What is a niche perfume?

When a fragrance is destined to a big audience, perfumers must adjust to parameters, marketing and commercial demands to create it. But when it comes to niche perfumery it changes is completely since it gives complete freedom to perfumers to create unique fragrances.


We could say that the first niche perfume known worldwide, was Chanel No.5, created by Ernest Beaux. Chanel worked close to Beaux in the creation of this fragrance, and though it’s signed by him, captures the revolutionary spirit of Coco. In this case, the name of the perfumer was never a secret which doesn’t happen quite often with other brands. In most fragrances we know the brand but not its creator.


Nowadays, brands like Etat Libre d’Orange, Byredo, Comme des Garçons, Serge Lutens or Frédéric Malle (whose fragrances are signed by the perfumer that creates them) have become the face of niche perfumery. They vindicate the authorship of perfumes and their unique scents and the extraordinary quality of the perfume, the work of an artist.