Hello, Fragrant Friend 👋,

This week I learned that retail is not universal. In Germany, niche perfumery often follows a clear separation. Independent stores remain pure. Major brands stay outside. I assumed this logic applied everywhere. It does not. Looking at Italy changed that. There, the mix is intentional. Prestige and niche sit side by side without tension. Brand classification shifts with culture and customer psychology. What feels diluted in one market feels curated in another. There is no single formula for legitimacy.

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 (DOT) com.

Now, onto this issue.

🗓️ Contents of this Issue

1. Note Worthy: Perfume Clubs and Urban Loneliness, Discount Drama and Dupe Wars, Amouage’s Record Year

2. Niche Newcomers: Tonka Kumaru, 13.2 Métarosme, Koala Joey Edition

3. Quiz: How Do You Decide on a Perfume?

4. Scent MythBusters: The Myth of Fantasy Accords

Note-Worthy 🔎🌸

#PERFUMECLUBS: From Loneliness to Community. In Lisbon, New York and London perfume clubs are multiplying. They respond to a documented rise in loneliness among younger adults. At the Lisbon Perfume Club Miguel Matos and Olle Eriksson share stories and pass blotters, turning fragrance into a social glue. Arabelle Sicardi’s Perfumed Pages pushes this further by making scent accessible and building a friendship‑driven community. These gatherings encourage swapping rather than buying and show that perfume can be collective rather than solitary.

#DISCOUNTDRAMA: Unprecedented discounts are eroding trust in niche perfumery. Grey‑market retailers slash prices by more than sixty per cent, undermining the provenance and value of creative work. Prestige fragrances grew by five per cent in 2025 while mass scents climbed fifteen per cent, yet these gains mask unpaid invoices and counterfeit lawsuits. Germany’s VKE responded with #IAmNotACopy to defend originality and remind consumers that perfumes are protected far less than music or film. New EU rules mandating recyclable packaging by 2030 mean heavy caps and ornate glass may soon be history.

#AMOUAGERESULTS: Amouage delivered the strongest results in its 42‑year history in 2025: sales grew 66 % to US$430 million. The Exceptional Extraits collection tripled its share and now represents over a quarter of sales. The Odyssey Collection doubled, while the Essences line honours Omani sandalwood through double infusion and barrel ageing. Expansion included 16 new boutiques, digital investment and travel‑retail revenue up 94 %. Hand bottling in Muscat, renewable energy and sustainable harvesting in Wadi Dawkah underpin the growth. Amouage shows that luxury, craft and transparency can coexist.

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 🎭️ 

The term “fantasy accord” suggests fiction, leading many to assume these notes are gimmicks rather than scents.

TL;DR

Fantasy accords are deliberate constructions that allow perfumers to represent scents that cannot be extracted from nature – lily‑of‑the‑valley, amber, poppy or petrichor are just examples. They are fundamental to modern perfumery.

The misconception

Consumers often believe that every note listed on a perfume corresponds to a natural ingredient. Marketing language about “natural” and “authentic” reinforces this expectation. As a result, fantasy accords are dismissed as tricks or evidence of lower quality instead of being recognised as creative solutions.

Analysis & structure

A fantasy accord is an imagined olfactory idea built from a mix of natural and synthetic materials. The Perfume Society explains that perfumers have to “conjure up fragrant fantasies” for flowers that cannot be extracted, such as lily‑of‑the‑valley and poppy. Amber illustrates this: the warm, sweet note comes not from fossil resin but from labdanum, benzoin and vanillin. Even the smell of rain – petrichor – was named by scientists in 1964 and arises when oils and microorganisms are released from dry earth; perfumers recreate it using ozonic and earthy molecules. Fantasy accords expand the palette beyond what nature provides and allow perfumers to express abstract ideas like “wet stone”, “burnt sugar” or “cosmic rose”. Without them, fragrance would be limited to a narrow set of extractable materials.

Historical examples

Fantasy accords have been part of perfumery for more than a century. L’Origan by François Coty (1905) featured an imagined carnation; Guerlain’s Mitsouko (1919) blended peach lactones with oakmoss to invent a non‑existent fruit accord. Alberto Morillas created a poppy accord for Kenzo Flower, and contemporary niche brands use constructions like “wet asphalt”, “graphite” and “ozone”. Amber has inspired dozens of styles, from the resinous warmth of Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan to the musky clarity of Juliette Has A Gun Not a Perfume. These examples show that fantasy accords are not deception but vital components of the craft.

Verdict

The belief that fantasy accords are mere marketing tricks ignores the artistry and necessity behind them. They enable perfumers to translate ideas, emotions and intangible experiences into smell. Far from undermining authenticity, fantasy accords demonstrate that perfumery blends material and imagination. Consumers should appreciate these constructions as part of the craft rather than dismiss them as fake.