r/NichePerfumes

Just got back from my 10 day trip to Thailand and Vietnam and I lowkey didn’t expect Southeast Asia to go this hard for fragrance, but between airport duty free and local niche stores, it might be one of the best regions to build a collection right now. Prices are crazy, selection is surprisingly deep, and the local perfumers are actually doing interesting stuff instead of just copying Western DNA.

Thailand Standouts:
Guerlain Musc Outreblanc at Bangkok airport for $365. That’s actually insane. Clean, airy, slightly powdery white musk with that Guerlain smoothness.

Fluffy Cake (Voyager)
Straight up better than Rabbit from Zoologist for me. Same playful dessert vibe but way more wearable. Soft, fluffy, slightly milky sweetness without turning into a sugar bomb. Smells like walking past a bakery owned by fluffy friends at 4pm when everything is still warm.

Under the Rain (Tada Perfumerie)
This one is art. Feels like I’m in a Thai forest, standing under a jackfruit tree while cold rain is pouring and drenching my entire body. Green, humid, slightly fruity, a little earthy.

Vietnam Standouts:

There's this store in Da Nang called Alison, and it's dangerous. I went in with the intention of trying to d'Annam but was surprised to see they got all the proper niche selection—Maison Crivelli, Liquides Imaginaires, Ex Nihilo, Frederic Malle, Zoologist, DS & Durga—and the prices are kind of unreal for a physical store - like full on discounter prices (and they also sell decants!).

Didn't really connect with d'Annam. Cool concept with the Vietnam-inspired scents but most didn’t fully click. If money didn’t matter though, I would’ve grabbed White Rice, Strawberry Mochi, Vietnamese Coffee, or Japanese Whiskey. Honestly, if Japanese Whiskey came in 50 or 100ml I would've 100% gotten it. Got *Harvest Mouse (Zoologist), Debaser (DS & Durga), Winter Palace (Memo Paris),*and Language of the Glaciers (Imaginary Authors) instead.

I’ve been collecting for a couple years and this is my current tray. But I feel like if I add anything to this, it’s gotta wow me. I’ve been using a sample of hummingbird by zoologist and it’s got me thinking lately…

So I live 30 minutes away from a major indie / small niche retailers called indigo perfumery. I went yesterday and tried a bunch of ultra niche houses here was my favorite fragrance through 45 minutes of smelling and got a free sample!

I don't even know how to describe this fragrance but it is pur perfection. It smells like ever note was baked in the sun I don't know.

I'm sampling Vertus - an almost overwhelming 21-sample discovery, and finding so many interesting - sometimes amazing - scents in the set. I so rarely hear Vertus mentioned and wanted to shine a light here as worthy of investing imho.

What are your favorite sleeper niche houses?

Hi! I’ve more recently gotten into niche perfumes, and I’d love any recommendations for more unknown niche perfumes that you love that feel like a refined, bright pink fairy, but that isn’t too juvenile. For context, I got into niche perfumes, of course, because of Delina exclusif. I’ve since loved Ex Nihilo’s Fleur Narcotique, Lust in Paradise, and been obsessed with Spiky Muse (feels so fresh and almost green / sparkling). I also love Madison Avenue by Bond n. 9, as well as Initio’s Atomic Rose (although I’m looking for something brighter). I don’t love anything too heavy or oud-y, and while I like some gourmands, I don’t want to smell edible / like a candle. Thank you in advance!

I'm looking into getting either one of them. Obviously, going to test them out first. But for those who've smelled or owns both, which one is better suited as a signature scent?

I’d love to find a fragrance or fragrances (like layering) that can transport me to this beautiful place? Truthfully, I doubt it would be entirely possible to emulate this (very complex scents combo) scenery like you’re actually in there. Also, candles or home sprays recs are welcomed if anyone is into home fragrances.

Any recs for a guy (masc leaning unisex is fine) would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

My mom and I missed the sale yesterday and went right when the store opened this morning 😅. She managed to get an Angel Share (probably the last one) and I got the last creed. Another lady found 2 other creeds. Quite a bit of Spicebomb Dark Leather and Burberry Hero. Super happy I found something.

Over the last few years I’ve been sampling decants from many houses. My favourite houses are, by far, xerjoff and initio. I have a handful of designer frags like d&g, ysl, and armani but honestly I’ve been gifting the designers to friends and family so that they can enjoy something nice.

But as per my collection, I know some of these are extremely hyped up now, but with only a small % of people actually wearing fragrances, I still think it’s nice to have stuff that:

1. I like smelling

2. Is relatively unique

3. Gives others an enjoyable olfactory experience without making them recoil with disgust

1. Plum Japonais: I see how this was groundbreaking 13 years ago, but smelling it for the first time and after hearing so much hype after all these years, I can't help but feel disappointed and underwhelmed. It's far from amazing with today's standards.

2. Amber Absolute... What in the actual fuck.. might be the worst amber I've ever smelled... Like Ambre Sultan mixed with Doza mixed with shit.

3. Search: this one's actually fine, if they replace the lemon scent with orange or grapefruit, I would probably be a top 5 all time summer fragrance, but it smells like a very expensive lemon scented Lysol wipe because of how strong the lemon is. The dry down is actually quite nice woody slightly sweet mens fragrance, and if you like a lemon a lot you would absolutely love it, just not my cup of tea

4. Sunshine man: I will start by saying after reading the comments on this fragrance on fragrantica, I know I'm in a very small minority of people dislike this fragrance. I think this is absolutely disgusting and the worst fragrance that I've ever smelt from amouage. In the last hour, on MY skin, it has smelled like curry, then Listerine, then cheap lavender scented laundry detergent. I'm so happy I didn't blind buy this from amouage. I would have been pissed.

I can see why most of these have been discontinued

Has anyone tried these lol

I only bought because I love Snoopy. Expectations are low but joy is high

Is this a reliable site to get the Sospiro vibrato fragrance? Any other recommended sites for this cologne or is this site trusted? Never ordered from there

Bottle seems orginal but packaging I a bit scuffed.

Also i got it at a good price and then it went out of stock so i cannot return also, there is no guarantee of me getting at the same price i would get it at a higher price .

Had a quick trip to Philadelphia this weekend and visited one of my favorite niche stores, Perfumology. As usual, wonderful service and great selection. Picked up a “summer capsule” for a few trips I have coming up!

Some real gems in here, my first full bottle of Torino21, a new /100 favorite from Scent Library, a challenging and charming bottle from Naomi Goodsir and the ol’ reliable from BDK

Xerjoff Torino 21

50ml

Naomi Goodsir NUIT de BAKÉLITE

50ml

The Scent Library Alawal

55ml

BDK Tabac Rose

10ml Travel

It only took putting my nose on a thousand scents to cultivate this arrangement, which I feel are masterpieces. I think it’s a good time to put an end to chasing the next best scent.

I was trying to buy a backup bottle of Sospiro Vibrato yesterday and found a great deal on Maple Prime. While checking out all the different options (Venba, OF, FN, etc.) on my phone, I decided to go with Maple Prime because they had a sale going on with a promo code.

In all the excitement, my dumb ass ended up ordering Sospiro Tenore (because they look so similar) and it wasn't until I posted on reddit and someone pointed out that I had ordered Tenore and not Vibrato.

I went back and checked and I was bummed out. I paid $139.40 for a Sospiro Tenore Tester while the Vibrato was priced at $190 something.

I reached out to their customer service and explained what happened. They agreed to swap my order to Vibrato and as a one time courtesy, they swapped my order without any additional charges. That was like almost a $40 difference.

I absolutely love it when companies have great customer service.