Best & Worst of Niche Perfumery in 2023

Disclaimer: This whole article is a ~30 minute read. All of the categories have accompanying lists with images at the end of the relevant categories - you may want to skim the post and read the parts that most interest you.

Introduction

Coming into 2023, I definitely did not expect to have gotten through more than 100 fragrances that released this calendar year. As such, I wanted to spend some time highlighting product on both ends of the spectrum to maintain a balanced perspective. In this post I will cover 4 categories: "Best releases of 2023", "Worst releases of 2023", "Best blending & raw ingredients of 2023", and "Most unique of 2023".

If this post is received well, I'm open to writing a follow-up blog entry on another 4 categories: "Biggest disappointments of 2023", "Most challenging of 2023", "Biggest surprises of 2023" and what I dub "Fragcom hoax of 2023". Previously these categories were included in the "Top Picks" images you will see throughout this post, but I removed them to not offer any spoilers.

I figured I would touch on some very important aspects of this whole post in the introduction.

• Firstly, I rank from a male perspective and as such, my rankings have historically been topped by masculine & unisex fragrances. I have smelled plenty of women's releases, but I have a hard time figuring out if they're better than some of the unisex & masculine ones listed before it as I seldom wear anything with a feminine lean. This year's top women's release is 10th and last year's was 15th.
• Secondly, the categories "Best of 2023" and "Worst of 2023" are ranked all-inclusively, meaning I do consider performance and pricing as otherwise premium brands/lines from the likes of Royal Crown, Clive Christian, Boadicea and others would win these rankings every year. This makes a lot of the rankings more opinion based, e.g. is uniqueness worth more than longevity & sillage, how far back down the list do I push a 9/10 fragrance for costing €600/100ml etc. I think the edges (i.e. top 10 & bottom 10) are well thought out, but the stuff in the middle, especially when ordering 100 releases, needs a massive disclaimer. Do note that other categories like "Most unique" and "Best blending" are entirely ranked on uniqueness and scent respectively, nothing else. Therefore, if you're just looking for the "Best smelling" fragrances, I'd recommend reading the "Best blending & raw ingredients of 2023" part of this post. I will still point out pricing, performance and syntheticity as criticisms for why they didn't make other lists (when applicable).

As I was going through this post, I figured it would be a great contrast to highlight the winners (and losers) of some of these categories for 2022 as well. These rankings are largely (90%+) ordered as they were at the end of 2022 with certain new entries made during 2023 as I sampled them. The 2022 releases will not be extensively covered, merely referred to by name and included in the "Top Picks" images.

General sentiment & sampling universe

On the whole, 2023 was a poor year in niche perfumery in my opinion. I've been hunting new releases for a few years now and I exit 2023 underwhelmed as niche continues to go more and more corporate. However, that doesn't mean that everything was poor - it merely means that hardcore hobbyists should temper their expectations when sampling mainstream niche brands. And naturally, you can expect to pay more and more (for what is in essence less and less).

I sampled 101 fragrances that released in 2023 (note: I opted to remove all indie). To offer an overview of these fragrances, here are some interesting tidbits from those 101 based on the Profiler feature:

• Top notes: patchouli (36), vanilla (34), musk (33), bergamot (30), sandalwood (26)
• Top types/accords: sweet (16%), spicy (15%), woody (12%), creamy (10%), with a 3-way tie for 5th between floral, fresh, and fruity (9%)

As for the fragrances that I did not get to, my "Need to test - 2023" watchlist has another 45 from brands that I am interested in or follow. Nearly half of these came in the 4th quarter as brands revealed new product at Cannes TFWA.

Among these 45, the most represented brands are Memo Paris (7), Roja Parfums (5) and Pana Dora as well as Amouage (both 4). I struggled to sample most of the fragrances released by Memo Paris in 2023 as the availability and concept behind most of their new releases is much like Le Labo's boutique exclusives. Similarly, Roja's re-released women's line wasn't a product that enticed me too much while Pana Dora struggled to keep some of the best-sellers from the 4 new releases available at the boutiques I frequent my samples from. Lastly for Amouage, I did not get to the 2 new 12ml attars nor the recent 50ml vintage re-releases that cost a whopping €1,750.00 for 50ml.

With all of that out of the way, lets get to the bread & butter of this post.

Best of 2023

All fragrances under this category are ranked based on an all-inclusive package of scent (incl. blending quality, raw materials, and syntheticity), performance, value (pricing), and uniqueness (originality).

