When I was a teenager, I used to wear a now-discontined fragrance for men, Hawk by Mennen. I often got compliments on it, from men and women alike. Nobody ever guessed that it was a "masculine" scent, and I felt oh-so-saucy wearing it (tee hee, a girl wearing boy's cologne, how daring!).

These days, the men's fragrance I wear with some regularity is Miracle Pour Homme by Lancôme (note that I also wear Miracle, which is much girlier and pinker). I bought it for my husband, on whom it does smell quite nice, but he prefers another fragrance (Caron Pour Un Homme, which I absolutely love on him), and so the poor Miracle Pour Homme was languishing. Until I started to wear it.

I put it on one day because I saw it and just thought, well, why not? And I put some on. And it was very nice on me. I love the coffee notes in the middle (though the top notes are the typical bright citrus you find in umpteen million billion men's fragrance; nice but extremely common), and the somewhat earthier base. It lasts a good long time on me, as well, and on my skin, it's pleasantly fresh without being cloying.

Nobody has ever worked out what it is (including my husband, but he's got a notoriously bad nose and usually can't tell what I'm wearing, other than not liking Diorissimo because it's "too flowery"). I like it, because, well, I like the fragrance, and I'm woman enough to wear a man's scent and not feel like some sort of cross-dresser. It's mostly marketing anyway; there are lots of men's fragrances that work well on women, and plenty of women's fragrances that work well on men, and there are a number of fragrances that are actually designed to be unisex.

Being not someone who is that easily swayed by what marketing people tell me to think about things. I like Miracle Pour Homme and it's lovely on me. That's all I need to know.