The way we shop and buy niche fragrances has just changed.  When we think of niche perfumery Sephora isn't the place we expect to find "perfumista" brands. As of earlier this month, both Atelier Cologne and  L'Artisan Parfumeur fragrances are now available on Sephora.com and will be in select doors soon. Are you surprised? Or are you thinking, "what took them so long?"

Sephora was founded by Dominique Mandonnaud in 1970 under the name Shop 8 which was changed to Sephora. By 1996, under its new name, the largest perfumerie in the world  opened on the Champs Elysees (and yes, in those days Serge Lutens fragrances lined the shelves). In 1997, the French conglomerate LVMH bought the Company and the first American door opened in New York City. It was a visionary concept; an open selling space unlike any  store of its day. Sephora was the first beauty store where the customer could interact with and experience the products with or without the assistance of a sales associate.It was a place for classic and emerging brands.

Over the years, Sephora's fragrance assortment changed dramatically and became more mainstream, although many small beauty brands found a home and crossed distribution lines. Edward Bess, which launched and still is available at Bergdorf Goodman, is also at Sephora. The beauty brand Molly Rancol goes one step further; you can find her make-up artist line at Bergdorf Goodman, Henri Bendel, Sephora and QVC and no one thought the worse of crossing such diverse distribution lines.

Fragrance has been a different story. Niche perfume as a category is targeted to a very small percentage of fragrance wearers. Think about your non perfumista friends. Yes, you could bond over the merits of Butter nail polish or Blinc mascara, but can you imagine a conversation about L'Artisan Parfumeur's Timbuktu or Atelier Cologne's Vanille Insensee?  Right now,  she'll spend $50 for a Guerlain lipstick  but it may take a bit of time for her to understand a $165 perfume without a designer name. Chances are in six months and in the years to come, your friend won't think twice about the price and will be using  terms like sillage, longevity and chypres.

Currently six  L'Artisan Parfumeur  fragrances are available only online but according to the Company that may be changing. All are listed in both the  men's and women's categories. Atelier Cologne has seven fragrances available online and in select stores. Maybe someone should point out women wear cologne too, but at least it's a start.

 According to Gerard Camme of Atelier Cologne, "Our appeal to Sephora was first and foremost our product. Secondly, they loved the animation aspect and felt our engraving  would add a new dimension to their current strategy. They are brilliant merchants and understand the client experience. So the deal is, bring in amazing fragrance and work out an animation strategy and help them enhance the client experience".

These two companies may be harbingers of what's to come. The entire olfactive landscape will change. More Independent  fragrances that were difficult to find unless you live in NYC or Paris will be available to a broader audience.

In my 2009 interview with Bertrand Duchaufour, the perfumer in residence for L'Artisan Parfumeur he said, "I am sure of one thing: time is the best judge of a fragrance. If Perfumery is to remain an Art, it will be those fragrances that compel us based on quality and originality, not necessarily label or price.

Or for that matter where it's sold.

Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief