Teenage boys are becoming high-end fragrance fans. So

Forget looksmaxxing. Boys are now scentmaxxing. But some of the perfume influencers they follow leave a lot to be desired

You think teenage boys smell of Lynx Africa, musty trainer and gummy bear vape? In 2024, it might be Tom Ford Neroli Portofino or Acqua di Parma’s Sardinian juniper, because, according to the New York Times, they – and younger boys – are becoming high-end fragrance fiends.

This TikTok-fuelled trend is the boy equivalent of 12-year-old girls dropping fortunes on unnecessary retinoids, but apart from the expense (you’d need an extra-lucrative paper round to finance this hobby), it feels cheerier than an obsession with nonexistent wrinkles. Lads who just want to smell nice debating aldehydes, vetiver heart notes and the sillage (lingering scent trail) of fragrances created by or bearing the names of extremely successful gay men? That feels like a breath of fresh (OK, heavily scented) air compared with the fetid misogynistic manosphere they’re also exposed to.