Winner of 2023: Electimuss Aquila Absolute - read my full review here
Ranked 1st of 101, scent profile 8.5/10

Aquila Absolute and Astaral were the locked-in top two for most of the year. Ultimately, it is the Electimuss that comes out the victor and will take over the title of best release from 2022's winner, that being bdk's Gris Charnel Extrait. But unlike Gris Charnel Extrait, Aquila Absolute is a very different product and wins off the back of the multitude of layers that the scent features. In my review, I state that the manner in which Aquila Absolute blends its accords is the "epitome of niche-smelling niche" as recreating this scent would take nearly half-a-dozen other niche fragrances just to describe it. I also state that the argument is there to be made that this is Julien Rasquinet's best release *ever* which is saying something, considering Julien's hit releases like Enclave, Royal Oud, The Moon and others.

So what are these niche fragrances that I feel Aquila Absolute indirectly borrows from? The opening is fruity & rosy with a raspberry feel, akin to Atelier des Ors' Rose Omeyyade Extrait. The aromatic cardamom in the blend invokes a feel similar to that of Xerjoff's Starlight done without the spiciness. The scent also has bitter fougère tonalities like in Clive Christian's "Original Collection - X: The Masculine Perfume of the Perfect Pair / X for Men | Clive Christian" or in Roja's Reckless pour Homme Parfum. The violet leaf transforms to become more bitter & slightly reminiscent of the body odor vibe that the cumin brings in Roja's Burlington 1819, before ultimately settling into a mild leather base which overlapping with the other accords may have vibes of Masque Milano's I-III Russian Tea.

That lengthy description is an example of the complexity that many hardcore hobbyists expect once we reach into the €340/100ml price bracket. It's a great example of what niche houses can achieve when they try to create something worthwhile. While Electimuss isn't exactly known for unique product, Aquila Absolute clearly is far enough from its inspiration to make nailing that inspiration quite difficult. The blending on Aquila Absolute is great and the performance is average-to-good with moderate sillage and an approximately 8-9 hour longevity. Largely a spring-fall fragrance, this has aspects suiting both younger and older gentlemen and is a standout among Electimuss' 2023 releases.

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Runner-up: Xerjoff Astaral - read my full review here
Ranked 2nd of 101, scent profile 8.5/10

I feel just a little bit sad placing Astaral at #2 because the scent was #1 in my rankings from the moment it came out in March all the way up until December, but such are the costs of trying to be at least somewhat objective with your rankings. Astaral is a part of the K-Blue collection, a new collection that Xerjoff released in March 2023 after effectively dissolving the Kemi brand. The scent is very much in line with the brand images of both Kemi and Xerjoff as the core scent has notes & blend queues that you would recognize from Xerjoff while also having an oriental flair like most fragrances from Kemi.

In its simplest form, Astaral is an oriental & syrupy sweet-jammy rose fragrance. As such, the uniqueness aspect of Astaral is mild as this is a hotly contested genre, mainly from Roja Parfums and Fragrance du Bois. In my opinion, the best examples of sweet-jammy rose in today's mainstream niche market are Amber Aoud Parfum and Oud Rose Intense Eau de Parfum. Astaral also has mild hints of cypriol, bringing that oriental flair that I previously mentioned, but it is not as prevalent as it is in a fragrance like Favonius. However, the aforementioned competition is also the reason why Astaral, alongside "Ingenious Ginger | Goldfield & Banks", ranks tied-1st for best value of 2023: full retail for Astaral is €290/100ml vs. the aforementioned 2 competitors are €720/100ml and €565/100ml respectively. Astaral isn't Amber Aoud, but it gets plenty close for just 40% of the price. Additionally, relative to the 2 competitors, Astaral has significantly improved longevity by lasting 10-12 hours while sillage is on the upper-end of average. Blending in Astaral is good, but not elite like in the Roja.

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3rd: Maison Crivelli Oud Maracujá - read my full review here
Ranked 3rd of 101, scent profile 8.5/10

I'm sticking my head out when I say this, but in terms of aggregate offering, no niche house had a better hit rate in 2023 than Maison Crivelli, even if Oud Stallion and Neroli Nasimba weren't for me. I like to think that Oud Maracujá might just be the next niche trendsetter - the dupes and inspirations of Tom Ford's Tuscan Leather Eau de Parfum have been done to bits and as such, the exploration of *tropical fruity* leathers could be the next big thing much like all of the metallic product that is clearly taking inspiration from Ganymede Eau de Parfum.

