If you can read in French, I highly recommend the new book about perfumer Laurent Bruyère. Titled Laurent Bruyère : Formules Secrètes d’ un Parfumeur, it’s written by Soraya Bouvier Feder and features a preface by perfumer Jean-Michel Duriez. Bruyère’s story is as inspiring as it is tragic, since he passed away in 2008 at the age of 43.

In her book, Felder interviews Laurent’s close friends and colleagues, including Jean Paul Guerlain, Jean Michel Duriez, Daniel Harlant, Anne-Marie Saget, and Thierry Trotobas, and gives us a glimpse into his world. Bruyère worked for many years at International Flavors & Fragrances before leaving for Mane, and IFF’s perfumer Dominique Ropion was one of his mentors.

Bruyère was a self-taught perfumer with an incredible passion for older fragrances, especially Guerlain (he had a Mitsouko label tattooed on his arm). You only need to take a look at his portfolio to see the range of his talent: Cacharel Amor Amor, Thierry Mugler Alien, Costume National Scent and Scent Intense, Escada Sexy Graffiti (easily one of the best from Escada), to name a few.  I hope this tribute to his art will be available in English too.

Available at arbrealettres.com, chapitre.com. 27-29.00 € (in French)

A perfume fit for a Maharaja, says Penhaligon’s about Vaara, a fragrance inspired by the Royal House of Marwar-Jodphur in Rajasthan. This state in the northwest of India means “the land of kings,” and it’s renowned for its colorful textiles, filigreed palaces and majestic forts. It’s also the place where you can buy opium scented incense (whether or not it includes the actual drug is another matter) and try the decadently rich milk shakes perfumed with pistachios, almonds and saffron. Like most of India, it’s a sensory roller coaster.

So, why is Vaara such a wallflower? Etro has already tried to take us to Rajasthan with its recent fragrance, but the violet and rose combination never got past the South of France. Despite its promises, Vaara doesn’t even cross the Channel. It’s soft spoken and mild, a perfume for someone who really doesn’t like orientals or anything richer than frozen yogurt.

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As I recently sat through a fragrance forecasting presentation, I was busy jotting down notes to share with you. Who would have guessed that American men are getting more and more into perfume? Sales of men’s fragrance have increased by 6 percent in the first quarter of 2013 as compared to last year. Of course, it might also mean that more women are buying perfume for their friends and family. But on the other hand, 40% of males between the ages of 18-65 don’t use any fragrance at all (a higher fraction than in Europe).

Top Selling Perfumes USA : Popular Fragrances Spring 2012

Top Selling Feminine Fragrances 2011 USA

Top Selling Feminine Fragrances for 2010 USA

Top Selling Feminine Fragrances for 2010 France

Top Selling Masculine Fragrances 2010 USA

When it comes to women’s shopping habits, the NDP Group reports that US perfume wearers are enamored with cologne. Sales of women’s colognes, particularly from niche brands, have increased by 4% in the first three months of 2013. Sales in the florals and floral orientals families were fairly flat, while marine and oriental genres appear more popular.

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Andy’s take on Iris Nazarena.

Some fragrances make me dream of faraway places, others awaken long forgotten memories. But Iris Nazarena, the second launch from New York-based fragrance boutique Aedes de Venustas, evokes various shades of the color grey (and no, I don’t mean the book by E. L. James). Grey is my favorite color, one that fascinates me in all its beautiful tonalities from light to dark. Likewise, there is nothing bleak or dull about Iris Nazarena, and as I smell through its layers of woods and incense-tinted iris, I’m taken by its complexity.

As it unfolds on skin, Iris Nazarena remains fairly linear, with the focus on iris throughout the entire development. As it wears on, the iris is subtly transformed by various accompaniments, incense being one of them. Perfumer Ralf Schwieger reportedly composed Iris Nazarena with Chanel No. 19 in mind as a point of contrast, attempting to create a fragrance that interpreted iris in a different manner.

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The National Post ran an interesting article last week on perfume and literature. Perfumed prose: On finding fictional fragrance inspiration in a bottle reviews the recent crop of books where scents play an important role: Joanne Harris’s Peaches for Monsieur le Curé, Sarah Churchwell’s Careless People, Margot Berwin’s Scent of Darkness, and Kathleen Tessaro’s The Perfume Collector.

“Then as now, perfume marketing and press releases often read like fictions — fragrant flights of fancy constructed to capture the imagination with a good story. But olfactory auras around characters and plot also recur in literature, as seductive and suggestive alchemy of words and smells — from Ovid and Proust to Faulkner and Zola. To read the rest, please click here.”

One of my favorite novels in which scents influence the plot is Tom Robbins’s Jitterbug Perfume. It combines an intricate plot, humor and clever perfume references. Irresistible!

If you’ve read any of the novels mentioned in the article, how did you like them? Do you have any favorite works of fiction with a perfume twist?

Photography by ginnerobot, via Flickr, some rights reserved