Indie fragrance recommendations and how to start

Hello, good afternoon. I've been into perfumes for a while now, and little by little, I'd like to venture into the world of indie fragrances. However, with so many options many of which are often sold out I'm not sure where to start. I’d love some recommendations so I can focus on specific ones and keep an eye out for purchasing opportunities. My tastes lean toward animalic and dirty musks/vanillas, nothing too clean or sweet. I enjoy quite intense perfumes. I've been recommended a few, but they seem nearly impossible to find, like the famous Rufio by Tsvga. I would have loved to try it, but at this point, it feels more like a myth than a reality, hahaha. So, which indie perfumes would you recommend? Ideally, ones that align with my tastes, but I’m also open to anything you think is truly worth trying 😊

Can you share any examples of perfumes you enjoy? That might give a jumping off point for recommendations.

Muscs Koublaï Khän and Musc Ravageur Eau de Parfum should be on your list for musks for sure.

There's no real good or bad way to go about it, really. You can pick a house whose style you like and work through it. You can pick a single note and explore different interpretations of it. You can follow one single perfumer's work.

Are you familiar with The perfumed court? They sell samples of just about anything. Good way to start.

I’m leaving a list of several perfumes that I like

O Hira

Petroleum

Dionisio

T-Rex

Moth

Salome

Whale

I already have Musc Ravageur in my collection, and I’ll keep that Serge Lutens perfume in mind. I'm interested in Jinx’s work, and it was actually a perfume of theirs, J-Musk, that sparked my interest in indie perfumery. I’m familiar with TPC, but they don’t have the perfumes I’m looking for at the moment. Nevertheless, thank you very much for your help 😊.

I don't know about dirty musk/vanilla, but for animalic, there was a thread started about a year ago asking for the best animalic recommendations. You might find something you like there:    www.parfumo.com/forums/post/162994?

Thank you very much! 🙏🏼 I’m going to read all the recommendations in the post you just shared. I’d also like to ask if there is a thread dedicated to indie perfumes

There was an Indie thread from 4 years ago but it didn't get very far: https://www.parfumo.com/forums...

There's also this one which might give you some ideas: https://www.parfumo.com/forums...

Also, another thread where animalic fragrances were discussed:  https://www.parfumo.com/forums...

I'm not typically into animalics so unfortunately I can't give any recommendations on that front. But I will chime in that if you want to try more indie stuff in Europe, ecuacion natural (Spain) and 7scents (Hungary) both carry very interesting lines (including indie/artistic houses). They both do decants/samples online, so might be good for trying. Sorry if you're already familiar with them. 

Well, even though the thread didn’t go very far, I think I discovered a couple of interesting houses. After thinking about it, I’ve decided to look for fragrances where the main notes are ambergris and animalic musk.

The first one out of curiosity to understand why it’s such an expensive ingredient and the second because I believe it might be my favorite note, perfectly aligning with my tastes and personality.

Right now, I think the perfume I want the most is this one J-Musk

From the animalic perfumes thread, I’m taking note of all the ones I haven’t tried yet. I’m really grateful for your help 🙏🏼

Please don’t apologize 🙏🏼 really appreciate your recommendations! And yes, I do know Ecuación Natural, as I bought Salomé from them 😊. I’ve heard of 7scent, but I haven’t tried their samples yet. However, it seems like a great option for discovering uncommon perfumes. Thank you so much for helping me in this search!

No problem, good luck with your exploration!

Eris Parfums is an American indie brand aimed at revisiting vintage styles in innovative ways. The founder Barbara Herman is focused on animalic fragrances and she is collaborating with Antoine Lie who frequently works with musk.

Ma Bête is probably the most animalic.

My favorites from the line are Night Flower and Scorpio Rising

I am also a little obsessed and intimidated by Bogue Profumo and Antonio Gardoni. I have samples of both MEM and Maai and they leave me a little speechless. Incomparable and otherworldly. Someday maybe I will be worthy.

Discovery sets from either or both will be a fun adventure.