The deal with indie fragrances

Today’s guest post comes from the lovely Kim from IndieStyleFile!  After you’ve finished reading her great rundown on some independent perfumers, go check out her site for lots more of the hottest fashion from independent artisans and designers.

I spend a lot of time writing about indie designers over at IndieStyleFile, but the idea of indie extends much, much further. Indie can be anything artisan, and that includes fragrances.

My love affair of indie fragrances began with our very own Amy. I had just discovered etsy and MakeupAlley, a makeup and beaut discussion board. It was there I heard about Modern Atelier, one of Amy’s endless side projects.

Long story short, I got four fragrances in the mail: Three for me and one for my boyfriend. Amy helped me choose fragrances that I might like and everything, as it usually does with indie artists, came beautifully packaged and personalized. The ones I got are still constantly in my rotation, and I love them dearly.

Like buying anything else indie, it’s all about the communication between you and the seller. You can ask for custom blends, or more descriptions on how something smells.

So here’s a quick and dirty list of some of my favorite indie perfumers.

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. This site is a cult favorite. I’ve yet to order any of the small oil “imps,” but I don’t know a single person who does not long something on their scent list.

Possets This site has mainly oils, which, I think, can be longer lasting. It’s a much smaller bottle, but oils are supposed to sink into your skin more than alcohol-based fragrances.

Mad City Sue A popular Etsy bath and body seller, Mad City Sue also makes perfume oils.

Theme Fragrance I’ll admit that my favorite thing about this line is their labeling. It’s gorgeous. They don’t heave too many fragrances, but if you love girly tropical scents, Theme is the place to go.