From Designer to Niche

How many of you started out with designer scents and moved into niche?

Do you have a preference for either? If so, why?

I guess I have moved into the niche a little, thanks to exposure from online fragrance sites. I still like designer scents though. I really don't have a preference--just whatever smells good to me.

My first niche was an Annick Goutal...I was searching for the perfect vanilla fragrance, and paid a hell of a lot of money for a rather nice fragrance, but it didn't last more than 2 Hours, so was slightly miffed at niche, so to speak. Then I purchased the Andy Tauer discovery pack...I was blown away! I find his perfume exceptional ...not all of them, but the ones in my favorite groups. This is perfume made with quality ingredients...made with love, and a lot of thought goes into each fragrance. This is my idea of niche...a fragrance with depth..and personality....they are expensive..I haven't even got a full bottle yet ..stil saving..but it will be worth every penny. I am used to old school perfume...something that lasts..not some fruity sugar water scent. I have to say, I am getting more dissapointed with the watery versions of today..and the shameful reformulations...sorry..getting off track!

That's not the first time I've seen someone complain about watered down fragrances.

Niche, such as Creed, Amouage, Montale and Annick Goutal seem to be getting a bit more notice and becoming more popular but still, the weakness is becoming a recurrent theme. Aventus and Black Aoud are two that are getting some press in regard to that.

In regard to Tauer, do the fragrances seem to be more on the feminine side? I've only smelled Le Maroc and L`Air du Desert Marocain but couldn't see myself wearing it. Are there any masculine Tauer's that anyone could suggest?

TAUER PERFUMES - "Orange Star" is nice for both women and men. My son loves it.

I definitely have migrated from designer brands to Niche. More because I find many Niche brands have lighter sillage and I prefer that to the sillage levels of most Designer brands. I'm kind of wimpy scent wise and I love fragrances that last 12+ hours but as skin scents...very hard to find in the typical Department store fragrances..it seems they are all at war to out sillage each other, to my nose. I like the unapologetic sheerness of certain Niche lines such as Atelier, Diptyque and Santa Maria Novella. Also the variety of compositions and limited availability makes finding your own unique signature scent a lot more plausible.

I am gradually adding Niche bottles to my collection but the Vintages are still in the lead.

I enjoy both and have found that each category has excellent, mediocre and disappointing attributed to themselves.

I will say that today's designers aren't near as daring or full bodied as ones from times gone by. That, in itself, is a two-edged sword.

I like Mona's creations too Diane !!! Her Oud is the best one I've come across to date.

Some of the old and bold classic designers ( masculines ) ranged from outstanding to so freakin bad that I wonder what they were thinking.

At least however, they showed some chutzpah and weren't afraid to create something with sillage and longevity. Today's releases smell too much alike for me to give them a real identity, but there are exceptions to every rule. I still come across current releases that are very viable and enjoyable.

"Lonestar Memories" is about as butch as it gets, and if you can carry off Epic Man, you'll have no problem wearing it assuming you enjoy the notes.

Vintage are still my favourites, but the odd niche is standing out enough to make me notice. I still love some classic mainstream if it is made well. I like all well made perfume and I don't mind what it is classified as. It could be loo spray for all I care.

While I appreciate some designer fragrances, I really don't like the idea of smelling like someone else. I'm certain no one I run into has smelled Jeke before, and I love that. My collection has become almost entirely niche as a result. Edit: Just saw this was an old topic

The first 35 years or so I used designer/mainstream scents exlusively (due to a lack in knowing there is so much more out there) but discovering Parfumo some years ago certainly made a change for me

Today I have a mixture of both designer and niche perfumes which I enjoy a lot. I do not lean towards one or the other, I just pick out what I like most and that can be mainstream or niche.

For many years, I used mainstream perfumes like everybody else. However, it needed a niche perfume to arouse a more serious interest in perfumery: Aoud Man by Micallef.

I wish I could remember which fragrance set off my journey into niche territory.
Anyway, for years I had been faithfully using my signature scent, a designer frag, of which I eventually grew tired. Searching for a new one, thereby stumbling upon niche, opened up new horizons and also rid myself of the signature scent notion.

My first niche: Ambre Nue - I will never forget it, and I will wear it as far as it is produced.

I still use designer perfumes, but only from a pretty narrow range: mainly Thierry Mugler... I really do not like, that I go into a shop, and after the third fragrance I feel that almost all of them is the same. That never happened to me in a niche shop. And one important thing: in the shops, where you can buy designer perfumes, they are two separate place for feminine and masculine fragrances. If you ask, where are the unisex scents, nobody can answer, or show maximum one bottle.

I have less than a year to finish paying off some debt. Then I will have more of a budget. At that point, I am going to do so serious reading here and probably ask a lot of questions. I have a good designer collection from before the finances went downhill, but I am always looking to expand.

I started off as a teenager in the designer fragrance arena. I didn't have the funds nor knowledge of niche at this time. Today I am older and much wiser. I find that I enjoy niche very much but still cherish my older designed fragrances.

I spent a fair amount just recently on a set of samples from a niche house with a reasonable reputation. I originally intended just to get small vials of the few perfumes I was specifically interested in but at the last minute I decided to indulge in a full set.
I'm actually rather disappointed with the few I've tested so far. I don't want to slate the brand as I have yet to try each sample, but so far my experience is falling heavily on the "miss" side of hit and miss.

The reputation of niche is "better" but - as everyone knows - they are also more expensive.

So, it takes some skill to really pick out the best. There are good ones among the designers and there are good ones among the niches.

The thing to do is finding them. Then, I don't mind paying the price.

I'm in the same boat -- I can't afford a full bottle of anything every month, not even the most discounted designer scents, but when I find something I really like, I do the most to get it. Life is too short and I am too poor for perfumes that are just okay.