In terms of scent, Oud Maracujá isn't really an oud fragrance - in the opening, the scent is dominated by the passionfruit accord, bringing tropical fruity tones in the process. The scent smells more so of leather than oud, I would say the rose, saffron, cistus and most of the other accords are barely spotable. A potential shortfall is the longevity of the tropical fruity accord as the scent turns more smoky leather as it dries with the fruity accord fading. Oud Maracujá has mild sweetness and fits sophisticated events without trying too hard like some rose-oud fragrances. The blending on the scent is great and while I do get strong longevity, the sillage doesn't wow me as the fragrance mostly has an average scent trail.

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4th: The House of Oud Crop Edition 2023 - read my full review here
Ranked 4th of 101, scent profile 8.5/10

THOO's Crop Edition 2023 is a limited edition 1-in-507 fragrance in their annual Crop line where once per year the house will combine oud with a specific accord/note or two (or three). These fragrances tend to be more aromatic and always combine oud with more non-standard notes like chocolate, cardamom, tea and so on. Well, look no further as C23 is one of the 2 most unique fragrance releases in 2023, combining oud & hemp.

It's very hard to describe this scent, but there certainly is some dankness within Crop Edition 2023. Describing a hemp accord can be hard, but overall the scent has a very unique aromatic feel to it. It has aspects that remind me of the "bitter fougère" scene as there are hints of fig tree or violet leaf, bringing up potential comparisons AM, Burlington 1819, and B683 Extrait de Parfum. But make no mistake about it, there is more going on here. Below the bitter woody-aromatic accords is a very unexpected sweet greenness that reminds me of the rhubarb accord in one of last year's most unique releases, that being Encelade (albeit C23 does not have an overt reliance on synthetics the way MAB's whole house does).

To those of you expecting oud from this line of fragrances, I think you've come to the wrong place - many from THOO's Crop line don't have prominent oud and this having ~0 oud shouldn't surprise those who are familiar with the line. The sillage is quite lackluster as it opens moderate-leaning-strong and dies down to weak. The longevity is also at the bottom end of average at 6-7 hours. The uniqueness and blending are good-to-great, raising a question of trade-offs. I personally got this 30% off during a Black Friday sale, but at €420 for 75ml, I would only recommend it if you want something very standout.

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5th: Kilian Smoking Hot - read my full review here
Ranked 5th of 101, scent profile 8.0/10

The inclusion of Smoking Hot is partially a painful one, because if I tried to place it into my 2022 rankings, it would be bordering the top 10 and that is indicative of the poor product year we had. Smoking Hot is a good, but not great fragrance. The scent feels like a very neat twist on the cherry tobaccos of Herod, Manhattan Eau de Parfum, and Boundless as this tobacco is then used as the base for a winterized version of Apple Brandy on the Rocks. The core scent is very much fruity, warm spicy & sweet and I'd say it works great as a fall-winter dumb-reach fragrance, therefore it will likely go down as another hit product in Kilian's two fall-winter collections (Smokes and Cellars). The blending is good and while the performance of the core scent is poor, the tobacco aspects do linger for a while. Not Kilian's most innovative product, but that's no exactly noteworthy for Kilian post-Estée Lauder acquisition.

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My 2023 honorable mentions list:
6. Empiryan by Xerjoff
7. AM by Fragrance du Bois
8. Ani X by Nishane
9. "Ingenious Ginger | Goldfield & Banks" by Goldfield & Banks
10. Guidance by Amouage

My best of 2022 list was ordered as follows:
1. Gris Charnel Extrait by bdk Parfums
2. Tero by Nishane
3. Opus XIV - Royal Tobacco by Amouage
4. Paragon by Initio
5. God of Fire by Stéphane Humbert Lucas

Worst of 2023

All fragrances under this category are ranked based on an all-inclusive package of scent (incl. blending quality, raw materials, and syntheticity), performance, value (pricing), and uniqueness (originality).

Loser of 2023: Kilian Blue Moon Ginger Dash - read my full review here
Ranked 101st of 101, scent profile 3.0/10

Hypothesis: Kilian became known for their fall-winter fragrances because their summer fragrances are awful. Now, that is not the whole truth as I'm sure many, including myself, love the scent profile of Apple Brandy on the Rocks and several of their unisex-leaning-feminine scents like Moonlight in Heaven are also decent, but time after time, any time Kilian releases something for spring-summer (especially masculine fragrances for those seasons), you are reminded of just how poor the product is and how little you are getting for your money. This criticism also applies to Kologne Shield of Protection, the fresh release that preceded Blue Moon which was ranked 6th from the bottom in my 2022 rankings. "But surely if they put it in a Liquors bottle, it must be good!?" Right...

