Hello, Fragrant Friend 👋,

it has been a while, almost four months. Thank you for your patience and for staying with us through the silence.

And the moment has finally come: in this very edition, we’re presenting our perfume for the first time — you’ll find it further below.

The past months were shaped almost entirely by the work on New Niche, the fragrance publisher we’ve been building in the background. What began as a simple idea grew into a project that required more time, energy, and persistence than we expected. Over fifteen months of work have now gone into bringing this to life, which is also why Scently Speaking paused for a moment.

We didn’t step away, we were simply absorbed by the process. And many of you, through your messages and feedback, helped us understand just how large the gap is that this project can fill. Your involvement has shaped more than you may realise.

As the year comes to a close, it feels right to send this small sign of life and to let you know: the work continues, and we’re moving forward.

🗓️ Contents of this Issue

1. Note Worthy: Dupe Economics, Spotify Wrapped, Community Scents

2. Niche Newcomers: Nosu, Mayhap, NewNiche

3. Scent MythBusters: Fragrances can easily be sold anywhere.

Note-Worthy 🔎🌸

#DUPEECONOMICS: The “dupe crisis” is not a crisis at all. Elevated Classics cuts through the dupe panic with one clear point: this is not about stolen artistry, it is about lost control. Since fragrance formulas cannot be patented in the EU or the United States, duplication is entirely legal. Dupes simply expose how much of the industry relies on branding rather than true olfactive innovation. If a scent can be copied in days, its strength was never the formula, it was the myth around it.

#PLAYLISTPERFUMES: Spotify Wrapped as a scent selector. French Essence turns music data into olfactive personality tools: lo fi becomes clean musk, rap becomes oud and amber, EDM becomes citrus and solar notes. The idea is simple, your listening habits reveal your scent instincts. Spotify Wrapped becomes a fragrance discovery engine, guiding consumers by mood and vibe rather than gender or category.

#REDDITREALITYCHECK: Crowdsourced taste is steering the fragrance story of 2025. A recent thread reveals something brands often underestimate. The scents that shape this year are not always new launches but discoveries made through community talk. Users rave about Raw Gold by Thomas De Monaco, Bowmakers by D S and Durga, and a wave of Guerlain classics that circulate through comment chains like shared secrets. The pattern is clear. Reddit is functioning as an informal fragrance barometer where micro consensus forms around artistry, value and emotional pull.

Niche Newcomers 🎨 🌟 

Independent studios continue to redraw the edges of modern perfumery. London’s art forward duo Nosu turns warm season nostalgia into golden haze, while French futurists Mayhap channel machine consciousness into metallic sensuality. And with our own debut, Chester Gibs slows the speed of life to capture a moment of involuntary stillness. Across these releases, one theme emerges clearly: niche perfumery is shifting from trend to storytelling, from product to perspective.

Why We Exist

New Niche was founded on one belief: perfume becomes more powerful when the perfumer is given authorship. Instead of briefs, trend decks or commercial templates, each creation begins with the perfumer’s own idea. A moment, a memory, a question worth turning into scent. We treat fragrances as published works, not seasonal launches, pairing every composition with an artwork created in response to it. Our first piece was painted by our good friend Ivana Rubelj.

Our aim is simple. Perfumers should hold the same cultural space as other artists. That means full creative freedom with no formula restrictions and a significant share for every perfumer on each work sold.

Our role is not to dictate, but to amplify.
Our community is not an audience, but a contributor.
And our catalogue will grow slowly, intentionally, one authored scent at a time.

Before the World Moved Again is the first of these works. You can follow and contribute to the creation of the second one live in our WhatsApp Community.

As a heartfelt thank you for your continued support, we are offering a twenty-per-cent thank-you code on the fifty-milliliter bottle. It is limited to one use per customer, valid for EU shipping only and available until December 31, 2025.

Scent MythBusters 🎭️ 

TL;DR

Short answer: No. Taking a perfume global is anything but simple. It’s a maze of regulations, logistics, and region-specific rules. Big fragrance groups breeze through thanks to teams of specialists, but indie brands quickly discover that the world is not their oyster without mountains of paperwork.

Misconception

It’s tempting to believe a great scent transcends borders. The fantasy goes like this: once you’ve crafted a hit fragrance, you can ship it off to Paris or Dubai as easily as mailing a postcard. If it smells divine in New York, surely it’ll sell in London too. In this rosy view, regulations barely matter, and shipping is just bubble wrap and good vibes. If only global expansion were as easy as listing a product online and shouting “Bon voyage!” as it sails through customs.

Reality Check

The truth is far messier. Perfume is treated as a cosmetic in most markets, meaning strict safety rules, ingredient disclosures, and documentation. What looks like a business opportunity at home can become a regulatory nightmare abroad. Ingredient bans vary by region, labeling rules differ, and perfumes’ flammability turns shipping into a hazardous-goods drama with extra fees and special handling. “One scent fits all countries” simply isn’t real; the global fragrance world is governed by law, not aroma.

Real Brand Scenarios

A small US perfume house dreaming of Europe quickly learns the EU’s rulebook. The formula must be checked against EU restrictions and IFRA standards. Labels must list allergens and include an EU-based “Responsible Person.” No local representative, no sales. Only after reformulation (if needed), new labels, safety assessments, and documentation can a single bottle legally land in Paris or Berlin.

Heading the other direction—EU to the Middle East—is no easier. In the UAE, every perfume must be formally registered, and only a UAE-registered company can obtain the required Certificate of Conformity. Without it, products get stopped or turned back at customs. Kuwait adds its own hurdles: long approval timelines, a mandatory local agent, formula breakdowns, free-sale certificates, and bilingual labeling. Even religious or cultural considerations may block certain ingredients or alcohol types.

The Shipping Snafu

“Fine, I’ll just ship directly to customers.” If only. Perfume’s high alcohol content makes it a flammable hazardous material. Many carriers refuse it entirely; others impose hefty surcharges and require special packaging and documentation. Indie brands often discover that shipping a 70€ bottle internationally can cost more than the perfume itself.

Big Fish vs. Small Fish

Large corporations handle all this with ease because they have legal teams, regional warehouses, and the budget to reformulate for different markets. Indie brands, operating on thin margins, must navigate every regulation themselves, often at great cost.

Final Judgment

This myth goes up in smoke. Fragrances are not easily sold anywhere; they move across borders only after navigating a labyrinth of rules. Global perfume success isn’t just about smelling great, it’s about surviving the paperwork. Myth busted.