The Most Popular Perfumes, According To Your Political Party

Exactly where do the Republican and Democratic candidates stand on domestic and international policy? You can bet we'll be tuning into the upcoming presidential debates to find out. But one thing we know for sure: how supporters of each major party in the U.S.A. like to smell.

While political pollsters have been working to project outcomes of every step of the race, Scentbird, the online perfume subscription hub, has put together some pretty interesting data analysis of its own: The site has combined red- and blue-state identification (as determined by the New York Times UpShot Forecast) with more than 400,000 fragrance orders to determine the top five scents for Republican and Democrats across the nation. And just like the course of the 2016 election itself, the results contain some serious surprises.

For instance: Would you peg left-leaning perfume-wearers as patchouli lovers? As it turns out, it’s the folks in ideologically conservative states who love the intoxicating herb (particularly when it’s balanced with florals). And though conservatives might sometimes be portrayed as crisp, clean, and preppy, the scents that represent these qualities are most coveted in blue states.

In all, the research offers an important reminder of something that’s easy to forget in such an emotional election season: We can’t — and shouldn’t — typecast a person based on political leanings alone. Click ahead for an exclusive peek at Scentbird’s top fragrances sold in red and blue states — you may never guess where your favorite fragrance lands on the political map.