Are niche lines nothing but a very expensive advertisement? The Wall Street Journal examines the phenomenon of the increasing number of niche lines and the real motives behind them. I think this quote from L'Oreal about the Armani Privee line pretty much sums it up:

"(...)the scent remains unprofitable three years after its launch. French cosmetics company L'Oréal SA, which makes the perfume, says it's sticking to the scent because it hopes the cachet around it will stoke interest in Armani's more mass-market fragrances".

I find it utterly disturbing, yet not particularly surprising, to learn that the motive behind the release of such high-end lines is not to make beautiful perfumes for the sake of the art, and the audience who will enjoy them - but simply promoting those many cookie-cutter fragrances that are released in an alarming rate on a nearly weekly basis.

No wonder why the consumers are becoming more and more glacee towards new releases, including those supposedly exciting exclusive lines. There is hardly any soul left in the business. And this obviously comes across and translates itself into dollars. Maybe there is such thing as karma after all.

P.s. Thanks for The Scented Salamander for the link!