A short (and somewhat embarrassing) list of the things I did to stand out as a teen: I wore socks with my Birkenstocks. I donned on-trend, but mostly unflattering crop-tops from Abercrombie. I drove around belting out Whitney Houston and Céline Dion. But when it came to my signature scent, I was pretty boring: Every morning, I dabbed a couple of drops of my “Sweetheart” perfume (which my friend Jenna’s older sister Ryan said was the coolest) on my wrists and behind my ears and got on with it.
In other words, I was the opposite of Gen Alpha and Gen Z: I paid zero attention to luxury fragrance, budget be damned.
Clearly, I would be in the minority these days, with kids as young as 11 and 12 having found a new way to make their unique personalities sing (or smell). It’s called Smellmaxxing—a term that’s not just a trend but full-on slang in today’s TikTok-driven beauty culture—and, if I’m being honest, it makes me raise my eyebrows.
What exactly is smellmaxxing, you may be wondering?
Rachel Bowie
Senior Director, Special Projects and Royals
- Writes and produces family, fashion, wellness, relationships, money and royals content
- Podcast co-host and published author with a book about the British Royal Family
- Studied sociology at Wheaton College and received a masters degree in journalism from Emerson College
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