Smellmaxxing / Fragancemaxxing

About

Smellmaxxing, also known as Fragancemaxxing, is an internet slang term to describe the practice of maximizing one's scent to enhance personal appeal and confidence. The slang is derived from the maxxing suffix, which is often used to describe activities that maximize a desired trait. Smellmaxxing appeared online in 2020 but was only popularized after appearing on TikTok in late 2023, typically being featured in content related to fragrances, incel culture and brain rot memes using clips of the German YouTube and TikTok personality Jeremy Fragrance.

Origin

On July 15th, 2020, a user named Truth started a thread debate under the Looksmaxing tag on the LooksMax^[1] forum, calling it "Smellmaxxing" and asking people if "good smells make up for shitty looks? Or is this just cope?"

An article posted on May 19th, 2024, by The New York Times^[2] describes smellmaxxing as a term for "enhancing one’s musk," which involves mostly men trying to improve their smell with different colognes among other hygiene tips.

Spread

Usage of "smellmaxxing" became increasingly more prevalent on TikTok within the so-called "incelosphere" going into December 2023. For instance, on December 16th, 2023, TikToker^[3] @thecologneboy posted a video offering "Smellmaxxing" tips for being "the best smelling man in any room." The video (seen below, left) received more than 766,000 plays and 65,000 likes in seven months.

The "smellmaxxing" sub-culture often uses videos and clips of Jeremy Fragrance, a German influencer known for his reviews of colognes and perfumes. For example, on January 14th, 2024, TikToker^[4] @laytongentleman posted a video of Jeremy dancing paired with texts joking about Xerjoff's Torino21 perfume (seen below, right), which amassed over 288,000 plays and 39,000 likes in six months.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References