In this article, I want to share the most popular niche and exclusive perfumes that you can include on your wish list or a gift list for all occasions.
Molecule 01 Escentric and 02 Escentric
Price range: €45 – 50 for 30ml
Unisex
This scent came to us in 2006 and turned our understanding of perfumes upside down. Before this perfume was released we thought that a perfume which has rose or tobacco or whatever scents in it would smell the same all day. But Molecule broke this rule. They invented some tricky formula which works with your skin and creates different scents throughout the day based on your skin temperature and scent.
Molecule doesn’t have an obvious trail that follows behind you, it has an Aura which fills the space you’re in. Moreover this scent disappears from your skin and suddenly comes back with a solid scent as if to remind you it’s still here, as if to say “Look at me”.
I recommend 01 Escentric Molecule and 02 Escentric Molecule because I checked them on my skin and still love them. When I use them I have similar reactions from the people around me. They try to catch your scent, they inhale really loudly and it is obvious that they really like it.
The scent is sweet and warm but also woody and is sometimes dry, sometimes clean. It has iris, pink paper notes and ISO E Super (this is their secret formula). If you decide to order this scent, order it with a special metal case that lets you take perfume with you without spilling it in your bag or breaking it on the floor. You can use this case with other perfumes. It is removable.
01 Escentric Molecule
harveynichols.com
Maison Kurkdjian “Baccarat rouge 540”
Price range: about €200 (eue de parfum) – about €350 (extract de parfum) for 70 ml
Female
Last year and the year before all Social Media platforms were talking about “Baccarat rouge 540” from Maison Kurkdjian. Perfume experts have been singing the praises of this scent and broadcasting how much they love it. I decided to check what Baccarat Rouge 540 is and why there is so much attention around it. If you have never heard of Maison Kurkdjian, you should start with a 2 ml sample or in a shop ask the shop-assistant to put some on your wrist, to understand Maison Kurkdjian’s “style”. And also you have to know that theire are two kinds of Baccarat rouge 540, the first one is Eau de Perfume which costs about €100 less than Extract de Perfume which costs about €320-350, both for 70 ml. The difference is their intensity and depth of scent. The Extract perfume is more intense.
With “Baccarat Rouge 540” the scent really takes time to understand it. This is a 100% niche scent. But true niche-perfume lovers will fall in love with this perfume on their first inhale.
With the first spray you get you will definitely ask: Are you sure this scent is for women? Medicine iodine and sterile gauze will come first but in a couple of minutes these notes transform to hot sugar and cedar with amber wood. You then get tar, pine needle and later strawberry jam and almond. This scent is a combination of “questions and answers” which makes this scent nicely complicated.
It has an amazing trail which follows behind you and makes people turn their head to see who just passed them
Ex Nihilo “Fleur Narcotique”
Price range: €180-190 for 50 ml
Female
I think this scent has similar notes to the previous perfume but without the intense trail and woody notes. It is so feminine and girly.
It has sweet flowery notes at the beginning and musk and moss at the end. This perfume will definitely bring you positive feelings if you like sweet and flowery scents that don’t stifle with their sweetness but also changes to woody scents.
And the good thing is that Ex Nihilo sells discovery sets. You can choose 4 scents in 2 ml for €16 and then decide which one to buy in a big size. This is how I found my fave “Vetiver Moloko” which I will never replace with another scent.
By Kilian “Good girl gone Bad”
Price range: €200-220 for 50 ml
Female
This scent appeared before Social Media influencers in 2012 and so I think it means a lot when people cite Kilian “Good girl gone Bad” on their blogs, magazines and between themselves as the best perfume they have ever tried. I found out about this perfume from my best friend, when she came to our Saturday girls meeting wearing this scent. The first reaction from all of us was “Ooooo my God, what is that????” We were drunk on this scent and the only thing on our mind was “What is this perfume? Where did you buy it? How much was it? I want it!”
Time has passed but “Good girl gone Bad” by Kilian is still so famous and desired that nothing can outdo it.
It has fruity, floral notes with fresh ingredients in the middle and amber with cedar notes, which stop the sweet notes becoming too sugary.
This perfume is definitely Female and can be worn by women of any age. The second surprising and unique characteristic is its bottle and case, which look so luxurious and unusual.
Montale “ Rose Musk”
Price range: €60-70 for 50 ml
Female
This perfume made a statement in 2009 and is still at the top of any list of best perfumes to buy. I can even say that his scent opened the door to my understanding of what niche perfumes are.
Rose Musk by Montale is more feminine and the first reason why is that it is a sweet rose scent at the beginning that not all men will like. It starts to smell like a fresh rose from the rose bush in a garden but in a couple of hours changes to a rose jam smell and later turns into a woody musk scent. Musk makes the rose so different and special that all rose scent lovers will appreciate that.
All Montale perfumes are nice, I don’t know anyone who has tried Montale who would say that it doesn’t work for him/her. There are woody, spicy, flowery, oud and musky scents, which mean you can definitely find your “Montale”. The good thing is you can try their discovery set which costs about €15 for four scents and you can understand which one you are ready to buy.
Frederic Malle “Vetiver Extraordinaire”
Price range: €135-150 for 50 ml
Unisex
Vetiver is the second scent I look for in perfumes after roses. Vetiver is definitely a Unisex ingredient and Vetiver by Frederic Malle is something special! I’ve tried vetiver perfume by other brands but Vetiver from Frederic Malle is different.
It opens as warm, earthy, spicy and woody. Vetiver Extraordinaire stays close to your skin making it a soft Vetiver. It doesn’t change its scent like Red Vetiver by Montale and doesn’t have a long trail like Vetiver d’Haiti au The Vert by Chopard but Vetiver Extraordinaire is elegant and subtle which makes it unique. I definitely love Vetiver Extraordinaire which is generally more for males but works well on females too.
Which of these perfumes are you going to go for?
When I started to search for niche perfumes I tried to find something which was affordable to my budget first. If your budget is less than €100 and you would like to buy something for yourself or for your loved one for the first time, I can recommend paying attention to: Molecule 01 Escentric or 02 Escentric or Montale “ Rose Musk” which are from the niche segment, have universally positive reviews and are always on trend.
If you would like to buy a gift for yourself or someone who knows and loves niche perfumes it is better to choose “Baccarat rouge 540” by Maison Kurkdjian.
But if you are intrigued or want to try all of them (as I did) you can buy samples from the Brand’s online shops or other shops which split original perfumes for samples (but make sure you read the reviews first) and you can buy a 1-2ml sample for €4-6 and then decide which one you want to buy.
I hope my recommendations have been useful for you. I also have an article called “How to keep and use niche perfumes” which you can read here.
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