We're Back. And Yes, We Missed You.

Hello, Fragrant Friend 👋,

It has been a while, almost four months. Thank you for your patience and for staying with us through the silence. And the moment has finally come: in this very edition, we’re presenting our perfume for the first time — you’ll find it further below.

The past months were shaped almost entirely by the work on New Niche, the fragrance publisher we’ve been building in the background. Over fifteen months of work have now gone into bringing this to life, which is also why Scently Speaking paused for a moment. We didn’t step away, we were simply absorbed by the process.

🗓️ Contents of this Issue

1. Note Worthy: Dupe Economics, Spotify Wrapped, Community Scents
2. Niche Newcomers: Nosu, Mayhap, New Niche
3. Scent MythBusters: Fragrances can easily be sold anywhere

Note-Worthy 🔎🌸

#DUPEECONOMICS: The “dupe crisis” is not a crisis at all — it is about lost control. Since fragrance formulas cannot be patented in the EU or US, duplication is entirely legal. Dupes simply expose how much of the industry relies on branding rather than true olfactive innovation. If a scent can be copied in days, its strength was never the formula, it was the myth around it.

#PLAYLISTPERFUMES: French Essence turns music data into olfactive personality tools: lo-fi becomes clean musk, rap becomes oud and amber, EDM becomes citrus and solar notes. Spotify Wrapped becomes a fragrance discovery engine, guiding consumers by mood and vibe rather than gender or category.

#REDDITREALITYCHECK: Crowdsourced taste is steering the fragrance story of 2025. The scents that shape this year are not always new launches but discoveries made through community talk — Raw Gold by Thomas De Monaco, Bowmakers by D.S. & Durga, and a wave of Guerlain classics. Reddit is functioning as an informal fragrance barometer.

Niche Newcomers 🎨 🌟

Independent studios continue to redraw the edges of modern perfumery. London’s art-forward duo Nosu turns warm-season nostalgia into golden haze, while French futurists Mayhap channel machine consciousness into metallic sensuality. And with our own debut, Chester Gibs slows the speed of life to capture a moment of involuntary stillness.

Been Trying To Meet You by Nosu — Pastoral Nostalgia. A sunlit tribute to warm meadows and hay barns, blending elderflower, dried grasses and pepper; immortelle, honey and bran add grainy warmth before ambrette, amyris and hay absolute settle into a soft, nostalgic glow. Perfumer: Jacob Grainger.

Coeur Métal by Mayhap — Metallic Mindscape. Iron, mint and coriander spark the opening before cables, papyrus and cedar form an architectural heart; amber, skin accord, labdanum, leather and musk shape a warm mechanical soul beneath the steel. Perfumer: Serge de Oliveira (Robertet).

Before the World Moved Again by Chester Gibs — Spiced Stillness. Our debut began with a single moment: a quiet Balinese alley, a woman assembling her daily offering, and the sudden stillness that interrupts a day in motion. Chester translates that pause into a spicy floral incense composition at 22% concentration, built for contemplation. Character: spicy, floral, incense. View here.

Why We Exist

New Niche was founded on one belief: perfume becomes more powerful when the perfumer is given authorship. Instead of briefs, trend decks or commercial templates, each creation begins with the perfumer’s own idea — a moment, a memory, a question worth turning into scent. We treat fragrances as published works, not seasonal launches, pairing every composition with an artwork created in response to it. Our first piece was painted by our good friend Ivana Rubelj.

Before the world moved again by Ivana Rubelj

Our aim is simple. Perfumers should hold the same cultural space as other artists — full creative freedom with no formula restrictions and a significant share for every perfumer on each work sold. Our role is not to dictate, but to amplify. Our community is not an audience, but a contributor. And our catalogue will grow slowly, intentionally, one authored scent at a time.

Code: SebastianLovesYou — a 20% thank-you on the 50ml bottle, one use per customer, EU shipping, valid until December 31, 2025.

Scent MythBusters 🎭️

“Fragrances can easily be sold anywhere.”
Myth of the week

TL;DR

Short answer: No. Taking a perfume global is a maze of regulations, logistics, and region-specific rules. Big fragrance groups breeze through thanks to teams of specialists, but indie brands quickly discover that the world is not their oyster without mountains of paperwork.

Reality check

Perfume is treated as a cosmetic in most markets, meaning strict safety rules, ingredient disclosures, and documentation. Ingredient bans vary by region, labeling rules differ, and perfumes’ flammability turns shipping into a hazardous-goods drama with extra fees and special handling.

Real brand scenarios

A small US house dreaming of Europe must check its formula against EU restrictions and IFRA standards, list allergens, and appoint an EU-based “Responsible Person”. Heading the other way, the UAE requires every perfume to be formally registered via a UAE-registered company; Kuwait adds long approval timelines, a mandatory local agent and bilingual labeling.

The shipping snafu

Perfume’s high alcohol content makes it a flammable hazardous material. Many carriers refuse it; others impose hefty surcharges. Indie brands often discover that shipping a €70 bottle internationally can cost more than the perfume itself.

Final judgment

Fragrances are not easily sold anywhere; they move across borders only after navigating a labyrinth of rules. Global perfume success isn’t just about smelling great — it’s about surviving the paperwork. Myth busted.