L’Artisan Parfumeur has sold out. As of last week, the formerly niche perfume brand can now be found at (relatively) mainstream retailer Sephora. L’Artisan has since been dropped by several niche retailers, including MiN New York, which declared over Twitter:
L’Artisan Parfumeur has sold out, and I could not care less.
I mean, am I really supposed to care? Am I really supposed to be upset that my favorite perfume brand has just become more accessible? L’Artisan makes some of the strangest and most beautiful perfumes on the market, from the circus-inspired Dzing! to the heartbreakingly gorgeous Safran Troublant. Frankly, I’m goddamn thrilled that Sephora shoppers might trade in their Pink Sugar for some Timbuktu.
I guess I can sort of understand why someone might take issue with L’Artisan’s new distribution strategy, if I squint hard enough. The concern is that L’Artisan might start dumbing down their fragrances now that they’re targeting a more mainstream audience, right? This seems unlikely for a few reasons. Only seven of the 33 L’Artisan fragrances are currently available on the Sephora website. Those seven fragrances are only available online, and cannot be sampled or purchased in Sephora stores. As it currently stands, this arrangement does not sound as profitable to L’Artisan as some of its other business relationships (for example, Barney’s New York carries the entire L’Artisan line in several of its stores). Sephora customers are unlikely to be L’Artisan’s primary target.
Niche perfumes are supposed to be better than mainstream perfumes. That’s why we’re supposed to be willing to pay more for them. But let’s face it, y’all: it’s been a long time since the word “niche” has guaranteed a high-quality perfume. I think that some retailers are vastly overestimating how much consumers care about whether their perfumes are niche or mainstream. I know that I’ll keep buying L’Artisan perfumes no matter where they’re sold.
How much does the distinction between niche and mainstream perfumes matter to you? Are you more likely to buy niche perfumes than mainstream?
I walked into Sephora a few weeks ago and was stunned to see an Atelier Cologne event and the entire Atelier line occupying a wall right next to Tokyo Milk. I did think, “Sell out!” But they were selling bottles at a super fast clip, and I started asking myself if it wasn’t such a bad idea to educate the larger public better.
I think that overall, Atelier Cologne’s line is much more accessible than L’Artisan’s. I can’t really see Sephora including some of the more challenging fragrances like Dzing! or Bois Farine, and as you pointed out, there are only 7 on the website.
Hard to say what I think, but I am not so rigid. As long as they don’t start messing with the existing line, or dumbing down future releases, I don’t mind that much. Anyway, isn’t Serge Lutens already sold by Sephora in France? Where was the stink about that?
I’m sooo jealous of you, baconbiscuit. I don’t think that any of my local Sephoras are going to get either Atelier Cologne or TokyoMilk anytime soon. I agree that both of those lines seem more natural to Sephora than L’Artisan does. I’m not sure where L’Artisan is going with this business relationship, but I don’t think it was necessarily a bad move.
French Sephora does have Serge Lutens, along with a ton of lines that we would consider niche in the U.S. They’ve had Atelier Cologne for years before we did!
If I had to pick a niche fragrance that I thought was primed and ready to go mass market, it would be Juliette Has a Gun. It seems just right for the post-Tokyo Milk set — and I’m not just saying that because of the packaging!
There is something to be said about the power of Sephora though in pushing houses to offer a greater variety of smaller sizes and bottles. They have a fairly impressive line of roll-ons, which are perfect if you like something and don’t want to commit to a full bottle yet.
It sounds to me like these L’Artisans must be available at ‘offline’ Sephora stores sooner or later, because I can’t imagine people buying them unsniffed over the internet. I suppose they had to make this decision in order to reach out to a bigger market. Frankly it doesn’t bother me as long as the brand will more or less stay the same!
You would definitely think so, BG, but Sephora does have some perfumes that are permanently online-only. This includes many of their Guerlains, such as L’Heure Bleue, Samsara, and Champs-Elysees. It does seem very odd to me, but someone must be buying them!
Oh noes, Sephora is selling L’Artisans!
