ParfumPlus Arabia

QUESTION : “OK, HOW DO I KNOW WHAT IS NICHE AND WHAT IS NOT?” ANSWER: “NOT EASY” Other than the 4 points mentioned earlier, what really defines a niche perfume is the ‘qualitative juice’ that’s created, not based on market trends but very very clearly, as a medium to make the wearer of the perfume, connect to the concept. And this connection of the wearer and the concept, signifies the real success of the juice LET’S UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS ‘STRONG BRAND CONCEPT’ REALLY SMELLS LIKE. Normally you would have some or all of the experiences below: 1. You try perfume and guess its inspiration story. For example, you take Masque Milano (or LEN Fragrance Privarot, or any other) perfume “Tango” and after smelling, you say: “Oh, but that smells like lacquered wood (or exotic and a love spell alike, in case of Privarot), I feel passion and movement in it, I think it is about passionate dance like Tango”. Voila, you hit the sweet spot, the scent is real, has a story and you felt the story. 2. You look at the design and guess the brand concept. For example, you look at the bottle of an Amouage perfume and say: “It reminds me of Arabic swords and decorative handles... it feels luxurious and exuberant.” Great, you nailed it! The brand was successful in transmitting the story via its packaging. 3. You read the perfume’s description (what most of us don’t do at all, and I totally understand why! There is a lot of crap in it sometimes) and get interesting information from it. For example, you read Xerjoff “Mamluk” description and say: “Amazing, I didn’t know that Mamluk is a name of a great soldier cast in ancient Egypt that has been trained since childhood to become a warrior, I learned something new today”. These are simple examples when the perfume brand has a strong concept and the wearer is inspired, enriched and learns something new just by interacting with the perfume. This is the ‘niche’ experience. If brand concept is the first step towards the ‘Art of Perfumery’ for a company, the Art of Perfumery for perfumers and for consumers are completely different stories. ART OF PERFUMERY FOR PERFUMERS Perfumes are created by perfumers and not by brands. But for ‘Fashion Brands’, to reveal this, would be taboo while ‘Niche Brands’ are more than willing to reveal the process. Frederic Malle was probably amongst the first, if not the first, perfume brand to acknowledge the perfumers’ contribution, by mentioning their P A R F U M P L U S 22