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March 06, 2008
A Tale of Two Perfumes
Perfume ---
The very word evokes mystery, Cleopatra, sophistication. I think of an elegant woman in a long black gown, as in John Singer Sargent’s Portrait of Madam X or of Audrey Hepburn.
I have absolutely adored perfume since I was little – my mother smelled of L’Air du Temps. For my 16th birthday I insisted on Mitsouko by Guerlain – thinking of that now embarrasses me, I don’t know why my parents gave in. I was much too young to wear such a perfume. I wanted to be sophisticated and thought the perfume would make it so. That’s what perfumes do – tell the world who you are or who you would like to be.
Because of that I found Chandler Burr’s book The Perfect Scent: A Year Inside the Perfume Industry in Paris and New York absolutely fascinating. He follows the creation of two perfumes, Hermes’ Un Jardin sur le Nil and Coty’s Sarah Jessica Parker’s Lovely, from inception to packaged product.
Burr, who started as an economics and science writer, and is now a perfume reviewer for the New York Times, is able to make even the chemical formulas interesting. But the book is more than chemical formulas – it is full of amusing stories and a private insight into an industry.
Posted by BarbaraM at March 6, 2008 01:34 PM
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Comments
This book sounds really interesting, Barbara. Thanks for the pick! And don't worry about the Mitsouko; at least you were sophisticated. In grade school, I used to wear Electric Youth by Debbie Gibson. So bad!
Posted by: EricaB at March 6, 2008 04:55 PM
My first perfume was STYX, which I loved, and when they stopped making it, friends on the lookout would buy me any dusty bottles they found on (dusty) pharmacy shelves. Now, alas, I am allergic to all perfumes and I do miss it.
Posted by: Barbara at March 7, 2008 11:39 AM
Wow! That is sophisticated. And fitting! Guess you never wore Oh de London by Yardley? With the white lipstick? (And, yes, it was spelled that way)
Thanks for your review and recommendation. You always steer me in the right direction.
Posted by: Linda at March 13, 2008 04:38 PM