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Pompous names, bizarre ads, hundreds of new scents a year?the multibillion-dollar business of fragrance has long resisted understanding. At last the first critical?and critically acclaimed?guide to perfume illuminates the mysteries of this secretive industry. Lifelong perfume fanatics Luca Turin (best known as the subject of Chandler Burr?s The Emperor of Scent) and Tania Sanchez exalt, wisecrack, and scold through their reviews with passion, eloquence, and erudition, making this book a must-have for anyone looking for a brilliant fragrance?or just a brilliant read.
Less a guide in the sense of helping people choose the perfect fragrance than a wide-ranging, critical review of some 1,200 perfumes, both famous and obscure, this comprehensive book is unfailingly entertaining. A collaboration between Turin, a well-known olfactory scientist, and Sanchez, a perfume collector and critic, the book brings their exquisite connoisseurship to life in a contagious manner. Their passion for a few scents and their outrage at the others' failings make for entry after entry of hilarious, catty comments interspersed with occasional erudite, eloquent disquisitions. French perfumery Guerlain is subject to both: Jicky is "an object lesson in perfumery... a towering masterpiece," while Aqua Allegoria Pivoine Magnifica is "like chewing tin foil while staring at a welding arc." Other startlingly evocative metaphors abound, especially those comparing perfumes to people, whether someone real (Amy Winehouse, Paris Hilton) or a general type (socialites, someone ill with bronchitis). This will be a must-have for anyone who already loves perfumes, though many of the reviews will cause violent disagreement, and those who aren't utterly perfume-obsessed will still appreciate the opening essays on olfactory science, the history of perfume, general types of fragrances and how to choose perfumes. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.In this guide to fragrance selection, renowned fragrance biophysicist Turin (The Secret of Scent) and writer/editor Sanchez (a frequent contributor to MakeUpAlley.com) review more than 1200 men's and women's fragrances in highly accessible, occasionally snarky, richly descriptive language. Sanchez's introductory essays are both illuminating and highly engaging. She brings a witty, intellectual edge to her account of the changing industry and the complex process of choosing scents. Sanchez and Turin employ the star-system and offer two-word synopses for each scent. For all fashion-focused collections.
—Savannah Schroll Guz
Cool Water (Davidoff)
• *
• *
• aromatic fougère
This beautiful 1988 composition made Pierre Bourdon famous and was imitated more times, I’ll wager, than any other fragrance in history save Chypre. The problem with successful masculines is that you associate them with the legion of aspirational klutzes who wore them for good luck. Trying to assess CW without conjuring up the image of some open shirted prat with hair gel is a bit like the Russian cure for hiccups: run around the house three times without thinking of the word wolf. This said, unlike Chypre, CW belongs to the category of things done right the first time, like the first Windsurfer and the Boeing 707. Countless imitations, extensions, variations, and complications failed to improve on it or add a jot of interest to this cheerful, abstract, cheap, and lethally effective formula of crab apple, woody citrus, amber, and musk. Now let women wear it for a decade or two. LT
L'Air du Désert Marocain (Tauer) ***** incense oriental
The sweet, resinous smell of amber, the smell of the classic perfume oriental, has long been weighed down with vanilla and sandalwood ballast, decorated with mulling spices, bolstered with musk, made come-hither, ready for its closeup, and we are quite used to it—but this is not amber's first life. Perfume, as has been pointed out many times, means “through smoke,” named for the fragrant materials burned to clean the air and therefore the spirit. Since the angel Metatron sees fit to deliver his messages to the world nowadays via the guitar of Carlos Santana, it only makes sense that the as yet unnamed angel of perfume chooses to speak through an unassuming Swiss chemist from Zurich with a mustache and a buttoned shirt. L'Air du Désert is talented amateur perfumer Andy Tauer's second fragrance, after the rich oriental rose of Maroc pour Elle; one hale breath of Désert's vast spaces clears the head of all the world's nonsense. There is something about the ancient smell of these resins (styrax, frankincense) that on first inhalation strikes even this suburban American Protestant with no memories of mass as entirely holy, beautiful, purifying, lit without shadow from all sides. Even without the fragrance's name to prompt me, I would still feel the same peace when smelling it that I've felt only once before, when driving across the Southwestern desert one morning: all quiet, no human habitation for miles, the upturned bowl of the heavens infinitely high above, and the sage and occasional quail clutching close and gray to the dun earth. Each solitary object stood supersaturated with itself, full to the brim, sure to spill over if subjected to the slightest nudge. Wear this fragrance and feel the cloudless sky rush far away above you. TS
Eternity for Men (Calvin Klein)
• *
• mandarin lavender
