The perfume market has been flooded with so many “niche” and “independent” lines over the past five years that I sometimes like to look back at my collection and remember the fragrance houses that really helped me to develop my taste for non-mainstream scents in the first place. Some of them, like Diptyque, L’Artisan Parfumeur and Annick Goutal, were already well-established and (relatively) widely available, while others, like Lorenzo Villoresi, Demeter (back in the 90s!) and Aroma M were smaller and more specialized.

My favorite fragrance from Aroma M, ever since I first learned about the line in 2006, is the quirky-sweet Geisha Violet. I’m also fond of Amber Rouge, but I hadn’t tried any others in a while, so I recently ordered some samples (while purchasing a bottle of Camellia Face Oil!) and revisited some of the other Geisha “colors.” Blue and Blanche, in particular, seem well-suited for summer wear, and I’ve been trying them this week…

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