They're available here online but all their things, but the
bio Effect hand serum is delightful. So I have one
of those in my car in my bag, like I
just have stock and those. One of the things that
makes them so great is it's got growth hormones from Barley.
Speaker 5 (19:55):
Okay, so it's like just really helping rejuvenate you skin.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
Yeah, but it's like super high. It's like it's crazy
and I love it. Whenever I get recommendations from dermatologists
that are actually like this is I went in toward
their factory and this is like the jam but it's
the same braces very good. So I usually have the
next stuff in my car.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
Sarah Marie, can we just acknowledge how cool? And come?
Speaker 2 (20:17):
I just seemed, oh my god, you were so composed
right now.
Speaker 5 (20:21):
When Cassie asked me if I was free on a
random aftern at like five pm, I actually got tears
in my eyes because I was so excited and I'm
not a celeb person, Like if you said, hey, we're
getting Kim kardashil in, I'd be like, oh, Sleigh. I
actually got some tears in my eyes when Cass asked
me about Kate Walsh.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
So that was just the biggest.
Speaker 4 (20:41):
Yay man girl, but.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
No one would have known.
Speaker 5 (20:46):
And we also will pop the products like she had
some really cool random products that were you know, in
her bag, and we will make sure that we link
them in the show notes because yeah, very interesting. This
is why we love to hunt through people's bags. You
never know what's going to be in there.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
And that's a wrap on today's deep dive into gender
neutral fragrances.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
Whether you're a longtime fan of a unisex or.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
Just dipping your toes into the trends, we hope you
have found something new to try and huge.
Speaker 5 (21:16):
Thanks to my new friend Kate while she's sharing her insights,
we will definitely be having a whiff of her fragrances
once our order arrives, and I'll be back tomorrow for
Spendy Save with Lee Campbell and Sarah Marine.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
I will be back next week.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
Bye Kate.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
Walsh, Bye Kate, we love you. See for drink soon.
Speaker 4 (21:34):
Bye Bufa
Speaker 2 (21:37):
You Beauty is produced by Cassie Merrett, Bye Bye Bye
So you're listening to a MoMA Mia podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Mama Mia acknowledges the traditional owners of land and waters
that this podcast is recorded on.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Makeup is My Therapy Love. I'm obsessed and I don't
even feel guilty about it.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Hello, and welcome to you beauty this daily podcast Your Face.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
I am Sarah Marie Bard.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
And I'm Kelly McCarran.
Speaker 5 (00:34):
And this is In Her Bag, the show where we
talk about what's in your makeup bag and why.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Today we are talking gender neutral fragrances.
Speaker 4 (00:43):
Love love love, love love love.
Speaker 5 (00:45):
Both of us are huge fans of gender neutral fragrances,
and I mean we do need to caveaut this episode
by saying, like, obviously all fragrances are gender neutral. You
can wear whatever the hell you want to wear in
terms of fragrance or just regardless exactly. But when we're
talking about gener neutral fragrances, we're talking about things that
(01:06):
don't lean super firm or super mask in traditional terms
of fragrance exactly, which is the feminine fragrances will come
in a bottle with a flower on top, and it's
got heaps of apple and flowers and pretty smelling sweet
sweet will come in a brown glass bottle and it's
got heaps of woods in it.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
So it's the meeting in the middle of those things exactly.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
And they usually have really cool.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Bottles, not fam not masks, just gender neutral.
Speaker 5 (01:34):
I had to find the liner in my bag.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
I've always bought men's fragrances that I thought were gender neutral, Like,
there's some that I obsessed with.
Speaker 5 (01:47):
I agree, Like I used to especially lean more towards
masculine smelling fragrances. However, as I've gotten older, I don't
want those really deep woods. I find them like a
little bit too intoxicating andugh.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Like it's just a lot. So I just love that
the gener neutral.
Speaker 5 (02:05):
It's more in the middle, like it might have like
a little hint of leather or to bat or the woods,
but it's.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Not deep in one like a slight citrusy like it's
a rainforest.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
It's fred of wood.
Speaker 4 (02:16):
Yes, yes, one hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
It's like you want to feel fresher, not like a
drown you're going out, yeah, yeah, yeah, Whereas when you're younger,
I feel like you can go exactly, like, I agree
one hundred percent. I actually brought in gender neutral fragrance I.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
Bought that show you later.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
Oh my gosh, I'm excited to have a sniff.