I first sampled this fragrance on the 18th of April 2023. The first words in my notes are: "Absolutely piss-poor opening. Synthetic slush." That would set the tone for the rest of the wear, the review, and the rest of the time I'm smelling this scent on-strip as I'm offering my thoughts in this post. While Blue Moon Ginger Dash does subsequently lead into a generic freshie with the same ambroxan/shower gel vibe that will remind some of Kilian's Vodka on the Rocks, the blending of the fragrance feels so incredibly poor with fresh-synthetic-ozonic being the holy trio of accords. The calone within the scent structure brings such an outdated masculine feel and considering the fact that this scent is inspired by blue lagoon, the beachside party drink from the 90s, I just get vibes of the Jersey Shore cast. Considering the fact that Acqua di Gio was the go-to mid/late 90s F-boy fragrance (alongside the original Le Male), I might not even be that far off.

Performance wise the scent is average for both longevity and sillage. Regarding the price, it is very much amusing how the equivalent of a cheap designer fragrance from 30 years ago was subsequently released to the public as a €210/50ml niche fragrance. There is nothing in this blend to suggest this couldn't be €21/50ml. I feel like Kilian Hennessy has overtaken Roja Dove as the head marketing genius within niche perfumery, because if you think back to when he released Kologne Shield of Protection, he said that he needed it as a protector from the virus during the pandemic - that's where the name actually came from. But hey, if they ever opt to roll out The Situation or DJ Pauly D for an ad, I will be looking for a check. In the end, Blue Moon Ginger Dash is 2023's niche perfumery equivalent to telling the consumer that you're stupid (I'm keeping it PG) and I can only hope none of you actually buy the underlying product.

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Runner-up: Masque Milano Mandala Oud - read my full review here
Ranked 100th of 101, scent profile 2.0/10

Earlier this year, Masque Milano released its Ruby Collection which includes 4 flankers to some of its bestsellers done with oud. While some of them barely had any oud and others smelled outright synthetic, among the 4 new releases you had this absolute disaster.

The issues aren't really there when you first spray on Mandala Oud as it reminds me a lot of the original II-II Mandala which was a green-spicy kitchen herbal smelling fragrance with some sweetness from the added cinnamon & cardamom. But with this flanker, the sweet tones feel completely gone and shortly after the green-herbal accords ease back from the opening, the road is paved for the type of vile scent that would have me hitting PRs at the gym the same way sniffing a jar of ammonia would. Mandala Oud has the same animalic, dead fish vibe oud like the one I recognize from Opus XIII - Silver Oud and Opus XV - King Blue. The scent will also give off some rather mild smoky & leathery tones which combined with that dead fish smell remind me of a less outrageous Hamdani, the only fragrance I've ever rated a 1/10.

Most of the fragrances in this collection are fairly average performance wise and Mandala Oud doesn't stand out for that aspect, with both moderate longevity and sillage. While I can recognize that this scent isn't for me profile wise and as such could've rated it higher for the craftsmanship, Masque Milano's Ruby Collection squarely takes the cake for worst value of 2023 as all of these scents are €650/100ml. As a result, all 4 of these releases are in the bottom 30 for 2023. There appears to be a fundamental disconnect between the product that this collection has and its pricing. Masque Milano in general stands out for absurd prices relative to the product you are getting, but it is especially noteworthy within this collection and the subsequently released Ribot for which they're charging a ludicrous €750/100ml.

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3rd: The House of Oud Hidden Shades
Ranked 99th of 101, scent profile 4.0/10

Hidden Shades is one of the more standard bad fragrances this year, but this is not a synthetic fragrance. Quite on the contrary, this is an example of misaligning accords in a fragrance. I definitely get the plum in the opening as the scent smells sweet, creamy, and slightly fruity. It is followed by the THOO signature DNA which is the same sweet, powdery, and mildly spicy accord that people will know from Wonderly, Almond Harmony, Golden Powder and others. And then it takes a turn for the worse as the scent continues to turn more aromatic, more green & herbal. The patchouli-cistus one-two comes off a bit like angelica and the scent start to smell like Lineage without the prominent spices. The overall profile smells a bit like seasoning a salad as the final product lacks direction. This fragrance has good longevity and average sillage.

