A spike in consumer interest, changing social expectations, and perception has brands and retailers leaning into men's fragrances.

"The days of guys only wanting a classic, masculine scent are gone," said Sarah Armstrong, associate content manager at Axe US."Guys are looking for excitement in the fragrance category, wanting to explore new scent cues," she said. "For example, we've seen more gourmand, sweet fragrances come to market over the last few years."

• Ax launched their Fine Fragrance Collection in 2023 composed of premium cologne scents at cost-conscious price points.
• Other brands are reaching out to growing male audiences through sports partnerships or social media channels.

As US fragrance retail sales grow 3.5% to reach $8.91 billion this year, according to our October 2025 forecast, brands and retailers are eager to explore how new audiences could carry these sales even higher.

The whiff of a trend

During Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days in October, two of the 10 best-selling fragrance products were designed for men, according to a report from Market Defense.

• Additionally, the top keyword in search visibility was "pheromone cologne for men," which saw a YoY growth of 217.2%, according to a report from Market Defense. Additionally, the top product by share of sales during the event was Armani Beauty's Acqua di Giò, a cologne designed for men.

Positioning male-designed fragrances to audiences has also been championed by retailers. Last month, Sephora officially became the fragrance partner with the NBA's Golden State Warriors, highlighting the growing category.

“This collaboration reflects our commitment to redefining what beauty means, and gives us an incredible opportunity to engage with new audiences, including male fans who are increasingly embracing self-expression and categories like prestige fragrance," said Sephora US CMO Zena Arnold in a press release announcing the partnership.

Also last month, Revlon announced a new global fragrance collaboration with sportswear brand Champion, which will offer signature scents for men and women.

"We're seeing a lot of retailers bring the fragrance counter experience in-store," said Armstrong. "Now, you can find displays and on-shelf activations that have scratch & sniffs, fragrance blotters, and actual fragrance testers so that shoppers can experience the fragrance before buying."

Smells like teen spirit

Social media and influencers are driving this trend in both introducing products to consumers and inspiring them to make purchases, particularly with younger consumers.

• Some 71.8% of US Gen Zers and 57.5% of millennials heard about personal care of beauty products that caught their attention through social media in the last year, according to a June 2025 EMARKETER survey.
• Meanwhile, almost 6 in 10 US consumers (58.4%) follow a personal care or beauty creator on social media, according to a June EMARKETER survey, and over half (54.2%) bought a product in the last year because a creator promoted it.

TikTok has played a signature role in elevating fragrances with hashtags like #PerfumeTok and #FragranceTok catching attention from massive audiences: Over 1.5 million TikTok posts include the #PerfumeTok hashtag and almost 50,000 include #CologneTok.

"Being relevant on #FragranceTok has been important for Axe and leaning into creators to help us tell our story has been instrumental," said Armstrong. "Every brand will shout that their fragrances are the best, so it takes a reputable creator with an engaged community to break through the noise. It's critical to our campaigns that we have authentic voices, sharing what's new from Axe, and why it's worth obsessing over."

The scent of social change

Experts say many cultural and societal factors have contributed to the rise in post-pandemic fragrance interest for men, including return to office mandates and shifting societal expectations.

"Young guys are increasingly more self-aware about how they present themselves to the world, and how they smell is a huge part of it," said Armstrong.

Consumer insights app Cafeteria found that teen boys and men consider "brands, social currency, and longevity," when considering a fragrance, according to their "EOY '25" report. Cafeteria said getting compliments/noticed by others, brand prestige, and performance are their fragrance priorities.

• Men's top three designer houses for scents are Dior, Versace, and Gucci, per Cafeteria.

"Social media certainly plays a role in opening up a guy's world view, allowing him to not only see what other guys are wearing, but he can also see the reactions of people he might want to impress. It's like a cheat code to fragrance, he knows what he's getting before he even buys it," said Armstrong.

This was originally featured in the Retail Daily newsletter. For more retail insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.