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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

If London is your destination this summer, don’t miss the fascinating new exhibition titled Fashion Rules. Held at London’s Kensington Palace, it will allow visitors to take a peek at the royal wardrobes. From the gowns HM Queen Elizabeth II wore in the 1950s to the couture pieces of her sister Princess Margaret and Diana, Princess of Wales, it spans several generations of famous dresses.

“These three women were perhaps the most high-profile dressers of their time,” says the show’s curator, Cassie Davies-Strodder. “Whatever they wore was photographed by the international press and seen worldwide. The influence they had on fashion was bar none, and from a historical perspective, we felt it was critical to highlight that.”

The exhibit will featuring 21 couture dresses, in addition to film and photography. Notice the dress made for the Queen’s trip to Pakistan. Not only is the dress cut modestly, following the customs of the country, it uses the colors of the Pakistani flag. The only question that remains, what perfume did she wear?

Fashion Rules is open now through the summer of 2015 at Kensington Palace in London. For more information, please check hrp.org.

For those who think that consumers can’t judge differences in quality or that most new launches today indeed smell alike:

“French women also express severe judgements on new launches, 41% considering the offer as excessive, with rather negative comments about the lack of originality of new fragrances. … Although they mobilize a massive share of advertising spending, only few launches succeed in reaching the top 100 sales.”

The Fragrance Foundation France released a new study on consumer preferences in France which shows some interesting results on how women buy perfume and what criteria they follow. To read the summary and see the graphs, please click here.

Photography by Bois de Jasmin, Hôtel de Ville in Paris.

Chanel recently made an official announcement that Jacques Polge is getting ready to hand over the reigns to a successor. The search led to his son, Olivier Polge, who has been working as a perfumer at International Flavors & Fragrances since 1998 and counts many excellent perfumes in his portfolio, including Balenciaga Paris, Viktor & Rolf Spicebomb, and Dior Homme. He will replace his father as Creator of Chanel Fragrances.

Jacques Polge will not be leaving Chanel right away, and the plan is to have him train Olivier and integrate him into the team. Since 1978 Jacques Polge has been not only creating Chanel perfumes, but also ensuring their preservation, and he will continue doing so for the time being.

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Suléko is a new indie perfume line created and designed by Anastasia Sokolow, a graduate of the Institute of Perfume, Cosmetics, and Food Flavouring (ISIPCA). Inspired by Sokolow’s Russian heritage and the tradition of Russian perfumery, Suléko features fragrances corresponding to different seasons. The name Suléko, which means “soul” in Georgian, also refers to a popular song about a young man looking for his beloved.

Suléko’s fragrances are “inspired by Russian culture, painting, music, literature and, as works of art, are contained in sculptures created by contemporary artists – visual and tactile reflections of the olfactory compositions.”

The line currently includes three perfumes, which were composed in collaboration between Sokolow and perfumer Cécile Zarokian: Albho, Vy Roza and Djélem.

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