Libertine Parfumerie: Niche Perfume and Learning in Australia

“We set out to give the consumer something different — a new experience altogether.”

Nick Smart, Founder and CEO

A perfume discovered abroad cannot be found at home. That gap was the starting point for the Australian retailer Libertine Parfumerie. Founded in Brisbane in 2008, the store has done more than stock fragrances from overseas: it has developed staff who explain their backgrounds, and opportunities to learn by smelling them.

Following its history reveals the work of listening to individual preferences in a market where niche perfume was little known. This article concerns the Australian retailer, a separate business from the Canadian perfume brand Libertine Fragrance.

Contents

Key Facts
The Founder and the Store’s Beginnings
Selection, Service and Ways to Learn About Perfume
Current Stores and Libertine’s Role in Australia
Additional Note
References

Key Facts

Name: Libertine Parfumerie
Founded: 2008, Brisbane, Australia
Founder: Nick Smart
Business: Specialist retail of niche perfumes, home fragrances, bath and body products, and more; the retail arm of fragrance importer and distributor Agence de Parfum
Official website: Libertine Parfumerie

The Founder and the Store’s Beginnings

Selling Essential Oils While Studying Law

Smart is a lawyer. His interest in scent predates the perfume store. In the 1990s, he sold essential oils at Brisbane markets to pay for his legal studies. He imported lemon and other citrus oils in bulk from Italy, with a friend handling the packaging.

That interest persisted throughout his legal career, and trips to France took him to Grasse. Some perfumes he encountered abroad were unavailable in Australia. The personal pleasure of discovering scent would eventually lead to importing and retailing it.

Discovering Costume National and Founding the Business in 2008

A business trip to New York and Costume National provided the concrete impetus. Smart wore Scent Intense and wanted to introduce the brand to Australia. In 2008, he established Libertine and the niche-fragrance specialist Agence de Parfum.

In an official feature published in 2025, Smart again identified Costume National as the first brand he signed. Building relationships with overseas creators as an importer, and bringing their fragrances to customers in a shop: these became the two complementary sides of the business.

The approach to selling as a specialist retailer was not fully formed from the outset. After working with Australian distributors, Smart approached brands directly.

“I sold the passion!”

Nick Smart, 2017

Introducing unfamiliar perfumes was far from easy, however. Smart has said the business lost money for its first four years. It involved training staff and introducing fragrances to one customer at a time. He summed up one essential element briefly.

“Sampling was key.”

Nick Smart, 2017

Department Stores and Classes to Smell Along With at Home

In 2018, its tenth anniversary year, Libertine opened shop-in-shops at six Myer locations. This brought the service of an independent street-front boutique into the department-store setting.

A major route beyond face-to-face service opened in 2020. According to education director Michael Marzano, 30 people joined the first online class, devoted to Juliette Has a Gun, that spring. Samples were sent ahead, allowing participants to smell the same fragrances at home while listening. He explained that these classes helped sustain the business through the pandemic.

People began returning to discover another brand rather than attending only once. Sampling and education grew beyond an accompaniment to product explanations into an ongoing meeting place for people interested in perfume.

Flagships in Sydney, Then Melbourne

In October 2023, a flagship opened in Sydney’s Paddington. Smart described it as the “realisation of a 15-year dream”. Tamsin Johnson designed its interiors, combining joinery reminiscent of old pharmacies in Vienna, Milan and France with dark oak, parquet floors and vintage furniture.

A central courtyard separates the front retail area from a VIP room at the back. Large French doors can be opened to let in fresh air, a meaningful feature in a space where many perfumes are smelled. The store sought to combine decorative richness with enough breathing room to avoid overwhelming the nose.

A flagship in Melbourne’s Armadale joined the network in 2026. The collaboration with Johnson continued, developing a store with places to sit for a consultation and displays devoted to individual brands.

Libertine Timeline

Year	Event
1990s	Smart sells essential oils at Brisbane markets while studying law.
2008	Libertine is founded in Brisbane. Agence de Parfum is also established that year.
2018	Tenth anniversary; shop-in-shops open at six Myer locations.
Spring 2020	Online classes launch with Juliette Has a Gun.
October 2023	The Sydney Paddington flagship opens.
2026	A flagship opens in Melbourne’s Armadale.

