What Were Your First Niche/Artisan Perfumes?
For most of my perfume shopping existence, I tended to stick with department stores and consequently, the more mainstream designer and celebrity-type fragrances. Until I discovered a boutique parfumerie that was a mere 10 minute drive from my house that stocked such wonders as Creed, Penhaligon’s and Amouage…amongst other brands. Then came my sojourn into the land of cult beauty and make-up stores, that also happened to stock non-mainstream lines such as Serge Lutens, Byredo and Maison Francis Kurkdjian.
Two of the first niche/artisan perfumes that I discovered rather late in my “perfume journey” (that is, my first non-“mainstream” perfumes) were Kai by @KaiFragrance, and Parfum 39 “Pegasus” by @AuraSoma, purchased in 2010 and 2011, respectively (or perhaps it was the other way around, I cannot remember).
It is strange to think about how I viewed fragrance then, which was always very personal and I really paid no attention to what was being advertised. Now, I have a lot more influences from the market and from #fragcomm in general playing on my mind when I am sniffing. My choices are always very personal to me, of course; but I confess, I sometimes miss the days when I hunted for new fragrances and had no concept of the terms “niche”, “indie”, “designer” or “celebrity”.
I implore you to always, ALWAYS continue to choose fragrances based on how they smell to to you, not based on how much you think you “should” like them.
Kai, by Kai Fragrance
Kai was launched in 1999 by Californian self-made perfumer, Gaye Straza Rappaport. She made it for herself at first, but then soon offered it for sale in her boutique, as people were constantly asking what she was wearing and where could they get it. In 1999 demand was so high she decided focus solely on building the line of Kai products. This is a pretty straight-forward white floral fragrance, but it is really beautiful. It is lush and tropical – Gardenia in particular. Sometimes I also get what I think is a melon note but not all the time. It’s a lovely fragrance that I think works well in spring and summer.
It kind of reminds me of Christmas time in Australia as I wore it quite a bit that first summer that I bought it. You do need to reapply though, as the longevity is not great – I really only get a few hours. Over the years I have made good use of the perfume oil, body lotion and linen spray. The EDP is still only half used, I’m not sure why I don’t use it more because I really do enjoy this fragrance.
Parfum 39 “Pegasus” by Aura-Soma
Parfum 39 is a fragrance I discovered in a little perfumery in Perth called Mariposa many years ago, which sadly, is now closed. This is a natural fragrance by the company Aura-Soma. You choose a fragrance based on your affinity to the colour combinations of the bottles. Truth be told, there were many bottles that I was also drawn to in, but this one really got my attention – not just for the colour, but for the scent, obviously. This smells exotic and rich and a little mysterious. It has a little bit of citrus in the top but the soul of this perfume is in the spice combination of pepper, nutmeg, amber, incense, ylang ylang, oppoponax, cedarwood, sambac jasmine and vanilla.
This is not overly sweet, it is really spicy and unique. Quite a sensual and enigmatic scent, which for me always conjures up images of a woman in a sari a jewelled nose and earrings; or perhaps a middle eastern woman in a hijab with beautiful kohl-lined eyes gazing back at you. I always feel amazing wearing this perfume, which is why the bottle is empty. It has garnered a lot of compliments too, which I probably cared more about years ago. However, I would wear this now just to feel powerfully feminine and mysterious.
What were your first niche/indie fragrances?