Is it really that big of an issue? The main reason I own less of this brand is because I’m an instant gratification kind of person, and will much more readily buy a fragrance on a whim than order something, even if I’ve been pining after it. Art with Flowers at Tyson’s Galleria carries L’Artisans as well as a treasure trove of other niche fragrances, but their hours are unpredictable. While I have no love for Sephora — which I call ‘Herpes Central’ — if they actually start carrying these in store, I might drop by their fragrance dept. a bit more frequently.
It just seems to be the case of people wanting to feel special and unique having a fit over their exclusivity being encroched upon by the masses. Give me a fucking break. I go between wearing De Profundis and Chanel No. 5. I don’t feel any less fabulous wearing either despite the fact that I’m pretty sure you can pick up No. 5 everywhere these days. I think I saw it in a CVS the other day.
Love your comment, and so, so jealous of your De Profundis. I went into Art with Flowers for the first time the other day and was thrilled to find some L’Artisans that I’d never seen before, like Anais Fizz and the carrot one. It seemed like a fun store, although I didn’t get to see that little dog you were talking about. Still, it’s WAY less accessible to me than a Sephora would be, and I would really appreciate the opportunity to not have to travel for hours to try some niche perfumes.
It depends on the time of day. The tiny dog usually sleeps on the counter, but she goes home for her nap around 6 or so. I have gone in a couple of times and seen the dog being carried around the Galleria.
We need to make plans to have a perfume date, lady. I’ve been wanting to check out the SMN store in Chevy Chase but haven’t had a chance to get up there yet.
WORD. so much word.
OMG!! If only we had a Sephora here in Australia I would shop myself into a very deep hole. As it is I get L’Artisan sent to the UK and then posted through here, or I can buy from Parfum1, LuckyScent and a couple of other full bottle purveyors to the colonies. I’m thrilled for you Arielle that your fave frag line is becoming readily available near you. Are the pieces they have your faves?
Portia xx
No faves yet, Portia, they seem to be starting pretty safe (with white florals and the blackberry one). You Australian perfumistas are truly dedicated- I can’t believe what you have to go through to get to try certain brands! I’ve heard that Serge Lutens doesn’t even ship to Australia!
We have a couple of stores that sell the Serge Lutens line. There are perfumeries, it’s just that few of my serious and desperate frag needs are covered. L’Artisan is coming down here though soon with a line of about 15. We have Malle, Dityque, KAI, CDG, Amouage, Juliette Has A GNU, Robert Piguet and many others. I just always seem to want the impossible.
I hope you are all good up there, heading into cooler territory.
Portia xx
Oh wow, that’s really not bad at all! And really, who can complain as long as you’ve got Juliet Has A Gnu??
What do you think of Kai, Portia? It’s the only perfume my father has ever commented positively on.
I have not yet put it on my skin. I will do so just so I can give you my response. It wasn’t a big thing here like in Northern America.
Give me a couple of days,
Portia xx
Wow, that tweet really betrays snobbishness/big city hubris to me. Hate to say it, but it’s true. I enjoy many mainstream perfumes and even mass market things. Heck, I love to rock certain Bath and Body Works scents (Butterfly Flower, Moonlight Path – bring ‘em on!). I see it as only a good thing for L’Artisan to get a wider distribution and expose itself to more people. Anyone who sees it as a BAD thing, I think is being a little elitist. I mean, I can get to Sephora, but there is no MIN in my town. Just sayin’.
I intend to stay silent on the tweet and let everyone draw their own conclusions. That’s a very nice conclusion you have there
And there’s no MiN in anyone’s town, unless your town is NYC! I also love and miss Butterfly Flower. And White Tea & Ginger beats that new By Kilian tea scent any day.
hahaha count on me to speak my mind.
OK, I’m just annoyed by this and have a lot of disorganized thoughts. How can a perfume company sell out? It’s already a COMPANY. It’s about making money. This is where the intersection of “perfume as art” and “perfume as a consumer good” gets really wonky. L’Artisan was always already about selling perfume. They weren’t in business as a nonprofit art organization or something! You know?
Perfectly put. L’Artisan employees have to eat, just like everybody else. And just because you start out niche, doesn’t mean that you have to stay that way!
But, but, her BRAND! How dare the rest of the peasants wear L’Artisans.
