'Why do people hate this?' Scent causes shocking divide among Aussies
- Replies 4
Many of us have those particular scents that come replete with vivid memories.
It may be the lavish perfume your grandmother wore, the smell of salt and seaweed on your favourite beach, the subtle hint of an old love’s cologne, or even the distinctive fragrance of school days.
For some, this particular scent has sent them straight back to their high school days—and their memories of teenage boys in particular.
With a scent familiar to many, Lynx Africa has recently become the topic of a heated debate in Australia: Is it a nostalgic smell, a fragrant faux pas, or does it just remind us of the questionable hygiene choices made by sweaty teenage boys in high school?
It’s been a hot topic after one social media user suggested that this pong—so familiar and distinct to most Australians—was actually 'good-smelling' and perhaps others should stop being so quick to hate on it.
'Why do people hate this? It smells good, in my opinion,' the post read.
'It lasts a long time too, most deodorants just wear off after about 10 minutes.'
The post caused an uproar, with many people explaining how the mere whiff of the aroma brought them straight back to memories of high school PE classes or sweaty teens who seemed to think the only viable option for personal hygiene was just to douse themselves in it.
'I don’t want to remember my high school PE class and people using it as a replacement for showering,' one replied.
Others said that while the scent was inoffensive, the same could not be said for those who used it.
'We don’t hate the scent. We hate the accompanying memories of pubescent boys bathing in it and using it as a replacement for antiperspirant,' one shared.
'I don’t think anyone hates Lynx Africa,' another replied.
'It's the go-to ‘wet’ deodorant for a lot of dudes.'
'Combine it with cheap cigarettes, and you have got the scent of the back corner of my high school,' a third added.
Others suggested that maybe the hate for the scent was just an easy trend to jump onto, with most people criticising it simply because that’s what everyone else was doing.
'Probably the same reason so many people say they hate Nickleback or hate the word moist,’ one user pointed out.
‘It’s a popular hate bandwagon to get on. I would bet that a tonne of people who claim they hate it wouldn’t even pick the scent out if they never wore it.'
While another suggested that Lynx Africa was closely associated with 'fragile male egos'.
'It’s also super distinctive, like you’re not convincing anyone you have good taste in scent or that you clean even, everyone knows it’s $5 deodorant that teenagers wear,' they said.
'It also never did anything to stop the source of the smell, it just gradually gets weaker while the body odour gets stronger as the day progresses.'
Though statistics on use in Australia were unavailable, data from Great Britain shows that the Lynx brand is hugely popular among younger men there, with antiperspirants and body spray products being its most popular category.
In 2021, there were more than 7.2 million users of antiperspirants and body spray across Great Britain, while 6.5 million used their bath products, which are their next most popular item.
Their aftershave had 1.4 million users, while their female version of antiperspirants only had over a million users. Shaving foam and gel were the least popular, with only 633,000 recorded users.
Members, what would you say was the Lynx Africa of your time? And if ever you’ve had the chance to take a whiff of this intriguing scent, tell us: does it really remind you of sweaty teenage blokes?
Share your stories with us below!
It may be the lavish perfume your grandmother wore, the smell of salt and seaweed on your favourite beach, the subtle hint of an old love’s cologne, or even the distinctive fragrance of school days.
For some, this particular scent has sent them straight back to their high school days—and their memories of teenage boys in particular.
With a scent familiar to many, Lynx Africa has recently become the topic of a heated debate in Australia: Is it a nostalgic smell, a fragrant faux pas, or does it just remind us of the questionable hygiene choices made by sweaty teenage boys in high school?
The scent of Lynx Africa recently sparked a debate among Aussies. Image source: Lynx / Unilever Australia Limited.
It’s been a hot topic after one social media user suggested that this pong—so familiar and distinct to most Australians—was actually 'good-smelling' and perhaps others should stop being so quick to hate on it.
'Why do people hate this? It smells good, in my opinion,' the post read.
'It lasts a long time too, most deodorants just wear off after about 10 minutes.'
The post caused an uproar, with many people explaining how the mere whiff of the aroma brought them straight back to memories of high school PE classes or sweaty teens who seemed to think the only viable option for personal hygiene was just to douse themselves in it.
'I don’t want to remember my high school PE class and people using it as a replacement for showering,' one replied.
Others said that while the scent was inoffensive, the same could not be said for those who used it.
'We don’t hate the scent. We hate the accompanying memories of pubescent boys bathing in it and using it as a replacement for antiperspirant,' one shared.
'I don’t think anyone hates Lynx Africa,' another replied.
'It's the go-to ‘wet’ deodorant for a lot of dudes.'
'Combine it with cheap cigarettes, and you have got the scent of the back corner of my high school,' a third added.
Others suggested that maybe the hate for the scent was just an easy trend to jump onto, with most people criticising it simply because that’s what everyone else was doing.
'Probably the same reason so many people say they hate Nickleback or hate the word moist,’ one user pointed out.
‘It’s a popular hate bandwagon to get on. I would bet that a tonne of people who claim they hate it wouldn’t even pick the scent out if they never wore it.'
While another suggested that Lynx Africa was closely associated with 'fragile male egos'.
'It’s also super distinctive, like you’re not convincing anyone you have good taste in scent or that you clean even, everyone knows it’s $5 deodorant that teenagers wear,' they said.
'It also never did anything to stop the source of the smell, it just gradually gets weaker while the body odour gets stronger as the day progresses.'
Though statistics on use in Australia were unavailable, data from Great Britain shows that the Lynx brand is hugely popular among younger men there, with antiperspirants and body spray products being its most popular category.
In 2021, there were more than 7.2 million users of antiperspirants and body spray across Great Britain, while 6.5 million used their bath products, which are their next most popular item.
Their aftershave had 1.4 million users, while their female version of antiperspirants only had over a million users. Shaving foam and gel were the least popular, with only 633,000 recorded users.
Members, what would you say was the Lynx Africa of your time? And if ever you’ve had the chance to take a whiff of this intriguing scent, tell us: does it really remind you of sweaty teenage blokes?
Share your stories with us below!
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