Living in Paris for almost three years, certain facets of my home culture (I’m American, for the record) have become excruciatingly obvious. There are components of how we interface with the rest of the world that don’t necessarily align with a more global culture.
In many ways, I adore the way in which we’ve been raised and conditioned; American optimism and kindness is something for which I’m especially grateful (and something my French friends have positively remarked on as well).
Then there are … the other things. Ones that I’ve consciously modulated, and can now spot in my sleep when I see, hear, or — yes — smell Americans traveling.
Allow me to explain.
Cultural expressions are different, and they manifest in myriad ways. With Americans for example, we tend to be a loud crowd. Our base speaking volume tends to be at a markedly higher decibel level compared to many cultures around the world, particularly the French.
Our clothing is more colorful, our vocabulary more hyperbolic, our facial emoting more expressive. And while we can be a warm and friendly people, we’ve also been conditioned in a mindset of American dominance and superiority — praised for drawing attention, being the “best” or loudest in the room.
This mindset and mentality also manifests in how we wear perfume.
Perhaps you’ve heard the term “beast mode” fragrance on TikTok and Instagram. This doesn’t just apply to specific perfumes, but the way in which Americans (for the most part) wear any perfume. The trend: powerful, olfactorily “loud” perfumes, with massive projection and sillage (scent trail), and ungodly lasting power.
Those who seek this type of personal fragrance want to be noticed from a distance. They want to fill a room.
Tessa Bicard, a Franco-American beauty and fragrance executive, points out that “beast mode” would be considered the most powerful tier of fragrance, and you won’t know if a perfume is at this tier until you try it. “Outside of the obvious word of mouth or how the brand markets itself (and whether or not you take their word for it), the best test is on yourself; if you and others around you are noticing the scent days later — and from a distance [it’s ‘beast mode’].”
The inverse could be said for the French; their culture indicates that such behavior is rude and ostentatious. It’s not that either is right or wrong, but this is a culture that values subtlety, and “showing off” in this way comes across as brash and uncouth. They’re quieter, subtler and fly a bit more under the radar. Subtlety and intimacy are placed high in the value system.
Bicard has noticed this in her field as well, working for several fragrance and beauty brands that distribute in both markets.
“The U.S. tends to skew toward extremes in fragrance,” she said. “We’re known as a culture of extremes. Not only have I noticed [these cultural differences] anecdotally as a perfume lover living between the U.S. and France for the past 20 years, but the data also backs this up — and if you understand the cultural differences between the U.S. and France, [the perfume styles] make complete sense and really mirror the cultures.”
She cited some recent sales figures in the two markets: according to her research, Americans are seven times more likely to buy a “beast mode”-tier perfume (which fills a room for 10-12+ hours) than someone living in the EU, and 2.5 times more likely to buy a “strong projection”-tier perfume.
“Performance is a word that I notice much more in U.S. perfume conversations, which again reflects the U.S.’s attitude and tendency toward efficiency and performance over aesthetics and pleasure,” she added (also pointing out that this is a generalization, but oft corroborated).
“This absolutely impacts how brands market to French versus American audiences,” she said. “In France, it’s about subtle sophistication and playing with luxury-coded messaging (regardless of whether you are a luxury brand or not). The idea is, as a [French] consumer, you want to be noticed for your beauty, not your makeup. Your style, not your clothes. Your scent, not your perfume.”
And though times have changed, trends have changed, and perfume has widely globalized thanks to social media, that French etiquette remains. Iconic French perfumers Isabelle Doyen and Camille Goutal, creators of Voyages Imaginaires, also shared their perspective as both French women and industry experts.
“For a long time in France, many people considered it extremely socially inappropriate or bad manners when a perfume ‘arrived’ before the person wearing it,” Goutal said. And though they both pointed out that many French people have adopted new styles of wearing perfume, it’s still not considered “chic” to wear a lot. “If you drench yourself in perfume, you push people away,” Doyen added.
Bicard noted this as well. “I think French style in general tends to be more understated, sophisticated, and intimate. [In this culture,] you want people to compliment you when they kiss you during a greeting of ‘faire la bise,’ and not when you walk into a board room. It’s less about personal branding, à l’americaine, and more about keeping an intimate secret you only want to share intentionally.”