You know what, when I love something I like to share that love with others. I’m always making generous samples of my niche perfumes for friends because I want to share it with them. One friend fell in love w/ Amouage Epic because it reminded her of the Chinese incense her family burned, so I made her a large sample. Same w/ a friend who loved Avignon because it reminded her of being a child and attending Midnight Mass on Christmas.
For me, snobbery has no place in perfume. I’ll admit I didn’t like my baby sister wanting to wear my perfume growing up … but that was just that sibling rivalry thing going on. Seriously, no one is too good or not good enough for a perfume. If someone likes a perfume, they like it. Having something be out of reach and unattainable to others doesn’t necessarily make it better. And pretentiousness in marketing makes me less inclined to purchase something.
I am consistently blown away by the generosity of internet perfume lovers. I particularly love your example because it really proves how universal some experiences can be. Even though both of your friends clearly come from different cultures, both of those cultures led them to seek out incense fragrances!
I’ve also read that some Atelier Colognes will be appearing (or will appear) on Sephoras counter. I bet they won’t be sold in Sephoras of Poland. We’re far behind in a perfume world so that probably won’t happen here.
In terms of introducing L’Artisan to Sephora I thing I wouldn’t mind. I agree with you that they make either the strangest or the best smelling perfume (I’m with you on Safran Troublant) but I personally didn’t have much luck with the line. I like 2 maybe 3 fragrances from L’Artisan I tried so far.
One will say it’s not niche anymore or niche going mainstream, some will say it’s still pure niche.
As I just mentioned I probably won’t see L’Artisans in Polish Sephoras but I really wouldn’t mind.
To me perfume is a perfume. If it smells good on me and makes me swoon each time I smell it it doesn’t matter to me if I buy it in Sephora or an exclusive niche perfume boutique. I just enjoy the scent, no matter what.
Don’t give up hope on Atelier Cologne, Lucas! I saw them in France a year ago, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the line begins to infiltrate other European Sephoras, too. Have you tried any of them? It’s a pretty great line so far.
Ari! Of course I did, my local niche perfumery carries the entire line, I tried them all. To tell more, I’m buying a big bottle of Rose Anonyme. This boutique gifted me with a sample before they had it and I love it. Now I only wait until they’ll have it in store. They said it would appear in September so it can be any day.
You can see my review or Rose Anonyme too
After testing a few so-called niche fragrances early in my perfumista-hood, I caught on that “niche” didn’t mean “better perfume”, it just meant “not made by a humongous cosmetics company like Lauder or L’Oreal”. The only difference I could perceive was small manufacturer vs. big manufacturer. A lot of niche perfumes are quite “meh” for the big bucks they charge. And by the way? For high quality at a reasonable price, you can’t do much better than Lauder.
The L’Artisan line has never appealed to me (except for Dzing!), but I say more power to them, as long as they don’t start producing the pink fruit juices that are so common to Sephora.
In full agreement with all these comments, especially those about exclusivity. For me the point of niche to fill a gap (the size of the Grand Canyon) in the photo-shopped market-tested focus-grouped blandness offered by the mainstream. If that niche expands because consumer tastes have changed to me that equals success, not loss of identity. I constantly recommend L’Artisan and Annick Goutal as gateway brands to ladies who have found their way to the Jo Malone counter and are ready for something a bit…more. Goutal can be found at many major department stores and it hasn’t changed their brand identity a bit. I think L’Artisan should be the same way. And while we’re at it, let’s revive the Crazy Libellule solids and sell them to tweens. *folds arms* *steps down from soapbox*
This is such a great point, Alyssa. We should be taking it as a good sign that Sephora feels that its customers would enjoy L’Artisan perfumes! Thank you for reminding us about Annick Goutal- it’s a perfect example of a brand that successfully straddles the line between niche and mainstream.
OH FOR HEAVENS SAKE. We are talking about PERFUME. Being sold in a retaile establishment that, um, SELLS PERFUME. By a company that MAKES PERFUME AND SELLS IT FOR MONEY.
If someone is wearing Mure et Musc or Fleur de Liane because the peons can’t buy it where they shop, then that person is a shallow, shallow person who should BE ASHAMED.
(pant pant whew) I don’t even have a dog in this fight. There’s not a L’Artisan I want to buy, except maybe I might consider a decant of Seville a l’Aube, which I’m still on the fence about anyway, even though I think it is amazeballs, because it might not be my kind of amazeballs and I’m really saving up for a Whole Bottle of Carnal Flower anyway.
