10 of the Best Niche Fragrances for Men

Voted Best Niche Fragrance at the Who What Wear Next in Beauty Awards 2025, Maison Crivelli’s Safran Secret extrait de parfum is inspired by the moment Thibaud Crivelli came across fields of saffron in a thick blanket of fog. Equally mysterious and enveloping, it’s defined by a captivating contrast: comforting, spicy saffron and a base of warm blond woods.

Using exclusive fabrics made by local producers, family-run Barena takes ‘Made in Italy’ one step further – it’s ‘Made in Venice’. This Salso eau de parfum pays tribute to the brand’s namesake, ‘the Barena’, a moniker given to the unique landscape suspended between Venice and its lagoon – a world of tidal waters, salty winds and weathered wood. Expect fresh bergamot, neroli and fig leaves, a soft geranium heart, and a warm, enveloping woody base.

“One sniff and you want the whole bottle,” Geza Schoen says of Iso E Super, an elusive aroma-molecule usually relegated to the background of fragrances. Realising that his favourite scents had this one thing in common, he decided to do the unthinkable: spritz on nothing but Iso E Super itself. The result was the cult Molecule 01 eau de toilette, said to be utterly addictive. With Molecule 01 + Cistus, the brand has now added cistus into the mix – a Mediterranean resin with an intense, slightly smoky aroma.

Launched in 2015, Santa Maria Novella’s Cinquanta eau de cologne celebrates the 50th anniversary of the twinning of two iconic cities – Florence and Kyoto. A marriage of their two distinct cultures, it opens with Italian notes of bergamot, grapefruit and orange blossom combined with rose and green tea reflecting the fragrances of the East.

Home to its world-famous market, Portobello Road is a London institution. Memo Paris’ eau de parfum is designed to evoke the very same street. Floral, zesty notes recall the brightly coloured facades and flowers, while asphalt accord captures the smell of damp pavement after rain.

In 1935, Eight & Bob’s founder Albert Fouquet travelled to visit a childhood friend in Egypt. Overwhelmed by his discoveries of essences and scents, he decided to extend his stay to create a new fragrance formula: Egypt eau de parfum. Blending lavender, moss, nutmeg and patchouli, it’s as warm and serene as a trip down the Nile.

Founded by the court barber and perfumer to Queen Victora, Penhaligon’s has a long-standing relationship with British royalty. Made in collaboration with Highgrove Gardens, the private residence of King Charles III, Daphne Bouquet takes its name from the spring flower grown on the estate: fresh, mossy and elegant.

Mary Anne Floris took over the family business with her husband in 1878, and her descendants are still a part of the brand today. Purple Mémoire eau de parfum takes inspiration from Ivy Lodge, the couple’s family home for over 50 years. Infused with calming lavender, jasmine and sandalwood, it captures her own aromatic gardens brought to life during English summers.

Launched to celebrate 30 years of Comme des Garçons Fragrances, Odeur 10 builds upon the brand’s ‘anti-perfume’ series. Completely upending the rules of perfumery, these are synthetic scents built on abstract themes like the smell of laundry and the freshness of oxygen. A case in point, this new eau de parfum is “oxygenated ultra-purity”, says the brand – “a chemical composition of clean”.

The idea for Le Labo’s Eucalyptus 20 eau de parfum began with an image: a vast expanse of rolling red sand, empty except for a single white tree standing on the horizon. Capturing the freshness of eucalyptus and cedarwood, it has a soft heart of leathery labdanum and a warm, resinous base of frankincense and musk.

The new headline scents from the world’s biggest brands.

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