One of the attractions, and sometimes dislikes, for perfume lovers is: Exclusivity. While a lot of us may be annoyed at the prospect of yet another release that is out of reach, one must admit to the appeal that exclusivity holds when you’re ‘part of the club’. In a community filled with collectors, always looking for the next best thing, a limited release or obscure fragrance holds a certain value. How rare can they get though? I won’t dive into old, early 1900’s releases, of which a lot have been lost to time. Nor will I address limited edition bottles for known fragrances in this article. Instead, I’ll bring to light a couple of truly obscure releases by the biggest brands on today’s (niche) market. You can click on the names for more information (if available) for each of the fragrances mentioned.

Maison Francis Kurkdjian

Francis Kurkdjian has released several exclusive fragrances throughout the years, like Floralia (2011), Coloratura (2012) & Allegria (2013) for the Russian market and the super-limited Elle 20 (2013) (5 bottles for ELLE magazine Singapore) & Elle 25 (2010) (25 bottles for British ELLE).

Perhaps equally elusive seems to be Trianon Palace Versailles (2010). This fragrance is tied to the Palace Versailles, on the Trianon Estate, and its garden. Kurkdjian has been involved in several projects on the grounds, such as an orange blossom-themed installation in 2006 and more, like scented bubble-machines, in following years. In 2022 Kurkdjian became a patron to the Perfumer’s Garden Project at the estate, where hundreds of perfume-related plants are cultivated. Somewhere in the mix, this Trianon Palace Versailles fragrance popped up, with notes of iris, sweet pea and woody notes.

Creed

If you know anything about the house of Creed, you know how questionable their version of historic events has been. With claims of being perfume makers of stature since 1760, but no proof of any meaningful fragrance releases until the 1970’s at earliest. Despite the later entry, there are obscure Creed releases. Many Creed releases have no information on the year of release and little to no photographs available; Bois De Rhodes, Cuir Imperial, Verveine Narcisse & Anima Pimenta for example. It’s likely that small amounts have been produced for numerous unknown Creed’s in the 70’s and early 80’s, as the brand didn’t really see popularity until the mid 1980’s. A newer fragrance that I couldn’t find information on is Spring Fling (2002). Fun fact: Bond No. 9, whose owner used to work for Creed in 2002, released a Spring Fling fragrance later.

Scent Of Oger (2007), however, has all the information documented and it’s a relatively modern release, that few have had a chance to smell. OGER is a fashion store in the Netherlands. Creed was commissioned to make 200 bottles of Scent Of Oger for a birthday event of OGER’s owner. Apparently, most went to friends and family at the event, but I’ve heard that a lucky few were able to buy it in the OGER store afterwards.

Guerlain

I may dedicate an article to Guerlain alone in the future. Today, I only highlight one. Not as obscure as some others, but definitely the most interesting story: Kriss (1942). The following paragraph may get a bit controversial, but there’s always been an element of the story of Kriss that didn’t make sense to me; bear with me. Kriss has a troubled past, as it was commissioned for the army of Nazi-occupied Germany during World War II (the name Kriss references an SS-issued dagger). This spread rumors of Jacques Guerlain working together with the Nazi’s, but as one can imagine, there was likely little choice in the matter. Now, Kriss was re-released as Damawesk (1945) … which is where things get confusing to me.

As the lore goes; Guerlain didn’t want to be associated with Nazi’s at all, so the brand withdrew Kriss from the market as soon the war drew to an end. Another perspective from Guerlain is that it may have been withdrawn after 2-3 years, due to an ingredient shortage during the war. Additionally, De Feydeau says in her book Le Roman Des Guerlain that Jacques Guerlain purposely picked an old, leftover formula, as he didn’t feel like making them a proper perfume. And that he put it in a purposely plain bottle. None of those resolves make much sense to me, given that they chose to re-release it directly after the war, with the same exact formulation and bottle.

Xerjoff

Xerjoff has a ton of store exclusives, some more known than others. Harrods Lunosa (2020) is one that I own & it’s one of my favorite fragrances, 40 Noeuds (2022) for the Xerjoff Monaco store, Goetheplatz (2024) for Frankfurt & many more. The most obscure may be Polar Stars (2015) of which 450 were created & Verona 010 (2010), of which only 101 hand-painted bottles exist. Fun fact: You can buy bottle #2 of Verona010 here, for a mere $12,0000.

Yet, La Belle Otero may take the cake. I’m unsure when this was released, but it’s been around at least since 2017. This is an ode to historical figure Caroline Otero. Supposedly this fragrance was created in order for the royal Al-Thani family of Quatar. I’ve seen 2 people with photos of the bottle and there are notes listed by a supposed clone of La Belle Otero. Otherwise, not much is publicly known as far as I’m aware.

Amouage

One of the older niche brands, with a rich history. I won’t get into the dozens and dozens of attars that few have heard of, but there are also some perfumes from the house that I’ve never encountered in the wild. How about Amanie (2006), Arcus (2005), Asana (2005), Eau D’Amouage (2003), Esprit D’Amouage (2004)? From the few reviews that exist, it seems that some of these were uncharacteristically ‘designer-like’ for Amouage at the time and they seem to have been discontinued shortly after release.

There is an Amouage called Muscat-Venice (2024), made by Quentin Bisch, that one could exclusively smell at the Oman Pavillion in Venice from April to November 2024 according to the brand. Muscat-Venice was created for ‘Foreigners Everywhere’ art exhibition at the Venice Biennale.

Roja Parfums / Roja Haute Parfumerie

Roja is another brand that has ventured out to limited releases often. Loads of store exclusives, but also commissioned works and entire exclusive lines. You may know about the Semi-Bespokes from his other brand The Roja Dove Haute Parfumerie, but have you heard of the next step? The Legacy Collection. Over 30 variations have been produced, each costing £15,000. For that, one gets a case with 1x 100ml, 2x 50ml & 3x 30ml of the fragrance and exclusive access to that particular formula permanently.

There’s plenty more from Roja. Two fun commissions are Buzz Entertainment Bottled (2010) for The Sun tabloid & The Smell Of Money (2017) for a Sunday Times magazine charity event. An obscure release that started a legacy: Diaghilev EDP (2010); before the launch of the now-popular Extrait, a very limited Eau de Parfum was introduced at an exhibition in the Victoria & Albert Museum as an ode to Sergei Diaghilev, founder of the Ballet Russes.

The most obscure? Perhaps it’s By Appointment (2014). A 1-of-1 that one could smell on appointment when the Haute Perfumerie salon at Harrods London opened. ‘The bottle is capped with an amazing 486 diamonds surrounding 14 amethysts and nestles in a custom-made leather alligator case set with 18 carat gold dipped plaques bearing the Roja hallmark. The signature on each plaque contains 317 F colour diamonds.’. I’m not sure if this was for sale and if or when it stopped being available to smell.

Dior

Of course, a brand as big as Dior will have some hidden gems, and I’m not talking about Sauvage Elixir’s Baccarat Edition (2023) . The brand is so well-known and relatively modern, that most releases have gained enough notoriety. Albeit some may be forgotten or unknown to most, like Chris 1947 (2003), apparently available only in European duty-free shops. Perhaps the most limited releases were in 2007, when the brand launched La Collection Particuliere by Francois Demachy, with Passage No. 4, Passage No. 8 & Passage No. 9. Celebrating 10 years of collaborating with fashion designer John Galliano. 2000 bottles of each were distributed among 30 Dior boutiques.

Fragrance Du Bois

A relatively young brand, so there are not that many surprises. A lot of people may know the Fragrance du Bois attars from 2020 (Oud Du Bois, Arabesque, Areej, Aseel & Rose du Bois), which were sadly discontinued quickly. Oud du Bois being my favorite. Less known however, are the older ouds, some of which seem to have barely hit the market (if at all?): Java Oud (2018), Mandalay Oud (2018), Oud Nouveau (2018), as well as Pure Oud / Oud Intense (2018) & Borneo Oud (2018), both which were re-released shortly after.

Nishane

A brand that is now synonymous with niche perfumery, but as most, coming from more humble beginnings. Nishane launched an entire Cologne Parfumee collection in 2012-2013, just prior to their signature bottles and international distribution. Cap de Bonne-Esperance, Caraibes, Commerce Des Epices, Eau Classique, Eau Istanbul, Golfe Arabe & Mediterranee made up the collection.

Photo: The Silver Fox

Parfums de Marly

Another contemporary brand, with to my knowledge, only one ‘hidden’ release; at least for us that weren’t actively around when it was launched: Pegasus Tolla (2014). This is a highly concentrated oil consisting of Pegasus (2011) mixed with pure Soufi oud. It retailed for around $225/8ml.