perfume books: 38 posts

I recently posted an excerpt from “A Guide to Elegance: For Every Woman Who Wants to be Well and Properly Dressed on All Occasions”, a delightful, little book written in 1964 by Genevieve Antoine Dariaux. Since there was a lot of interest, I decided to compile a series of other advice on selecting and wearing perfume. Some of it might be quite sensible, some–quite personal and esoteric, but I always find it interesting to learn how other women think about perfume and their fragrance wardrobes.

The following excerpt comes from a recently published book, Parisian Chic: A Style Guide by Inès de la Fressange.

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I am currently reading Jean-Claude Ellena’s fascinating Journal d’un Parfumeur and wishing that more perfumers would share their thoughts on the creative process as generously as Ellena does. After all, understanding the creative intent behind fragrances makes one appreciate them even more. While I am on this topic, I would like to share an excerpt I loved from another book by Ellena, Le Parfum. The excerpt comes from the section “On Certain Perfumes,” a title derived from the last piece written by French author Jean Giono.

“In order to judge perfumes that have outlasted time I use the nose of today, whereas for new perfumes I use the nose of yesterday. And I realise that memory works in such a way that perfumes which are not experienced with excitement and passion, which are not linked with a personal story or, in our business, with the training of the nose, are devoid of meaning and leave no trace in the memory… In order to discover a perfume, I have to enter into it, grasp it from the inside…

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“The line between legend and history, however, is wonderfully—and perplexingly—malleable, Much of what is told and retold as conventional wisdom about the spectacular rise of Chanel No. 5 and its transformation into an international byword for luxury is the stuff of half-truths, confusion, collective fantasy, and sheer invention. Sometimes, the truth that those legends obscure is more fantastic than any fiction,” writes Tilar J. Mazzeo in her book The Secret Of Chanel No. 5: The Intimate History Of The World’s Most Famous Perfume.

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Below are a couple of excerpts from an interview with Serge Lutens published in Stakes & Professions in Perfumery, a compilations of essays from perfume industry professionals published by Éditions d’Assalit in 2007. For those interested in the professions available in the perfume industry, this book would prove to be useful. More than a few dozen of essays in the volume were written by various industry journalists, researchers, creative directors and perfumers like Jean-Luc Ansel, Jean-Pierre Subrenat, Frédéric Malle, Christophe Laudamiel, Patricia de Nicolai and Thierry Wasser. The introduction is written by Michael Edwards.

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I already visited the Paul Poiret exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum twice. It made quite an impression on me, especially since I have had a chance to smell a number of Paul Poiret’s fragrances such as Nuit de Chine and Le Fruit Défendu. Moreover, I recently found out that there is a book on Poiret fragrances published by Christie Mayer Lefkowith, an art historian and a mastermind behind some of the most renowned perfume bottle auctions which are held annually in Geneva. Her “The Art of Perfume” and “Masterpieces of the Perfume Industry” books are the information rich sources that have long been praised by perfume lovers and particularly bottle collectors. Therefore, I was anticipating having another perfume book to read.

I browsed “Paul Poiret and his Rosine Perfumes” during a recent visit to the museum and bought it on the spot. It is packed not only with the fantastic photographs of Poiret, his fashions and fragrance bottles, but also very interesting and illuminating information about the creator himself and his philosophy. Ms. Mayer Lefkowith also loaned 40 Rosine items from her personal collection, which must be incredible! Mayer Lefkowith’s website provides a glimpse inside the book.