Influencers on social media have teenage boys trying cologne

A MARTÍNEZ: If you live with a teenage boy and your home smells like a Macy's beauty counter, you can probably thank TikTok. That's because fragrance influencers are all over social media.

(SOUNDBITE OF MONTAGE)

DANIEL SCHUTZ: Good day, guys. Jeremy Fragrance here.

TRISTAN: Hey, guys, thatfragrancekid here.

JATIN ARORA: Hi, guys. It's TheCologneBoy.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Jeremy Fragrance, thefragrancekid - just some of the influencers who review scents online. Makes sense - TheCologneBoy's real name is Jatin Arora. He's an 18-year-old high school senior in Canada who films himself in front of his vast collection of designer colognes.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ARORA: This is a very nice blue aquatic fragrance with that nice, sweet tone to it.

MARTÍNEZ: TheCologneBoy has 1.3 million followers on TikTok, and some of his videos include his mom.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Is this $1,000?

ARORA: Yeah. No.

INSKEEP: Just talking about this stuff, I feel like I'm smelling it here in Studio 31. The stuff goes well beyond Axe body spray. The cologne teenage boys are buying now can run hundreds of dollars per bottle.

MARTÍNEZ: A survey this spring by investment bank Piper Sandler shows that teen spending on fragrance has shot up more than 20% over last year. So what explains the trend?

KIM ALEXANDER: It really starts from social media and, like, just how impactful social media is on young minds.

INSKEEP: Dr. Kim Alexander is a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute and says, wearing cologne can help kids feel a little more grown up.

ALEXANDER: We all can recognize moments in our youth where we really longed for adulthood or really longed for that agency and autonomy.

MARTÍNEZ: So spritz on, guys. Don't bathe in it, though. Remember, a little goes a long way.

INSKEEP: That's a nice scent, Mr. Martinez.

(SOUNDBITE OF TOM MISCH'S "SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT (QUARANTINE SESSIONS)") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.