Should you invest in artisanal perfumes?

The rise of niche fragrances is only just beginning, and consumers are discerning enough to experiment with them

We live in a world where we can spritz on a perfume that smells of pizza. Or blood, sweat, sperm and saliva. Or even Burger King and a funeral home. Well, to each their own. We're moving away from generic scents towards options that are more unique, defined and characteristic, no matter how disturbing. It's the time of the artisanal fragrance, and outlandish scents aside, they're the fragrances we use to create a version of ourselves.

Perfumes have been—and will always be—tied to memory, firing off neurons affecting mood, stress levels and cognitive functions. They are also an added marker of one’s identity. Designer perfumes or branded scents from design houses (Chanel, Dior and the like) are generic and commonplace. When you walk into a party feeling like you're strolling past the perfume floor at a department store, at least a dozen people are wearing Chanel No 5. But there is a rise, even in India, of niche or artisanal fragrances created in smaller batches with complex notes and olfactory experiences that stand out. Not only are they more expensive, but they also deliver a unique sense of self. The difference between a designer and an artisanal scent lies in the formula's complexity and the artisanal brand's boutique nature (little to no traditional advertising). The line between the two tends to get blurred, with designer brands often creating limited-edition, niche fragrance collections. What it all means is a growing hunger for artisanal fragrances.

A bouquet of offerings

It seems ironic that when we lost our sense of smell and were restricted in our ability to touch during the COVID-19 pandemic, we found an anchor in perfume. While 2020 marked a massive drop in sales of fragrances (stores being shut and raw ingredients being harder to harvest and ship), digital sales increased, as did sales of candles to create homes that smelt of, well, home, but also to create zones within our restricted space through fragrance.

A study by Firmenich, the largest privately owned fragrance and flavour company, examined the effect of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns on the fragrance industry. It speaks of consumers pivoting their appreciation of scent—11 countries, including the United Kingdom and France, were surveyed, where 56 per cent of consumers appreciated fragrances more during the lockdowns, and 56 per cent also took more comfort.

Nicolas Baudonnet, vice- president of fragrance and cosmetics at Shiseido Asia Pacific, tells The Established how one day of sales in China since the pandemic hit brought in 2.2 million USD (50 per cent make-up and 50 per cent fragrance). Shiseido owns, among other brands, NARS and Clé de Peau Beauté, as well as fragrance brands like ISSEY MIYAKE, Narciso Rodriguez and Dolce&Gabbana.  

Baudonnet recently launched Serge Lutens fragrance and make-up in India. The French photographer, filmmaker, make-up and perfume designer has been known for his eclectic and complex fragrances, like Chergui, named after the warm continental wind in the southernmost part of Morocco. What would a desert wind smell like? Chergui smells like a long-delivered promise—green against dry sand and spicy as an ode to the region. It has notes of tobacco, incense and amber, with rose, honey and musk. While the combination might sound heady, the result is anything but. It is this element of surprise that marks an artisanal fragrance.

One of the reasons behind the rise of niche fragrances globally is #PerfumeTok. The hashtag has more than 3 billion views on TikTok, and the platform accounts for almost 45 per cent of social media-driven sales in the United States. 

In the last month alone, several artisanal fragrances have been launched in India. These are expensive, with some retailing at ₹ 72,900, like white flower-powered (orange blossom, tuberose, jasmine, narcissus) 'Good Girl Gone Bad' by Killian Paris at Maison Des Parfums (MDP). "The Indian luxury consumer is well-travelled and well-informed," says Mayank Bahety, director of Maison Des Parfums and Beauty Concepts. "Over the last 5-10 years, the willingness [among consumers] to experiment with genres of olfactive notes has got us thinking. The openness towards stronger and potent notes like oud and spice are ordinary now, and both men and women are open to trying our gender-neutral fragrance stories." 

