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from designer to niche back to designer

post #1 of 5
12/16/08 at 12:52am
Thread Starter 
As I new comer to basenotes I have jumped from following my own nose and buying what was available at stores and airports to discover a new world: niche fragrances.
Caron, Creed, Montale, etc etc.
However I have come to realize that in the world of designer fragrances there are still true gems to be discovered.Fragrances from Aramis, Guerlain or Givenchy that I never care for now find them fantastic. Havana, XS,Vetiver guerlain, L´Instant and much more.
The experience of owning not so popular fragrances from designers has been very satisfactory and I am intending to discover more, the hunt is as much fan as the purchase itself.
I truly have to thank basenotes for providing people with such a great source of information,what can I say, I am happy to be here although my bank account has taken a big blow
I guess what I am trying to say is that niche fragrances are fantastic and all that but one should explore first what is available from designers,those elusive bottles, those that SA never try to sell you ,it is rewarding , cheaper and a good training before one goes : niche.

I will alternate my future purchases between niche and interesting designer fragrances that are highly recommended and never tried before. It will be a "healthy"
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post #2 of 5
12/16/08 at 3:13am
basteri, it is good to have a balanced approach, an open mind. True, some of the current designer releases are underwhelming; but you wouldn't want to "shut the door" on so much of the good designer gear that is available. Having said that I've just received a decant of Ambre Precieux (MPG) from TPC and it totally blew my mind!
The pursuit continues.
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post #3 of 5
12/16/08 at 3:38am
I have a few contacts from Mexico and South America. The subject of Niche fragrances and their relative inaccessibility inevitably arises at some point. I always tell them that unless they are looking for exotic ambers, incense and Oud, they can still have a very good collection of comparable quality if they keep it mainstream. This is even more true* if you are not a big fan of Orientals** in the first place.

*Better than truer IMO.
**Yes Basenoters, there are people who do not like orientals.
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post #4 of 5
12/16/08 at 7:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Basteri View Post

I guess what I am trying to say is that niche fragrances are fantastic and all that

You really think so?

I came across far more duds than good ones when I went exploring the world of niche. Yes there are some good ones, but far too many were very short lasting, feminine or on the feminine side of unisex scents.

To my nose, what made many niche scents "different" from standard designer scents was the mixing of base components generally used in male and female scents, and then not labelling the result as either feminine or masculine scents, such that they were often referred to as "unisex". But they were actually quite different from the unisex scents of the past, which tended to be made of more neutral components.
Renato
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post #5 of 5
12/16/08 at 8:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Renato View Post

To my nose, what made many niche scents "different" from standard designer scents was the mixing of base components generally used in male and female scents, and then not labelling the result as either feminine or masculine scents, such that they were often referred to as "unisex". But they were actually quite different from the unisex scents of the past, which tended to be made of more neutral components. Renato

Excellent observation. I agree that one of the most interesting things about "niche" is their approach; using non-gender targeted formulas is modern. I lean towards orientals, so after exploring the many vintage feminine designated cross-overs, I moved on to niche. There are actually very few masculine designer orientals, my favorites at this point are Jaipur and Habit Rouge. Too many woods, fougeres and citrus designer fragrances, IMO.
However, nothing niche has ever impressed me as much as Shalimar and L'Heure Bleue.
Also, the most overused word with designer fragrances is Homme.
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