Speaker 5 (02:40):
We wanted to see what real women are actually wearing
in terms of gender neutral fragrances, so we had a
little check around the office to see what's popular with
women from gen Z to the baby boomers with fragrances.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
I just avoid anything super floral. I like them more
of a fresh herbal, even fruity. I don't like musk
or vanilla. Anything that smells like you can eat it
is not for me.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Some a nostalgia by who Is Elijah?
Speaker 3 (03:06):
So perfect for the summer months, feeling light and airy
and forever.
Speaker 5 (03:11):
I love that this person has mentioned the who Is
Elijah fragrance because Rachel Boris has built like she's just
a powerhouse. She's built one of Australia's fastest growing fragrance
brands and it's all about breaking those gendered scent norms.
Have you smelled many of her fragrances, because they're also
designed to layer, like oh luck.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
You know.
Speaker 5 (03:32):
I was talking to my friends EA recently and I
was like, oh my god, you smell so good, and
she was wearing no mad and one of the other
ones I don't even remember what it was, but it
just created the most unique, beautiful fragrance.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
You know.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
I like that so working in beauty.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
When I first got into beauty, I was working retail,
and I used to spray fragrance when people like were
walking past me.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
Do you want to snaw?
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Oh I am haf you missed.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Outst annoying you would get done to you. But like
I used to be that pirpecially if it was stinky.
Oh yes, thank god. I always picked a really good one.
But the whole thing with fragrance before was you cannot
layer another frameagrance on top of the fragrance.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
And bruce it. Don't bruise anything.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Well, you know, put your moisturize there on and then fragrance.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
And I love now.
Speaker 5 (04:19):
Things people take fragrance a lot less seriously, kind of
like have fun with it.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
It was taken so seriously before.
Speaker 5 (04:25):
It was very old school, like this is how it's
This is for a man aged forty five, precisely.
Speaker 4 (04:30):
Yeah, you're a Lacey is a young fragrance. You know.
Speaker 5 (04:33):
I love that she's designed them to be laid have you.
This is my latest fave. This is called the cherry
Fiesta I think it launched at the end of last year.
It's so actually, it smells a little bit sweet in
the bottle.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
It's sexy and like fresh. I love it, but not
I don't know.
Speaker 5 (04:49):
I agree with the person that said that they don't
like the Gormard because I hate like yuck fruit any
candles that smell like food as well, But if it's
like cherry or peach or lemon or something, if it's
a fruit or of vegetable, that I'm awful, like basil
and mandarin. Well, coming up after the break, we've rounded
up some gorgeous fragrances ginger neutral fragrance says, which we
(05:10):
think are so on trend and absolutely anyone can wear them.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Okay, let's get into some recommendations.
Speaker 5 (05:23):
Sarah Marie and I have both put in three of
our favorite ginger neutral fragrances to share, So you hit
me up first place.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Okay, the one that you've got in a box.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
I'm going to have a caveat here.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
I've got the two of the fragrances I recommend Personally.
Price points are quite high because generally when I buy
a fragrance if I'm traveling, my tradition is wherever I go,
I bay a fragrance I can only get in that area.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Okay, that is such a nice tradition.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Love love love it.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
We love a beautiful fragrance, yes, but to justify some
of the expensive ones, we do buy something that's gender neutral. Yeah,
that's always been our think, right. So my first one
is by Le Labo. This one I got in Tokyo.
When you buy these, you can have your name written
on the label and it says the city where you've
(06:15):
purchased it.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
That is so lovely.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Yeah, So they customize it on the day so it's
a very light scent.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
You can have a smell of this.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
So it's called gay yak ten gayic.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
So that way is like, you can only get that
one too, it does you can only get.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
To you wear this one alt because it smells like.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
You know, here and there, here and there.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
I wear it.
Speaker 5 (06:36):
That is beautiful, that is so light but sexy.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
And you walked past the store and it made us
stop because they spray and they do a lot of
the fragrance and I'm like, what is the fragrance you've
got and they're like, it's this one, because this is
the one for our store.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
So you can't get this one in Australia.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
You can't get that particular one in Australia. You can't
get it even in another city in Japan, you could
only get it from Tokyo, right. But they have another
fragrance that I loved, which is called santal Santa I
think is how you pronounce it.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
I don't love that one. I just think it's so
overworn at this point.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
I think on the skin, I secretly preferred it over
these the way it's sat But this is you know,
you can only buy it in one city.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
Yeah, just like I'm going to be buying it in
one city.
Speaker 5 (07:18):
That is such a cool little travel because then you've
always got the story and the memory. And also when
you smell the fragrance, because they're so tied in with
our olfactory sense, yes, you'll always be taken back there.
Speaker 4 (07:30):
Yeah, and it's a meaningful purchase. And my husband and.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
I were like, great, it's our perfume because it's gender neutral,
so it's become like a group perfume.
