Life in Kate-Land

Launched in 2021 with a muskier reformulation and repackage in 2023,  FLOOID is a fragrance from Altanta skincare brand non gender specific™ that calls itself a “genderless fragrance for all humans.” It’s a woody chypre with some of the DNA of Terre d’Hermes–woody, citrusy and green, without real sweetness or floral accords–but it still makes a unique place for itself.  

The packaging is solid and well designed; it feels like a good quality bottle. After wearing it for a few days, I imagine this is as a good scent for the C-suite. It smells expensive, powerful, and well-groomed. I could see a leader of any gender wearing this in the boardroom. 

FLOOID keeps you coming back for more. It starts out very woody, citrusy, herbaceous, and then goes green as the vetiver & moss show up alongside the bergamot, giving it an Earl Grey feeling without smelling like a cup of tea. 

After the initial dry-down, the grapefruit intensifies a little, and a touch of patchouli comes through almost like a little whiff of incense. 

The natural extracts and botanicals come as a third wave to create an almost barbershoppy, fresh and soapy experience, which in the end fades to a warm, clean skin scent finished off with a breath of amber & white musk. 

My first experience of this fragrance was that it leaned masc, but as it blended with my skin’s chemistry, it became exactly what it claims to be. This is something that is both deep and light, woody and fresh, grounding and, well, fluid. Truly a scent that defies any binary.  

Personal note: As a femme cis woman, would I wear this alone? No. I might layer it with another fragrance to bring something fruity or floral or green or resinous into it, or find something that will tone it down a few notches. It’s a bit loud for my personal taste, and not really delicious to me on its own. Thinking it might be a great base note to deepen a scent you want to bring from spring into fall. That said, I already have a number of friends to whom I’m thinking of gifting this bottle.