Niche perfumery is a small world, and once or twice a year it meets in one room. The expositions are where houses show new work, where buyers and perfumers meet without an intermediary, and where a boutique finds the houses it will carry next. Stacey has been going for years. This is where the next twelve months will be decided.
Esxence, Milan
The world's leading event for artistic perfumery. The next edition runs from 24 to 27 February 2027 at the Allianz MiCo in Milan, and it is the fair at which the houses in Stacey's library most often show. If a new house is going to matter, it usually appears here first.
ScentXplore, New York
A trade show for the American market, held each November in New York. The next edition runs from 5 to 7 November 2026, and it will be the second year running that Scented Emotions has made the trip from Sydney. Last year Stacey attended on general admission, watching the floor from the outside. This year she returns as a retailer, with Scott Barker, the boutique's commercial manager, alongside her.
What to watch for
Not the launches. The launches are announced. Watch instead for the small houses in the corners with two fragrances and no distributor, because that is where the future of the craft is usually standing. Watch the perfumers, who at these fairs will talk to anyone who asks a good question. And watch which houses are refusing new stockists, because scarcity at a fair is the most reliable sign of quality there is.
A note from the boutique
Stacey will be at ScentXplore in November, and at Esxence in February. What she finds at each will be shared with the client list first, and some of it will be on the shelves in Double Bay by winter.