Absolutely Magazine: July 2016: Finding Your Niche

Finding Your Niche by Lawrence Roullier White

In simple terms the world of perfumery retailing is split into two main groups; there are the very commercial - and often very, very good - ‘mainstream’ fragrances, of which everyone is well aware, and there are the more hard-to-find ‘niche’ fragrances. The reason for the polarisation is that mainstream fragrances are backed by big businesses who spend a vast amount of money marketing them, and the less well known brands simply do not have the budget for TV ad campaigns and double page spreads in the glossies and therefore remain under the radar. Therein lies the dichotomy. 

The positioning of perfumes at the front entrance of virtually every department store in the world is not a coincidence, commercial fragrances are high turnover lines, usually carrying high margins and counters are frequently staffed by the brand thereby saving the store costs. 

To facilitate the rapid sales required commercial fragrances are therefore constructed in such a way as to have immediate appeal. The reason for the in-store demonstrators is that a casual browser may be converted into a purchaser with little more than a spray. In order for this to work the scent one smells when the fragrance is first sprayed needs to be pretty much indicative of the whole scent. The structure of a scent is broken down into what is called a Perfume Pyramid, the evolution on your skin from initial spray to eventual dry down. As you hurry past a counter the salesperson has a split second to secure your interest. Whilst later you might be in the fifth floor rug department, sniff your wrist and like what you smell, it is very unlikely you will go back.

In the world of niche perfumes the effects of a scent can be allowed to be more gradual and therefore more nuanced. Choosing a perfume in a boutique takes longer. Perfume makers are less concerned about the initial impact but how the scent will develop and work on the skin; the fragrance will take you on a journey.

In department stores understandably every square cm is tasked with generating turnover according to rigid financial plans, there is no room for error and therefore less opportunity for experimentation. The one tiny negative about some of the big brands - and there are many examples where this is not the case, there are many big brands that are trailblazers - is that they tend to look to each other in terms of what they should be doing, not creating from scratch. Also many big brands share the same factories, so trends and ingredients are shared, and therefore ‘new’ ideas tend to appear simultaneously across the market sector. Conversely some independent perfumers will make it their year’s task to find exactly the right kind of rose or patchouli – that elusive ingredient that nobody else has. 

One of the most interesting things to have happened during our recent years of recession has been the rise of the designer maker and small artisan producers. I have a theory about the economic reasons for this, that I will not go into here, but the results are joyous. Today we are interested if our beer is brewed locally and our shoes are made in Britain. We are intrigued by the provenance of a product; whether that provenance is that a perfume has been formulated by one of the most prolific and talented perfumers in the business or mixed on someone’s kitchen table, does not matter, what does matter is that there is room for both and what is even more interesting is that we are seeking out the smaller makers, the perfume pioneers. More people are converting to niche fragrances because quite simply, at the end of the day, who wants to smell like everyone else anyway?

Next time when the bottle of your favourite scent is running low do not replace it automatically seek out the independent perfumeries, not only at home but on holidays too, it could be the start of a big adventure.

Discover Roullier White's collection of rare fragrances here.