Our Favorite Niche Fragrances

In this age of globalization, corporate conglomerates, and big box stores, there’s something very comforting about finding a product that no one else has. You can get small-batch olive oil. There’s an entire cult on Twitter that is in search of unusual teas. And finding a new local fashion designer often feels like a delicious secret when everyone around you is wearing something from the mall. So with everyone looking for a way to express individuality in a world that is becoming increasingly commercial, niche perfumes are the perfect antidote to conformity. I’m a lazy fragrance user. I own and have used quite a few in my day, but never very regularly. Days will go by when deodorant and toothpaste are my signature scents. This is really sort of unacceptable. Enter Marian Bendeth. Marian, a fragrance expert and consultant who has worked with over a thousand brands, is based in Toronto, Ontario. She writes about scent, teaches about it, argues about it, collects it, and lives for it. She only wears vintage fragrances, but wouldn’t reveal them to me. I could have talked to her for hours about finding my signature--niche--perfume, but here’s the short version.
Author:
Updated:
Original:

In this age of globalization, corporate conglomerates, and big box stores, there’s something very comforting about finding a product that no one else has. You can get small-batch olive oil. There’s an entire cult on Twitter that is in search of unusual teas. And finding a new local fashion designer often feels like a delicious secret when everyone around you is wearing something from the mall.

So with everyone looking for a way to express individuality in a world that is becoming increasingly commercial, niche perfumes are the perfect antidote to conformity.

I’m a lazy fragrance user. I own and have used quite a few in my day, but never very regularly. Days will go by when deodorant and toothpaste are my signature scents. This is really sort of unacceptable.

Enter

Histoires de Parfum: Another French house. Most of the fragrances bear the names of years, and are dedicated to historical events and people. The company sent me a generous handful of samples. My favorite of all: 1804, which I later discovered is dedicated to George Sand, the pseudonym used by the first famous French female writer.

Serge Lutens: A make-up artist who worked at French Vogue in the 1960s and collaborated with major photographers of the time. He was later hired by Shiseido, created a fragrance for the company, then started his own company in the 1990s. Try Serge Noire for a truly unique experience. Words escape me. Ashy? Burned? These adjectives all came to mind. Like your scents a little, um, prettier? Try Daim Blond.

Acqua di Parma: Started in Parma, Italy in 1916, and re-born in the 1990s (acknowledged as the beginning of the era of modern niche perfumes). Do you like citrus fragrances? The Blu Mediterraneo Aranci di Capri is a slice of heaven.

Parfums DelRae: Produced in the south of France, but conceived by an American, DelRae Roth. She was a graphic designer and worked for Esprit before starting her fragrance company. Mythique is floral and pretty.

Related Stories

Style

Niche Fragrances, Including Angelina Jolie's Scent, Get the Spotlight at the Elements Showcase

With so many celebrities rolling out fragrances and so many millions of consumers buying them, it's easy to forget that creating a scent is actually an art form. It takes talent, skill, and inventiveness. I was reminded of this fact earlier this week at Elements Showcase where an impressive collection of niche fragrance brands came together to present their diverse products. The bi-annual showcase that first premiered last January, is the vision of Jeff Lawson, owner of an events consultancy, Ulrich Lang, a former L'Oreal exec, and Frederick Bouchardy, founder of Joya, a creative collective specializing in fragrance. The goal of the event was to connect fragrance designers with the media and buyers from top distributors like Barney's and Henri Bendel, while at the same time, highlighting the artistry and craftsmanship of the exhibitors' products.

Beauty

Le Labo Launches Fragrance Collection At Anthropologie

Anthropologie, which has really developed quite an impressive beauty collection lately, has a new fragrance feather to place in its faux-vintage cap. Le Labo, the New York-based niche perfume house founded by Fabrice Penot and Edouard Roschi, has created five new fragrances exclusively for the retailer. Le Labo, in case you’re not familiar with the brand, is unique, even for a niche perfumery. When you purchase a fragrance from their shop, they mix it for you right there and add a customized label. The founders met while both making perfume for Armani. They chafed against corporate culture and in 2006 started their own range. Take a peek at their very amusing website. As Fabrice told me, they try not to be very serious about something they actually take very seriously; no fragrance snobbery here. Anyway, back to the Anthropologie line.

Shopping

Avery Perfumes Makes Shopping for Fragrance a Pleasure, Not a Scent-Bomb

For those of us obsessed with signature scents, our ultimate fragrance should be one that few others possess. While I adore Marc Jacobs (the original), I'd prefer to wear something on a daily basis that's a bit more unique to me. A long-time contender has been Histoires de Parfums 1969, but after a visit to Avery London's outpost in New York's new Limelight Marketplace, I've got a slew of new options. Avery, which opened in central London in May, is the first retail store from Intertrade Europe, a company that deals in niche perfumes, as well as slightly bigger brands like Miller Harris and Bond No. 9. I'd heard of some of the scents previously--particularly the Nasomatto series, distinguished by its carved wood toppers--but I had smelled only a few. So last week I popped by Limelight to get an idea of what Avery has on offer.

Beauty

My Favorite Beauty Products: Glamour's Girl in the Beauty Department Beth Shapouri

Today we continue our series highlighting beauty editors’ favorite products that they actually use in real life. Beth Shapouri has been writing about beauty for “a long time” (we totally get that she doesn’t want to talk time--we’ll call her career in beauty “ageless”). She’s been writing for Glamour for almost three years, most recently as one of the mag’s Girls in the Beauty Department bloggers. Here are her faves: