Comments on: Perfumistas Rejoice!

Perfumistas Rejoice!

ottereroticist — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:33:10 -0800

Yesterday marked the release of Perfumes: The Guide a "ravishingly entertaining" collection of over 1200 perfume reviews by Emperor of Scent Luca Turin and his bride, Tania Sanchez.

The two met in the comments section of Turin's blog (previously), and Turin asked Sanchez to collaborate with him in revising and translating this work, originally published 15 years ago in French. Perfume enthusiasts have been holding their breath in anticipation, and apparently the book does not disappoint.

By: ottereroticist

ottereroticist — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:33:56 -0800

According to the current issue of Allure, when the two were married at New York City Hall in November 2007, the bride wore Hermes Osmanthe Yunnan and the groom wore L'Air du Desert Marocain by Tauer Perfumes. Why yes, I am a big fat perfume geek.

By: vronsky

vronsky — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:39:24 -0800

I always buy my Mom perfume for her birthday or Christmas. Hermes is definitely her and my fave. The Eau De Merveilles (think oranges and pepper) is awesome and I love the Un Jardin de Mediteranne too, which can be worn by both men and women. I'm not much into colognes, but the original Bel Ami (leather and tobacco) would be my pick if I were.

By: vronsky

vronsky — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:41:31 -0800

I don't know if they still make it, but Quelque Fleurs was a fave too. I think it was only available at Bergdorf's. (yeah I'm a straight guy who loves perfume.. weird I know)

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 18:02:38 -0800

These abstractions may sound difficult to grasp (How is a perfume ironic? you may ask) I assume they were reviewing Teen Spirit ("earthy, with a base of flannelette & topnotes of tobacco, PBR & dreadlock...")

By: forallmankind

forallmankind — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 19:20:42 -0800

Awesome - I wanted this so much I considered buying the French version. Thanks for the heads up. vronsky - here's an excellent New Yorker article on the creation of another perfume in that Hermes Jardin range.

By: carter

carter — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 19:51:52 -0800

Unexpectedly fascinating! Thanks for the links and the articles. I just ordered The Emperor of Scent ...

By: kozad

kozad — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:44:13 -0800

The book Perfume is a masterpiece. The film is good, too.

By: PeterMcDermott

PeterMcDermott — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:06:18 -0800

I'm not a perfume geek at all -- quite the contrary, in fact. I'm really a closet skank afficionado. But The Emperor of Scent looks to be the kind of quirky, obsessive non-fiction that is right up my street. I love that there are people who earn a living as 'scent critics'. So thanks for the post.

By: jack_mo

jack_mo — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 07:52:12 -0800

I'm definitely tempted, if only to find out if my liking for smelling like a little old lady (Kiehl's Original Musk and Acqua di Palma, both of which combine quite wonderfully with stale Benson & Hedges smoke) is dangerously hip or just a bit weird. Also, I'm glad I clicked on the 'previously' link, otherwise I'd've said exactly what I said last time around.

By: IndigoJones

IndigoJones — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:01:39 -0800

Mrs Jones got it as soon as possible. Mr Turin she likes, not least of all for his sense of history (check out his take on Jicky). Less impressed with Ms Sanchez's contributions. Example- her take on Beautiful by Lauder. She calls it a rose perfume. Well, the top note has elements of that, but the body is citrus. Why? Check the ad campaign. Brides? Orange blossoms? Hah? Hah? (Ms Sanchez also did not toss in the useless but interesting sidelight that a bottle of the stuff, along with a copy of Interview magazine and an Interview t-shirt, was Paige Powell's list minute toss into the coffin of Andy Warhol. Okay, maybe not strictly what she was aiming at, but given what Mr T. puts in, one has to wonder if it wasn't just ignorance, a failure to dig. Like missing the connection cited above.) Incidentally, Chandler Burr has a new book out on the industry as a whole. Talk about a hard nut to crack! Governments could learn things about secrecy from them. Fascinating business.