Perfumes: The Guide

A little full of themselves with personal , not expert, opinions

There is some good background in this book, but some of the reviews are more snarky than informative descriptions of the scent. The book would have been better if they consistently articulated base, middle, and top notes, THEN gave an opinion. I suppose that as a perfume junkie who takes a few hits throughout the day, I had a strong disagreement with them on a few scents, but that is because I will freely admit that some notes put me off 'the sugar-y, chocolately ones that seem to be cropping up more lately.' 'Not a bad read, but why does the word 'arrogant' come to mind?

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Fun(Yes!) & Informative(Sort of)

It is a font of information but alas not every perfume in creation could be included. So it was inevitable that some I wanted to see were left out and others I wouldn't bother with were included. The descriptions and the reviewers' reactions were certainly individual and amusing if not by my opinion always on the mark. That said it definitely is helpful unless one is able to sample all these perfumes. Would I buy the sequel? Yes I would!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Uneven and tries to do too much

The first part of the book was interesting and informative, but the reviews were uneven and disappointing. I enjoyed reading what made the top perfumes great, but I would have liked to know more about what was lacking in the poorly rated scents. A quick one liner comedic insult doesn't give me that information and left me irritated as the snarky quips kept coming where reasons were needed. I would have also liked to know more about the notes in the scents and whether the authors tested parfum, eau de parfum or eau de toilette as the fragrance quality could vary with the concentration. Hence, I think a thorough review of a smaller number of fragrances would have made a better book. Ultimately, taste in perfume is a personal and subjective thing. The reviews in this book should be treated as very subjective. Not a waste of money, but not what I was looking for either. I wanted to learn more about how to evalutate the craftsmanship of a perfume not what the authors thought was 'air freshener'

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A little full of themselves but interesting nonetheless...

Several best-selling perfumes listed in this book were given negative reviews, for example, Light Blue by Dolce and Gabbana, which defies logic because if they were really bad perfumes they wouldnt be so undeniably popular. On the flip side, several of the perfumes they praised were obscure, heavy perfumes not suitable for the average wearer.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

fashion fun

As a critical reference book for the art and science of perfume, this book is a sheer delight. For anyone fascinated by fragrance, confused about what to buy - it is informative and fun to read.

useful and entertaining

a great read, the honesty is much appreciated and makes this guide indespensible.

A DISAPPOINTING & MISLEADING GUIDE INDEED!

This book was given to me on my 36th Birthday in 2008 by my dear friend Joley who knows that I love to read and research about Perfumes. I was very excited to finally have found a "Guide on Perfumes" till I started reading it. The authors are biased and did a poor job in doing proper Research. They also did not use Statistics. I was quite disappointed to see how they rated some great smelling perfumes as "Average" or even "Below Average" and some of the nausiating ones as "Great" with five stars along with a picture of the Perfume Bottle with the review. This book could have been a great guide had they just stuck with the "Facts" which they could have easily collected by reading reviews first and later stating their personal opinion about each perfume they mentioned. The book is well organized nevertheless. I will not recommend this book to anyone. A total waste of $27.95 + Tax.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Entertaining and useful, but also frustrating.

First, let me state that as a life-long lover of perfume, I have very much enjoyed reading through this book. I know of nothing else like it, and it was was past time that someone wrote such a book. There are guide books and ratings out there for many other types of consumer products (cars, electronics, food, restaurants, house paint, you name it), so why not perfume? The sheer number of fragrances which the authors have reviewed is impressive. Granted, fragrance preferences are subjective, but a thoughtful, well-written review is still far more helpful than nothing. If nothing else, this book serves to inform the perfume buyer of many of the choices available, and to provide some guidance as to which ones may be worth seeking out for personal consideration.

Many of the entries, however (perhaps about half of them in my estimation), are "niche" fragrances, which can be very difficult to locate if you do not happen to live in London, Paris, or New York. It would have been immensely helpful if the authors could have included some information as to websites, store locations, and so forth, whereby the reader could attempt to track down some of these hard-to-find brands. It would definitely be good to know which ones may not even be available in the U.S. at all. Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez may be able to dash over to Paris (from London) on a whim to pick up some exclusive fragrance, but most of us here in the U.S. do not have that luxury. It is very frustrating to become intrigued by a glowing review of a scent, only to discover upon investigation that it is only available in Europe. It would be much better to know that from the start.

I would also suggest that any second edition of this book should include an index or listing of fragrances by brand (the reviews in the book are listed alphabetically by fragrance name, with the brand in parentheses afterward). This would help those who have been pleased by one or more fragrances in a particular brand, would like to try others, and need to know what is available. Just as not every brand is carried in every store, not every counter sells the full line of a particular brand. I would also appreciate it if the authors would mention the date of introduction for each perfume (they do this for only some fragrances, not all).

I also agree with some earlier reviews that many of the one-liner negative reviews seem a little arrogant. Also, sometimes the ratings and the reviews do not seem to match. A perfume may be rated four stars, but the review sounds as if the authors did not like it very much.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Knowledge at its Best for Perfume

so well researched and of incredible interest for anyone fascinated with perfumes, their compositions, and their history.

hilarious,illuminating but why were some missing?

For a perfume addict, this was like shooting up Shalimar! I had read both LT and TS in a variety of places but together they bring an extra depth. Sanchez is hilarious in her review of a scent where she decrees the wearer should wear at home alone with the windows taped shut. And we all know that person! But I was disappointed that some of my favorites were missing. I read that they only tested samples that were sent to them, so they didnt do any discontinued scents. I would have loved to read their take on Annick Goutal's Sables (which LT does refer to) Maybe the next book(and there should be one)

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