What Is Smellmaxxing—And Why Are Tween and Teen Boys Into It?

Walk into a middle school classroom and you'll know.

Fact checked by Sarah ScottFact checked by Sarah Scott

As a mom of three daughters, it came as a surprise to me to learn that it’s not just girls who are spending mega money at Sephora. Of course, it used to make my jaw drop when one of my teens asked for an $80 Drunk Elephant face serum, but now I’m barely phased by the lineup of pricey products that line their vanities.

Come to find out that tween and teen boys are also dropping their (parents’?) hard-earned dough at beauty stores. The haul they hunger for? Cologne and we're not talking about the Axe body spray of our generation. We’re talking about fancy men’s fragrances by Jean Paul Gaultier, Paco Rabanne—and Bleu de Chanel. For the uninitiated, this ambery musk costs $157, and we’re talking about kids as young as 10!

The trend of tweens and teens spritzing on designer scents is so prevalent, that the phenomenon has a name: smellmaxxing. According to a report on teen spending conducted by investment bank Piper Sandler, teen boys’ annual spending on fragrance skyrocketed 26% over the past year. While budget brands like Old Spice saw plummeting influence among Gen Z, costly colognes from Dior and Valentino gained market share with males under age 18.

“If that brand can get in early, even develop a little bit of loyalty, it’s easier for them than if they were trying to capture that consumer when they are maybe 20 years old,” Korinne Wolfmeyer, author of the report, told The New York Times.

Meanwhile, teen boys are finding tips on how to identify the perfect scent for school, the gym, and dates, on TikTok. The Cologne Boy, who has 1.3 million followers, is a 17-year-old with a fragrance collection to rival any Ulta store. He talks about colognes that will make you feel “sexy.”

Another account on TikTok @kidssmellfragrance featuring even younger kids proves that these pint-sized-consumers are super into learning all about scents.

“This has notes of cardamom, saffron, and cedar,” the junior creator says in one video sharing his scent of the day.

The Reality of 'Smellmaxxing'

I turned to my tween and teen, ages 10 and 13, to find out if smellmaxxing had made its way to their school.

“My whole classroom smells like cologne,” confirmed my fifth grader. She told me boys put on “half a bottle” throughout the day, keeping their cologne collections in their desks for a “quick squirt” every so often. They'll often compliment one another on how good they smell, too. But, hilariously, my seventh grader shared that she sometimes starts coughing because her male peers “don’t know when to stop spraying.”

Although this trend may seem pretty darn cute, with kids trying to seem older than they are in a sweet, if slightly misguided but endearing way, I couldn’t help but wonder if some kids with parents whose values or budgets don’t align with smellmaxxing are feeling left out.

“Any time there's a trend, kids will feel pressured, especially by their peers. During the teenage years, it's a vulnerable period because peers tend to have more influence than parents," sats Jenny Yip, PsyD, a board-certified clinical psychologist and author of Hello Baby, Goodbye Intrusive Thoughts.

Titania Jordan, Chief Parent Officer with Bark Technologies, points out that for today’s teens, “It’s not just seeing peers at school and wanting to emulate the cool kids—it’s getting entranced by strangers on TikTok and being told that $200 cologne will make you popular.”

Dr. Yip confirms that during these difficult social years, “There's a lot of comparison.” In the case of smellmaxxing, “If they feel like they can't match up to their peers who can afford this trend, then they might feel like everyone else is judging them for not keeping up.”

“Kids who can’t afford expensive perfumes may feel bad about themselves, and they may turn to more affordable versions of scents, which can also open them up to ridicule," Jordan adds.

How Parents Can Help Teens Feeling the Pressure of 'Smellmaxxing'

When it comes to any top-dollar trend teens are desperate to get in on, there’s going to be some give and take with parents. I’ll often joke to my kids that if they want to eat too, I can’t buy all of their clothes at Lululemon. A few wardrobe staples are more realistic. The same is true of our Sephora shopping trips. I’ll say “yes” to a Sol de Janeiro spray, but the Charlotte Tilbury $100 Magic Cream is a “no.”

Of course, they are welcome to spend their babysitting or birthday money on whatever they want—but not without my input on whether it’s a good use of their hard-earned cash. After all, in my opinion, they are beautiful just the way they are, without all the expensive makeup and skincare.

Dr. Yip says it’s never too early to talk about family values, which are different for all of us. “While we might be influenced by other kids, we still have to maintain our family values,” she recommends telling teens.

Jordan says this trend is a great opportunity to talk with kids about financial literacy and budgeting. “Ask, ‘Would you rather save up for months to get one bottle of fancy cologne or spend it on a concert ticket?’ Get them to see the importance of spending money on experiences versus things,” she advises.

Ultimately, both experts we talked to stress how smellmaxxing is just another trend that will give way to something else soon enough. But getting a teen to see this is about as likely as one of my girls volunteering to help out around the house without being asked 20 times.

The best we can do is stress how great we think our kids are no matter if they are wearing the most desirable musk or not. And then, within reason, support their interest in the trend. If the worst-case scenario is that your teen’s room smells like Jean Paul Gautier Elixir’s “woody aromatic amber,” well, there could be far more upsetting things. 

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