There’s a difference between a beast mode scent and just wearing too much of a scent.
As mentioned, Americans tend to want perfumes that fall into an ultra-high-projection tier. “These tiers are not hard and fast categories; merely suggested ways to categorize,” Bicard said, but emphasized again that you and those around you should be able to safely indicate a fragrance’s presence after a spray or two.
You can achieve similar results by overspraying a medium-projection perfume — 10 or more sprays can overwhelm a space the same way a couple sprays of a superpowered perfume can.
“Too many spritzes of a medium-strength perfume can have the same effect as wearing only a few sprays of a ‘beast mode,’” Bicard said. “However, the real difference will only be obvious 10 hours later. If the medium-projection perfume has dissipated, the beast mode should still be going strong.”
Does your TYPE of scent give you away?
It used to, but thanks to TikTok, Goutal and Doyen emphasized that there’s been a globalization of perfume, and the trends are virtually homogenizing the market in terms of creating a more universal perfume culture. Even the French are adopting some trends that many would associate with a more American style.
Recent trends back it up, reflecting a shared global baseline in fragrance taste, with sweet profiles being in favor across the board (amber, vanilla, gourmand, boozy notes). Bicard said that Europe leans more toward heritage and composition (classic masculine styles, colognes, elegant florals), while the U.S. favors fresher, cleaner and more projecting scents designed to smell immediately ‘nice’ and perform strongly.
Bicard, Goutal and Doyen — independently — all noted that Americans were at the forefront of the clean fragrance trend (as in, something that smells clean and musky, not greenwashed). “Americans trend more towards ‘clean’ scents and notes that are reminiscent of hygiene products — soap, deodorant, etc,” Bicard said. Goutal and Doyen pointed out that this was in line with the fitness boom in the U.S.
“White florals, tobacco and roses I tend to associate more with French-style perfume, for any gender,” Bicard said. “And if I smell perfume mixed with cigarette smoke, I assume it’s a French person. Sorry, not sorry!”
It’s important to point out that Americans are not the only group of people who wear loud, expressive perfume; this is a cornerstone of many Arab cultures as well. And we’re not the only loud, expressive people (see also: Italians, Mediterranean cultures, Latin America, etc.).
Though we may end up at the same destination, we got there by different means. In the Middle East, particularly the Gulf, making the home or body smell nice is a way to show respect and care for others — it’s more communally minded — whereas it can be seen more as individual identity and attention-signaling in American culture. And while Italians are rewarded (culturally) for their emotional expressivity, Americans are rewarded for standing out and making an impact. We’re both loud, but for different reasons.
It’s all just a result of cultures that have evolved toward different goals over centuries. But if your goal is to blend in with the French, we have five lessons from Goutal and Doyen on how to wear perfume like the French … perfume tips à la Française.
1. Perfume should be discovered, not announced.
In French perfume culture, scent isn’t meant to enter a room before you do. It’s meant to be noticed only when someone comes close.
2. More sprays don’t make a perfume better.
Goutal and Doyen warn against TikTok videos with influencers putting on 20-plus sprays before leaving the house. This isn’t just overwhelming; it’s fundamentally not how perfume is designed to be worn.
3. Stop judging perfume by projection and longevity.
FragranceTok has trained consumers to equate power with quality, but these experts say that’s a misunderstanding. Both Goutal and Doyen insisted that just because something is loud doesn’t mean it’s well-made.
4. Too much perfume disconnects you from the world.
“It’s a shame for the person wearing it, because they miss out on so many nuances around them,” Doyen said. “They lose the beauty of the world as it comes through scent.” When you overwhelm your senses with perfume, you also lose the ability to smell everything else: blooming trees, the air after rain, the subtle markers of place and season ... even someone else’s perfume.
5. Wear what makes you feel good.
In the past, Goutal and Doyen both said it wasn’t considered chic to wear a gourmand or sweet scent, but “today, this trend toward gourmand scents has been destigmatized,” said Goutal. “Now, people are more comfortable wearing vanilla without thinking, ‘I’m going to come off a bit basic.’”
They said that guilt and shame has been taken out of this (and the data in sales and trends reflects this). “What ultimately matters is how you feel; how the perfume makes you feel,” Goutal said.