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4th: Marc-Antoine Barrois Ganymede Extrait
Ranked 98th of 101, scent profile 4.5/10

Well, it definitely smells like there's some Ganymede Eau de Parfum in here as the scent clearly has that luxury car smell that the original became known for. The scent overall feels more intense and instead of the somewhat smooth aromatic-metallic tones, there is a very prominent warm spiciness with hints of resins. Those hints lead into one of the most overpowering myrrh notes I think I've ever smelled, even outdoing the one in Groove Xcape. The combination of accords makes me think about smelling sea salt in an old hardware factory. This is a nuclear fragrance performance wise, but all Extraits from Marc-Antoine Barrois are €275/50ml and relative to the original EDP at €195/100ml, that feels like poor value as performance can't be improved upon and Extrait also has fewer use-cases.

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5th: Creed Carmina - read my full review here
Ranked 97th of 101, scent profile 4.5/10

I titled my Carmina review "nothing went right here" and that is objectively the truth with Carmina. The scent opens with a combination of fresh rose and powdered cherry, think a combination of Dom Rosa - Eau Sanguine and Duchessa. However, the decline in profile development is swift. The base specifically is very poor as I am overwhelmed by the combination of overdosed musk and frankincense, giving the scent a Mancera-esque feel in structure. The scent has a feminine lean and the performance is weak with potential for average. At the end of the day, it is yet another example of corporate perfumery with nothing to show for it.

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My 2023 not-so-honorable mentions list:
6. Groove Xcape by Xerjoff
7. Heaven Can Wait by Frédéric Malle
8. Masa by Kajal
9. Lineage by Amouage
10. Gambling by The House of Oud

My worst of 2022 list was ordered as follows:
1. Patchouli Magnetik by Maison Crivelli
2. "Guéthary | Eight & Bob" by Eight & Bob
3. Crystal Saffron Eau de Parfum by Matière Première
4. Ambre Safrano by bdk Parfums
5. "Sketchbook - P.33 | XerJoff" by Xerjoff

Best blending & raw ingredients of 2023

Under the "Best blending & raw ingredients of 2023" category, I am ignoring all categories that are not related to scent/blending quality/raw materials/syntheticity, meaning price, performance & uniqueness are not considered.

Winner of 2023: Royal Crown Aeternum - read my full review here
Ranked 37th of 101, scent profile 9.0/10

Many might've crowned Clive Christian's "Noble XXI: Art Deco - Blonde Amber | Clive Christian" as the best blend of 2022, but I was soundly on the Nocturna train and as such, Royal Crown takes the back-to-back title for "Best blending & raw ingredients" with Aeternum. Aeternum is a sensational fragrance that aligns flawlessly with the quality that Royal Crown has become known for and reexperiencing it as I am writing this has me reaching for an uptick in scent rating from 9.0 to 9.5 as the opening of Aeternum is the fragrance highlight of 2023.

Aeternum opens aquatic with a very prominent dewy melon note. For those who got to smell the opening of Ani X this year, Aeternum puts the opening of Ani X to shame and that is saying *a lot*. As the melon note begins to fade, the scent evolves into a musky, ambergris-driven aquatic with moderate smokiness. In the drydown, the scent invokes the feeling of smelling rocks on a tropical beach. It is impossible to overstate the quality of the blending which in terms of Royal Crown's existing catalogue does borrow (accord wise) from the likes of Nocturna and Sea Island, but does arrive at a different destination in the end.

It would be very misleading for me to exit the Aeternum highlights without putting proper emphasis on the lowlights as the scent is ranked 37th of 101 and there are 2 reasons for that:

1. Performance. Aeternum was one of the weakest performing summer fragrances this year. Longevity wise I ranked the scent in the bottom 5 and sillage wise in the bottom 2 (out of 101) with the only fragrance worse in both categories being the 10th anniversary flanker of Dom Rosa by Liquides Imaginaires (Dom Rosa Millésimé). Expect intimate sillage with 3-4 hours of longevity tops.
2. Pricing. Royal Crown is a premium niche house. Their 50mls are typically priced in the €390-430 range and the 100mls are in the €560-590 range. We know the raw ingredients are elite and we know the blending hovers from good-to-elite, but at the end of the day, purchasing in this price bracket comes with expectations that include performance. While Aeternum wasn't the worst value of 2023 (that title goes to Masque Milano's Ruby Collection), recommending it over other fresh releases that are priced at around half of Aeternum's full retail price just for the blending feels like malfeasance.

