Posts filed under 'This and That'
The Fragrance Foundation is an organization established in 1949 by six industry leaders in order to “develop educational programs about the importance and pleasures of fragrance for the American public”. Today, besides being the sponsor for the annual FiFi Awards, it’s also an amazing resource for historic, cultural, and industry related information. Today I’d like to bring your attention to some helpful features on the Fragrance Foundation web site: the Press/Consumer Info link on the bottom of the front page has an array of indispensable info such as The Glossary of Terms (explaining general olfactory and fragrance terms), Fragrance Launches 2005, 2006, and 2007, as well as Do’s And Don’ts (which are actually more amusing than informative). The most fascinating feature is the Online Fragrance Directory - a comprehensive database of fragrances currently distributed in the U.S.
Coming soon: my picks for best summer scents and a review of the newest Fleurs de Sel by Miller Harris.
May 28th, 2007
Scentsa is the new (?) online database of celebrity fragrance favorites. That is to say, you can search by celebrity to see what fragrances they like. I’m not sure how truthful that is but it’s fun nonetheless. Check it out!
May 25th, 2007
As I’m getting used to my new work schedule, the main challenge is not so much the lack of time to conduct proper sniffing sessions and prepare reviews - it’s the olfactory fatigue, shall we call it. I’m getting there, though. Working in a perfume shop is most certainly delightful. A couple vital things I’ve learned in the past couple of weeks are: 1) frequent smelling of scents that contain a good amount of natural materials does change your perception of what’s offered in department stores today. OK, I already knew that but it seems to be more acute now. Examples: the new Coach fragrance and Eclat de Jasmin by Armani Prive. Both lovely florals, sheer and bright and pretty. Both leave me uninspired - my nose detects synthetics, and I cannot help myself. 2) Boy, does skin chemistry play tricks on people! I’ve smelled the same scents on many a wrists, and none is alike. Yes, I knew that already, too, but not so much in practice. Sheer mystery! Oh, there’s also another vital thing I’ve witnessed at this job: the associations scents evoke in people are simply fascinating and completely unpredictable. The most vivid example is Jour de Fete, a scent inspired by celebratory almond desserts (almond cookies, candied almonds, bitter almonds, marzipan - you name it). Apparently, to one person it smells of fall air and leaves. Actually, make that two - I’m one of them now. Surprisingly, these associations tend to rub off on you.
Do you have any olfactory tricks stories? Do share!
May 20th, 2007
There’s a fascinating article about the creation of Angel in the Osmoz.com May newsletter. “While Angel may be one of the best-selling perfumes in the world today, its creators had to struggle every step of the way to make their dream come true.” It talks about the Angel’s Tour Truck (I had no idea it even existed!) that looks like a spaceship. In reference to my earlier post on the role of marketing in perfume, when it comes to Angel, I think the marketing approach is simply brilliant and is a huge contributor to the success of the fragrance. Angel is one of the few fragrances that I often feel tempted to get reunited with after simply seeing the bottle in a store or smelling its ingenuous aroma on others (as overpowering as it might be). I’ll leave you with just this for today as I go spritz on some Rose Angel.
Image source: parfumdepub.net
May 14th, 2007
Is it really Friday? My life has been super busy this week, and I apologize for my absence. The reason: our L’Artisan Parfumeur shop opened on Wednesday! If you’re in the area, please do drop by - we promise to make it worth your while. If you’re in distant lands, here’s a little glimpse:
The shop is located in the 900 Shops building, 900 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL, 60611 (level one).
I wish you all a happy, relaxing weekend! I hope to get used to my new schedule very soon and bring more reviews to Aromascope.
May 10th, 2007
In May’s issue of Perfumer & Flavorist there’s an excellent article called “Exposing The Perfumer” by Michelle Krell Kydd (pages 38 - 44). One particular quote that stood out to me is by Jean Guichard, the perfumer of Givaudan, who said, “Perfumery can be compared to painting. There are some masterpieces that we appreciate more when they have been explained to us, when we understand the context, the historical climate, the idea and the personal life of the painter. It is the same for some “complicated” perfumes, such as chypre ones. Some perfumes are simpler to understand, like citrus or floral ones, but we can’t impose olfactive education - the interest needs to come from a person. We can try to introduce a module in school as it is true that children are very perceptive and interested in odors … we can educate their “noses” and help them to be more expert choosing their products later”.
I don’t know about you but I’d send my child to a school that teaches perfumery in a heartbeat. Wouldn’t that be, like, totally cool?
May 9th, 2007
I’m experiencing a minor case of writer’s block, and instead of forcing myself too much, I want to share a quote I came across while reading my Perfume Legends book. Speaking of writing, there was a discussion yesterday on the fragrance discussion forum I frequent about whether perfume bloggers get paid by companies to write glowing reviews of their scents. This annoyed me a little but mostly cracked me up - I’d be seriously flattered to be approached by houses like Dior or Chanel to write for them. If that was the case, methinks they’d prefer a more profitable medium for such reviews as opposed to a perfume blog that has a fairly limited influence on the general public. However, such the case is not, and I hereby proclaim my complete autonomy - I write what I like and how I like it. In my almost one year existence, I’m yet to be approached by anybody with a monetary offer for a rave review. (It still cracks me up as I write it).
But back to that quote (and to not bore you any further), Suzanne Grayson, a beauty marketing analyst, said in “The Myth Of Fine Fragrance - American Cosmetics and Perfumery”, all the way back in 1972, “Fine fragrances are only something mystical for the perfumer himself, because he is on a quest for beauty, truth, love… The consumer, on the other hand, merely expects it to “smell good”. Marketing is what determines whether or not a perfume will join the ranks of the great products, or quietly vanish from the market. It’s up to marketing to put a very specific meaning into a fragrance”. What do you think - true or false?
May 7th, 2007
Images from cartoonbank.com, cartoonstock.com
May 2nd, 2007
Yet another day with no substantial fragrant material on Aromascope. I swear I haven’t been neglecting it (for it’d be akin to neglecting your own child for me). I’ve just been spending most of my days setting up the new shop and getting home with enough energy to drag myself to bed. The shop is due to open May 1 (yippee!), and I can’t rave enough about it (yes, I’m biased but why not?) Besides, I’ve discovered carrots can actually smell good enough to be worn on skin - Fleur de Carotte! An amazing refreshing vegetable scent. Heck, we need more of those - in the land of all the fruity-florals, vegetables have become rather underrated, wouldn’t you say? OK, there’s more to Fleur de Carotte than just carrots - it also has the notes of tarragon, cucumber, apricot, rose, and ginger. Anyways, pardon me for my partial absence. I’ll be back!
April 30th, 2007
I’ve been swamped with work all week barely smelling any perfumes other than thoroughly testing the new Tom Ford Private Blend scents. I must say my opinion has changed drastically - the first impression proved to be wrong. Yes, it was indeed overwhelming having to smell all twelve of them after a long day (that also included sniffing over 50 raw materials), and, yes, they do need to be tested one by one, a day per fragrance at least. My current favorites are Tobacco Vanille, Noir de Noir, Velvet Gardenia, and Oud Wood. More detailed reviews to come soon. As for today, alas, I leave you scentless but not for long! Please do share if you have any fascinating fragrant discoveries. Happy weekend, all!
April 26th, 2007
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