Speaker 4 (07:38):
Now.
Speaker 5 (07:39):
I think that perfume is not always but sometimes you
will get what you pay for in terms of quality
and in terms of the nose that was behind. There's
only a couple of noses in the entire world, and
they're basically the fragrance experts, and they've got supersonic noses
that can smell different things and put beautiful fragrances.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
Together literally a handful.
Speaker 5 (08:02):
Yeah, in some cases you are getting what you pay for.
And there's also different layers of fragrance. Like you're either
getting a pure puffum, which is very rare, like it's
actually quite strong.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
You probably wouldn't want to be pure.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Well, you're only putting that on your pulse pot exactly anyway.
Speaker 5 (08:18):
And then you've got the EDP, which is the highest
amount of the actual perfume oils and perfume concentrate in
the perfume.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Then you've got the EDT.
Speaker 5 (08:29):
They're edit a toilet, so that's got a little bit less,
and then the cologne, which is more.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
Of a splash exactly, and.
Speaker 5 (08:34):
That's got even less of the actual fragrance in it,
so it just lasts less time exactly exactly.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Yeah, And it also just depends on the skin some people,
you know, an EDT a toilet might last you the
whole day.
Speaker 5 (08:45):
Well, then it also depends on the ingredients because woods
and stronger fragrances tend to sit and sink into your
skin and last that little bit longer, whereas more fruity
or aquatic.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Notes will not last as long.
Speaker 4 (08:57):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
The next one that I love, and I've had this
one for ages, the Commodity Gold. Really really love Commodity Gold.
They're range in general, they're all unisex. Actually even buy
like a smaller pack like they've got the duo thirty
meal sets as well. One hundred meals are two forty five.
The two thirty mil sets are one hundred and ninety dollars.
Me personally, if I was buying for myself, I'd be
(09:21):
going for the duo. Yeah, because thirty meals and you're
not always going to use this one large perfume. It's
got sand Award. Definitely a fragrance. Light enough for every
day so it is something that you can use this
in every Both of these are a beautiful every day one,
but strong enough that you can use it in the evening,
so it's quite versatile. They also sell discovery kits, which
(09:41):
are love all right, So I love a discovery I
love a Discovery kit. They came in like smaller sizes.
I love them because you can literally put those in
your bag with you. You get such a wide range,
and it's forty four dollars and now that's so good
one hundred percent, because you don't know how some things
are going to sit on you exactly, so you get
something like the Discovery Kit before you actually do anything.
(10:02):
I did though, because these two fragrances are quite expensive,
I found a website.
Speaker 1 (10:08):
Are Oh yes, yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
He has a selection of unisex fragrances inspired They don't
say dupe, it's inspired by famous brands. They have La
lab oh, so just as if you needed something to try.
But yet the pricing rate they've got even the La
Labo center. Oh, they've got like a whole bunch of
unisex fragrances, and some that's labeled as like non unisex,
(10:34):
like men's and women's. But because they're inspired by other fragrances,
they're like a fraction of the price.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
So I think, why not if you wanted to try
something out.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
I wanted to try something out.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (10:46):
The first one that I've brought is the one that
I talk about all the time. It's the Elizabeth Arden
Green Tea eedt. I've recently got my husband onto this
because I was so sick of them wearing colognes, like
just to the gym, Like, bro, you do not need
to smell like you're going to a nightclub at four
pm in the afternoon.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
It is so zesty, it is so fresh.
Speaker 5 (11:05):
It is the most non fragrance fragrance you will smell.
You just smell clean when you wear this fragrance. So
I mean, at the time of recording, you can go
into price Line and get it for twenty eight dollars
for one hundred meals.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
It is so affordable. Does it last on your skin?
Speaker 5 (11:21):
No, but it's just light and fresh, and for that
price you can just chuck them in your bag and
have them everywhere. I mean, it's always going to be
under forty dollars at Priceline.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Like, it's just so good.
Speaker 5 (11:31):
The next one is they're kind of actually similar because
it's having a look and I was like, what would
I classify as ginger neutral, very fresh? Anyone can wear it.
It's neither superfer or super mask. And the next one
is Pacific Rock Moss by Goldfield and Banks. It does
come in ten meals from Sofara, which I would recommend
you trying because the fifty meal is one eighty three
(11:53):
and then one hundred mil is two five eight. Goldfield
and Banks is an Australian brand and they basically use
all ingredients and notes that you would find in Australia.
