Am I a Niche Snob?

More and more as I explore the world of perfumery, I'm drifting away from "designer" scents. I hate the word "designer" as so many designer brands make unique and quality fragrances like Guerlain, Tom Ford, Cartier, etc. But when I use "designer" I mean fragrances that are for sale at the counter at Macy's (for those not from the United States, it is a large department store that sells cheaper fashion brands). Lately, these fragrances, especially the men's, are all blending together and seeming like they are all variations on the same theme: a vaguely aromatic opening with sage, lavender, bergamot, etc. and a woody ambery drydown that introduces a bit of sweetness, all tied together with the omnipresent ambroxan. Ever since these brands started making EDP, Parfum, and now Elixir flankers to all their best sellers, this has started to become more and more the case. Do we really need Paco Rabanne Phantom Parfum, Ralph Lauren Ralph's Club Parfum, AND Calvin Klein Defy Parfum? They're all the same scent! Just look at the notes listings: cardamom, geranium, lavender, vetiver; cardamom, geranium, lavender, vetiver; and Defy has the cardamom and lavender as well as a similar woody drydown. Of course, notes aren't everything, but I defy you (pun intended) to go into your local department store, spray them on three blotters, mix them up, and be able to tell which is which.

So I've headed deeper and deeper into the niche world. There is nothing else that smells like Amouage Overture Man. Or Ormonde Jayne Montabaco. Now, that's not to say that niche fragrances aren't immune to copycats, trends, and clones. Thameen Carved Oud is a near replica of Tom Ford Oud Wood. Parfums de Marly Haltane is identical to Initio Oud for Greatness. But it's not ALL trends, like the designer world is becoming. There are so many unique and beautiful masterpieces to uncover.

Now, I'm not a snob in the sense that I'm better than anyone else for being interested in niche perfumery, and I still appreciate many designer fragrances like Dior Sauvage Elixir and Ralph Lauren Polo Cologne Intense, but I seriously think that the artistic integrity of many designer brands has been completely lost, or at least moved into their private lines. I no longer get excited by designer releases, I've regretted many blind buys of brands I previously loved, and it's becoming exceedingly rare that I'm impressed by anything I spray at the Macy's fragrance counter. So am I a niche snob? Is this a natural progression of delving deeper into perfumery? I have heard that others' interest sways back and forth between niche and designer, and after long forays into niche territory, one misses the mass-appeal of designer perfumery. I don't see that happening anytime soon with me, but have any of you experienced that? Do you consider yourself a niche snob?