Hello, Fragrant Friend 👋,

This week I learned that asking for help does not diminish your autonomy. It clarifies it. I have a habit of retreating into a do‑it‑yourself mode. It feels like focus; often it is just a way of avoiding discomfort. Inviting trusted friends to offer a perspective on my work reminded me that collaboration is not indulgence. Psychologists call it the helper’s high: when people share knowledge, they benefit, too. Next time I hesitate to reach out for an opinion, I’ll remember that reciprocity.

If you want more of these candid reflections about building New Niche, the wins, the failures, the pivots, the joy and the frustration, you’ll find them at: scentlyspeakinglab (DOT) com.

Now, onto this issue.

🗓️ Contents of this Issue

1. Note Worthy: Perfumer Power, Niche Fatigue, The Economics of Creative Freedom

2. Niche Newcomers: La Nuit Tombée, Chameleon – Tropical Blooms Edition, Contre Jour

3. Quiz: The First Tom Ford Fragrance

4. Scent MythBusters: The Myth of the Eternal Signature Scent

Note-Worthy 🔎🌸

#PERFUMERPOWER: Christoph Laudamiel’s behind-the-scenes reflections do not romanticise perfumery. They expose its architecture. Talent is rarely the bottleneck. Ownership is. When contracts obscure authorship and brands absorb identity, creativity becomes a commodity. The discussion shifts from ingredients to governance. Who decides? Who owns? Who is credited? Transparency in perfumery is not about ego. It is about economic agency.

#NICHEFATIGUE: The rise of niche once signified risk, authorship and deviation from mass aesthetics. Today, it often signals price tier. Saturation did not reduce quality; it diluted perspective. When every brand claims individuality, the word loses precision. What began as rebellion has hardened into formula. The issue is not volume. It is clarity. Without a defined point of view, “niche” becomes packaging language.

#FREEPERFUMERS: Antoine Lie’s call for a Free Perfumers Society sounds idealistic until you examine the economics. Independence without supply chains, distribution and capital is symbolic. Creative freedom must be structurally protected. Otherwise, it dissolves under market pressure. The future of perfumery may depend less on new raw materials and more on how perfumers organise themselves.

Niche Newcomers 🎨 🌟 

Quiz 🎲 

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.

Scent MythBusters 🎭️ 

TL;DR

The idea that serious perfume enthusiasts adhere to one “signature scent” is out of step with how fragrance is used today. While a favourite fragrance can hold emotional value, taste is fluid. Changing weather, age, and context all influence what we enjoy. The industry itself is moving away from the signature concept toward wardrobes and cycles. Having one great love is possible, but expecting it to remain your sole companion ignores the dynamics of smell and society.

Misconception

The myth rests on nostalgia and identity. Many grew up with the notion that a signature scent signals sophistication, a liquid calling card that announces you before you speak. Older advertising reinforced this by framing fragrance as a hallmark of maturity: Chanel No. 5 for elegance, Fahrenheit for masculinity. This narrative persists because scent is tied to memory; we anchor ourselves to aromas that recall people and places. It is comforting to imagine that a bottle can encapsulate who you are, forever. In a culture obsessed with personal branding, the signature scent fits the story.

The Dynamics of Taste

Reality is messier. Sensory preferences are contextual and evolve. Skin chemistry changes with age; dryness, diet and hormones alter how materials develop on the body. Emotional states and environments shape what feels appropriate – fresh citrus on a humid afternoon versus resinous amber in winter. Market data reflects this fluidity: many brands now sell discovery sets because consumers “build wardrobes” rather than commit to a single bottle. The Beauty Independent round‑table notes that the signature scent concept is fading as people treat fragrance like clothing – chosen for mood, identity or occasion. The rise of sampling services and travel sprays further normalises rotation. In parallel, fragrance houses themselves reissue and reinterpret old formulas when trends change; CPL Aromas notes how brands revive past launches to match current tastes. This cyclical behaviour underscores that there is no fixed canon; what was ignored yesterday can become desirable tomorrow.

Case Studies and Homage

Perfume history offers tangible examples. Chypre structures, once pioneering, fell out of fashion, returned in the 1940s with Femme and Ma Griffe, resurged in the 1980s with Aromatics Elixir, and are being rediscovered again post‑pandemic. This pattern isn’t about fleeting novelty but about cultural rhythms. Recent years saw Kilian’s Sunkissed Goddess and Maison Crivelli’s Safran Secret rebranded from earlier formulations, finding success when cultural moods aligned. Even individual favourites evolve: many of us have a formative fragrance that taught us how to smell, maybe a parent’s Shalimar or a first bottle of Angel. Such scents remain landmarks in our autobiographies. They deserve tribute because they mark an initiation into fragrance. But they rarely remain the only scent we wear. People who once swore allegiance to one bottle often discover something new as their world changes. A single perfume can still be a totem, but it is joined by others over time.

Final Reflection

A favourite fragrance is like a beloved song. It can anchor your sense of self and recall who you were when you first discovered it. But insisting on wearing only one scent forever ignores the very nature of smell: it is relational, responsive and temporal. Our preferences shift with seasons, moods and milestones. The industry’s move toward fragrance wardrobes and the revival of archived compositions illustrate that change is intrinsic to perfumery. Rather than clinging to a single olfactory identity, embracing evolution allows perfume to mirror the complexities of life. Love your favourite bottle. Let it be your anchor. But let yourself drift, too.