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Runner-up: Amouage Jubilation 40 - read my full review here
Ranked 17th of 101, scent profile 8.5/10

Out of the 20 fragrances that I am offering extended thoughts on within this post, this is the one for which I am writing those thoughts last, no more than a couple hours before publishing this extensive blog. Jubilation 40 is in celebration of Amouage's 40th birthday as a brand and is the successor to the highly regarded Jubilation XXV Man, a fruity-amber fragrance. But much like the community sentiment around Creed's Aventus, a significant amount of the chatter around the scent relates to the performance of contemporary batches. The only way Jubilation 40 could fully satisfy me is if the performance was closer to vintage J25 and the scent falls massively flat of that goal.

I was the first person to review Jubilation 40 here on Parfumo across both the English & German parts of the site. In my review which is aptly titled "Masterclass, but disasterclass" I highlight how the underlying product that Amouage came up with is great. Sure, it's not the fruity-amber of the original J25 that I would rate a 9/10, but the scent is a worthwhile flanker nonetheless. J40 opens with a camphorous-woody vibe, reminding me slightly of Beach Hut Man and Bracken Man from Amouage's own catalogue. Camphorous vibes could even be compared to arguably the most recognized camphorous niche scent, that being Serge Lutens' Fille en aiguilles. As the camphorous tones subside, the drydown leads us into a more mature feeling take of the original J25 with the bay rum note smelling like a boozy alternative to the blackberry in the original. In aggregate, these accords and notes make the scent feel like a boozy-woody oriental rather than a fruity-amber one.

But just like Aeternum, J40 is rightfully deducted points for both pricing and performance. As somebody participating in the content creator space myself, it can not be overstated just how badly those receiving free product can skim past relevant criticisms of the final product. Jubilation 40 retails €455/100ml, in line with Amouage's other Extraits but also clearly above the mainstream niche price tier of €250-300. The performance on this scent has no difference to the prevailing batches of Jubilation XXV Man (which I have on the opposing arm when writing this). The longevity is average-leaning-poor in the 5 hour range with the sillage being clearly poor as well. My review closes with a statement: "/.../ People wanted vintage J25 and they got current J25 version 2.0." As such, I will be in the market for a vintage non-magnetic white cap J25 in the near future which based on an initial skim is available on the secondary market for $600-800.

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3rd: bdk Parfums Pas Ce Soir Extrait - read my full review here
Ranked 11th of 101, scent profile 8.5/10

The creative direction over at bdk Parfums has been on a steep downhill trajectory this year as the house continues to struggle to create anything even mildly interesting, instead opting to take the easy way out and create designer copycats as was the case with both Vanille Leather and
Pas Ce Soir Extrait. However, the latter doesn't only shine for blend quality, but it also does a great job exploring a note that is seldom used in niche perfumery: pear.

From the very first moment, the pear is the key note and it dominates in the opening alongside moderate quince & mild ginger. The cocoa offers a chocolatey flank that blends well with the cashmeran-ambroxan base notes, with the core scent mainly smelling of pear with mild chocolatey tones. The florals are much more subtle than the pyramid indicates with fruity & sweet being the key accords. It feels closer to unisex than the original Pas Ce Soir Eau de Parfum, but still has a clear feminine lean.

Pas Ce Soir Extrait has a multitude of shortfalls, incl. uniqueness, performance, and pricing. While I'm not the target demographic for the scent, I have heard plenty of women describe how this scent borrows a lot from the likes of Jean Paul Gaultier, Lancôme, Mugler and other designer houses. The pear note will obviously bring La Belle comparisons. On the performance end, I get average longevity in the 7 hour range with moderate sillage. For pricing, PCSE is in BDK's Extraits line which demands a €70 mark-up above their base range, pricing the scent at €240/100ml. At this price point, BDK is no longer a niche play with good value. But even with these shortfalls, Pas Ce Soir Extrait ends the year as the #2 ranked women's release behind only Guidance. Maybe we'd be having a different discussion if I didn't feel like this could easily be a Kayali fragrance.

