YOU DON’T KNOW ALL OF THESE BRANDS, BUT YOU SHOULD – PART III

There are many fragrance brands (any rational would say, too many). Even to those of us that are involved with fragrances on a daily basis, it’s become impossible to keep up. Worst, a lot of the newer brands that take up space and attention don’t bring anything of interest to the table, while brands with something to offer are lost in the crowd.

The title of this series may be a superlative, but I think that even the most hardened fraghead will find something new to discover in each part. In total there will be 5 parts, highlighting 10 brands each and a 6th bonus part. I was fortunate to be introduced to a lot of lesser known brands via PR when I was doing photography work on Instagram, otherwise I may have never encountered them. Some of the other brands on the list, I know less thoroughly, but were for example stand-outs during store visits or events. You can click on the names to see all the fragrances they’ve released.

Happy explorations!

Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV

ANGELOS CREATIONS OLFACTIVES
If you’re looking for perfumery anno 2025 that still uses high quality materials, look no further. Angelos use of quality ingredients immediately makes his creations feel like they are from a long gone past. My favorites include Salon dt. & Irida, but the newer Narkissos seemed epic in first impression.

TOLA
This brand popped up at the Skins stores in my region and while I thought it was a surprising (mis)match for the aesthetic of Skins, the collection seems excellent. A couple of really nice, truly Eastern smelling, deep florals stood out. I must try them again to figure out which were the ones I liked most.

BUTERBAUGH
Eric Buterbaugh is an America florist, with an accompanying (floral) perfume line. Or sadly, used to. These are great (and in one of my favorite presentations), with favorites like Oud Orange Flower & 1947 Dahlia. Started by Fabrice Croisé (from Scents of Wood), Buterbaugh Fragrances was sold & as far as I’m aware, production has completely stopped since.

YLEM PARFUMS
A new brand. I was happy to sample them a year prior their launch in 2025. I liked the scents, Soap Bubble & Eastern Veil more so than Eye Of God. The brand is live now and I must say, the concept and the presentation exceeded my expectations, so I’m curious what the future holds for Ylem.

MILES WAMBAUGH
As in most of these lists, there’s at least one brand that I admittedly don’t know well-enough. I’ve heard from some people that they found Miles Wambaugh fragrances derivative, but I’d have to try them more properly. The perfumers used and my first impressions were promising, for example with Coup D’Etat.

SOUL OF MAKEEN
This is one of those brands that I want to love their scents of more than I do so far. I think all of their fragrances are solid, but I’m waiting to be wowed. I’ve met the owner, I’ve met some of the perfumers and the presentation is great (better in hand than on photos, due to the heavy bottles and caps). A brand that I hope succeeds.

PEKJI
A couple of years ago, Pekji came up in conversations in my (online niche perfume) circles from time to time, but recently, I’ve not heard mention of it. It’s a great indie brand with a signature style and feel to their fragrances (at least, the older ones), with Battaniye as my favorite.

SABE MASSON
Sabe Masson was idle for a while and revamped/relaunched around 2024. I had a brief sniff of their collection and there were several stand-outs (don’t ask me which, my memory during events is non-existent). However, since this relaunch, I’ve not seen them around, which is a shame. I hope we see a wider roll-out.

D:SOL MMXVI
D:SOL MMXVI is my kind of brand so far (although, not necessarily in a way that all of their fragrances work for me). Quality, thoughtful releases, not flooding the market or following trends. Some of the best bottles in the industry as well. Terram remains my favorite.

CIRO
I’m lucky to have access to this brand through some stores nearby, but I feel like Ciro has less of a presence in the online fragrance community than it should have. Ciro is a legacy brand from the early 1900’s that was revived. It’s quality and classy in its style, Chevalier de la Nuit is often compared to Coromandel for example. Columbine is another standout.