The Smell of Niche
The Smell of Niche
Some thoughts spurred by the new Creed releases, Centaurus and Delphinus
I think we may be converging on a distinct scent profile that I think of as the “smell of niche”.
A fragrance can “smell niche” and not fit the technical, real definition of the word (i.e. a brand that solely sells fragrances rather than a variety of other products). Something can “smell niche” within any fragrance category (mass, designer, indie, etc). Often you’ll read “this smells niche” on various fragrance forums and at face value it’s a nonsensical statement, but one that is used as a kind of short hand to mean a fragrance that is fairly linear and doesn’t smell like one of the fragrance families that traditionally dominates department stores such as a fruity-floral (for feminine fragrances) or a “blue” freshie (for masculine fragrances).
I assume most of the people making this statement are young and haven’t been into fragrance for very long, so I’m definitely not trying to dunk on them. Previously only exposed to department store fragrances, they lack the vocabulary for identifying specific families, notes, textures, materials, or other characteristics that would typically be used to describe a perfume. They will probably learn different ways of describing smells as they continue to engage with fragrance. Or maybe this phrase, like “grandma”/”old lady” before it will join the series of neologisms that change how we describe and classify fragrance! Maybe I am wrong and out of touch!
I think the first comment above is the closest to describing this “niche scent” profile that is emerging: warm, spicy, ambery, woody, vanillic—a type of amber fragrance that might have been a base decades ago but now is offered as a complete fragrance composition as tastes have turned away from the complexity of classically-structured fragrances towards a more linear scent profile. Ironically, many of the “this smells niche” comments specify that the fragrance in question shouldn’t smell “synthetic” but to my nose this scent profile smells extremely synthetic. “Amber” is a fantasy accord after all1, although it can certainly be constructed from natural ingredients, and the woods and vanilla in this type of fragrance are usually synthetic conceits as well. Obviously most fragrances contain a blend of synthetic and natural ingredients, but this specific type of ambery fragrance always smells particularly chemically to my nose.
These types of scents are not just spicy ambers; however. There are plenty of spicy ambers out there that don’t smell like this—there are subtle qualities that are present across the scents I’m speaking of. The texture is somewhat waxy or doughy, rather than powdery or sticky like classic ambers such as Youth-Dew can be. The vanilla sweetness has a burned sugar quality to it rather than the slight woody element a natural vanilla imparts with its pod. The spicy notes are always warm and sweet as well, with cinnamon being a common component as well as cardamom (which I think is technically classified as a fresh spice, but also has a warm aspect to it). Beyond the olfactory qualities there’s another defining quality that comes from their marketing—a fragrance that is perhaps a bit too “aware” of itself and its audience; a bit too in-tune with the zeitgeist of PerfumeTok and various influencers and trends.
This brings me to the new Creed releases, Centaurus and Delphinus, which I got my hands on through a friend who was mysteriously sent samples of them in the mail even though she hates perfume and has never even heard of Creed let alone purchased anything from them.
Both fragrances are centered around a “spice-amber-vanilla” synthetic chemical bomb. Both come off as rather plasticy to my nose and seem to contain a fuck-ton of heliotropin. Delphinus is supposed to smell like iris, incense, and vanilla, according to the notes listed on Fragrantica. The Creed website lists some additional notes as well. If it contains any real orris butter I will eat my shoe. I detect a cherry cough drop note in there along with the amber. Centaurus has some warm spices and tobacco along for the plastic amber ride. Overall, they’re both sweet, will last forever and barely change over the course of wear (thus appealing to the performance-obsessed crowd), avoid any divisive or controversial notes and are adjacent to recent trends (cherry, vanilla), and are familiar enough that they’ll appeal to a wide swath of consumers.
In short, the Creed release seems precisely engineered to appeal to the consumer who wants to “smell niche”. A perfect example of the thought contained behind the expression.
Yes, real amber can be distilled into an aromatic compound, but it’s almost never used as a fragrance component in reality and certainly not in any fragrances with mass distribution.