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post #1 of 17
10/23/07 at 12:56pm
Thread Starter 
On Saturday i'm going to go round all the various department stores in London to buy some new fragrance. I want to get something unique and interesting, I have a few Creeds at home (SMW and VIW so far) and am quite intrigued by the Bond No 9 fragrances. Any reccomendations of nice fragrances that I MUST try?
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post #2 of 17
10/23/07 at 1:00pm
Black Tourmaline by Olivier Durbano
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post #3 of 17
10/23/07 at 1:00pm
If you're going to be close to Les Senteurs...they have tons of great stuff....Frederic Malle, The Different Company, Knize, Serge Lutens, Parfums de Nicolai, Rosine.

71 Elizabeth Street
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post #4 of 17
10/23/07 at 1:05pm
I would go with Jo Malone's Pomegrante Noir. I really liked this one. Likewise with Prada's new Infusion Iris. (I know it is not niche) It is marketed towards women, but I almost wanted to pick up a bottle for myself.

Bond No. 9 doesn't do anything for me. My suggestion would be to snag a few samples and try them on for a few days. I did and the magic wore off very quickly.

Good luck!
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post #5 of 17
10/23/07 at 1:07pm
Oh, now I get the thread title. At first I thought it meant "I am through with shopping for niche fragrances" and I was expecting your post to ask for designer (and other non-niche) recommendations. But actually it means, "I am off to shop for niche fragrances".

All right, I'll recommend Bond No. 9's Eau de New York. It's a beautiful bergamot and jasmine scent, on a light vetiver base. Better longevity than most citrus scents -- the jasmine helps prolong the citrus accord into the heart. (DSH Menthe Moderne plays the same trick, boosting its lime top-notes with white florals, but I don't think you'll find MM in department stores.) I suppose it's actually a warm-weather scent, but I'm considering getting it for the winter, with the idea that it will be sunshine-in-a-bottle when there's a lack of actual sunshine outdoors. So I don't agree entirely with Nicolas -- but I would suggest picking up samples; if you're lucky you'll get the big sample vials that Bond puts out, and you can get four or more wearings out of each one.
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post #6 of 17
10/23/07 at 1:09pm
Not necessarily niche... but try Encre Noir by Lalique, Crystal Noir by versace.. Crystal Noir is a women's frag but i liked it so much that I picked it up for meself
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post #7 of 17
10/23/07 at 1:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by libertine View Post

On Saturday i'm going to go round all the various department stores in London to buy some new fragrance. I want to get something unique and interesting, I have a few Creeds at home (SMW and VIW so far) and am quite intrigued by the Bond No 9 fragrances. Any reccomendations of nice fragrances that I MUST try?

I think you will like Chinatown or Nuit de Noho (from Bond no 9)

I second Les Senteurs. It's a must
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post #8 of 17
10/23/07 at 1:29pm
My aunt is heading to London next week. Would you mind seeing if the new Dior Homme Intense is out? And see if the Encre Noire eau de parfum is available in a more affordable version?

Many thanks and good luck shopping!
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post #9 of 17
10/23/07 at 1:32pm
I would also visit Geo F. Trumper. They have a couple locations, on Curzon and Jermyn streets. Quality fragrances. Their Sandalwood cologne is one of my all-time favorites.
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post #10 of 17
10/23/07 at 1:37pm
Be sure to visit the Miller Harris and Ormonde Jayne boutiques.
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post #11 of 17
10/23/07 at 4:25pm
Yup. Ormonde Jayne - Isfarkand.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruggles View Post

Be sure to visit the Miller Harris and Ormonde Jayne boutiques.
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post #12 of 17
10/23/07 at 4:39pm
If you're feeling adventurous, be sure to try some of the Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier fragrances. Their scents for men, including Santal Noble, Route du Vetiver, Parfum d'Habit, Garrigue, Ambre Precieux, and Iris Bleu Gris are typicallly bold and daring, and often quite original. You may not like them, but they have impact.

Another fun line to play with is the Montale oudh collection. Many of these are challenging, but scents like Black Aoud and Aoud Cuir d'Arabie are great when you feel like wearing something "different." If you can find the Frederic Malle line anywhere I'd recommend testing a few of its offereings as well. Musc Ravageur, En Passant, Noir Epices, Carnal Flower, Iris Poudre, and Vetiver Extraordinaire are all distinguished scents that merit some attention.

Good luck, and enjoy!
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post #13 of 17
10/23/07 at 5:03pm
The Miller Harris line especially Cuir d'Oranger and Citron Citron. Not too impressed by Feuilles de Tabac but some think its great.

Regarding the Frederic Malle line, I am only big on Carnal Flower and maybe Musc Ravageur .. the rest are based off on classical compositions already existing in other traditional lines so if you are familiar with them, these wont exactly impress. You might want to give Vetiver Extraordinaire a spin too.

L'Artisan: Try Dzing! and Tea for Two. Also see if you can find the long lost L'Artisan Vanilia...a smoky vanilla fragrance.

Also try Jo Malone's Pomegranate Noir.

Ask for samples to take home so that you can test them over a period of time unless ofcourse you are looking for an impulse purchase.
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post #14 of 17
10/23/07 at 8:54pm
Penhaligon's? A few scents from this niche are quite nice.
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post #15 of 17
10/24/07 at 10:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by zztopp View Post

...Regarding the Frederic Malle line, I am only big on Carnal Flower and maybe Musc Ravageur .. the rest are based off on classical compositions already existing in other traditional lines so if you are familiar with them, these wont exactly impress. You might want to give Vetiver Extraordinaire a spin too.

Uh oh, now you've got me curious! If there are good equivalents of most Frederic Malle entries out there, please let us in on them. Especially if they're cheaper or more readily available!

I'm thinking particularly of En Passant, Le Parfum de Therese, Iris Poudre, Une Fleur de Cassie, and Noire Epices.
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post #16 of 17
10/27/07 at 11:51am
Thread Starter 
Just got back from my little adventure, I only ended up buying one bottle of perfume (i was far too tempted by an Alexander McQueen scarf to buy more). I took of list of your recommendations and sampled as many as possible.

I started with Jo Malone and I have to say that I was absolutely blown away by Pomegranate Noir, a really unique fragrance! The only other one that stood out to me was Black Vetiver Cafe. I've put Pomegranate Noir on my wishlist.

Next I tried Anick Goutal, I only tried the mens fragrances and generally felt they weren't for me, they seemed a bit to heavy for my liking. So I moved on.

The Creed stand had lots to offer, I sampled Royal Water (which I nearly bought), Millisime Imperial and Green Irish Tweed. MI beat all the others and I ended up coming away with a 75ml bottle.

I tried the new Angel (Les Part Des Anges) unfortunately the SA in Harrods wouldn't let me test it on my skin and I had to smell it out of the bottle. It does smell frutier and a bit more like a fine wine (if that makes any sense) than the normal Angel.

I also tried the Bond No9 stand, and as someone reccomended I LOVED Chinatown and Nuits De Noho (which is like Angel but better)! I came away with about 9 samples which I'm really looking forward to trying!

All in all a very good trip, thanks for the reccomendations
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post #17 of 17
10/28/07 at 9:38am
I'm going to give another vote for Black Tourmaline and throw in a big vote for the only Bond #9 that I own and love - New Haarlem
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