Niche & Boutique Fragrances

[Luxx]

Not every perfume debuts with a giant marketing campaign or the name of a notable celebrity attached to it. Some of the best fragrances come from small houses devoted to the art of perfume. This thread is for discussion of nice perfumes, perfumers and anything related to the slightly less mainstream fragrances.

Ok, so what is a niche perfume?
For those unfamiliar with the term it generally is used to describe perfumes made by smaller houses (no Chanel's, Guerlains or Armani's) that are harder to find. It also usually implies a certain level of artistry or uniqueness not usually found in the more mainstream department store perfumes.

Some notable niche brands are:

- Frederic Malle
- Serge Lutens
- Ormonde Jayne
- Parfums de Rosine
- I Profume di Firenze
- L'Artisan
- Ormonde Jayne
- Carthusia
- Bond No. 9 New York
- Santa Maria Novella
- Acqua Di Parma
- Le Labo
- Miller Harris
- CB I Hate Perfume

Ok. So lets start talking fabulous fragrance Does anyone here use fragrances from a niche line??

 

[Luxx]

Bond No. 9's latest project - Saks Fifth Avenue the fragrance. All of Bond No. 9's fragrances are named after a specific place in New York so this is quite fitting actually. I have bolded the fragrance notes

from Fashion Week Daily
Smells Like 5th Avenue

Saks Fifth Avenue and Bond No. 9 are setting a new precedent—and doing a sweet-smelling job of it. The luxury retailer and artisinal perfumer have joined forces to debut two new fragrances, Saks Fifth Avenue for Her and Saks Fifth Avenue for Him, marking the first time a specialty store has ever commissioned a perfumery to design scents. In the tradition of Bond No. 9’s well-known New York neighborhood aromas, the two fragrances treat Saks as an ultra-sophisticated neighborhood unto itself.
“Saks Fifth Avenue is excited to be collaborating with Bond No. 9 on Saks Fifth Avenue for Him and Saks Fifth Avenue for Her,” said Deborah Walters, senior vice president and general merchandise manager, cosmetics and fragrances, Saks Fifth Avenue, in a statement. “This will allow our customer across the country to experience the quintessential Saks Fifth Avenue scent.”

Saks Fifth Avenue for Her signals the return of the classic gardenia eau de parfum, given a chic contemporary twist with the addition of sparkling jasmine and vetiver, along with smooth vanilla. Saks Fifth Avenue for Him is an elegant aqua scent, containing an initial dash of Sicilian bergamot for coolness, followed by cardamom, amber, and cedarwood for warmth. Together, they are intended to capture the fashion-forward essence of 21st-century Saks, while at the same time expressing the eclectic downtown spirit of NoHo-based Bond No. 9.

The flacon designs display the retailer’s vibrant new black-and-white logo (though here the colors are reversed). The letters now serve as design elements containing Saks’ “DNA” motif. The slender bottle, dubbed the Bond No. 9 superstar flacon, also sports a circular centerpiece logo inscribed with both “Saks Fifth Avenue” and “Bond No. 9.”

The two scents will hit Saks counters on September 1, with 1.7 ounces retailing for $125 and 3.4 ounces retailing for $185.

Image Credit | Fashion Week Daily

 

[Luxx]

Discovering the Scent of Paris
Vogue Paris article featuring niche perfumes and several Parisienne classics.



Image Credit | Scanned by Me from Vogue Paris

 

[FashionJunkie]

Thank you so much for the article. I perfumes!!

Karma

 

[lollicandy]

I loove niche frags! Kinda pricey but well worth it. No nasty chemical stinking alcohol affairs. Its hard for me to find stuff I deem 'full bottle worthy' so I own a lot of samples and decants. The ones that are a staple for me are L'Artisan Parfumeur "Passage d' Enfer", Serge Lutens "Fleurs d' Oranger" , Parfums di Nicolai (granddaughter of Mssr.Guerlain, very interested in her line) Maharadjah, Parfums d' Empire "Ambre Russe". Also cheaper, I like L'Aromarine stuff.

I'm love incense but it goes stinky on me but I do enjoy Norma Kamali's Ceremony. Looking forward to trying out Sacrebleu, Andy Tauer's L'Air du Desert Marocain and some Olivier Durbano.

Even smaller great lines I want to try are Dawn Spencer Howard's line and a few from Armando Martinez, I like Kitsune still trying out the sample.

 

[Luxx]

^ Such great taste! I love Passage d' Enfer and Fleurs d' Oranger - they're incredible scents. I have a lot of samples too - they're the best way to find new things I think. I'm always up for trying new scents. I'm very interested in smelling Parfums di Nicolai as well.

There is an article with Frederic Malle in the latest issue of Vogue. I'm going to post it here - it gives some great tips for finding fragrances.

 

[lollicandy]

Oh please do post it!

I'm fairly new to niche frags but I'm enjoying discovering my sense of smell, its something I and many people forget we have, nevermind develop it. Fragrance can really change your mood, a little spritz of orange scented roomspray can really pick up my energy and some Passage can calm me.

I just heard that Malle is/was touring various Barney's in the US at meet and greets.

 

[Sophiedoz]

Another vote for Fleur D'Oranger. It is my lucky charm perfume and my favorite.

My husband just stole me and adopted Cuir Mauresque, from the same Serge Lutens. I actually own lots of Lutens but don't wear them so much because I feel like I shouldn't wear too strong perfumes at work. I love Santal de Mysore, very rich wood, a little sweet on the sides. Rahat Loukoum, beautiful almond and honey fragrance, and Douce Amere, supposedly very close to absinth, with a hint of tiare.

I was offered for my birthday Dzing! by L'Artisan Parfumeur. Being offered perfume was scary because I have very specific tastes, but I actually fell in love with this fragrance, a flowery leather, very subtle, with musc background scents. Mmm.

 

[Meg]

I'm always meaning to get around to getting a new scent (and London has a lot of places that do custom mixing or carry niche fragrances) but when I have 60-70 quid I'd rather spend it on clothing not on a fragrance. Maybe I need to hit up some stores for samples and find something i like....

 

[lollicandy]

^ I usually go through loads of samples before I even like 1 perfume half-way. Its taken me the better part of a year to get to the 3 fragrances I mentioned above, and I actually was not impressed w/SL Fleurs d'Oranger or Passage at first. However, now I love them. I must say I've fallen a little bit out of love w/Ambre Russe. I really like Norma Kamali Ceremony now. I'm waiting for samples of most of the Serge Lutens line, so I'm very excited to get sniffing. And I don't know why but I want to get Paul & Joe Blanc.

Sophiedoz, Dzing! sounds very nice. I like L'Artisan Parfumeur a lot. I want to try Dzongkha from them.

 

[Luxx]

I'm always meaning to get around to getting a new scent (and London has a lot of places that do custom mixing or carry niche fragrances) but when I have 60-70 quid I'd rather spend it on clothing not on a fragrance. Maybe I need to hit up some stores for samples and find something i like....

Oh yes yes, samples are wonderful! Great way to get into something new. Maybe if you list some perfumes you already like we can recommend something we think you'd like.

Or maybe there could just be a perfume recommendations thread or something. IDK. Either way