What is niche perfume?

What makes a perfume niche?

A niche house mainly makes perfume. No clothes, no handbags, usually no make-up either. Often it works with one perfumer or a small team, releases fewer scents a year and sells through a limited number of shops.

A designer fragrance comes from a fashion or beauty brand such as Dior, Chanel or Armani. Those scents are made for a wide audience and sit in almost every perfumery, with big campaigns behind them.

There is no legal definition. Niche is a grouping that shops, brands and fans make themselves, and the line is blurry. Many niche houses now belong to large groups: Le Labo, Frederic Malle and Kilian are part of Estée Lauder, Maison Francis Kurkdjian of LVMH, Byredo of Puig and Creed of Kering. So the label says more about focus and distribution than about company size. On Eaulie, the houses we group this way are in the niche category.

A lot of niche is unisex: the scent comes first, not the target group.

Private lines of designer houses

Between designer and niche there is a middle ground. Big fashion houses have their own lines that behave like niche: smaller runs, fewer shops, often only in their own boutiques.

• Dior has Maison Christian Dior, earlier called La Collection Privée. One example is Gris Dior Eau de Parfum.
• Chanel has Les Exclusifs de Chanel, mainly sold in its own boutiques.
• Armani has Armani Privé, with its own boutique scents.
• Tom Ford has Private Blend, which includes Tobacco Vanille Eau de Parfum: tobacco and vanilla, warm and full. See also the brand page for Tom Ford.

Maison Margiela is a fashion house too. Its Replica line is often mentioned alongside niche: scents that try to capture a memory, such as Replica Jazz Club Eau de Toilette with rum, tobacco and vanilla.

Designer and niche side by side

A rough comparison. There are plenty of exceptions.

Is niche better, and why does it cost more?

Not better, but different

Niche isn't automatically better. A designer scent can be beautifully made, and a niche scent can disappoint you. Niche houses do more often dare to use unusual notes or build a scent around one material. Escentric Molecules Molecule 01 revolves around a single aroma molecule, Iso E Super. Whether you like it more, you'll only find out on your own skin.

Lasting longer isn't a fixed trait of niche either. How long a scent stays mostly depends on the concentration and the notes. More in EDT or EDP and making perfume last.

Why the price is higher

• Smaller runs. Fewer bottles means higher costs per bottle.
• Fewer points of sale. Less competition between shops, so fewer discounts.
• Materials. Some houses work with expensive ingredients or higher concentrations.
• Positioning. Part of the price is simply the brand and its image.

That's why comparing pays off. The price differs a lot per shop and per size. On Eaulie you can compare sizes per 100 ml: a 30 ml bottle often costs more per 100 ml than a 100 ml bottle.

Well-known niche houses on Eaulie

These houses have scents in our catalogue. A few well-known examples:

• Le Labo: Santal 33 Eau de Parfum, woody with sandalwood and cedar.
• Maison Francis Kurkdjian: Baccarat Rouge 540 Eau de Parfum, with saffron and a sweet, airy amberwood base.
• Creed: Aventus Eau de Parfum, fruity with pineapple and a smoky wood.
• Byredo: Gypsy Water Eau de Parfum, pine, juniper and a soft woody base.
• Serge Lutens: Chergui Eau de Parfum, honey, tobacco and hay.
• Jo Malone London: Wood Sage & Sea Salt Cologne, salty and herbal-fresh.

You'll also find Diptyque, Frederic Malle, Kilian, Parfums de Marly, Xerjoff, Initio, Nishane, Memo Paris, Amouage, Penhaligon's, Etat Libre d'Orange, Juliette Has a Gun and Acqua di Parma, among others. What visitors look at most right now is in most popular niche perfumes.

Middle Eastern houses and 'inspired by'

Brands such as Lattafa, Armaf, Rasasi and Al Haramain come from the Gulf region. They make a lot of eau de parfum, often with warm, sweet or oud-like profiles, and are usually priced well below Western niche. Lattafa Khamrah Eau de Parfum is warm and sweet, with dates and cinnamon.

Some of these scents are discussed online as 'inspired by' or as an alternative to a well-known designer or niche fragrance. They remain their own scents with their own formula. Eaulie makes no claims about how close one scent is to another; smell them and judge for yourself. A selection is in Lattafa fragrances.

Discovering niche without a big bottle

• Start from what you know. Pick a scent family you like, for example woody, amber or fresh, and look for a niche scent in it. How to choose is in how to choose a perfume.
• Samples and vials. Many niche houses and perfumeries sell 1–2 ml vials. Wear one for a few days.
• Discovery sets. A box of small bottles from one house, such as the Frederic Malle The Eclectic Discovery Set.
• Travel sizes. Some houses make travel sprays or refillable sets, such as the Kilian Intoxicated Travel Set and the Baccarat Rouge 540 Eau de Parfum 4×4 ml.
• Pick an easy start. Lighter scents such as Juliette Has a Gun Not a Perfume, Molecule 01 or Wood Sage & Sea Salt are easy to wear.

Everything about samples, minis and sets is in testers, minis and gift sets.

Common mistakes

• Buying a large bottle blind because a scent gets a lot of attention online. Try a sample first.
• Only smelling a paper strip. Niche often changes a lot on skin. Wait a few hours before you decide.
• Thinking pricier means better. Price says something about the brand and the run size, not about what you like.
• Not comparing per 100 ml. With niche, prices vary a lot between shops and sizes.
• Spraying too much. Some niche scents are strong. Start with one or two sprays.
• Mixing up niche and 'inspired by'. They are different houses with their own formulas.