The Bottle That Started It All

Tubereuse criminelle

This bottle of scented liquid was my first ever niche perfume purchase.

There was a lot of talk about it in the blogosphere around 2012 or so. I would surmise that it was due to it no longer being a non-export fragrance from the Serge Lutens line up. In addition to no one ever having smelled anything like it before.

The first time I smelled it was a complete mindfuck. Up until that point, I had only ever smelled mainstream fragrances. Sure, I had smelled some pretty legendary fragrances along the way but nothing that left me wondering WTF did I just experience.

I procured a sample from perfumeniche to their credit one of the first, if not THE first perfume decant business in Canada.

Much of what was written about this fragrance was about the difficult opening. Niche perfume was still in its infancy at that time. The majority of perfume consumers were raised on very pleasant top notes with mainstream formulations, myself included.

I gingerly dabbed the perfume on the back of my left hand. Raised said hand to my nose and inhaled a big ol’ blast of wintergreen soaked tuberose.

Mind blown. It was amazing.

This simple act opened the door for me to how creative niche perfume can be. The risks that can be taken aromatically. The storytelling. The distinctiveness of our perfumed personas.

What is most interesting to me about this perfume is the juxtaposition of the frigid wintergreen opening with the full-bodied warmth of carnal tuberose and musk as it dries down.

Have you smelled this? What were your thoughts? What was your first niche purchase?