I could not possible care any less whether it’s niche, mainstream, indie, or drugstore. “How’s it smell?,” that’s my criteria. And you people who *have* access to a Sephora should be happy. Happy, I tell you! Here, I have a Macy’s and a CVS. No Sephora. No Sephora within three hours’ drive, I tell you!
Couldn’t agree more with you! And if you want, I’ll be happy to forward you my decants of Seville a l’Aube. It didn’t really work with my skin chemistry.
As for MiN, maybe they are worried because Sephora has a “no questions asked” customer service policy.
Love this!
FOR MONEYYYYYY! I didn’t have any doubt what your position on the issue would be, Mals
Buying a perfume solely for its exclusivity makes zero sense to me. It’s not like a Prada purse, where everyone can see how much you paid for it. It’s literally invisible! No one else will ever know how expensive or exclusive your perfume is unless you go out of your way to tell them.
Further comment: I wonder if the fuss here is really about MiN New York’s worry over the possibility of losing business to Sephora. MiN’s pricing structure has always stopped me from purchasing anything from them, even when they’ve hosted sales.
I promised myself that I wasn’t going to use words like “tacky”, so I will simply say that I consider it unwise to badmouth a perfume brand THAT YOU ARE STILL CURRENTLY CARRYING. I mean, what in the world?
I buy niche and I buy mainstream. I don’t have easy access to a lot of lines which means I have to either spend money on samples or blind buy. I do have sephoras and if I could actually go in and sniff something interesting I’d be happy. If access to some other more interesting scents would help to wean people away from the sweet, syrupy things now being sold I guess I’d be okay with it. I guess I have to ask the question what is niche really? Lots of people have easy access to some lines that I don’t and vice versa. My niche is their mainstream. L’Artisan is in the business to make money. If I were them I’d jump on the chance to have Sephora’s selling power.
I would finance L’Artisan’s transition into the mainstream market MYSELF if it “helped to wean people away from the sweet, syrupy things”!
Isnt it the goal of every business to grow and achieve greater success? If you start out small you dont have to stay small and be exclusive. It is not a sell out to try to get your product to more customers. Im happy for L’Artisan.
You are spot on. Any company’s first goal is to be profitable. That doesn’t mean that they will put out a poor quality product. Seriously, don’t we all work so that we have money to buy things (like a house, or food, or electricity or AC, or perfume…). Why wouldn’t L’Artisan want to put its product in front of as many people as possible?
It really, really is. I would guess that very few companies in any field would pass up an opportunity like this, and I don’t know why anyone would expect that L’Artisan would be any different.
I’ve read that Sephora in Paris is very different from ours in the states, selling lots of Guerlains and all kinds of perfumes that we perfumistas love. My first reaction to the news was relief–maybe our Sephoras would start looking more European. It didn’t even occur to me to criticize L’Artisan or Atelier Cologne. The masses need to be exposed to what we they’re missing. Maybe there will be a perfume revolution.
It’s true, SuzyQ! The Sephora I visited in Paris might as well have been a completely different store than the ones I’ve seen in the US, even New York Sephoras. They even have Apres l’Ondee!
As to your last point- I want everyone to smell good, not just me. If you have exclusionary attitudes about perfume, you might not want to tweet about them!
I think this whole niche-exclusivity thing is silly. Silly silly silly. I wonder if MiN’s real issue is continuing irritation over Sephora “stealing” its idea of fragrance flights. Which I can understand. But if so, why drag L’Artisan’s name into it? You offered a word for MiN’s actions, and I’m going to add this one: shortsighted. If it has any effect at all, it will be on their own reputation.
Oh, I didn’t even think about that Sephora/MiN beef from a while ago. I agree with everything in your comment, particularly “silly” and “shortsighted”.
I am old enough to remember when Sephora was born; Europe first then the U.S..It was a very different animal then especially where perfume was concerned. The stores used to all have a “perfume organ” right at the front door where they would hold “events” teaching people about fragrances. They also carried everything from “department store” scents to ultra-niche houses. If I am not mistaken I even think they might have carried L’Artisan back then. They were very much “self serve” and only approached you if you asked. Here it is years later and that Sephora seems like a fever dream. The stores are loud, crowded, and you almost have to shout “leave me the hell alone” at all the sales people hounding you. The perfume organ has been replaced by a greeter and all the niche is gone. Sephora basically turned into Macys.