It's very earthy, it's very aquatic, so it's inspired by
waves crushing upon sun kissed rocks and long days that
turned into warm summer nights. Have a little sniff. It's
(12:16):
lemonye it's zesty. Oh yeah, it's got that warmth. It's
got sage at the base, which is like a different
I don't know, it's just different to wood, but it's
still it's very unique.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
It's very uniaque, it's lovely.
Speaker 5 (12:29):
The last one is the Joe Malone Wood sage and
sea salt cologne. So for one hundred miles it's two
five six, So those two are very expensive. I've just
got the thirty meals and it's lasted me so long.
I think it does have the woods in it, but
the sea salt just adds so much freshness. Joe Alone
(12:49):
is another brand that's designed to layer, so I know
someone that wore that mixed with the peone for their
wedding day and.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
It was just beautiful.
Speaker 5 (12:58):
Okay, So once again, it's light, it's ginger neutral, it's fresh,
it's zesty, but it's got like it's also just very unique.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
It's funny how like with fragrances, because the way I
buy them, I buy them as a treat or I
ask for them as a gift when I need it.
Speaker 4 (13:14):
It's the only thing where I'm like, if something's a little.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Higher in price for me, I can justify it because
I keep them for so long.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Oh I've had.
Speaker 5 (13:21):
Those, like I've had that one even in that tiny
little bottle for maybe seven eight years, and then the
Pacific Rock Moss for about five And I mean I go.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Through those bottles all the time. The Elizabeth Iden.
Speaker 5 (13:33):
But if you store your perfumes in a cool, dark place,
they shouldn't go off. Yeah, like they might eventually, but
they shouldn't not the fridge cool duck, Yes exactly. So
those were some of our favorites. And with Valentine's Day tomorrow,
places like Priceline or your local chemist will have so
many similar premium options on sale. So now it's a
(13:55):
great time to go in have a little sniff. If
you're on the market for a new cent, and then
when you're there, have a sniff of some of the
ones that we've recommended to see if they're up your ali.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
I love a Priceline fragrance sniff, like I love it
because I'll walk past the Fragrance aisle and they're also
well prized and I'm like.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Oh my god, I just try just so well priced.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Coming up after the break, we are welcoming our very
first celebrity guest on the show.
Speaker 5 (14:28):
So who better to chat with about this shift towards
gener neutral fragrances than with someone who created their own.
I had the absolute pleasure, and Sara Marie, as a
huge Gray's Anatomy fan and private practice fan, I can't
tell you how much I was squealing on the inside
to sit down with the one and only Kate Walsh,
her Fragrance brand boyfriend has been breaking boundaries and she's
(14:52):
just launched some stunning new gener neutral Well they're all
gener neutral since in the range. So let's hear what
she had to say. Hi, Hello, welcome Kate, to you beauty.
It is so good to have you on.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
Thank you you were first of all, you're beautiful, so
Oh well.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Okay, thank you, you're welcome.
Speaker 5 (15:13):
Sorry, nice tell us about boyfriend, tell us about your
amazing fragrance. What made you want to design a fragrance
and what sort of life experiences did you choose from
when you're creating it, or like, was it more just
putting together things that you love.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
I came up with this idea of boyfriend years ago,
based on a real life boyfriend. I actually missed his cologne,
like the scent of you know him. And I was
walking through the now defunct Jeffrey's department store, which was
like an iconic department store in New York on Fourteenth Street,
and I was like, oh, I missus, Frank, I miss
(15:49):
his column boyfriend. I'm like boyfriend, Oh my god, I
miss I missed my boyfriend. I missed my boyfriend friend
and my boyfriend. What a great idea for a fragrance,
Like what a great name boyfriend. Just the stories of
it were great for me. I was like, oh my god,
everyone loves my boyfriend. One wants my boyfriend, my mom
loves my boyfriend, my husband loves my boyfriend. Everybody you know.
I was just thinking of these taglines and the creative
(16:11):
aspect but the idea wouldn't leave me alone. So I
just called to see if the IP was available and
it was. My lawyer checked it. I was like, neck,
I'm like, what boyfriend's available? Like how could I even be?
And this was about a few years into my tenure
on private practice, and I had a ton of energy
(16:31):
and I wasn't I'm not going to say I was
bored playing Adison, but I knew the part pretty well
and I was like, I'm going to make this. So
we put a whole pitch deck together and I went
to HSN at the time and so four at the
time and sold the idea in the room. And the
idea was that I would have boyfriend and then other
boyfriends and Brent and then expanding the line, but each
(16:53):
boyfriend would hit a certain olfactive category. And so we
just recently have finally come good on that with our
two new boyfriends that are inspired by Australia. Ones called
down Under literally and the other ones called morning Wood.
