Niche Fragrance Sampling for the Novice

I absolutely adore fragrance. Especially niche fragrance. Whats niche fragrance you ask? Well according to wikipedia.com it is fragrance made by companies dedicated primarily to creating fragrance as opposed to scents from fashion houses, often called designer fragrance. They are often small artisanal fragrance houses that don’t make their scents readily available at mainstream retailers. You’ll usually find them at specialty shops or exclusive fragrance boutiques.

When I’m in the mood to sample some new fragrances there are a few steps I take:

1. First I’ll visit the instagram pages and YouTube channels of some of my favorite fragrance reviewers. If a scent they’re reviewing piques my interest I’ll write down some notes about it.
2. I’ll do further research by visiting http://www.fragrantica.com to discover additional fragrance notes and to read more reviews from other people.
3. If I find a fragrance house that has multiple fragrances i’m interested in, I’ll opt for purchasing a discovery set. The beauty of discovery sets are that you get a variety of scents to try and its usually quite cost effective.
4. I’ll visit my favorite online fragrance boutiques to make my purchases.

The fragrance boutiques listed below are my absolute favorites. They offer a nicely curated selection scents, and unique experiences that will simplify your selection process. I’ve purchased samples and full sized bottles from all 3 establishments.

Muse Experiences http://www.museexperiences.com

Muse Experiences offers one on one virtual appointments to help you discover new fragrances through sampling. To begin, you are sent out a sample pack of 5- 1ml (unnamed) fragrances to determine what scents attract you(woody, fruity, floral, gourmand etc.) Upon receiving your samples, you’ll have a 30-45 minute in-depth conversation via zoom to determine your favorites. After that is established, the names of your top 3 favorites are reveled and you are then sent full 2ml samples of those 3 fragrances.

If you are certain about the samples you’d like to try and don’t need the one on one virtual appointment, custom sample sets are available for purchase.(excludes Maya Njie)

Perfumology http://www.perfumology.com

This gem is located in the heart of Philadelphia lucky me! They offer a great monthly subscription program where you’ll receive 3- 2.5ml samples of the newest and/ classic fragrances to try. You also have the option of purchasing individual samples.

Luckyscent http://www.luckyscent.com

When I initially became interested in niche fragrances I purchases a Luckyscent Fragrance Fitting. Answer a series of questions such as, What fragrances do you love/loathe? Are you looking for a day, work or evening fragrance. etc? Whats your personality? Once your answers are reviewed, an expert will choose 5 samples based on the based on the information you provided them.

If you have any questions shoot me a message! Best of luck on exploring new fragrances!