So I for one am thrilled at the prospect of Sephora returning to their roots and becoming something other than a P&G Prestige outlet.
I wish I had discovered Sephora back in the perfume organ days, loungeboy! My local Sephoras definitely used to carry more niche brands (I remember Comptoir Sud Pacifique specifically), but they’ve definitely been pretty Macy’s-esque for a few years now.
Tssss….As long as the juice is good, I wouldn’t mind buying my perfume even from a gnome in a hole.
I would be thrilled to buy anything good-smelling from a gnome in a hole. Or just from a gnome.
Not if the gnome is in Norway as it will cost you twice as much
I s’pose if niche brands really wanted to be purist and non-commercial, they would load up the wheelbarrow and go village to village, bartering perfume for hen’s eggs and homemade jellies, and performing exorcisms and light dentistry on request.
BRING OUT YOUR DEAD! BRING OUT YOUR DEAD!
I think the twitter message by MiN is beyond stupid.
It is not where you sell but what you sell.
Let’s talk about serge, for example.
You find the entire SL export line at sephora (at least in Italy), together with the very maistream and dumb fragrances à la Saharienne, Bulgari Black, Coco Noir, etc…
It is just an opportunity for the brand to broaden its fan-base, and I think l’artisan has many fragrances “mainstream” enough to appeal the sephora shopping crowd, from the young girl (mure et musc, anyone?) to anyone in quest of lighter elevator-friendly perfumes, as a smart altrenative to the Prada Infusions.
Serge Lutens doesn’t seem any less mysterious and intriguing on the Sephora shelves than it does in the most sophisticated and confidential perfume boutiques.
The perfume boutiques should be able to make the difference by taking advantage of their expertise, passion and know how, and simply by selling perfumes that smell good.
People should also learn how to keep their fingers from tweeting too much. Sell great perfumes, don’t tweet.
Thank you for flat-out saying what I was attempting to subtly imply, Zazie!
There are quite a few people in all branches of the perfume industry that I do not think are exactly ready for Twitter. Someone needs to give them a social media workshop or something!
Touche, Ari! Many of the biggest and best companies started out small. I do notice that niche perfumes are better, on average, than mainstream ones, because the everyman is not looking for a challenge. But the general consensus is that mainstream perfumes being bad is a problem. Why would it be a bad thing that L’Artisan is trying to rectify that?
The only concern I have is that L’Artisan cuts old perfumes (Vanilia), no matter how good they are, to make room for new ones. They’re engaging in mainstream practices already. I hope this doesn’t get worse when they’re mass-market.
I also find L’Artisan’s tendency to cut great perfumes very bizarre, Joan. I’m not crazy about Vanilia, but I wish they’d bring back Anais Fizz! That was a fun one. Hopefully the problem doesn’t get worse now that they are moving into the mainstream arena.
This reminds me of my old Punk/Alternative days. I listened to that music back in the 70′s when hardly anybody listened to it and my friends would regularly roll their eyes at me when i would plead with them to give it a chance. This is the same reaction i often get from my Department store fragrance lovin’ friends too; even after they like what I’m wearing they still act like it is something not for them when I tell the it is a niche line.
Just as the beginning of MTV gave those musicians I loved a chance to connect with a larger audience, and the best ones did, so will Sephora give Atelier, L’Artisan, and whoever is next the opportunity to do the same. I am actually looking forward to wearing Orange Sanguine one day and having someone say “Oh I tried that at Sephora the other day and really thought it was different.”
I like it when there are more people liking the things i like because then they can tell me about something I’ve missed and that makes all of it fun.
I’m happy for the Sephora and L’Artisan union. I’m thrilled that Sephora will be carrying some of the L’Artisan line because I think it’s a wonderful line with a nice variety of scents that are well done. More exposure for L’Artisan which I have no problem with. Mimosa Pour Moi was my first introduction to the world of “niche” perfume back in 1997, while on my honeymoon in Vancouver, BC.
I’m miffed at MiN for that tweet. I found it very snobby.