The way forward

The Indian fragrance buyer has been fairly conservative until recently. There have been a few Indian artisanal fragrance launches, too. Brands are now keen not just to explore Indian perfume stories but also dedicated to preserving traditional methods of processing and manufacturing, creating small batches. Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh has been likened to France's Grasse region—both are instrumental in creating legacies of fragrance in each country. With independent boutique brands looking into Kannauj’s heritage of ittar-making, which was once rumoured to perfume even the gutters with the waft of rose and jasmine, the once-ignored city is now finding its place on the map. Brands such as Naso Profumi and Boond are trying to make ittar more youth-friendly, with the former creating unique blends of rose, bergamot and sandalwood (Sarawak Mazzo); pepper infused in cedarwood; or saffron infused in musk and amber. "Unexpectedly, most women buy the darker scents," says Astha Suri, founder and creative director of Naso Profumi. "People are breaking their sense of nostalgia and exploring to see what scents can make them feel. They usually choose security, and we thought it would take years for them to accept us. But we were wrong," she adds.

"One of the things that happened with the COVID-19 pandemic was a de-centering of things," says Baudonnet. "Most people thought—'I deserve something a little bit more precious, a bit more sophisticated.' I'm not saying that designer fragrances are not different and complex, but they are more accessible as they target a wider distribution and bigger volume. Niche fragrances started offering a kind of exclusivity. What I've seen after the pandemic is a rise in the fragrance category; it's been the fastest-growing category over the last three years, to the extent that the fragrance market now is the same size as make-up."  

Maison Micallef also launched in India recently. Their intricately designed bottles house fragrances that pay homage to the flowers of Grasse, along with other ingredients. The bottles and olfactory journeys look and feel like pieces of art, and retail between ₹ 13,000-20,000. Geoffrey Nejman, the label’s CEO, who has created the brand with his wife Martine, describes what it means to be artisanal. "Creating a perfume out of pure imagination and sensitivity can take forever," he says. "The key is to discipline yourself as an artist and say at one stage, 'This is it'. Sometimes the ideas are very clear, and the process takes 6-8 weeks. At other times, it might take over six months. Time is not relevant; quality and originality are."

Both M.Micallef and Serge Lutens retail at Parcos, one of India’s  leading perfume, make-up and skincare retailers. It's where the country buys their favourite Coach and Azarro. But today, they're expanding into niche fragrances with Valmont, M.Micallef and Serge Lutens. "The Indian audience, for a while, has been on the hunt for something new and exclusive," says Biju Anthony, CEO and executive director at Baccarose Perfumes & Beauty Product Pvt Ltd, the distributor and retail parent company of Parcos. "Their curiosity and eagerness explain their readiness towards these exclusive brands. Many Indian consumers shop for niche perfumes in stores like Harrods and in the Middle East. The data from brands show that we are consuming niche fragrances. When these consumers find their brands in India, they will buy them here rather than when they travel."  

It's encouraging to see niche perfume stores opening in India, too. Scentido, a bespoke boutique perfumery. They retail new cult-favourites like D. S & Durga and Escentric Molecules and classic niche brands including Ormonde Jayne and Roja Parfums (retailing at ₹ 1,02,000). "The spending capacity among consumers has drastically increased in the last decade, which also has boosted the Indian luxury market," says Shishir Mehta, founder and CEO. "Indians gradually move to niche fragrances and artisanal brands because they desire to wear something exclusive and expensive. A frequent perfume shopper possesses the knowledge, from notes to the olfactive family. The most significant changing trend is the switch from designer to niche brands. We introduce new brands every year, and the niche brands we are launching in 2023 are Ojar, Dussita, Histoires De Parfums and Boadicea." 

Perhaps, perfume is like that white tee. You make it your own through the experiences and memories you create while wearing it. The fragrance sensualises the experience, slows it down, and creates nostalgia while you're living it, and it's all your own. Master creator and designer Serge Lutens bottles it down: "But all perfumes start as artisanal! Then some go through production and industrialisation. There are no good or bad perfumes. It's not artisanship that makes a perfume valuable, but the sensibility of the person who created it and what he puts into it, something that will make it different and set it apart from other perfumes. Memory is something that we all share. You might say that perfume has been in India's veins for millennia. You are its masters!"

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