...Right now, I'd say:Designer: HermèsNiche: Serge Lutens, or Andy Tauer

...I think when I got into fragrance, I just started reading a bunch of reviews and trying all sorts of different things... I don't think I especially tried to start exploring niche or designer first, it was more about the particular fragrances.

...Flaconneur:Did you always want to know what your favorite fragrance notes were? I thought this would be an easy way to visually identify what seem to be my favorite notes in fragrances. I placed the notes of my current collection into a word cloud program like Wordle and this was the result.Simply visit: http://www.wordle.net/This is so cool! I should try it...

...Four, sort of...1) Bvlgari Omnia (discontinued)2) L'Artisan Parfumeur Tea for Two (discontinued)3) L'Occitane en Provence Eau d'Iparie (not available in the U.S. where I'm from, still in production in France though)4) Parfums de Nicolaï Le Temps d'une Fête (either discontinued or going into a more limited distribution, depending on where on the Internet I look)I don't really go looking for discontinued scents on purpose. Omnia and Le Temps d'Une Fête I already had bottles of and then heard the news, Tea for Two I got shortly after it was discontinued, and Eau d'Iparie I bought in France after I sampled it there and liked it.

...Cardamom is one of my favorite notes too! I see that others have already recommended Incense Rosé by Tauer... have you also tried Voyage d'Hermès by Hermès or Déclaration by Cartier? They are a bit similar (both by Jean-Claude Ellena), and to me, cardamom is very prominent in both of them (of the two I prefer Voyage d'Hermès, but many people prefer Déclaration as well).