Speaker 4 (17:07):
Is just a pole.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
But really what I ended up with, what I wanted
was a fragrance that was a mix of At that time,
it was deemed masculine and feminine, like woods and florals together,
so the memory of him, if you will, on your
skin or on the sheets or on So it's a
really gorgeous, juicy, beautiful. Original Boyfriend is that, and then
(17:32):
the other two that had just we just brought out
this last year that are now available to Amazon Au,
which is exciting. There's limited supplies, but more's coming. Are
more florals. There's always the little woods. We work with
Jievat on our perfumer that we've worked with from the
very very beginning, and they're incredible, and so it feels
very expensive, but it's I think a very accessible price
(17:53):
point too. That was one of my visions, is wanting
to make it people who want it can get it.
It's not like this is, you know, five hundred dollars
a bot.
Speaker 5 (18:01):
It like, it's not that out of the three boyfriends
that you have, do you have a favorite boyfriend?
Speaker 1 (18:07):
If you will? And what are the north that are
part of that? Okay?
Speaker 3 (18:11):
I love the Original Boyfriend. That's my go to fav
because it's a little more nusly and ambery. It starts
off like the top notes of Original Boyfriend is a
juicy plum, juicy dark plum. So it's got All of
them have this sort of juiciness at the top which
makes you kind of want to eat it. It's very salacious.
And then it's got night blooming jasmine, and then the
middle notes are more of an amber, and then the
(18:34):
night blooming jasmine is an afrodisiac. In case you're wondering,
it was inspired by all the time I spent in
California and here in Australia and the spring your smell,
those of the Fringeapani and all that. So I love that.
Speaker 5 (18:47):
Okay, Well, I think everyone that's listening to this is
going to want to try all three of them.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
Yeah, I'm really proud.
Speaker 5 (18:53):
Well, finally, because this is a beauty podcast, we can't
have you on and not ask you, if you were
to open your bag, what beauty products do you have
to have with.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
You at all times? What are your all time faves?
Speaker 3 (19:05):
Okay, I always have Craper Risk because it's actually so
I have it if I have a big bag, I
have a little jar of it. I have Grand Lip
lip plumping lip gloss, but it actually works and it
doesn't stink, so I have that in my bag. And
then the hand this is dope serum that it's like
people are like, why are your hands look so good?
(19:27):
I'm like, because I'm a magical unicorn from heaven.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
I've had a hand lift.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
See, I've had a hand lift. I think it's called
bio Effect and they are amazing. They're a brand out
They're available here online but all their things, but the
bio Effect hand serum is delightful. So I have one
of those in my car in my bag, like I
just have stock and those. One of the things that
makes them so great is it's got growth hormones from Barley.
Speaker 5 (19:55):
Okay, so it's like just really helping rejuvenate you skin.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
Yeah, but it's like super high. It's like it's crazy
and I love it. Whenever I get recommendations from dermatologists
that are actually like this is I went in toward
their factory and this is like the jam but it's
the same braces very good. So I usually have the
next stuff in my car.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
Sarah Marie, can we just acknowledge how cool? And come?
Speaker 2 (20:17):
I just seemed, oh my god, you were so composed
right now.
Speaker 5 (20:21):
When Cassie asked me if I was free on a
random aftern at like five pm, I actually got tears
in my eyes because I was so excited and I'm
not a celeb person, Like if you said, hey, we're
getting Kim kardashil in, I'd be like, oh, Sleigh. I
actually got some tears in my eyes when Cass asked
me about Kate Walsh.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
So that was just the biggest.
Speaker 4 (20:41):
Yay man girl, but.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
No one would have known.
Speaker 5 (20:46):
And we also will pop the products like she had
some really cool random products that were you know, in
her bag, and we will make sure that we link
them in the show notes because yeah, very interesting. This
is why we love to hunt through people's bags. You
never know what's going to be in there.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
And that's a wrap on today's deep dive into gender
neutral fragrances.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
Whether you're a longtime fan of a unisex or.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
Just dipping your toes into the trends, we hope you
have found something new to try and huge.
Speaker 5 (21:16):
Thanks to my new friend Kate while she's sharing her insights,
we will definitely be having a whiff of her fragrances
once our order arrives, and I'll be back tomorrow for
Spendy Save with Lee Campbell and Sarah Marine.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
I will be back next week.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
Bye Kate.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
Walsh, Bye Kate, we love you. See for drink soon.
Speaker 4 (21:34):
Bye Bufa
Speaker 2 (21:37):
You Beauty is produced by Cassie Merrett, Bye Bye Bye
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!