Designer V. Niche Fragrances (Recommandations Inside!!!!)

[Photo Credit: Wikipedia. Click link for bigger image]

You are at an art museum. After making your way through the museum's general exhibits you decide to take a closer look at two specific paintings. The first is Da Vinci's Last Supper. You immediately recognize the scene and can tell that the guy sitting in the middle is Jesus. Aside from some artistic nuances like the facial expressions of the Apostles, the painting doesn't really require much thought. It is what it is.

[Photo Credit: Wikipedia. Click link for bigger image]

The second painting, however, is much more abstract. It is Van Gogh's Starry Night. Despite someone telling you that it depicts the artist's perception of the night sky, you cannot figure out what it truly is. You think the building in the middle might be a church, if it's a building at all, and you think the dabs of lurid yellow are supposed to be stars. However, even after moments of thinking, you are still unable to fully interpret it.

That is pretty much the difference between designer and niche scents; while the former variety of fragrances are generally safer, mass-appealing, and relatively simple to understand-- like The Last Supper and other paintings from the Renaissance period-- the latter variety are more bold, unique, and abstract-- like Starry Night and other paintings from the Post-Impressionist Period.

It took me awhile to really understand the simple difference between the two varieties, but it is actually seemingly obvious:

A designer scent, in addition to typically being mass-appealing, is a fragrance created by a fashion company like Dior, Versace, Prada, and Ralph Lauren; whereas, a niche scent, in addition to being unique and abstract, is a fragrance created by a company that exclusively or primarily sells fragrances like Creed or Swiss Arabian.

Now, one more thing to note is that the price of niche fragrances tends to be a bit higher than designer scents, which means that you should always sample a niche scent before you buy it. Imagine spending $300 for a bottle of Creed Aventus only to realize that it's actually not what you were expecting

However, niche scents are not always exorbitantly priced. Swiss Arabian is the first perfume company established in the United Arab Emirates. They are a relatively new company, having been established in 1974, which perhaps is why their prices are not as crazy as Creed's, who were established in 1760. SA is such an intriguing company to me because they specialize in Middle Eastern fragrances which are significantly different from Western fragrances. 

You're typically not going to find any common notes like vetiver, marine notes, bergamot, or lavender. Instead, you get notes like rose, incense, oud, agarwood, and exotic spices. Also, the line between masculine and feminine scents in the Middle East is very thin, and therefore, most fragrances by Swiss Arabian are classified as unisex. Even the ones that aren't are still rather gender neutral 

Before I get into my top recommendations from Swiss Arabian perfumes, I want to make something explicitly clear. Thus far in my posts I have been talking about designer fragrances; in fact, nearly every specific scent I mentioned and recommended has been a designer fragrance. As a first, second, or even fifth fragrance, you are likely going to want to stick with designer scents because they are much more versatile and easy to wear. 

Because niche scents are more advanced, and therefore harder to describe, I would wait several months before buying one. Also, just to reiterate my above point, DO NOT BLIND BUY a niche fragrance. Even though I'm about to tell you my favorites, I would still recommend getting a sample first because, remember, what works really well for one person may not preform well on you.

Without further ado, here are a few of my favorites from Swiss Arabian (pictures included this time):

Shahaf Oud

Shahaf Oud 90ml- $60]

This was actually my first experience with Swiss Arabian perfumes, and to this day, it remains my favorite. I would classify Shahaf Oud as a gourmand/sweet fragrance. It has saffron as a top note, rose and agarwood in the middle, and praline, vanilla, and more agarwood at the base. Right away, I experience the boldness of the saffron; it's actually a bit much in the initial moments after it's sprayed. Despite the strong opening, after about thirty minutes it becomes much more subtle. I get a lot of the praline and a lot of vanilla. The oud in this one is a really nice compliment to the sweet and floral notes. 

In my opinion, this is a great introduction to Middle Eastern fragrances. It's not overwhelming like some of them tend to be, but it definitely smells akin to a prayer room. The fragrance itself is very pleasant and very sweet. Just be careful when you wear this one because, as I said earlier, niche fragrances aren't usually mass-appealing.

Nawaf

[Nawaf 50ml- $60]

This is actually the most recent addition to my collection, so I haven't spent a lot of time wearing it. But wow. It's something else. It is very difficult to describe what I get when I wear this. I think sophistication and eloquence are two words that come to mind. Nawaf consists of agarwood and saffron at the top, amber, musk, and sandalwood in the middle, and letter and tobacco at the base. According to the description on SA's website: "[t]his skillful distillation of modern masculinity is for a man strong, dedicated, sensitive, and unfailingly moral in his ways"

I'm not really sure if it conveys morality or even what morality would smell like, but it is a very alluring scent. Even though the description clearly makes it sound like a masculine fragrance, I think women could pull it off as well. Be warned though: this one is potent. My girlfriend actually said it smells ten times stronger than her prayer room back home in India. It's definitely a scent that requires thought before you wear it.

Pure Instinct

Pure Instinct 100ml- $60

Pure Instinct is a great scent. It's citrusy, energetic, and vibrant. However, as one reviewer on their site claims, "this one [is] more on the western side". It's top notes consist of grapefruit, pineapple, pepper, rosemary, and aromatic, it has cardamom, rose, patchouli, tuberose, and galbanium, in the middle, and amber, cedarwood, leather, vetiver, and vanilla at the base. As you can see, there are a lot of notes that are commonly found in designer fragrances.

I'm not sure if this was SA's attempt at a western, mass-appealing fragrance, but this one is definitely still worth checking out. It's definitely more versatile than the first two mentioned, and I would say it is a much safer option if you're going to be around a lot of people.

If you're interested in any of these fragrances or just want to take a look at what else SA offers, click here.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email me at tnpersona@gmail.com

-Ryan S.

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