Hello, Fragrant Friend 👋,

This week I found myself thinking about gatekeepers. I was approached by a growing number of perfume content creators. Alongside retailers, they have become some of the most powerful gatekeepers in our industry. On social media, their impact can outweigh that of many shops. What struck me is the range. Some think in terms of long-term value and cultural contribution. Others frame it as a simple exchange: send a bottle, receive a review. I am beginning to understand that reach alone is not value. If the net effect is not positive for perfumery as a field, it is not an exchange I am willing to make.

If you want to follow these reflections more closely as I build New Niche, the frictions, recalibrations and small realisations along the way, you’ll find them at scentlyspeakinglab.com.

Now, onto this issue.

🗓️ Contents of this Issue

1. Note Worthy: Ingredient Insights, Niche Anniversary, Smell Test Revolution

2. Niche Newcomers: Molecule 01 Champaca, Egocentrique, Eau d’Éclat

3. Quiz: What does black mean in perfumery?

4. Scent MythBusters: Does educating customers about perfumery matter?

Note-Worthy 🔎🌸

#INGREDIENTINSIGHTS: The complexity behind “natural” and “clean”. A recent e‑book chapter by master perfumer Christophe Laudamiel reminds us that perfumery has always been a conversation between chemistry, art and ethics. Regulatory bodies like IFRA and RIFM operate quietly behind the scenes, yet marketing often reduces the story to soundbites. Labels such as natural, clean or free from are frequently used without context, creating myths and mistrust. Laudamiel argues that transparency and education are essential: consumers deserve to understand why certain molecules are used and why others are restricted. It is not about choosing sides but about respecting perfumery’s complexity and reclaiming language from misuse.

#NICHEANNIVERSARY: 50 Years of niche and the value of DNA. On LinkedIn, the perfume industry veteran Nathalie Pichard marked fifty shades of niche by reflecting on five decades of independent perfumery. She notes that many young brands have matured, but only those that stay true to their creators’ DNA endure the leap into the deep end. Commercial success inevitably brings the risk of dilution; the challenge is to grow without losing conviction. Her words read as both a celebration and a warning: authenticity is fragile, and the history of niche perfumery is littered with examples of brands that sacrificed identity for scale.

#SMELLTESTREVOLUTION: Smell as a measure of health. Blueme’s Smell Test is a simple kit with serious intent. The project highlights research showing how smell loss can foreshadow neurodegenerative diseases. By inviting people to assess their own olfactory acuity and contribute data, the initiative seeks to raise awareness and support future studies. It reframes scent from a luxury into a vital sense linked to memory and wellbeing. The call to action is humble: become aware of your own smell health and participate in research.

Niche Newcomers 🎨 🌟 

A brief disclosure.

Scently Speaking runs without ads and without paid placements.
It exists because New Niche exists.

New Niche is the fragrance publishing house we’re building in parallel.
Obtaining one of its perfumes is not merchandise.
It’s how this work stays independent.

Quiz 🎲 

Scent MythBusters 🎭️ 

A recent LinkedIn post from an ex-IFF industry professional (25+ years experience) suggested that educating consumers about perfumery is pointless because the sector is dominated by a handful of conglomerates. True art, it argued, is not scalable. Once a niche brand is acquired, formulas are optimised and marketing takes over; nothing can be preserved. If this is so, why bother teaching anyone about accords, raw materials or the history of scent?

TL;DR

Education may not stop acquisitions, but it changes the conversation. It enables consumers to ask better questions, challenges superficial marketing and creates space for independent voices. Perfumery is more than a product category; it is culture shaped by knowledge.

Misconception

The argument assumes perfume is a uniform commodity controlled by a few corporations. Consumers are framed as passive and education as futile. This ignores both the fragmentation of the market and the agency of fragrance enthusiasts. It also confuses marketing education, the simplified diagram on a shop counter, with critical education that examines materials, regulation, sourcing and authorship. The two are not the same.

Contextual reality

Christophe Laudamiel’s work on ingredient transparency highlights how easily language around fragrance becomes distorted. Terms such as natural, clean or free from are deployed without precision. Regulatory frameworks such as IFRA and RIFM restrict materials for defined safety reasons, yet commercial narratives often reduce the discussion to synthetic versus natural. Without literacy, these simplifications remain unchallenged.

Understanding how raw materials are produced, how formulas are structured and how regulatory limits function alters perception. It does not eliminate scale. It does not prevent acquisition. But it shifts the balance of power slightly back towards the informed consumer. Mystery remains part of perfumery. Obfuscation does not need to be.

Examples

Brands that foreground materials and construction have cultivated unusually engaged audiences. Escentric Molecules placed Iso E Super at the centre of its narrative. Hiram Green discusses the limits and trade-offs of natural perfumery openly. Independent retailers (like Smell Stories, Belgium) have become informal classrooms, explaining oud distillation, fragrance terminology, vintage reformulations or the economics of concentration. Education did not halt consolidation. It did deepen discourse.

Final judgment

The claim that education does not make sense underestimates how markets evolve. Knowledge rarely overturns systems overnight, but it changes expectations gradually. When consumers understand composition, sourcing and regulation, marketing shorthand loses force. Education matters, but only when it moves beyond the simplified chart on the sales floor and into structural understanding. That shift does not end commercial reality. It reframes it.