Well now! I knew about Napoleon and am not surprised at Fritz, MT and Voltaire, but FW - as ever - is truly the outlier there. I mean, perfume being used by men as well as women was entirely normal in that century - like powder and make-up - , but FW would have been the one Rokoko guy whom I’d have assumed to be an outlier there, too, and not use it. K
Now if the year had been 1733, I would have assumed a possible reason, to wit, his one failed attempt at adultery after all, the pass he’d made at Fräulein von Pannewitz which got him punched. That might have inspired him to make some effort to come across as attractive to a younger woman. But 1734 is post punching and thus he’s back to being NO WHORES NO THEATRE etc.
Re: Perfume? Perfume.
Now if the year had been 1733, I would have assumed a possible reason, to wit, his one failed attempt at adultery after all, the pass he’d made at Fräulein von Pannewitz which got him punched. That might have inspired him to make some effort to come across as attractive to a younger woman. But 1734 is post punching and thus he’s back to being NO WHORES NO THEATRE etc.