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4th: Puredistance Papilio
Ranked 27th of 101, scent profile 8.0/10

Out of the 20 fragrances that I am offering extended thoughts on within this post, this is the one I struggled the most with. Papilio opens feminine & fresh with the key accords being fruity & floral (which based on the scent pyramid are likely the peach and magnolia). The blend quality is enjoyable from the start and the amount of accords feels overwhelming. The scent has an ever-present creaminess and dries powdery from the ambrette alongside an added earthiness in the drydown, likely from the carrot. There are also some mild nuances of nuttiness or almond. Certain aspects throughout the wear make me question whether this is a chypre or not.

My biggest takeaway from the evolution and the underlying product itself is that it has a very outdated feel. I associate it with an older female userbase as I suspect the scent takes inspiration from women's fragrances 30-40 years ago. These two aspects were among the key issues with rating Papilio as I do not enjoy vintage-smelling product by any house (I have a notoriously negative view of Frédéric Malle's catalogue). The performance on Papilio is quite lackluster with longevity in the 6-7 hour range and moderate sillage. To add insult to injury, this is a €490/100ml retail fragrance.

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5th: Nishane Ani X - read my full review here
Ranked 8th of 101, scent profile 8.5/10

There were 2 completely pointless collections to release this year: Masque Milano's Ruby Collection and Nishane's X Collection. Within the latter, Nishane was celebrating its 10th anniversary as a brand by opting to release flankers to their 5 best-sellers. The whole collection ended up feeling like one big cash grab with pointless release on top of pointless release, with most of the scents only doing mild tuning around the edges in an attempt to make the fragrances smell more unisex. While Fan Your Flames X smelled sufficiently different, in the end it was Ani X that brought a top 5 blended product to the table.

Unsurprisingly, the product review on this one is quite easy to summarize. The original Ani Extrait de Parfum is a spicy-woody vanilla scent with the vanilla having a very specific and dare I say unique feel to it. After the short-lived melon note open in Ani X, we can clearly separate Ani X from the original thanks to the complete absence of spicy tones. Yes, it is indeed the same old lemon-infused Ani vanilla, but the same scent done without the spices highlights the quality of the Ani vanilla. Ani is one of the most highly rated niche scents of the last decade and by placing a stage light on its smoothest and most enjoyable accord Ani X draws in a new crowd.

Negative aspects as it relates to Ani X are mild, as also indicated by the scent ranking top 10 on the year. Relative to the original, sillage is worse (from strong to moderate) with longevity remaining intact. This scent targets spring-summer use-cases relative to the original being a spring-fall aromatic. Within the Parfumo community, both the original and the X flanker are viewed as perfectly unisex.

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My best blends of 2022 list was ordered as follows:
1. Nocturna by Royal Crown
2. "Noble XXI: Art Deco - Blonde Amber | Clive Christian" by Clive Christian
3. "Beyond The Wall | Gritti" by Gritti
4. "Agneta | Eight & Bob" by Eight & Bob
5. Pink Me Up by Atelier des Ors

Most unique of 2023

Under the "Most unique of 2023" category, I am ignoring all categories that are not related to uniqueness, meaning scent, blending, syntheticity, price & performance are not considered.

Winner of 2023: Vilhelm Parfumerie Faces of Francis - read my full review here
Ranked 20th of 101, scent profile 5.0/10

Borrowing the title from a different reviewer, Faces of Francis is an oriental pistachio fragrance. Sounds bizarre, right? Pistachio has been a very trendy note for around a year now and I'd say it will only continue to grow (unlike mango which has been trendy for a while now), but relative to most other pistachio fragrances which are plain gourmand or occasionally aromatic, Vilhelm has gone in a completely different direction and the scent overall leaves me with the impression it's structured like a Marc-Antoine Barrois gourmand (of which there aren't any for those wondering).

Naturally all things that can be related to the house of Marc-Antoine Barrois are synthetic and Faces of Francis is no different. The scent opens synthetic, sweet & aldehydic, with the pistachio giving a creamy feel to the fairly rough composition. Add on the fact that up-close this fragrance smells woody and rubbery, with some smoky tones from the driftwood and the styrax adding a dry animalic flair. As the aldehydic top tones fade, the final fragrance feels like it has a lot of the accords from the Vanille Havane Eau de Parfum class of scents as it reminds me of the scent structure of something like Écrin de fumée as the overall synthetic composition is shielded by an ever-present sweet note.