An interesting twist on the perennially pleasant citrus-lavender accord using the (musically speaking) flattened note of mandarin rather than straight citrus, or the corresponding sharp of lime. This is a very skillfully composed and likable fragrance, but I wish more cash had been spent on the formula. It smells good but cheap, which would be fine if the overall structure were unpretentious as in Cool Water, whereas it is distinctly aspirational. LT
Spellbound (Estée Lauder)
• medicated treacle Powerfully cloying and nauseating. Trails for miles. Frightens horses. Gets worse. TS
Tommy Girl (Tommy Hilfiger)
• *
• *
• tea floral
No fragrance in recent memory has suffered more from being affordable than Tommy Girl. It’s as if it were deemed less desirable for being promiscuous. Despite all the historical evidence to the contrary (Brut, Canoe, Habanita, and the first J-Lo), the world is still crawling with naïve snobs who’d rather believe their wallet’s loss than their nose’s gain. Tommy Girl’s origins were explained to me by creator Calice Becker, who was brought up in a Russian household, with a samovar always on the boil and a mother with a passion for strange teas. At Becker’s instigation, the legendary chemist Roman Kaiser of Givaudan sampled the air in the Mariage Frères tea store in Paris to figure out what gave it its unique fragrance. From this a tea base was evolved, in which no one showed much interest. The idea waited several years until Elléna’s excellent but only remotely tea-like Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert (Bulgari) came out in 1993. Its success made it possible for Becker to submit a tea composition for the Hilfiger brief. She won it, eleven hundred formulations later the perfume was finalized, in collaboration with a brilliant evaluator who went on to study philosophy. Tea makes excellent sense as a perfumery base, since it can be declined in dozens of ways, as flavored teas will attest: Soochong, Earl Grey, jasmine, and so on. In that respect it could serve as a modern chypre, a mannequin to be dressed at will. Tommy Girl clothed it in a torero’s trafe de luces, a fresh floral accord so exhilaratingly bright that it could be used to set the white point for all future fragrances. Remarkably, late in the project, Hilfiger’s PR firm asked Becker to give them so e reason to label the fragrance as typically American. Quest’s resident botany expert was called in, and to everyone’s surprise found that the composition fell neatly into several blocks, each apparently typical of a native American botanical. So it goes with projects whose sails are filled by the breath of angels. LT
The composition miraculously turned out to fall into accords typical of native American botanicals? Put me on record as skeptical. Tommy Girl smells great, though, and has been copied relentlessly. TS
Beauty Rush Appletini (Victoria's Secret)
• Jolly Rancher
Victoria's Secret has determined that its customers need (1) cleavage and (2) to smell precisely like dime-store candy. You may discern an implicit insult to the male mind in this pair of facts. TS
Anonymous
Posted April 18, 2008
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!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 8, 2009
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.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted May 4, 2008
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 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted April 21, 2008
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 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted April 13, 2008
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)
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 5, 2012
I found a couple of great reviews for colognes I was considering buying and their descriptions were very accurate and written in a compelling manner. The book is a good read from cover to cover and both informed and entertained me. Well worth buying if you have an interest in perfume.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 30, 2010
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.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 25, 2010
a great read, the honesty is much appreciated and makes this guide indespensible.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted December 26, 2008
so well researched and of incredible interest for anyone fascinated with perfumes, their compositions, and their history.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted May 21, 2008
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 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 18, 2013
This book is well, entertainly and sparklingly written, like a fine perfume itself. I carry it around with me just to dip into. Exuberant, fizzy, informative and modent, buy it if you are a student (or wanna-be like me) student ot perfume!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.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.
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Posted December 26, 2010
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Overview
Pompous names, bizarre ads, hundreds of new scents a year?the multibillion-dollar business of fragrance has long resisted understanding. At last the first critical?and critically acclaimed?guide to perfume illuminates the mysteries of this secretive industry. Lifelong perfume fanatics Luca Turin (best known as the subject of Chandler Burr?s The Emperor of Scent) and Tania Sanchez exalt, wisecrack, and scold through their reviews with passion, eloquence, and erudition, making this book a must-have for anyone ...