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Artisanal vs. mainstream

post #1 of 11
10/27/05 at 11:01pm
Thread Starter 
OK, I own several "mainstream" scents (Visit, Escada Homme) and have tried several others and while they're "nice", they just don't have the wow factor that the Artisanal ones do. Some examples of what I consider wow scents are Bois de Portugal, Orange Spice, LV Musk, DSH Gingembre, Piper Nigrum, and Musc Ravegeur. So what is it that makes them so different? I have noticed an overall lack of harshness (my most common complaint with mainstream scents) in the Artisanal fragrences. Is it the ingredients? Is it the designer? Or is it all in my head as I try to rationalize the much higher prices? What would happen if LV worked for Estee Lauder? Would he be able to come up with another masterpiece, or would he be hampered by the mass merchant?

Isaac
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post #2 of 11
10/27/05 at 11:19pm
For some of the ones I've tried (though certainly not all), I'd have thought it really was a case of price justification. I had difficulty telling some of them apart from what one could get ever so much more cheaply at a pot pouri shop (but the pot pouri was longer lasting).

With the exception of the male Creeds and some of the LVs, I haven't been too enthused about the artisanal ones - particularly with respect to staying power.
Renato
P.S. It's a bit like debating the merits of paper bags vs plastic bags for shopping. I'll take plastic every time.
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post #3 of 11
10/27/05 at 11:45pm
Quote:
What would happen if LV worked for Estee Lauder?

Funny you should mention Estee Lauder. I would pay artisinal prices for JHL.

I just find the designer stuff of the past 5-10 years very boring. I think this is because they are trying for fragrances for the mass market, a new designer fragrance is looking for sales in the many tens of millions the first year, so they can't afford any originality. The artisinal makers are aiming for a smaller market and thus can have fragrances that are more original and unusual but consequently appeal to fewer people.
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post #4 of 11
10/28/05 at 8:07am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Renato

For some of the ones I've tried (though certainly not all), I'd have thought it really was a case of price justification. I had difficulty telling some of them apart from what one could get ever so much more cheaply at a pot pouri shop (but the pot pouri was longer lasting).

With the exception of the male Creeds and some of the LVs, I haven't been too enthused about the artisanal ones - particularly with respect to staying power.
Renato

I know what you mean about staying power, I hate it when I find something I love but it disappears in half an hour. I love a lot of the male Creeds, but only two have any lasting power on me. The one thing that I hate that I've noticed in many mainstream fragrences (but not all) is a very astringent, alchohol opening. I have yet to smell this in my limited artisanal experiences. This is one thing that I've tried to avoid and I think is one of the main reasons for pursuing artisanal makers.

Isaac
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post #5 of 11
10/28/05 at 9:44am
I get the feeling that the desigenr stuff is created to fit an already existing marketing campain.

At a marketing meeting,

"Picture this. We have a shirtless guy walking on a foggy beach, with an obviously beautiful woman walking torward him, but sort of indistinct in th fog. There is some minimal romantic music in the back ground. Nothing is said until the very end when a sultry woman's voice comes in and says, "Hugo Boss, Aqua de Black Fog Extreme Sport". OK guys make us a cologne."
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post #6 of 11
10/28/05 at 10:33am
I think it is along the lines of why an independent movie/album might be a bit more interesting and personal. I think there is a saying: "Too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the soup." Chances are at a small manufacturer they won't do as much testing and market research, etc before rolling out a scent. Therefore, I would guess, the fragrance may be closer the the perfumers vision rather than being filtered through the gauze of the corporate schema.

Nevertheless, generally I go for the mainstream fragrances, but there are certain qualities to the niche fragrances which I like as well.
K
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post #7 of 11
10/28/05 at 11:50am
Well, I know what niche means, but can somebody translate this into a german word that makes sense.
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post #8 of 11
10/28/05 at 12:07pm
Niche: 2 a : a place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted (Merriam-Webster). spezialisiert (specialized and not generalized). Or, how about As opposed to a commercialized scent where the perfumer is trying to please huge groups of people. A niche scent is like art. The creator doesn't care about the audience as much as the creation itself. The perfume then becomes a work of art where most people won't understand (or buy it) but there will always be a few that love it.

Kelley
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post #9 of 11
10/28/05 at 12:24pm
I think "artisinal" is a better term than "niche".
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post #10 of 11
10/28/05 at 12:51pm
niche...... focusing on a small group of consumers. think rolls royce, bentley etc.
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post #11 of 11
10/28/05 at 2:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by paintrman

Niche: 2 a : a place, employment, status, or activity for which a person or thing is best fitted (Merriam-Webster). spezialisiert (specialized and not generalized). Â*Or, how about As opposed to a commercialized scent where the perfumer is trying to please huge groups of people. Â*A niche scent is like art. Â*The creator doesn't care about the audience as much as the creation itself. Â*The perfume then becomes a work of art where most people won't understand (or buy it) but there will always be a few that love it. Â*

Kelley

Niche is has little to do with art, more to do with exclusivity ie. how easy it is to find the scent as in "niche market" which also refers to a specific target group. It becomes problematic when we connote niche with art hence when i refer to scents with artistic concept, i use "artisinal" which excludes the prerequisite of exclusivity. We need that distinction because the term "niche" itself cannot carry the burden of all the extended references given to it that has accumulated over time, otherwise the word in itself becomes meaningless as we all use it but refer to different things. It is quite clear when we say "artisinal houses", we mean L'Artisan, Creed, MPG, Villoresi and CdG. An artisinal frag on the other hand can include such scents as M7 for example which though marketed by a mainstream house, has an artistic concept behind its creation and no notions of being niche in the marketing sense of the word.
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