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· February 12, 2008 2:37 PM by
~Joy~
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The Library: The Perfect Scent (comment for a free copy!)
The Library: The Perfect Scent (comment for a free copy!)
Posted by Dain, Monday, February 11, 2008 3:00 PM (Eastern)
I have a confession to make. It was The Emperor of Scent that got me into perfume. It is very difficult to read Luca Turin's apostolic declarations and refuse the allure of perfume appreciation. In that sense, The Perfect Scent is not the same book. As Burr puts it, "I am the perfume critic for The New York Times, but I am not a visceral perfume obsessive. Some people want me to be, but I'm not. Fundamentally I'm a reporter and critic whose job is to write on perfume..." Though The Perfect Scent is well larded with anecdotes (I did really enjoy finding out that Sarah Jessica Parker wears a mixture of Bonne Bell Skin Musk, some Egyptian oil bought from the streets of New York, and Comme de Garçons Avignon), written in a breezily informative style, Burr's particular fascination is with the politics behind the closed doors of the perfume industry, which he describes as "virulently insular, pathologically paranoid, and archaically secretive." Throughout the book, Burr switches back and forth between detailing the creation of Hermès Un Jardin Sur la Nil and the creation of Sarah Jessica Parker Lovely, two very different perfumes. I actually very much enjoy both. Un Jardin sur la Nil is refreshingly crisp and summery, limpid and green. Lovely is a precious and soft, like the skin of a baby. Both seem to envelop the wearer like a benediction, rather than merely sitting on the skin. The strategies behind these two products differ: Hermès is always highly conscious of its status as a luxury label and can be dismissive of anything less than artisanal craft, while Lovely is closer to a business venture in which one party lends the image (Sarah Jessica Parker), another the capital (Coty), and yet another does the work (IFF). And yet, they are the same. Both companies wish to make great perfumes that sell well. Burr chronicles the process of creation, or more often, company strategy, and is less focused on the aftereffects or the perfumes themselves.
For the most part, Burr's treatment isn't very deep or revelatory because he is extremely conscious of his status as an outsider. It is not until he begins his rant on the prejudice of synthetics and the archaic market practices of the perfume industry that I start to feel he reveals his true opinions, and very interesting they are. I also sometimes found myself lost, especially in terms of chronology. I also find The Perfect Scent appeals to a specific crowd (those interested in perfume) rather than a general audience, to which The Emperor of Scent is better suited.
But these are minor detractions. Anyone who is interested in the behind-the-scenes workings of perfumery while find The Perfect Scent very pleasant reading. It gave me the idea to layer Bandit over Skin Musk (I have a $10 bottle of the oil), and I like that far better, it seems to soften the strident grassiness of the EDP.
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February 12, 2008 2:37 PM,
I found The Emperor of Scents a bit too technical in places, but I overall enjoyed it, I'm definitely looking forward to reading The Perfect Scent.
Skin Musk is cheap and wonderful!
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