Selection, Service and Ways to Learn About Perfume

Historic Houses and New Creators in the Same Store

Libertine’s official introduction describes a range of more than 60 brands across perfume, home fragrance, and bath and body. Its distinctive approach places centuries-old houses alongside brands exploring new forms of expression. Neither age nor novelty alone determines the selection.

The 2025 Founder’s Edit project presented this evolution from the founder’s perspective. From early brands such as Costume National and Juliette Has a Gun, it moved to Matiere Premiere, BDK, Xerjoff and Nishane. Smart saw the latter group as a new wave. This is not a chronology of when those brands were founded, but a way of describing changes in Libertine and the Australian market.

Room fragrance belongs in this picture too. Among the personal favourites Smart named in 2024 were not only Amouage’s Honour Man, but also Astier de Villatte incense and a Carrière Frères tomato candle. A perfume worn on the body and scent for the spaces people live in share the same field of interest.

Listening to Preferences, Narrowing the Choice and Testing on Skin

The service Marzano described in 2025 begins with questions about why someone has visited and which perfumes they usually wear. An app developed by Fragrances of the World helps identify possibilities by ingredient, style, brand and fragrance family. The choice is narrowed to no more than three scents, which are then tested on skin with permission.

The fragrance classification behind this approach is also explored in our article on Michael Edwards and Fragrances of the World.

At the Armadale store in 2026, staff education likewise emphasises not only perfume backgrounds and ingredients, but also reading customers’ reactions and avoiding information overload.

“The goal isn’t to present everything at once, it’s to edit and guide.”

Nick Smart, 2026

Being able to share extensive knowledge is not the same as helping someone make a choice. Service that narrows the possibilities and a store designed for sitting comfortably point in the same direction.

Different Ways Into In-Store and Online Classes

As of 15 October 2026, the official website lists in-store, online and on-demand classes. Paddington offers individual and two-person consultations, while Paddington and Burwood also offer bridal classes. The same personalised services are not available at every store.

For example, the Perfume Wardrobe Online Masterclass on 20 October explores the pleasure of wearing different scents for different occasions. A sample pack arrives beforehand so participants can smell and compare each fragrance while specialists explain it. A session exploring one brand’s world has a different learning focus from one comparing several perfumes through a theme.

A 2019 article about the Brisbane store already discussed classes covering perfume history and the fragrance wheel. The year 2020 should therefore be understood not as the beginning of classes themselves, but as a turning point toward an online format that brought the smelling experience into people’s homes.

Why Enthusiasts Recommend It, and How Experiences Vary

Samples and classes also help explain Libertine’s presence in Australian perfume-community discussions. In a Reddit thread collecting places to sample fragrances, contributors repeatedly recommend the opportunity to smell several perfumes at home while listening to explanations.

Another thread about customer experiences combines praise for the range and education with complaints about insufficient or late-arriving class samples and stock information. Anonymous posts describe individual experiences; they do not establish the quality of the store as a whole. Even so, they reveal what perfume lovers expect: not only access to fragrances, but also the preparation needed to try them and guidance that deepens their understanding.

Current Stores and Libertine’s Role in Australia

As of 15 October 2026, the official store directory lists Brisbane’s New Farm boutique, Paddington, Chatswood and Burwood in Sydney, Armadale in Melbourne, and counters within Myer, among other locations. It also extends to Adelaide, Perth and Auckland in New Zealand. Counting independent boutiques and department-store counters as equivalent can obscure the picture, so visitors should check the format and range at each destination.

The current addresses of the main boutiques are 181 Robertson Street in New Farm, 140 Oxford Street in Paddington, and 1023 High Street in Armadale.

Libertine has expanded both the places where people can discover overseas perfumes and their opportunities to smell and understand them. By connecting importing and distribution with retail, it has created more entry points through street-front boutiques, department stores and classes at home. Its history reveals a retailer’s particular task: expanding perfume choices also requires nurturing the experience of the people choosing them.

Additional Note

Smart’s own accounts in 2017 and 2020 place the original store in Brisbane’s West End, while the current official history names New Farm. They agree on the founding year of 2008, but the timing of a move could not be established. This article therefore does not treat the two places as one location.