Culture: 426 posts

“Surprisingly enough, Jean-Paul and I rarely discuss fragrance. We are two creators and two different kinds of animals. I once asked him, “You were mentored by your grandfather; what did you learn from him when discussing fragrance?” and he replied, “Nothing much”. Jean-Paul then went on to say that the way he did learn a lot from his grandfather (Jacques) was by quietly observing everything he did, rather that speaking about it. So I did the same thing with Jean-Paul. Watching the way he creates has taught me much more than any discussion we could have.”

From a terrific interview with Guerlain in-house perfumer Thierry Wasser, in which he discusses Guerlain legacy, material sourcing and many other interesting topics with Marian Bendeth.

Paris and perfume… These words are synonymous for most perfume lovers, and shortly after creating Bois de Jasmin in 2005, one of my first long articles was devoted to perfume shopping in Paris. Part I and Part II offered a walking tour of the capital’s best fragrant treasures. Since then, I have been meaning to update these posts with a directory of Paris fragrant destinations, based on my visits and new discoveries. This directory will include various perfume shopping destinations as well as my other favorite addresses.

The directory is frequently updated, therefore please check back periodically to see new additions, changes and updates. L indicates Left Bank, and R—Right Bank. If you have your own favorite places in Paris, whether perfume, food, fashion or art related, please do not hesitate to share. Of course, if you visit any of these places and have your own experiences (and updates!), please comment!

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A muse but also writer in her own right, Louise Colet inspired Gustav Flaubert’s masterpiece, Madame Bovary (1856.)  She also left her mark through their beautiful exchange of letters. While the stormy eight-year love affair between Colet and Flaubert ended on a sour note, the letters they exchanged are among the most evocative and poignant of all romantic correspondence I have read. Flaubert noted about his writing that he always looked for just the right word. The letters he wrote to Colet are playful and serious, tender and teasing… Scent plays an important part in how Flaubert saw his beloved, and references to her perfume fill the pages. Below are a few excerpts, which focus on fragrance and perfumed references.

August 6: “I look at your slippers, your handkerchief, your hair, your portrait. I reread your letters and breathe their musky perfume.
August 9: I’ll take another look at your slippers again… I think I love them as much as I do you… I breathe their perfume, they smell of verbena–and of you in a way that makes my heart swell.

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Last night, I rearranged my perfume library, as Love in the Afternoon played in the background. Because I know the film by heart, I paid little attention to it until I heard Audrey Hepburn say in her delightful way, “Oh, he exports perfume and imports bananas. There’s a fortune in it. Do you realize that for one bottle of perfume you get twelve bananas?” To which Gary Cooper’s character replies, “Twelve bananas for one bottle of – doesn’t sound like such a hot deal to me.” “It’s a tiny bottle of perfume and very large bananas.” I love this exchange so much that I usually play it again.

Then, I started thinking about other great perfume at the movies moments. Whenever I have any cinema related query, Self-Styled Siren’s blog is where I go. Since Siren is a connoisseur of both films and fragrance, I was not surprised to find several fantastic articles on the subject. I would love to share them with you, because not only are they very well-written, they highlight some cinematic and fragrant gems.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Bonus: What Perfume To Wear to the Movies

Still from Love in the Afternoon

An excerpt from Annick Le Guérer’s excellent book Scent: the Mysterious and Essential Powers of Smell, co-authored with Philip Turner and Richard Miller. It provides a fascinating glimpse into the link between scents and sensuality.

“Throughout history there has been a link between perfumes and desire. When Circe sets out to seduce Ulysses, she employs powerful aromatic philtres. When the Queen of Sheba travels to Jerusalem, she seeks help in her campaign to win Solomon’s heart from the precious gums and spices of Araby she brings with her in her great caravan: “And she gave the king… of spices very great store… there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.” In this linkage of perfumes to sexuality and seduction we can discern two functions, both of which lead to a single result: the encouragement of sexual union.

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