That’s the quintessential appeal of a fragrance: it’s like putting on your favourite dress or suit and feeling like the most confident person at the party. A signature scent can convey an expression of the self, without actually having to vocalise anything. That’s the magic of a good perfume — it’s like your invisible, personal tag, making you memorable in the coolest way.
And when it comes to making a statement, forget those mainstream scents that everyone’s wearing; niche fragrances are where it’s at. And here’s a run down of ’s favourite cult fragrance brands: If there’s one fragrance brand that epitomises the adage that ‘fragrance isn’t one-scent-fits-all’ then it’s Commodity. It was established in 2013 as a modern American perfumery that offers its fragrances at three different intensities, which it calls ‘scent spaces’, that allow wearers to select the scent and its projection.
The scent spaces include a personal option — for those who prefer a subtle, intimate fragrance (to be noticed only by you and the few you allow close); an expressive version, that’s effectively a ‘Goldilocks’ choice considered to be the perfect balance of longevity and projection; and, for those who like their scents to make a statement, there is the bold version, which the brand says is “designed for those intent on making their presence known; they are for you and everyone else”. Commodity has a variety of unisex scents: Milk, Paper, Velvet, Moss, Gold, and Book. The sleek simplicity of the aesthetic bottles is reflected in the brand’s contemporary ethos.
Take Paper, with fresh and woody notes. The personal version has amber notes, to create its soft projection. The expressive version has balanced notes of Iso E super, sandalwood and cedarwood.
The “head-turning” bold version has vetiver. For those completely new to Commodity, there’s an exploration kit, priced £38, with samples of all three Scent Space collections for a full introduction to the main collection of perfumes. Kits purchased from commodityfragrances.
co.uk include a digital discount code for the full price of the kit to be applied towards your next purchase of a full-size 100ml bottle. Perhaps the best-known fragrance brand on ’s list is this luxury designer perfume for modern women and men.
Byredo’s alluringly idiosyncratic scents capture emotions and memories that evolve and unfurl new notes as it wears, elevating the olfactory experience into an all-day sensory love affair. Byredo’s avant-garde collection offers an array of beguiling notes, from fresh floral and warm musk to spicy sandalwood and smoky wood of the highest quality. It’s easy to see why the Stockholm-based brand is so popular; in addition to the incredibly chic and minimal packaging, the unisex scents are unique yet undoubtedly wearable and intriguing.
Gypsy Water (sandalwood and vanilla, lemon and smoky campfire) is the brand’s most popular on social media, along with Mojave Ghost — a floral-based scent with a hint of sandalwood and amber notes. But for those who prefer a headier, smoky vibe, opt for Slow Dance — a more ‘cool girl’ Instagram hit — for a more unusual fragrance with sophisticated patchouli and vanilla base notes. From ’s personal experience, it won’t be long before someone asks, ‘I love your perfume.
What is it?’ A hit in the United States, Phlur’s initial launch, Missing Person, had a waiting list when it launched in the UK. Phlur champions fragrances that have been specially crafted and blended to evoke intimate memories, tell a story and communicate a specific mood. The brand brings on board world-renowned perfumers who have worked with Byredo, Le Labo and Glossier to create a scent.
The range has now expanded to include body mists; its vanilla option has been a hit. If there’s one brand that has taken over #PerfumeTok, it’s Phlur — a ‘cool girl’ fragrance that not only looks good on a vanity but actually has the clout to match the hype. A Gen Z offering that eschews the traditional fragrance profiles for a more genderless take on perfume, DedCool is a brand that eptiomises the ‘skin’ scent that is very much on trend.
There’s Milk, which is designed to be a layering fragrance that you cloak your skin with before adding another perfume: imagine the fragrance equivalent of a foundation primer used before applying your makeup. It adds a soft, sensual, ambrosial and creamy layer of lactonic musky-milky scent to your skin, and helps give a bit of grip and texture to other fragrances that you spray on top. It’s also unigender, vegan and carbon neutral, and can be worn on its own for that ‘little bit of something’ when you don’t really fancy wearing a potent perfume.
Xtra Milk is designed to project a bit more, while Taunt offers top notes of bergamot. DedCool also offers air fresheners, laundry detergent and pet shampoo — a true lifestyle experience. A very trendy celeb-adored New York brand (Paul Mescal and Ryan Reynolds are known to be among high-profile fans), perhaps best known for its signature Santal 33 scent.
But the brand has been on the market for more than 15 years now and has quite the offering beyond the warm confines of Santal’s spicy seduction. Certainly, a mere two-second search on TikTok for Le Labo’s Thé Matcha 26 (£168, cultbeauty.co.
uk) will bring you face to face with more than four million posts. Le Labo works with a community of craftspeople from flower harvesters, local farmers, candle pourers and perfumers, to create fragrances to order. Each fragrance is complete with a personalised label including the date and place of the formulation, as well as a message chosen by the client.
The brand has a ton of unique scents, including gourmand vanilla perfumes, earthy fragrances, and floral scents that are all worth trying. It is, however, priced at the higher end for a fragrance: £168 for a 100ml bottle, although there are travel sizes available at £68. Each fragrance name ends with a number, eg Thé Matcha 26.
The figure denotes how many elements have made up the fragrance — a cool piece of trivia to reveal to your friends who are also obsessed with fragrance. Born in 2014, Le Monde Gourmand has become the singular icon of affordable fine fragrance in the United States. With a focus on fragrances inspired by food scents — naturally, given the brand’s name — this affordable brand has become a scent sensation on TikTok, with content creators and fragrance lovers alike going crazy for Chai Épicé Eau de Parfum, with its notes of Violet Fig, Muguet Musk and Blonde Woods.
According to Le Monde Gourmand, this fragrance will make you want to grab the perfect chai latte, a soft blanket, and spend a cozy night in. The best news: the brand is now available on this side of the big pond, with Asos stocking the fragrances. The second-best piece of news: a bottle of Le Monde Gourmand costs £20 — a brilliant price.
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