Niche Show London 2026

Niche Show 2026 Gallery

Simply put, the second year of the London’s Niche Show was bigger and better. The change of venue to the Mall Galleries – a neat complex of art galleries set at the opposite end to Buckingham Palace on the Mall in London – was necessary to house more brands, but considering the windowless double height, basement level rooms, it also made the whole thing feel secret and insular as if it was hidden from the outside world.

Niche Show 2026 on a gloriously sunny Friday, at the Mall Galleries in London

The curation itself felt just as considered as the new venue. From unique brands launched a couple of days before the event to established houses like event sponsor Kajal (who were launching their latest, The Whispering Oud), there were some 40+ brands present at Niche Show 2026; and looking back at my report from Niche Show 2025 there was very little in the way of brand crossover within that number. Thankfully there were also a couple of perfume houses exhibiting that I was crowded out from properly exploring at Paris Perfume Week (event report here)… @KAJALperfumes

One of my highlights of the show: Olymra

Olymra was a case in point. I missed them in Paris but I’m super grateful that I got to walk through the collection with brand owner, perfumer and scientist Frida Michailidou. Her stories, innovations and commitment to capturing the smell of Mount Olympus and its ancient, isolated botanicals absolutely blew me away. Within her range of five fragrances Oreantheia is an easy highlight, all sun dappled stone and orange blossom and Achillea is an astonishingly blue smelling herbal extrait. Collectively there is so much detail and nuance to unpack within her collection that it’s going to take me more than a minute to properly digest… @olymraofficial

Niche Show 2026 Fischersund

Fischersund is the family run, Icelandic outfit whose perfumer is also the guitarist and vocalist for post rock band Sigur Rós. If you’re familiar with the band’s imagery and homespun aesthetic then the brand might feel somewhat familiar already: there’s lots of expression to it, in the intricate monochrome art work and the discovery sets themselves are essentially burnished metal tins that feel like tangible product, primed to hold a stash of Fisherman’s Friends or salted liquorice after the fact. The fragrances feel very influenced by the Icelandic environment in which they were made with the cold and the ocean being two themes and olfactive styles that crop up repeatedly (along with stark ingredients like pine, tar and wood smoke). Útilkyt, which was eloquently described to me as the smell that stays on you when you come inside from being out in a cold forest, does a great job of translating that natural aura whilst No. 23, the brand’s bestseller, captures “salty, ocean air mixed with the aroma of pipe tobacco” wonderfully. @fischersund

Niche Show 2026 Mirads Parfums

Mirads Parfums is a young British house with five fragrances: an original trio made by Miguel Matos and two new, just launched perfumes from Margaux Le Paih Guérin. Matos’ Paradis du Desert is a crisp and soapy, fougere leaning composition that has a chaste, clean, meditative lime note to it whilst Le Paih Guérin’s Sweet Symphony is an absolute explosion of riotous colour and summer fruits. Her Romantica extrait is more of a gourmand floral that explores biscuity, sugary tones, but it’s the pomp and sheer fruit syrup of Sweet Symphony that sticks out. @mirads_parfums

Param Sara is a cool and contemporary Indian niche brand who I first met in Paris after a duo of independent retailers tipped me off about a green mango and marigold perfume that I should go and smell. That perfume, called The Mandala (a finalist in last year’s Art & Olfaction Awards), was built to represent hope and self-acceptance and it’s bright, sunny and full of all the floral nuances of marigold and osmanthus. Honestly, the brand feels like it’s perched on the precipice of something great considering the quality of everything they’re offering and how busy their stand was in both Paris and London. @paramsaraofficial

L-R: Free Yourself’s interactive word wall and Aether, Ralph Schweiger’s composition for the brand

Free Yourself was another brand I failed to engage with properly in Paris, so Niche Show 2026 gave me an opportunity to lock in and learn about the new American brand that wants you to “create space to flourish”. Their original collection explored the four elements as inspirations and since launch, they’ve added two more to their Elements collection as well as a three-part 30ml Mindful collection. Their unique word wall dominated their space with their playful idea being that after smelling their perfumes you could take a sticker and opt to ‘free yourself’ from any of the themes, acts or ideas listed, however trivial.

In terms of the perfumes: Aether from Ralph Schweiger has a unique bell pepper and blackcurrant calling card that amplifies aspects of his hyacinth accord and Numinous is a pretty exceptional coffee-tinged amber from Mathilde Bijaoui. @freeyourselfandflourish

L-R: some of the debut releases from a duo of brands launched days before the event

There were also, bravely, a couple of brands – namely Aplomb and Santi Peccatori – that had launched just days before the event. I don’t say ‘bravely’ here to call them foolhardy. Far from it. I mean more that an exhibition like this can be something of a trial by fire with a constant stream of visitors, questions, requests. Both brands seemed to handle it graciously; Ireland’s own Santi Peccatori’s two collections were moreish and sultry and definitely warrant deeper study once they’ve restocked. @santi.peccatori

Aplomb is a new Finnish brand who showcased a trio of fragrances created by Sebastian Cresp that were delightfully personal. Founder Ina Niiniketo, quietly told me that each fragrance is essentially an olfactory letter to someone important to her. January 5 is a luminous lily-of-the-valley devoted to a friend who passed away and Akikio Mori is dedicated to Ina’s friend, a talented Japanese ceramicist whose calm and nurturing nature Cresp captures with green tea, rice, mimosa and milky notes. @aplombperfume

L-R: Brodeon’s Cuiré and Elysian’s award winning Fairest Of Them All

Elsewhere Brodeon founder Tom Hidvegi’s love for pineapple shined so bright that his testers and stock piles were completely emptied. He kindly sprayed what he did have on my arm and Ruméa is a joy of rum and coconut though my hastily scribbled notes say I preferred the relative darker tones of Cuiré. American perfumer Jessi Park of Elysian ran me through a cross section of her impressive portfolio of perfumes of which Lavender Milk Tea and Blueberry Creme Scone stood out as expertly crafted gourmands. @brodeon_perfumes @elysianparfums

L-R: Hormone Paris stand at Niche Show 2026 and Tombstone Fragrance’s hauntingly memorable Sing At My Funeral

Hormone Paris showcased a very interesting concept, impeccable lab-ware inspired flacons and perfumes that persist beyond the realms of possibility. The striking, inverted flacons of Tombstone Fragrances were displayed like olfactory art pieces in a corner of the gallery and I think Sing At My Funeral might’ve been one of the best, most emotive things I smelled at the entire show. @hormoneparis @tombstone_fragrances

I’m all too aware that I’ve been using event reports like this one to make sweeping statements about the vibrancy of ‘niche perfume’ as an overriding concept, but without looking at a spreadsheet it’s the most immediate and obvious metric I’ve got. What’s evident from spending the best part of a day there is that the industry is continuing to bloom in popularity, with new brands launching steadily and whilst it was nowhere near as swamped or as hectic as Paris Perfume Week, Niche Show 2026 was a really heartening experience. Full of good conversation, familiar faces and a lot of new, genuine discovery it had energy and a purpose that never felt insurmountable.

– Oli Marlow, Senior Contributor

Disclaimer: Oli was gifted a bottle of Blackwood & Bourbon by Jessi from Elysian and procured samples/discovery sets from many of the brands mentioned. All photos by Oli©

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