Outside of prominent synthetic accord, the fragrance doesn't showcase any significant shortfalls. Retail pricing is €250/100ml (and €175/50ml), in line with most intermediate niche brands. Performance on the fragrance is good with an 8-9 hour longevity and moderate-leaning-strong sillage. In the end, the association between the fragrance & the art of Francis Bacon could be a relevant one as just like Bacon's art, Faces of Francis has a lot of nuance that makes enjoying the scent challenging.

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2nd: The House of Oud Crop Edition 2023 - read my full review here
Ranked 4th of 101, scent profile 8.5/10

This is the only fragrance that features twice across the 4 categories. At the top of the unique category, separating between Faces of Francis and Crop Edition 2023 largely came down to accords and the Vilhelm has a more interesting composition, meaning it combines notes that are currently trending in a more non-standard fashion with a larger amount of accords.

Regardless of whether we're describing C23's bitter fougère aspects or the sweetened rhubarb ones, these are not accords that are widely contested in niche and as such, C23 is the ultimate crossover between two less popular genres within niche. Finishing 2nd in this category is a solidifier for the top 5 ranking Crop Edition 2023 earned as most fragrances on this list have not historically been (a) well-blended or (b) wearable, showcasing the value I place on product being sufficiently unique even if it costs a lot and has average performance. Nonetheless, given the €420/75ml retail price I would explore samples within the line to see if any of the other aromatic ouds (e.g. Crop Edition 2016 and Crop Edition 2022) are more worthy of your money.

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3rd: Amouage Opus XV - King Blue - read my full review here
Ranked 39th of 101, scent profile 6.0/10

The original Opus XIII - Silver Oud is about as wearable as using motor oil as your fragrance of choice. Opus XV - King Blue adds a somewhat interesting twist to the fragrance - I don't associate the scent with the color 'blue', but I do instantly recognize the opening that was also present in Opus XIV - Royal Tobacco last year which has a very specific licorice vibe akin to Oud for Happiness. However, the blend goes more and more aggressive as it dries, with the animalic assam oud having a very specific dead fish vibe. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, the fragrance in the air does not smell of the prominent oud you will have on your skin. Therefore, this sophisticated wear might be more easy to pull off than its predecessor. The overall blend quality is good and the performance is very strong. At €455/100ml, I think you'd be better off looking for attention-bringing fragrances elsewhere, especially when considering the manner in which King Blue floats in the air.

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4th: The House of Oud Gambling
Ranked 92nd of 101, scent profile 6.0/10

Outside of the fairly simple fruitchouli fragrance that is Bonbon Pop, this collection brought 2 very unique fragrances to the market. While Wabisabi has a spicy-green feel with an actual wasabi note, Gambling takes that spicy-green tone and brings in additional boozy-woody tones as well as some vetiver and ambrette. This is a sophisticated wear that is hard to pull off and the target demographic is likely older gentlemen. The sillage doesn't overwhelm & is more so just average, but the scent does have a strong longevity.

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5th: Unique'e Luxury Mangonifiscent
Ranked 15th of 101, scent profile 7.0/10

Mango has been trendy for a few years now, but none of the competitors invoke the mouthwatering tone of mango as well as Mangonifiscent. The mossy notes and the patchouli give the scent a green twist that opens quite smooth but deteriorates as the scent dries, taking away from what was suppose to be a sweet-fruity mango with mild floral nuances. The blend quality overall doesn't wow me. The performance is strong like most from the house. Pricing of the product, relative to its quality, at €375/100ml is dare I say outrageous. The edges have not been trimmed sufficiently to support paying that.

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My most unique releases of 2022 list was ordered as follows:
1. "Guéthary | Eight & Bob" by Eight & Bob
2. Noir by Night by Atelier des Ors
3. Encelade by Marc-Antoine Barrois
4. Ingredients 072012 by Maison Crivelli
5. Crop Edition 2022 by The House of Oud

Final word

With all of that out of the way, we arrive at the end. To those of you who made it all the way to the end, I appreciate your attention spans. Only time will tell what direction niche perfumery goes in 2024. For the moment, I expect to have a very uneventful January and February as brands have a tendency to start releasing new fragrances in March in the run-up to Esxence, the fragrance exhibition held annually in Milan, Italy. Until then, I will be sampling brands I have yet to fully discover for which you will see me post short statements with the occasional review.

For those interested in the fully ranked list of 101 fragrances, refer to this collection on my page.
You can similarly find the 2022 rankings here.

I leave you with a shot of the top 5 (with ranks #6 and #9 in the background). Here's to a better 2024. 🥂

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