Unusual Niche Fragrances
- Posted by: angeli.krohmal
The sense of smell is the most subtle perceptual channel in humans. We may forget a visual image, a letter name or a sound - but smells are very firmly embedded in our memory. That's why we want to introduce you to unusual perfumes, which combine notes that are not labeled as perfumes in the usual human perception. Believe us, such perfumes will bring your sense of style to a new level.
For centuries, perfumery has been tacitly considered one of the most elegant and somewhat inexplicable forms of art. And for good reason, because we humans have not yet been able to explain how the sensation of any odor awakens in us a variety of emotions, memories and associations. With the development of industrialization, economy and production, perfumery was subjected to different types of classification - not only by families of smells, but also by segments. And if we take in hand a bottle of Chanel n 5, we realize what type this perfume belongs to, despite the historical significance, then the concept of "niche perfumery" are not yet understood by everyone. In this article, we lift the veil and make more understandable the variety of bottles with fragrant liquids.
Everyone is used to the fact that every famous luxury brand has at least 1 perfume (and most often they are whole collections, which can number dozens of fragrances). For a long time the market and our hearts were won exactly by bottles with the inscription, Dior, Chanel, Armani, Guerlain, Hermes and many others. However, relatively recently (hardly more than 15, maximum 20 years ago) on the shelves began to appear completely unknown names, about which even little is written on the Internet? What is niche perfumery? How does it differ from the already well-known brands? And what smells so unusual there? It is in niche perfumery that you can find out what a twilight forest smells like on Halloween eve, a dryad hiding in a tropical thicket, a papier-mache workshop, and even a Brazilian carnival dance.
Niche perfumery is not a phenomenon of yesterday. We can say that just some of the first perfumes that appeared in the Middle Ages are considered niche today. One of the main conceptual principles of niche brands is the absence of advertising. Elite brands promote most of their products, both clothing and perfumes, with the help of various means of advertising - luxury video clips, brand ambassadors (most often celebrities: actors of theater and cinema, singers, musicians),photo shoots and samples of new fragrances as a gift when buying in boutiques or chain stores. Niche perfumery such a feast is alien and simply not needed. Rare, little-known and hard to find, such brands are most often engaged exclusively in the manufacture of perfumes, sometimes bath lines and interior fragrances. Behind such brands are most often real enthusiasts and creators - this is the closest perfumery activity to art.
In a niche segment, you can find polarly different approaches to creating an overall concept. Some brands strive for minimalism, drawing all attention to the contents of the bottle. In the current era, this trend has become almost the pinnacle of desirable lifestyles. Others, on the contrary, want the contents to be maximally decorated on the outside as well. Perfumers and brand owners attract real artists and sometimes even jewelers to create packaging, bottles and labels. The rule in niche perfumery is that the more attractive the wrapper, the more luxurious the contents. Niche perfumery can become a real decoration in the interior and emphasize your commitment to a non-trivial and non-standard vision of life. Hedonism is 100% supported by such fragrances. For perfumers, especially those who don't have their own perfume brand, working for a niche brand is a pleasure.
One of the first niche brands that declared themselves in this way is the French L'Artisan Parfumeur, which appeared in the late 70s of the last century. The creators purposefully decided on small batches of each fragrance. The brand has its own special handwriting, manifesting itself to recreate natural fragrances, transparent and airy, which earned the love of a large number of people who prefer light and fresh fragrances. The same brand has the idea of creating the first fig-themed perfume - Premier Figuier was launched in 1994.
The purpose of creating such perfumes is to reject mass production. In the era of gigantic scale of production, when individuality is erased and disappears, uniqueness and hand-made messages are valued much more. That is why the previously unnoticed Juliette has a Gun, Mona di Orio, Le Labo, Serge Lutens, Amouage, by Kilian and others are now so popular.
The secret of such success lies in the absence of standards and clear prescriptions. Most often a niche brand is independent, which means that it has an immense field of activity for creativity. Global fashion of a certain era, of course, there is, but niche perfumes do not have the goal of becoming the most fashionable fragrance and breaking all sales records (although the desire for a good profit no one canceled).
Since niche brands are created, exist and develop somewhat autonomously, their production capacities are not on a huge scale. This means that batches of bottles do not number in the tens of thousands, as with luxury brands. All this only increases the sense of elitism in the buyer who has chosen a niche perfume. Of course, with the advent of popularity, production expands, but at the same time the creators of the brand try to adhere to the principles of individuality and authenticity when creating new fragrances. But in the beginning, the vast majority of such enthusiasts are famous for the fact that batches of the same fragrance can differ, because the supply of fragrance materials cannot be identical either. More often than not, such brands rely on natural materials, which also affects the differences of the same fragrance - as we know, essences and oils do not have the same precision and stability as synthetic molecules (although chemists work equally hard to perfect both types). At the same time, the noses try to maintain the quality and classic rules of perfume creation, which are approved all over the world. Moreover, today, despite the variety of materials for creating perfumes, more and more rules and safety techniques are being created - progress does not bypass the art of perfumery.
But what is more important when creating unique fragrances is a story, a legend if you will. This is how you can often see niche perfume brands collaborating with painters, sculptors, conceptual photographers and other artists. Nowadays, when niche brands do resort to minimal promotion of their perfume creations, it becomes an art installation, a theatrical performance or the introduction to a new fragrance is accompanied by some small ritual to create maximum integrity of perception of the new. Some authors can create fragrances right in front of customers in the store - for example, the owners of Le Labo brand like to please their guests with such a kraft flair. Buying a bottle of perfume of this brand in front of you in the store is poured into a bottle, labeled and signed with your name.
And yet, with the passage of time and the increasing popularity of niche perfumery can be traced to some segmentation and the formation of classifications. Of course, these brands remain true to their principles of exclusivity and characteristic unusual aromatic combinations, but around each of them formed a certain target audience of admirers with certain preferences.
Thus we can say that, for example, Amouage, Caron, Etro, Frederic Malle, Roja Dove brands support the principles of classic perfumes of the past era. And brands like by Kilian, Ex Nihilo, Xerjoff like to create chic and glamorous compositions. 27 87, Escentric Molecules, Essential Parfums are interested in futuristic molecular accords. For Initio, Tiziana Terenzi, V Canto a raucous carnival of bright exotic notes is important.
But also today there are some brands from the luxury segment, perfume creations of which connoisseurs call real art and classify these collections as niche. First of all, we remember the epathetic Tom Ford, who never hesitates to go the extravagant way when creating a perfume on a seemingly classic theme - be it a fragrance about a rose (his new roses in the Private Blend collection are definitely worth a look),a composition about patchouli or an unconventional vision of peach in perfumery. Another such creator is the fashion house Maison Margiela. The brand has long had a reputation for crossing out all the standard postulates in the world of fashion. The same happened with the perfumes of the brand - the creators have enclosed not just a smell, but also a memory, associations and geographical reference in each bottle.
But still, the niche perfume industry tries to survive without classic advertising moves. How do they do it? Word of mouth and good distribution: rumors about an incredible new unique perfume spread with cosmic speed and it is important for buyers to be able to buy an interesting composition as soon as possible. So this technical aspect is not alien to conceptual art brands.
Enjoy niche fragrances and do not afraid to be creative!